Double A's

 I'll be going into surgery a couple of days after this gets posted.  Doing some research now to better understand why I need the operation (Atrial Fib/Fluctuation this time, my wife says it Fib I think it’s Flux but what do I know? I was unconscious when they did the first one.) Anyhow, I have no idea what's going to happen or how long it'll take to recover.  Thought some of the readers might know more than I or be in a similar situation.

After my blackout accident,* I had an irregular heart beat in my heart's two atria (the upper chambers of the heart). According to the doctor, one was worse than the other (I think) as he's going to have to use two operations to treat them.  I went through the first operation right after I blacked out, ran off the road @75MPH and hit a rock.  Wife was OK, not great, just bruises.  I was in the hospital for a week or so.  I wasn't very coherent at the time.  

I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heart beat.  That operation required immediate surgery, so I'm betting that was the more serious one.  

 

 Other possible symptoms of AFib include congestive heart failure symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, or swelling. Loss of consciousness can also occur due to a lack of oxygen, and insufficient blood to the brain being pumped to the brain by the heart. (Which I'm pretty positive was the cause of me blacking out and the cause of the accident.). The abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) is sometimes only identified with the onset of a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA). It is not uncommon for a person to first become aware of AFib from a routine physical examination or electrocardiogram, as it often does not cause symptoms. Source 

That was not the circumstances in my case. Just thought I'd mention that it can sneak up on you quite fast.  I doubt is was more than 5 minutes from when I first felt bad and when I blacked out. 

How is it treated?  Well, glad you asked. I'm going to be going through a process called Cardiac Ablation.

This is what the Mayo Clinic advises and my Doctor performed.  I'm not sure what the doctor did when he treated the upper left chamber, I was pretty much out of it when he explained it to me.  So, but found this description in the following paragraph on their website

Cardiac ablation often uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars in the heart. Heart signals can't pass through the scars. So the treatment can block faulty heart signals that cause AFib. During cardiac ablation, a doctor places a flexible tube called a catheter through a blood vessel, usually in the groin. The doctor guides the tube to the heart. More than one catheter may be used. Sensors on the tip of the catheter apply the cold or heat energy. 

 

I talked about AFIB which if you look at the chart below, that  comparison, in bold type, tells what is the more dangerous of the two. I've been through that one. (Yes, unconcious) and am feeling better.  This next one is to treat Atrial Flutter or AFlu to the cognoscenti.  

AFIB VS AFLU

Symptom Atrial fibrillation Atrial flutter rapid pulse rate usually rapid usually rapid irregular pulse always irregular can be regular or irregular dizziness or fainting yes yes palpitations or feeling like the heart is racing or pounding yes yes shortness of breath yes yes weakness or fatigue yes yes chest pain or tightness yes yes increased chance of blood clots and stroke yes yes
This one, the Atrial Fluctuation (I think) surgery, as seen in the chart above,  involves sticking a catheter in my thigh and snaking it into my other atrium.  I guess that one was less damaged.  I'm not a doctor, nor have I played one on TV, but I've been told they'll zap that bad boy and that should take care of the problem. Please, Lord, guide their hands and let it be so.  In any case, peace out, y'all!  *For those of you that haven't read details of the accident that almost killed Mrs J and I, they can be found at that link.

 Source

 

 

Wake

 

 

 Had a bit of a surprise this past week.  With respect to the accident, I was feeling pretty good.  Neck is still a bit sore, but a universe less pain than it had been.  Had an appointment on Thursday last and thought I'd be cleared to drive.  

Not so fast, juvat.  

Doctor: "Regarding AFlu (Atrial Fluctuation) when you passed out and were ambulated to the hospital, your heart rate was in the 120 Beats per minute range, a very dangerous rate. Surgery to Ablate the heart and install a Monitor.  That treatment worked and those symptoms are fine".

juvat: "So I can Drive?" Big Smile on my face!

Now for the REST of the Story! 

Doctor: "I'm sorry.  Because you had Syncope  (passing out) during the episode we now need to address the AFib  (Atrial Fibrillation in your heart)"

juvat: "Huh???? What's that entail? Hospital admission.""

Doctor: "No, the AFlu treatment required an "all in" Heart operation, to install a heart beat regulator.  This procedure is much less complicated.  We'll insert a catheter through the vein in your leg and use a bit of electricity to bring the rhythm back to normal.  You'll only be in the hospital for a couple of hours."

juvat: "Wonderful (sarcasm).  When will I be able to drive?"

Doctor: "3 more months. Syncope requires a full 6 months, without any incidents ,to release you to drive."

juvat: "Yay!"  Sarcasm is definitely in full scale drip mode.

So. Things are just splendid in juvat land.  Can't wait til Summer.

Anyhow,  on with the show!

 

Wake Island

So, There I was…* In receipt of orders to depart my hardship tour at CinCPAC headquarters, Camp Smith Hawaii, and proceed to what to what would be my final assignment in the Air Force.  Others referred to the next location as Fort Fumble, still others the Puzzle Palace.  I, with the true force of loathing, referred to it as the Northern Virginia Penitentiary for Wayward Fighter Pilots. Yes, some folks refer to it as the Pentagon, they are either non-Military types or if they are military, have sold their soul for their careers.  In other words, people I have no use nor any respect for.  But, now that I have gotten that off my chest, I will cease and desist with that digression vector and discuss where I PCS’d from.

But Juvat, you were assigned to Camp Smith, didn’t you PCS from there?  Technically, yes, but I actually left from Wake Island.  So, let’s get to that bit of oddity.

Back in the first term of Billy Jeff, before Monica, the United States actually attempted to enforce Immigration Laws.  (I know, I know.  How very Racist of us!).  As part of that enforcement, the US Coast Guard would board suspicious ships that were approaching the 12 mile limit.  Boarding them before reaching that limit was important, especially off the West Coast, because, even then, Liberal Judges would issue an injunction prohibiting their deportation until they had a chance to plead their case.  Those proceedings were always delayed and delayed….Thus ensuring that the Democrats had additional voters that Justice was served.

The problem is complicated by what the USCinCPAC Commander (he was the ranking 4 Star in all the Pacific services, and was Navy) at the time referred to his Area of Responsibility (AOR) as the “Tyranny of Distance”.  It’s a 6 hour plane ride from SFO to HNL, and depending on the winds, a 10 to 12 hour plane ride from HNL to Tokyo.  The USCG intercepts a ship carrying illegal aliens.  What does it do with them?  If they bring them ashore in the States, they’re home free.  Taking them all the way back to their home country ties up that Coast Guard asset for a long time.  An option is to find a Non-US territory that is willing to take them in until the illegal alien’s country of origin makes arrangements to recover them.  The US had some limited success in paying some friendly Pacific Island nations to do exactly that.  

China, of course, was the primary starting point of the illegals.  After a few ships were intercepted, (I am under no illusion that all, let alone most, were intercepted, so let’s settle for a “few”), China changed the game by insisting that the “refugees” were repatriated from “US held territory”.  They did this knowing full well the problem of bringing them into the US.

My job at CinCPAC HQ was to provide an augmentation team and train them in Joint Task Force planning and operations.  I drew my team from the Combat Commands on the island (PACAF, USARPac, CincPACFlt and MARFORPAC).  When activated, we’d deploy to one of the designated three star billet commands in the Pacific.  At the time, those were 7th Fleet, 3 MEF and I Corps.  We’d join with their Command Staff and become a JTF.  The concept worked pretty well, at least in exercises.

It’s around the 1st of July when I get called in to the CincPAC J-3s office, a Marine 2 star.  He tells me to ready the team and that sometime during the next week we’d be deploying.  No idea when or where, or to whom as yet.

I get the notification process started and prep the initial briefing.  Seems that a small Chinese fishing boat had been intercepted off the coast of California with 118 illegals aboard.  The State Department was negotiating with the Chinese for their return, but the Chinese were insisting that they be returned from US Held Territory.  Saipan and Tinian were not going to be acceptable.  Hawaii with its very Democrat infested liberal court system was definitely not an option.  We considered Midway, but discovered that also fell under the Hawaii’s District Court.  Finally, we found that Wake Island was an “unincorporated territory” of the United States. 

According to a Citation in Wikipedia (a source renowned throughout the world for its accuracy) an unincorporated territory is one "where fundamental rights apply as a matter of law, but other constitutional rights are not available".  Bingo.

The boat and escort are directed to Wake Island.  The JTF is to be created with the main manpower coming from one of the Army Battalions from the 25th ID.  They would include an infantry company, and some MPs.  A BG from the Division would be the CJTF.  My team would be the JTF staff.  PACAF would provide medical and dental support and personnel.  CincPacFlt would provide construction support.

The yellow line is 4500 miles long

It was going to take the boats about 2 weeks to transit and Wake’s facilities were not ready for a few hundred people to arrive.  It had been hosting a small team that supported launch activities from Kwajalein.  So there was some rudimentary facilities, a small clinic, dining hall and airport support.  The rest we’d have to bring or repair.

I’m sitting there looking at this operation knowing that I’m PCSing from this unit I’d trained. I also knew it was going into what was their first “real world” operation. I wanted to go, bad!  But I also knew that I had to be in DC by the end of August.

We have our initial meeting with the CJTF and he starts laying out the command structure.  I’m taking notes as fast as I can write.  He tells the Army Lt Col Battalion Commander he’s the Ground Forces Commander.  Lays out the Support Command structure and then starts on the JTF staff.  He looks at my replacement  (AF) who’s just been selected for O-6 and has been shadowing me for about a week and tells him he’s going to be the Chief of Staff.  Then looks at me and says “LtCol Juvat, you’re going to be my J-3.” (COO in civilian terms.)  I tell him about the PCS and he says “do you want to stay or go with us?”

“I want to go.”

“You’re in.”

Now, I’ve gotten most of the pre-PCS paper work done, but we’re now approaching that point where Physics is involved.  Physics being the actual moving of People and things.  To further complicate matters, my wife has already PCS’d to DC.  Fortunately, we had a live-in Nanny, who took care of my kids.  I deployed about 3 days later, while gone, she handled the movers, the clearing of quarters, the shipment of cars and the transportation of two unaccompanied minors. Talk about stepping up!  Kim, if you’re reading this, I still have a hard time believing you pulled it off.  And, even after all these years, thanks does not begin to express my gratitude.

The operation has two critical areas that are needed for success.  We have to restore facilities so they are fit for human habitation and we have to find enough Chinese linguists to communicate with the illegal aliens.  The first is constrained by time and the second by availability.

Wake had several buildings that had served as barracks in the 60s, so on arrival we selected the one in the best shape as the dorm for the illegals.  Best shape should really be least worse.  But the engineers got to work and by the time the boat arrived, the plumbing, lights and electricity all worked.  Bedding had been replaced.  It wasn’t the Hilton, but it beat the cargo hold of a fishing boat.  

We also had to come to terms with what we were going to do about the Enforcers.  They were a group of 10 men who were charged with bringing the illegals to the US.  The Coast Guard told us we would have to keep them separated from the rest of the group.  So we restored a separate facility and surrounded it with concertina.

To the best of my recollection, Top Left was the building housing the illegals, top right was for the enforcers and bottom was JTF operations.  

The boat and escort arrived.  We’re using the marina and a WWII landing craft to transport the illegals and their enforcers ashore.  The illegals are brought ashore first,  and given a quick in-processing, basically asked their name and given a quick medical check for anything serious. Then they were given a bus ride around to the other side of the island and checked in to the barracks.

This was high tide.  Low tide and the boat was 5 or 6 feet lower.
Source

We handled the enforcers a little differently, upon advice from the Coasties.  We’ve selected low tide for when this would happen as we didn’t want the enforcers to have a chance to scope out the arrival facilities.

The Coast Guard had kept them bound and on deck for essentially the entire trip.  Upon inspecting the fishing boat and hearing the stories of their actions, I’d have been tempted to troll for sharks with them.  I was not alone having similar temptations for them like that...by a long shot.

At low tide, the water level in the marina put the landing craft below the dock, so the occupants couldn’t see anything behind the edge.  We had a greeting party that took the names at the front.  That greeting party had been told at the first sign of resistance to move out of the way.  

Sure enough, we’d brought 3 or 4 of them up the ladder, hands bound in front, feet free when one of them starts to do the kung fu stuff.  The greeting party moved away, leaving the Bruce Lee wannabe face to face with a squad of infantry, bayonets ready in a cordon around the docking area.  Problem solved.

By now the illegals are in their dorm and have eaten.  The enforcers are in their area, have eaten and it’s getting dark.  Shortly after dark, I get a call saying we’ve got a fire in the enforcer’s area.  That was one of the scenarios we’d gamed out.  The security team had sheets of plywood and breached the concertina with them.  Again, with bayonets out, they herded the enforcers into one corner of the concertina away from the fire while another team put the mattress fire out.  

After the fire was out, we confiscated all the fire starters and cigarettes.  We also took away the remaining mattresses and put them back in their smoke damaged rooms.  It was quiet from then on out.

Things got pretty boring at that point.  The illegals were getting their three hots and were getting medical and dental care.  Their trip across the Pacific had been hellish.  Stuffed in a 500 square foot fish hold with a 55 gal drum for a toilet.  They’re only time on deck was when they were brought up to “entertain” the enforcers.  All of them were used that way.  Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Girls, Boys the entire group. 

Their medical condition reflected that abuse as did some of their dental problems. 

As I said, routine set in and the highlight of discussion was when was China going to accept them back.  It was about the 10th of August when the CJTF calls me in and says I should take the next 141 back.  

We had been redeploying the stuff and people we no longer needed and I now fell in that category.  I handed off the J-3 responsibilities to a Navy Commander who’d been in that shop.  She was very sharp and I wasn’t worried about the job not getting done.  As far as I can tell, she was the first female J-3.  Well done, Darah!

I flew in the 141 from Wake to Travis, hitched a ride from my Aunt to SFO and from there flew to Washington Reagan.  Met up with my wife and kids and the following Monday reported in at the Northern Virginia Penitentiary for wayward Fighter Pilots and began my sentence.

On August 12th, the Chinese relented and sent a DC-10 to pick up the illegals.  Transfer to the airliner went without a hitch.  And JTF Prompt Return was over.  

Later, when I transferred from the Air Staff to Current Ops on the Joint Staff, I worked next door to the Pacific section. The guy we had communicated with from Wake was still there.  I asked him what had happened to the Chinese when they had arrived in Beijing.  He said the illegals were sent home.  The enforcers were knelt down on the tarmac and shot in the back of the head.

Good.

A few months later, I received a memo saying that I was authorized to wear the Humanitarian Service Medal for participation in JTF Prompt Return.  I had a few rows of brightly colored cloth on my uniform when I retired.  That was the only one that gave me any satisfaction.

On a side note, if I ever decide to move to Rhode Island , I’m eligible for Veteran’s property tax relief.

* Standard Juvat Comment!

Well...This episode didn't fit my definition of fun and games

Well, Campers, it's been an interesting week. 

 

The bubbas have finished clearing out the section of the property that the house and horse barn will be built on. That would be me standing in the center.  This week will be devoted to clearing out the area for my Brother's house as well as cleaning up the driveway a bit.  Some of the jungle and old trees are pretty close to it.

That is the good news.  

The rest of the week was one of those weeks,  you know,  you HAVE to go through.

I'd had a checkup with one of my Doctors.  Apparently, between my last physical and this one, I had lost 20 lbs.  Which surprised me as I hadn't done anything too radical exercise wise.  

Although in the last 2-3 weeks, I have started a walking agenda with 6000 steps as my daily goal.  As it stands right now, of the 19 days since I started, I've made my goal 17 times.  I'll explain in a bit why not 19 of 19. But, this walking thing hasn't been going on long enough to lose 20lbs.

Anyhow, back to the Doctor's visit.  He poked and prodded and  couldn't see anything obvious, so he recommended a colonoscopy.

Oh Joy!

Then he said a "Shiver me timbers"  statement

He said "juvat, I don't know what it is, but it could be cancer."

That shut me up pretty quickly.

He then said he thought I should get a colonoscopy as well as an Upper GI endoscopy.  To put it into a Fighter Pilot's vernacular, in addition to sticking a movie camera up your lower posterior anatomy, they were also going to stick one down your throat.

Oh Joy! And, no Beans, they weren't the same camera for both actions.

They scheduled the operation for last Wednesday.  For those of you that may never have had an experience like this, the funnest part (No Beans not funniest!) is the prep.  In case you didn't recognize that last sentence, it's sarcasm. 

They give you this large bottle of liquid and tell you to drink it all at once.  Shortly thereafter, you become one with your toilet.  This goes on for about 12 hours.  

Oh...No eating, drinking anything red or purple, just water.  Not having a very large brain, I was concerned about downloading portions of that out my lower fire escape.

That, by far, was the worst part of the process.  Got all that done, showed up for the episode.  Got knocked out and woke up somewhat later in the recovery room.

The first question I asked the Doc was "What did you find?"

Fortunately, he knew what I was really asking.

"We did not find any Cancer!"

I'm sure that wasn't exactly the terminology, but I got the message.

Thank you Lord! (and Doc!)

I was released later that afternoon (Wednesday).  None the worse the wear for the episode.

Except being hungry as all get up.  But...NOOOOO....you've got to take it easy until tomorrow.  RRIIIIIGGGGHHHHHTTTT!

Chicken Broth and water.  Sounds delicious! 

Oh, Needed a picture for this posting.  

 

 Beans, this is just for you.  This is what my innard's look like. 

Profitez-en bien!  (aka) Enjoy! 

It must be another Monday!

Good morning, Campers.  Hope you northerners are staying warm.  Given that the low Sunday morning down here was below freezing (26 degrees, but at least the wind is blowing), it must be cooler in the Great White North.  There is a bit of something I believe is called "Rain" in this week's forecast. Hope it's not Freezing Rain, NOBODY knows how to drive in that!

We shall see what will be!

I did get some good news this past week.  Rather than spit it out, I'll see if y'all can figure it out.

Yep, the Brain and Spine Neurologist gave me the go ahead to wean myself off the neck brace over the next 3 weeks.  Need to wear it to bed and if I am going to be physically active.  But...it is progress.

No, Beans, he was unable to find my brain during the exam.

Feels wonderful to take the brace off. I was getting a bit "cranky" so Mrs J is now happier also.

This past week we also had our first episode of "Why did you move to College Station?".

 

Mrs J and I had our first time alone with the Grand Kids.  MBD and "The Rev" had "Saving the World" requirements at work.  So, they asked.  We said Yes!  It was pretty fun, although we were glad when the 'Rents got home.

Yes, Beans, we slept well that night!

As regular readers know, we own two mare paint horses.  Just to refresh y'all, their names are "Cabernet" and "Merlot".  While Mrs J and I do love wine, their names were given them before we adopted them.  They moved to CStat a couple of weeks before us.  Our rental house is a bit small for them, so they are being boarded at a place called "Stall and Oats" 

No, Beans, I'm not kidding!

They seem to be doing ok.  The stabling agreement includes a requirement that we have to muck the stalls at least 3 days a week.  

Don't ask, Beans!

 

 That's them on the right side of the fence.  Merlot is on the left, Cabernet on the right. They seem to be somewhat enamored by the MALE Paint horse on the other side of the fence.  They didn't want to have anything to do with us while they were flirting, so mucking was a bit easier than usual.

Thank you, Lord!

We also had a bit of progress this week on the house we're  going to build.  We set up a meeting and met on the property with the Builder and his Wife.  She happens to be a Realtor, so she also had a lot of good suggestions.  

This is the back of the house which will be demolished.  That's how close the "jungle" is. The trees that are to the right of the house will be cut down. 

 The builder walked the perimeter of the property which is no easy task.  The intent was to check the integrity of the fence.  The fence will require repair/replacement.  Given my neck condition, I elected to not go with him, too easy to slip and fall.  A fall might not be a good thing medically and getting out of the brush might not be feasible either. Additionally, we found lots (lots and lots) of underbrush that will need to be taken out.  There were a few Live Oak trees that weren't in too good shape and were a bit closer to the house than we'd like, so they'll be taken down also.  But the majority of the Live Oaks will stay.  Shade in Texas is a sought after blessing. 

 Yes, Beans, another advantage of taking down some of the trees is....Firewood.

On the good news side, he said that adding a couple of acres of fenced in area was feasible and should be enough for horse grazing.  Additionally, a fenced in yard for the dogs and a "front yard" for the Grandkids to play in also were feasible. 

The driveway is gravel and might need a bit of work, but all in all, completely doable.  Additionally, the electrical hook up (whatever it's called) is in a very convenient location for all five buildings that will be built.  

Beans, those would be our house, my Brother's cabin, the horse barn, my workshop and Mrs J's "She Shed", (her sewing cabin) 

So, it's off to the bank this week for a construction loan.  We've already got verbal approval for that so, hopefully, no problema.

All told, a pretty darn good week!  Hope yours was also and continues to be in this week.

Peace out, y'all! 

  

Oh...What a week!

 Well, Campers, it has been quite a "Special" week down here. Special being the Swahili word for "Tough".  But, Mrs J and I managed to make it through and in spite of the "Challenges", there were some good outcomes.  So being the "look at the bright side" kind of guy that Beans has taught me to be, I'll start with those episodes first.

As most of you are aware, Summer isn't over until September 22 this year.  Now, I know, some of you are already breaking out your parkas and snow boots.  Down here in the great state of Texas, we start thinking about doing that when the temps get down in the 60's.  We had a 100+ degree last week, but at least it was a humid 100.  

Which wouldn't have been so bad if the AC in my woodshop hadn't decided that I didn't need any cool air anymore, but that I needed a sauna.  Silly machine!  So we called the repairman.  This was mid-afternoon, I was kinda expecting a visit in a few days. 

Surprisingly, he said he could be there at 5PM if that was OK.

Not surprisingly, I said "YES, Bless you!"

He showed up right on time and got to work.  Now, I am pretty religious about cleaning sawdust out of the filters regularly and they were only slightly dirty when he opened up the AC.   He blew them out again, just to make sure, but no bueno.

He said he'd have to go deeper into the machine, something I had no idea how to do, so hadn't.  Sure enough some tubular fan or something was pretty well covered in sawdust.  He said it shouldn't be a hard thing to get it working, but he'd have to take it apart.  Was I ok with that?

Why, yes...yes I am!

He got to work.  Since it was late afternoon and hot and the AC wasn't working, we were both pretty sweaty quite quickly.  I asked him if he'd like some cold water.  He said "Please".

So, I went into the house and got a couple of bottles.  On my way back, I ran into a slight problem.  Which brings us to the second topic of this post.

 

See that loop of yellow grass going across the middle of the picture. Well... That's when things last week started going south.

 

There I was...walking back to the Woodshop carrying 2 bottles of water.  Strolling along when I felt a tug on my right foot. No big deal, except about a nanosecond later I'm looking down at the rapidly approaching ground.

 

I realize I'm not going to stop the impact, so parachute landing fall training from Undergraduate Pilot Training sprang into my mind. I rolled to my left.  It was somewhat like I'd been trained in that the first thing to hit was my calf, then my thigh, then my hip, shoulder. Unfortunately, I must have forgotten the part about protecting the head as my forehead hit the ground.  I was stunned for a short while, more concerned about my head than anything else.  Took a look in the mirror I have in the shop to look under things.  Slight bleeding from my forehead, but not effusive.  Very sore, but alright.

 

Or so I thought.

 

The next morning I wake up sore (I wonder why) and go take a shower.  I'm soaping up and realize I've got a tennis ball sized bump on my hip.  A little sore and a little bruise colored.  No big deal.

 

Things get worse as the day goes on, finally that afternoon, I surrender and ask Mrs J to take me to the ER. I was the only patient there.   I explain my gymnastic episode to the Doc.  She sends me to the XRay/Cat Scan Tech who does his business.  Says nothing's broken.  Thanks, good news finally.

 

Now I'm still in a pretty high level of pain, so they give me some pain medicine.  Meanwhile, the ER has apparently gotten really busy and I don't see the Doc again for about 4 hours when I send Mrs. J out to see if they haven't left for the day or something.

 

They hadn't, they just got swamped.

 

We finally get released about 10PM, by the time we get home the pain and bruising has gone down from my hip past my thigh and knee and starting into my calf. The next morning there hasn't been a lot of improvement so I call my regular Doc and explain the situation and ask for an appointment.  I get one fairly quickly.  He takes a look and says it's not life threatening, nothing's broken, just painful. He also says I'm showing signs of Sciatica. So he bumps up the pain medicine and schedules me for a return visit this week.  I still have difficulty walking, my hip still hurts, so it's been a heckuva week

 

So...That piece of Texas grass was strong enough to bring a 195 LB 6' Guy to the ground.  But...There is a upside to that piece of grass.   We have 4 acres of lawn around our house.  My workshop is not in them.  Our two riding lawn mowers had broken down for the count a while ago. Mrs J had, unsuccessfully, been doing a bit of research on Lawn Mower repair guys in the area.  All we had found to this point required you to bring your mower to them.   We do not have a trailer to bring them to the repair shop and pushing a lawn mower through a couple of more acres is no longer on my "wanna do" list.  (Which can be and often is overridden by Mrs J's "gonna do" list.) Fortunately, after this whole "Flying Wallenza" episode went by, she found a guy who would make house calls.  He came by the next day, spent a few hours, and voila' we now have two working riding lawn mowers. That would be the upside of this adventure.

 

And that bastige hunk of grass is mulch now.

 

Oh, and the AC in my shop works perfectly now.  So...I'm back to woodworking.

 

Given all the "not so fun" we'd had last week, Mrs J. and I did manage to have a bit of fun Saturday.  We went to a wine tasting at our long time friends, the winemakers, at Texas Hills Vinyard winery in Johnson City.  The husband passed away a couple of years ago and the wife has since sold the winery.  The new owners kept the name and kept her on as an advisor.  She is retiring now and this was her Sawadee.  A tasting of 7 of their best wines going back several years.  They were phenomenal!

 

Given that most of the tasters were connoisseurs of Texas Hills wine and we all knew each other, the story (ok lie) tellings that went on, assisted by the wine. were phenomenal also.  Many of them are going on the upcoming river cruise Mrs J has set up.  It's in November on the Douro River in Portugal.  Looking forward to having a lot of fun with "the gang" again. 

 

One final bit of possible good news,  We had a couple come by a while back and look at our house and property a couple of times.  A few days ago, Mrs J got a call from our realtor who said that the couple had just called him.  He told us that they were in the final stages of signing a contract for the sale of their house, expecting that signed document within a week or so.  Once that was done, he said the couple would start the process of putting together an offer for us.  Mrs J had talked to the couple on their two viewings of the property and said they were very nice and upfront about liking the property.  

 

Still a long way from closing, but closest we've been so far.

 

We shall see what we shall see.

 

Peace out, y'All! 

 

"What a Week, huh?"

 Well, campers, I can't say it's been exactly a fun week. Details to follow.

Update on the BIG project, the move. The guest cabins are all but finished, just some junk that needs to be transferred to the dump. 

"You said that last week. juvat! you slackin?"

Not exactly, Beans, you'll see why shortly. Whatever you do, after reading this don't eat anything you don't want to see again though.

Mrs J has been ruthless in getting rid of things. My office is quite uncluttered now. Hers should be by the time this is live. Kitchen is about 75% ready, just the island needs decluttering. however, we're holding that for a bit, it's where we have meals, read mail, deposit packages and so on. Rabbits don't reproduce as fast as "Stuff" does in that environment.

But...as I said, progress is being made.

One of the projects at the old house was to remove the old lumber from the deck. It had been sitting on the lawn for a couple of weeks. So, I finally got around to it.

 

 

No, not that kind!

I decide to pick up an armload of the lumber and put it in the bed of my truck. Then return and get another armload. I'm on trip 3, reach down to pick some more up.

I feel a very intense sting on the tip of my left ring finger.  It felt like somebody had stuck me with a sewing needle. Hurt like hell, but the wound was extremely small and no blood. 

So my first thought was scorpion. Unlike James Bond films, scorpion stings are not very deadly, so I didn't worry too much and finished loading. As I moved the last piece of wood, I noticed a spider nearby, it wasn't black, but tan, so I didn't think much about it. Silly me!

By the time I got back from the trash bin, my hand was throbbing and the tip of my ring finger was numb . Called an end to the workday (it was about 3:30) and put it on ice. In and out for about an hour, the ice hadn't seemed to help, so I decided to go to the Immediate Care clinic. 

I got there just as they were closing. They sent me to the ER which was busy, so it took a while. When I got in, the nurse looked at my hand, which was now bright red down to the second knuckle. She called the Dr in who said this would fade away over the next few hours and released me.

RIIIGGGHHHTTTT!

Didn't sleep much that evening which didn’t help my mood much, so I called our Family Dr's office and talked his nurse into slipping me in. Including a picture of the hand might have done the trick as I saw him about an hour later.

In the interim, I did a bit of research on the symptoms. Didn't take long when a picture of a relative of my friend I had seen on the woodpile popped on the screen.

Source

Not a black widow, a Brown Recluse. Everything in the article describing the bite and symptoms was spot on.

And one of those symptoms, very concerning, is something called necrosis. All of this I conveyed to the Doc.

He takes a look at it. There is now a black line going through the red (Fiery both in color and pain). I ask about that necrosis thing. He says that is concerning and that draining might be needed. He  calls a friend who's an orthopedic surgeon, explains the situation and mention that he thinks necrosis might be starting. Can we get on his schedule quickly?

There"s a bit more doctor talk, then he turns to me and asks if the next morning will work.

Why yes, yes it will!

 

Wake up the next morning at 0600 for an 0645 prep and 0800 surgery. all goes well and by 0900, I'm woken from my beauty rest and prepped for release.

Dr was smiling when he came to check on me. 

 He also said to keep the wound clean and dry. Ziplock bag and duct tape seems to work.

Yeah, I know. Bandage needs changing. Mrs J is out running errands. This was taken as this post was being written

Well, 5 days into this adventure, how's it going?

I'll let you be the judge.

Looks kinda gross, but it doesn't have as much black on it, so i got that going for me

Follow up visit is a week from Wednesday. We'll see what's what then.

 

Borrowed this for the post title from this Source

Peace out y'all!

P.S. I apologize for any Typos, Capitalization errors, or uncaught misspelled wrong words in this post. Typing with one hand is a bit much, fingers on the left are still numb. Hope (and pray) that feeling comes back soon.

Some weeks are harder than others. For instance...

Well, Campers, it's been another "fun", "exciting", "suspenseful" week at Rancho Juvat.  I hope, by now, y'all can detect a bit of sarcasm in my online "voice".  

Let's just say that it's a VERY good thing that both Mrs J and I are retired military and therefore have a very good version of medical insurance. The numbers at the top of the bill are shocking to say the least, fortunately the "You Pay" section is significantly lower. 

Best 20 years we ever invested.

But, it ain't over til it's over.

Mrs. J's colonoscopy mentioned in last week's post went off without a hitch.  However, during debriefing, the oncologist said there might be some cancer cells still active and he would have to do surgery to remove them as well as any deceased cells in the area.

Well, that's taken a bit of air out from under my wings.

We'll meet with him tomorrow to find out more details.

Just to add to the "Fun", a couple of weeks ago one of the dogs (we have 5, 3 inherited when my Sister passed and 2 we've had for forever) got a little rambunctious and scratched Mrs. J's leg.  One of the drawbacks to Chemo/Radiation Cancer treatment is it severely weakens the immune system.  Today (Sunday) as we were getting ready for Church, she asked for help in replacing a bandage.  Now, she had had a mole removed a month or two ago and unfortunately the stitches broke leaving a hole.  I've been treating that for quite a while and it's starting to look much better.

2 weeks ago

This Morning

In any case, those were not the bandages she wanted replaced.  Nope,  She pulled up the leg of her PJ bottom and there's this huge bright red rash.  

 

So, I did my best with the ointments we had on hand, went to Church (Yeah, Beans, I did a lot of begging the Big Guy for help) then immediately followed that up with a trip to one of the "I don't think I need the hospital or an ER, just need someone to take a look and tell us what to do" facilities in town.  Turns out the NP had been in Little J's Boy Scout troop and I'd been one of the adult leaders.  He was very helpful and the chatting about old times while he was doing his treatment brought my BP down a few points.  

No, Beans, Mrs J didn't start laughing about some of my foibles as a scout leader he had told her until we got in the car and went home.

In any case, he recommended some OTC stuff to treat it for now, made sure that if any of the symptoms he described appeared we were to head to the ER most hastily. He also told us we needed to see our regular doctor as soon as possible.

Went over to our winemaker friends winery last Saturday.  It was a Birthday.  As you are aware, he passed away last July from colon cancer (see a connection? I'm somewhat sensitive to that version of the disease).  His wife managed to find a  buyer for the winery and it closed this last week.  They had their final bottling under their management recently and produced this wine.

Rest in peace, Gary.

Can't think of a better way to be remembered.  They sold out the first day it was released.  I managed to snag two bottles.  We'll see when they get consumed.

But...As I said, it's been a pretty crappy few weeks.  Faith that things will get better, is taking some hits, but I've still got faith in the Big Guy upstairs.  Never give up, Never surrender!

Now, not wanting to become known as Dougie Downer on Sarge's blog, there is a bit of good news in the near  future.  By the time this post actually hits the internet, Little J should be en route from HK to Austin.  Won't arrive until tomorrow PM, but on his way.  

 

Miss B and the Gang are looking forward to Little J's arrival.

He'll be here for a couple of weeks, then He and his family will travel to Jolly Old England for his next assignment.  While Mrs J and I will miss them, but without a doubt being together as a family is the best option for all three of them.  Thank You, Lord!

So, one of the thing's I learned in flying Fighters is it's hard to keep your airspeed & energy level up when you're always turning to keep out of your opponent's gun sight.  This last couple of months feels like that right now.  Think I'm going to go and join Mrs. J in taking a nap.

Peace out y'all. 

Just a quick update

 Well...First thing's first.  On the "How's She doin?" front,  Mrs. J is prepping today for one of the  favorite examinations for everyone on the face of the planet.  For any reader of this blog not under the age of 10, you're well aware that that's known as a colonoscopy.

Source

In case anyone is still unfamiliar with what a colonoscopy is, ask your self, why is the patient lying on his side, while the Doctor is on the other side and at the other end of the patient's body.  Yes, he's sticking something "in THERE"! 

The following is straight out of the source and describes exactly why Mrs J is getting one tomorrow.

"The purpose of a colonoscopy is to provide a visual diagnosis via inspection of the internal lining of the colon wall, which may include identifying issues such as ulceration or precancerous polyps, and to enable the opportunity for biopsy or the removal of suspected colorectal cancer lesions."  Source.

Now, all that having been said, all the testing and such so far are saying that the cancer is very much under control.  This procedure is intended to take a look and make sure that is true.  Nothing like actually looking at the bastiges than relying solely on tests and such.  

Assuming the best outcome, that will enable the Surgery next week.  There's still a lot of hoops to jump, but all the medicos are smiling.  With a little bit of help from the Big Guy and a smile from the surgeon after the procedure, so will I.

Off to happier adventures.  On the Woodworking front, I'm in the process of making a quilt hanger for one of my Sister's quilts.  This was the sole thing I'm taking of hers.  It has always meant a lot for me.

 

That would be my Parent's wedding photo in the center. Grandparents are in there.  Pictures of us as Kids.  Mrs J and I (back when I had hair and could fly), yep all in there.  

It means a lot to me.  "Things" don't interest me.  This isn't a "Thing", it's a family history book.  I want it displayed and visible to all who pass by.  It'll be hung in the hallway immediately outside of my office. 

Much like Sarge, I'm a very big history addict.  This fits my bill.

So,  I'm putting together a hanger for it.

Nothing really fancy, I don't want to distract from it, but I also don't want to dishonor it either.

It was fairly simple, I ripped a 2 x 4 into two 1 1/2" strips, then ripped out a channel on the strip that will be the back.  This is the load bearing strip so is slightly thicker than the front piece.  The channel will be where the quilt is tucked in.  Then the two pieces will be put together with 4 bolts camouflaged as drawer pulls on the front and the end of the bolt on the outside back.  This will enable the quilt to be taken down and cleaned if needed.

Yes, Beans, it'll be needed.  This is Texas and we live in the middle of a field.  Dust is a factor.

(Just ask my sinuses!)

I've got the first coat of stain on it right now (aka Sunday).  We'll see what additional stain/finish will be needed.  I am looking for a walnut like color.

I like this one. The picture is of the inside of the hangar, I wanted to make sure it wouldn't "act up" and surprise me as it dried.  Seems to be OK.  So a bit of sanding on the outside and a stain coat there, then maybe some gloss to seal it and bring a shine.  Or not!

Fortunately, that's about all I've got this week.  Things, with respect to Mrs J's health, seem to be progressing in the right direction.  We should be getting definitive answers soon and, with a little luck, be done with this bit of bumpy road.  I deeply appreciate all y'all's thoughtful comments as well as prayers.  

Y'all are great!

Peace out!