Ruminations of an Expatriate

Surgery Report 1.2

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Friday morning I went to the lab to have blood taken and for a chest x-ray, which wasn’t snapped until later in the day.

I was almost immediately ushered by a technician into a small examine room; and she began stabbing me, hitting pay dirt on her third try, and removed 10 cc of blood, 2 cc for each of five different analyses. I returned to the reception area and was told to return at 3 PM to pick up the reports.

When I returned I was told that I hadn’t yet had the chest x-ray and was sent upstairs to the radiology department, where I was informed that I must wait until 4 for the radiologist to arrive. By now I was tired,my back and abdomen muscles were aching so my patience was running a bit thin. I was, however, able to maintain a respectful demeanor.

Having completed my business with the lab I headed to the surgeon’s office to deliver the x-ray and the lab and cardiologist reports. I left everything with a receptionist, realizing that the surgeon needed a bit of time to review the materials. The receptionist asked if I wished to speak with the doctor. I responded that I did not need to speak to the doctor. The receptionist then asked if I would rather call the doctor. Again I replied that I did not need to speak with the doctor. She then asked if I would prefer that the doctor call me. I responded that all I want is for the doctor or someone from his office to call to tell where and when the surgery has been scheduled.

Monday evening the doctor called to tell me he would like me to come to his office the next day at 6 PM to discuss my blood. I showed up Tuesday at 6 only to be told by the receptionists that the doctor was not in, hadn’t been all day, and that they knew nothing of my appointment. It was at that point that I decided I’d had all I could take from the doctor and his office staff.

I told the receptionist that all I wanted was my chest x-ray and the lab and cardiologist reports and would be there at 6 PM today to pick them up.

This afternoon the surgeon’s receptionist called to inform me that the surgeon wanted me to meet with an internist to discuss my liver. I responded that I did not wish to speak to any doctors from her office, that I have had all I can take of the clinic, I had decided to find another surgeon, and that all I want are the reports and x-ray and I would arrive at 6 to pick them up. I arrived this evening a bit after 6 and after a fifteen minute wait was presented the materials I was seeking. I am quite relieved to be done with the doctor and his clinic.

Tomorrow morning I will visit another surgeon in hopes that she or he will repair the hernia so I may get on with recuperation and ultimately back to work. I think I will recuperate for a couple of weeks on the Emerald Coast a couple hours North of the City of Veracruz.

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People Have Asked Me

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Why it is that have such little faith in medical professions. Here’s the latest example.

I mentioned to the surgeon during my appointment the other evening that I had been experiencing periodic diarrhea, every fourth day or so.

The surgeon prescribed a month’s supply of three different medicines, about $650 pesos worth, intended to address the diarrhea, one simply being Lactobacillus acidophilus, the bacteria used in yogurt and which many folks, mainly gringos, regularly take to ward off gastrointestinal distress.

The next morning I dutifully downed the pills as prescribed. That afternoon I came down with a case of explosive, almost completely liquid diarrhea, such which I had not theretofore experienced. I decided to search the internet for information for the two drugs, other than the Lactobacillus.

I found that a notable side effect listed for both drugs is diarrhea. Good move Dr., prescribe diarrhea inducing drugs to treat diarrhea. I’m hoping he’s a more competent surgeon.

So I will be throwing away perhaps $600 pesos worth of drugs. Like the dumb ass I frequently am, I made the mistake of buying the drugs before I checked them out.

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Surgery Report 1.0

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Monday afternoon I visited the clinic through which the surgeon works and made an appointment for Tuesday evening. Tuesday afternoon a clinic staffer called to inform me the doctor would not be available for my appointment, so I rescheduled for 7:30 last evening.

I arrived at the office at the appointed time and was instructed to take a seat and wait, but it wasn’t until 8:00 when I was admitted to the doctor’s office. Entering the office I was greeted by a spectacular 7 foot statue of Don Quixote which had been carved from a single Balsa tree trunk. Beyond there are shelves with perhaps fifty statue and statuettes of Quixote, some including Sancho Panza.

The doctor, bedecked in gold chains, bracelets, and watch, asked me to take a seat and what was the problem I was was having. I lifted my T shirt, unwrapped the elastic bandage I use to keep my intestines inside, and he was able to immediately determine the problem. The doctor directed me to sit, and later lie, on his examination table where he pushed, probed, prodded, and poked my abdomen; even listening to my gut with his stethoscope.

Having completed his examination we returned to his desk where he began writing, a prescription for $749 pesos of drugs, instructions to the internist in his office to check my cardiovascular system, and instructions to a lab to conduct various tests. The cardiovascular exam and laboratory tests are intended to ensure that I have no medical conditions which might cause problems during surgery.

The doctor told me that I should schedule surgery just as soon as I had the results of the cardiovascular exam and lab results, explaining the risk of strangling my intestines.

Before leaving the office I made an appointment for 6:30 PM this evening for the cardiovascular exam, and this morning went to the lab where the attendant recorded my information and asked if I had eaten breakfast. I informed her that I had, not knowing I wasn’t supposed to. She told me that I must not eat after 10 PM the day before my visit. I indicated I would return tomorrow morning.

I’m making progress.

Oh yeah, the doctor uses mesh Wiley. He had a sample in his desk.

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Illness Update

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Finally, today, I visited a doctor, after a month of living with my swollen gut. The doctor was very nice and charged only $200 pesos for the consultation.

On the one hand I am proud to report that my diagnosis of a torn abdominal muscle was exactly right, though I am, after all, a trained medical professional, having worked in an animal hospital in my youth.

On the other hand the doctor told me that the only means of fixing the muscle is through surgery. He indicated that the hernia is large and that he thinks it’s older than a month. He, as did mcm in commenting on a previous post, explained the dangers of the strangulation of the intestine.

The doctor referred me to a surgeon whom I will visit this afternoon.

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The Feared “Super Bug” Has Arrived

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

I have a number of times opined here that the promiscuous dispensation and use of antibiotics and the proliferation of “anti-bacterial” household products encourages development of antibiotic resistant microbes. It seems as though the Super Bug is now emerging and spreading from South Asia

The AFP news service reports.

BRUSSELS (AFP) – A Belgian man became the first known fatality of a drug-resistant “superbug” originating in South Asia, reinforcing fears the germ could spread worldwide after infecting dozens of people in Britain and Australia.

The unnamed patient became infected while hospitalised in Pakistan and died in June, a doctor from the Brussels hospital where he had been treated told Belgian media on Friday.

“He was involved in a car accident during a trip to Pakistan. He was hospitalised with a major leg injury and then repatriated to Belgium, but he was already infected,” the doctor said.

Despite being administered colistin, a powerful antibiotic, the patient died, the doctor said.

——

The superbug comprises a bacterium containing an enzyme gene called New Delhi metallo-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) that makes it impervious to treatment by almost all antibiotics.

These include drugs known as carbapenems, which are often used as a last resort.

A British journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, reported this week that bacteria containing the NDM-1 gene had been found in 37 Britons who had received medical treatment in South Asia.

It said health tourists visiting South Asia risked infection and warned the superbug could spread.

Three cases have been identified in Australia among people who had travelled to India for surgery, said Professor Peter Collignon, Canberra Hospital’s head of infectious diseases department.

“We found this multi-resistant, untreatable bug in their urine, luckily not causing too many problems to that person. But it’s a real problem if it spreads to others,” he said.

“The germ we had was untreatable — there were no drugs we had that could treat it,” he added.

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Illness Update

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Norm and Sam, you were right. It wasn’t my sugar cookie binge.

I have continued, since a week ago Saturday, to have pain in my stomach muscles, particularly on the right side. Additionally the appearance of the shape of my gut seemed different. I have felt weak and have experienced gastrointestinal distress.

Yesterday I worked on the drainage ditch for an hour and a half, taking frequent breathers; and spent pretty much the rest of the day on my back at the apartment.

Today, after an uncomfortable night, I did not visit the property as it rained this morning. About noon I was probing with my fingers the area of my stomach muscle where I was experiencing the greatest pain and it felt as though something retreated back behind the muscle. I instantly felt better. I no longer have dull lower back pain and am hungry. I am able to still feel a depression at the site of the greatest pain.

So my latest theory is that I ruptured a stomach muscle and a bit of tissue behind the muscles slipped through the rupture. I have looked into stomach muscles ruptures and the symptoms of such are consistent to what I have experienced.

Of course, I really have no idea. But it’s really nice to be feeling better.

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Bashing Undocumented Aliens Won’t Pay For Republicans

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

May I recommend this Morton Kondracke commentary decrying the USA Congress for “playing immigration futbol”.

And while I’m at it, may I also recommend this report by Time’s Tim Padgett debunking the currently popular right wing narrative that the war amongst the various Mexican organized criminal gangs is bleeding over the border into the USA.

As Padgett’s report recounts, Sen. John McCain has claimed that Phoenix is “the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world”. Of course it’s total bull shit. Many of us know that anything emanating from John McCain’s mouth is apt to be total bull shit; but, none-the-less, there are obviously lots of folks who take what he has to say seriously. McCain, who has successfully branded himself amongst the traditional media as a “maverick” once again demonstrates that he blows with the prevailing winds, as he has changed his position on immigration reform in an effort to enhance his prospects against his even more looney republican primary opponent.

Then we had Arizona governor Jan Brewer pronouncing that “We cannot afford all this illegal immigration and everything that comes with it, everything from the crime and to the drugs and the kidnappings and the extortion and the beheadings …”. Of course there have been no “beheadings” in Arizona.

The republicans currently whipping up anti-immigrant sentiments in their efforts to appeal to the diminishing and increasingly radical republican party “base”, forget the lesson Pete Wilson learned years ago in California. That is that they will pay at the polls by delivering Hispanic/Latino (“the nation’s fastest-growing demographic group”) votes to the democrats.

The radicalization of the republican party, and its consequent purging of so called “country club republicans” is resulting in some of the country club set endorsing democrats. Many endorsed Obama in 2008. Even in Texas, as the Star-Telegram reports

More than a dozen prominent Dallas business and civic leaders, including several who supported Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primary for governor, have signed a letter backing Democrat Bill White in his effort to unseat Republican Gov. Rick Perry in the Nov. 2 general election.

“We believe that Texas is ready for a new governor and Bill will serve us well,” said the letter, which White campaign spokeswoman Katy Bacon said is being circulated to area business and philanthropic leaders.

———

John Adams, former chairman and CEO of Chase Bank of Texas, said the majority of the signers are moderate Republicans like himself. But he said some are independents who have supported both Democrats and Republicans.

He said the letter is aimed at appealing to “independents and Republicans that Bill may be able to pull across the aisle and show his bipartisan support.”

About half the signers supported Hutchison [USA Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison] in the primary, according to White’s campaign.

“Obviously we think Perry ought to be replaced,” Adams said.

Among the signers are Dallas investor Edward “Rusty” Rose, a prominent supporter of former President George W. Bush who served with Bush as a partner in the Texas Rangers baseball club; former Pizza Hut executive Mike Rawlings; and Lucy Billingsley, who heads a multimillion-dollar real estate company.

Others include Garrett Boone, co-founder of the Container Store, and his wife, Cecilia; investor Bill Montgomery and his wife, Susan; and Naomi Aberly, a philanthropist who formerly chaired Planned Parenthood of North Texas.

Former Dallas/Fort Worth Airport board Chairman Tom Dunning, who signed the letter with his wife, Sally Dunning, said the letter is designed to “to make sure that people know that Bill White has a lot of supporters’” in the Dallas business community, including those who backed Hutchison.

Dunning said he has known White for more than 15 years and is “very impressed” by his accomplishments as the three-term mayor of Houston. “I don’t think the people who signed this letter are necessarily anti-Perry,” said the Dallas businessman. “They’re pro-White, and they think it’s time for a change.”

Perry campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the governor has received “overwhelming support” from hundreds of business and civic leaders across the state because of policies that have created jobs “even during challenging economic times.”

Apparently many Texas business leaders have had enough of Governor Rick Perry’s (Texas’ longest serving governor, if memory serves me) pandering to the republican party radicals. Polling indicates that former governor White has a very good chance of unseating Perry in November.

Voters generally eschew radicals, from whichever end of the political spectrum.

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40-Ton Jumping Whale Lands On Sailboat

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Wow. Just in case you missed the story, the Yahoo “The Upshot” blog passes on the report. Be sure to click on the photo to view the sailboat following the landing. Neither the whale nor mariners were seriously injured.

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‘Girl raised from birth by Wolf Blitzer’

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

This is really funny, at least for those of us who believe that Wolf Blitzer is indeed a caricature, as well as being completely full of shit, not to mention of himself (OK, I’m speaking redundantly for effect). I ran across the video at Ezra Klein’s excellent blog.

Girl Raised From Birth By Wolf Blitzer Taken Into Protective Custody

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And Yet Another Blog I’ll Follow

Monday, July 19th, 2010

A month or so ago I informed my thirteen readers of “Another Blog I Will Follow“, that being produced by a nephew.

Today I discovered that my oldest brother has begun blogging, under the nom de plume “Ace”, at Hellacious.

The guy is very bright, and has many years of experience working in the midst of public policy development in Wash D. C., particularly relative to energy related matters. So his observations should be interesting to those interested in such things.

I encourage you to take a look.

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