Living at the speed of light...

I haven't been blogging lately because I have been mitigating the impacts of "living at the speed of light."

What does that mean? Well, anyone who has visited Huckleberries Online for a period of time knows what "blogging at the speed of light" means: The moderator made a mistake; overlooked something so egregious that it absolutely demands immediate attention.

Under that definition, it appears that I have been "Living" at the speed of light.

Seems I have been overlooking my health in the pursuit of other endeavors, and now for many reasons, I have the responsibility of dealing with high blood pressure. Of course that has demanded my immediate attention for the past three weeks or so, and thankfully it's working. I'm not out of the woods yet -- not by any means -- but I'm on my way.

What got to me off blogtopic here and on to this Old Man kick, was a quote that florineD made on Huckleberries Online last week. The thread was about waiting for the results of a serious health test. In the context of her comments, florineD made a statement that struck me. She asks: " In fact, how would I know what some people considered “normal”? "

I've been asking doctors that for the last three weeks. I have not gone to the doctor much in my life, and now every time I walk into doctors office for another test I am overwhelmed with with questions:

Doc: Are you having any pains? Me: Now that you mention it, Yes. I have been noticing some lately, but I figure it's probably just a side effect to these drugs I am taking, or gas or something...

Doc: Where does it hurt? Me: In my rib cage. I've only just recently noticed it. I might just be hypersensitive because of all this high blood pressure stuff. Until then, I really didn't pay much attention to that kind of stuff.

Doc: Can you describe the pain? Me: It's kind of like a dull ache that lasts a few minutes and fades away.

Doc: How often does it happen? Me: I don't know, maybe four or five times a day. Like I said I really haven't given the pain much thought until now.

Doc: Can you associate the pains with any external activities? Me: I really haven't analyzed it. I just started to notice it, but I haven't associated the pains to any pattern. I figured it was just normal...

Truth is, I don't know what is normal when it comes to health. Three weeks ago, I was in a dentist's office and a nurse told me my blood pressure was 189/124, and I said: "Um ... alright... So, what does that mean? Is that a big deal?"

She said: "You're kidding, right?"

I've never had high blood pressure. Never. It's always been low. I have never had any reason to worry about blood pressure, so I have paid very little attention to it -- until now, of course.

Anyway, the nurse told the dentist what my BP was, the dentist said I wasn't going anywhere until I saw my doctor about it. She said it so seriously that I took the rest of the day off and went to the doctor's office -- her doctor's office.

It's been a whirlwind of medical tests, pills, exercise, a menu revamp that works in much more salad and fish.

I've soooo learned what that BP number means over the last three weeks... and, it ain't been fun. I should have paid more attention to my health, but I never really saw the need until now. Sure, I have put on a few pounds over the years, but it's not like I am completely out of shape or anything. Still, I get it now.

So far, my efforts are paying off. On Friday, it was ALL good news. I owe many thanks to increased prayers, great family and friends, a little FOCUS, and of course modern medicine. I've lost ten pounds in a couple of weeks and brought my BP into a "safer range"... along with resolving many other health issues along the way.

I got a new bicycle at Costco, yesterday. I'm going full tilt. I'm Bent on this now. Six months, Baby, and this is behind me...

Now back to The Beer Garden