Life's Detours
"GOOFIN' OFF AGAIN?", YOU ASK
So, you're asking yourself, where the heck is The Potstirrer? Is he gone on yet another vacation? Is he just goofin' off? Well, some of you already know the answer to that question, but for the rest of you, and to attempt to chart the future, let me tell about my last week.
"PE"
Back in Junior High School the term "PE" meant physical education - you know, running around, burning off energy and getting all sweaty. As I moved on through life that term came to mean other things - like Project Engineer, or Professional Engineer, for example. Well, I now have a new definition for "PE" - Pulmonary embolism.
COUNCIL MEETING PAIN
Last Tuesday night I was hunkered down at the Costa Mesa City Council meeting taking copious notes, photos and screen grabs, trying to keep up with the proceedings. You may recall from my previous entry, that the agenda was packed and the meeting ended at midnight.
TOO POOPED TO POST
Around 10 p.m. I began to experience sharp pains in my back and was getting shortness of breath, to the point where I had to leave the meeting. I went home and watched the remainder of the meeting on television, but instead of posting an entry of the meeting so it would be waiting for you in the morning I went to bed. The pain made it to difficult to focus.
TOOK ALL DAY AND NIGHT
After a mostly sleepless night I got up and struggled to get that blog entry posted. It took me the entire day - I finally hit the "publish" button at 8:12 p.m. and my sweet and very patient wife was not a happy person. Eventually, because the pain and shortness of breath persisted, I had her drive me to Hoag Hospital at 11:00. I still can't get over having valet park at the hospital!
SEEMED LIKE A WEEK!
I'll give you the shortest version of the next couple days that I can. My ER doctor finally got to me after a few tests had been run and told me she was glad I made it - I could have died - and the tone in her voice implied that I was not out of the woods yet. More tests and pain killers (yea!) later she decided to admit me. She diagnosed the pulmonary embolism and they really needed to keep an eye on it, so they eventually hauled my carcass to a room on the 10th floor, which I would discover a couple hours later had a wonderful white-water view. At 3:00 a.m. my wife headed home knowing I was in good hands.
SLEEPLESS...
There's not much sleeping going on in hospitals - particularly on the 10th floor, which is usually reserved for the sickest among us. Usually you're lucky if you can snatch 20 minutes without interruption. At 7:30 a.m. my internist was standing over me, glowering at me. He told me he had been in touch with the doctors at the hospital and understood more tests would be conducted and that I was in their good hands.... and left.
TESTS, TESTS, AND MORE TESTS
We're now at Thursday morning, with more tests ahead. I've had two CT scans, a couple bouts of Ultrasound tests, and my blood pressure and temperature taken more times than you can imagine. I watched the lifeguard boat patrolling the riptides most of the day off and on.
AND MORE...
They hooked me up with oxygen and gave me blood thinners to keep the clot in my lung from moving and to, hopefully, prevent more from forming. And, we're still not talking about checking out of the hospital yet.
WHAT TIME IS IT?
At 3:00 a.m. (time apparently has no relevance in hospitals) I was wrestled onto a gurney and moved to another room, this time on the 3rd floor, with a lovely view of Newport Harbor. More tests, more drugs, etc.
HEADED HOME FRIDAY AT 4:00
Finally they processed me out and my sweet wife came to fetch me around 4:00 p.m.
IPHONE TO THE RESCUE
Some of you already know much of that part of the story - I had my phone and, while more loopy than usual from the pain meds, I could still attempt to communicate.
DID WATCH THE PARKS & REC. MEETING
I missed the Parks and Recreation Meeting live, but watched it after I got home. This was Julie Mercurio's debut and it was uneventful. The agenda was light and she actually seconded a motion to validate her existence. I noted that Costa Mesa's wannabe Dope Czar, Jimmy Fitzy, was among those who spoke in her defense. One interesting element was during public comments when speaker Alex Reich made it clear with his presentation - including visuals - that he didn't think much of her candidacy. Here's one of them.
ON THE RADIO
I also understand Ms. Mercurio was on Tom Johnson's radio show Sunday morning, but I missed that one, too. If it's available on streaming video I'll find it. I know one thing... she should have had plenty of words saved up for Tom, because she was almost mute during the meeting Thursday.
PLAY IT BY EAR
So, here's the future for me as I know it now. I'm lucky there are not meetings I would normally attend this week, but next week will be a doozy. I'm not sure whether my physical condition will permit me to travel to those venues and, quite honestly, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to write much about them, in any event. A doctor visit tomorrow will give me more clarity.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT?
Life sometimes throws you curveballs - this is one of those times. It certainly will cause me to re-assess what's important in my life, and how much time and energy I'm going to be willing to put in on the blog and all that entails downstream. We'll know more next week.
THANKS FOR THE GOOD WISHES
I want to thank all of you who found out I was ill (my sister blabbed it on my Facebook page) and communicated with me your kind wishes. Thanks very much for that. Now those of you in Mesa Verde know what all that cheering was about going on near the country club last week! Seriously, though, I was at a pretty low ebb and those messages of encouragement meant a lot to me.
PAY ATTENTION AND SPEAK UP!
In the meantime, pay attention to what's going on... attend the meetings, speak your piece. Don't let Righeimer and Mensinger intimidate you into silence - they win if you do.
AS ARNOLD SAID IN "THE TERMINATOR"...
I'll be back soon... I hope.
So, you're asking yourself, where the heck is The Potstirrer? Is he gone on yet another vacation? Is he just goofin' off? Well, some of you already know the answer to that question, but for the rest of you, and to attempt to chart the future, let me tell about my last week.
Back in Junior High School the term "PE" meant physical education - you know, running around, burning off energy and getting all sweaty. As I moved on through life that term came to mean other things - like Project Engineer, or Professional Engineer, for example. Well, I now have a new definition for "PE" - Pulmonary embolism.
Last Tuesday night I was hunkered down at the Costa Mesa City Council meeting taking copious notes, photos and screen grabs, trying to keep up with the proceedings. You may recall from my previous entry, that the agenda was packed and the meeting ended at midnight.
TOO POOPED TO POST
Around 10 p.m. I began to experience sharp pains in my back and was getting shortness of breath, to the point where I had to leave the meeting. I went home and watched the remainder of the meeting on television, but instead of posting an entry of the meeting so it would be waiting for you in the morning I went to bed. The pain made it to difficult to focus.
After a mostly sleepless night I got up and struggled to get that blog entry posted. It took me the entire day - I finally hit the "publish" button at 8:12 p.m. and my sweet and very patient wife was not a happy person. Eventually, because the pain and shortness of breath persisted, I had her drive me to Hoag Hospital at 11:00. I still can't get over having valet park at the hospital!
I'll give you the shortest version of the next couple days that I can. My ER doctor finally got to me after a few tests had been run and told me she was glad I made it - I could have died - and the tone in her voice implied that I was not out of the woods yet. More tests and pain killers (yea!) later she decided to admit me. She diagnosed the pulmonary embolism and they really needed to keep an eye on it, so they eventually hauled my carcass to a room on the 10th floor, which I would discover a couple hours later had a wonderful white-water view. At 3:00 a.m. my wife headed home knowing I was in good hands.
SLEEPLESS...
There's not much sleeping going on in hospitals - particularly on the 10th floor, which is usually reserved for the sickest among us. Usually you're lucky if you can snatch 20 minutes without interruption. At 7:30 a.m. my internist was standing over me, glowering at me. He told me he had been in touch with the doctors at the hospital and understood more tests would be conducted and that I was in their good hands.... and left.
We're now at Thursday morning, with more tests ahead. I've had two CT scans, a couple bouts of Ultrasound tests, and my blood pressure and temperature taken more times than you can imagine. I watched the lifeguard boat patrolling the riptides most of the day off and on.
They hooked me up with oxygen and gave me blood thinners to keep the clot in my lung from moving and to, hopefully, prevent more from forming. And, we're still not talking about checking out of the hospital yet.
WHAT TIME IS IT?
At 3:00 a.m. (time apparently has no relevance in hospitals) I was wrestled onto a gurney and moved to another room, this time on the 3rd floor, with a lovely view of Newport Harbor. More tests, more drugs, etc.
Finally they processed me out and my sweet wife came to fetch me around 4:00 p.m.
IPHONE TO THE RESCUE
Some of you already know much of that part of the story - I had my phone and, while more loopy than usual from the pain meds, I could still attempt to communicate.
DID WATCH THE PARKS & REC. MEETING
I missed the Parks and Recreation Meeting live, but watched it after I got home. This was Julie Mercurio's debut and it was uneventful. The agenda was light and she actually seconded a motion to validate her existence. I noted that Costa Mesa's wannabe Dope Czar, Jimmy Fitzy, was among those who spoke in her defense. One interesting element was during public comments when speaker Alex Reich made it clear with his presentation - including visuals - that he didn't think much of her candidacy. Here's one of them.
I also understand Ms. Mercurio was on Tom Johnson's radio show Sunday morning, but I missed that one, too. If it's available on streaming video I'll find it. I know one thing... she should have had plenty of words saved up for Tom, because she was almost mute during the meeting Thursday.
PLAY IT BY EAR
So, here's the future for me as I know it now. I'm lucky there are not meetings I would normally attend this week, but next week will be a doozy. I'm not sure whether my physical condition will permit me to travel to those venues and, quite honestly, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to write much about them, in any event. A doctor visit tomorrow will give me more clarity.
Life sometimes throws you curveballs - this is one of those times. It certainly will cause me to re-assess what's important in my life, and how much time and energy I'm going to be willing to put in on the blog and all that entails downstream. We'll know more next week.
THANKS FOR THE GOOD WISHES
I want to thank all of you who found out I was ill (my sister blabbed it on my Facebook page) and communicated with me your kind wishes. Thanks very much for that. Now those of you in Mesa Verde know what all that cheering was about going on near the country club last week! Seriously, though, I was at a pretty low ebb and those messages of encouragement meant a lot to me.
In the meantime, pay attention to what's going on... attend the meetings, speak your piece. Don't let Righeimer and Mensinger intimidate you into silence - they win if you do.
I'll be back soon... I hope.
Labels: Hoag Hospital, Jim Fitzpatrick, Jim Righeimer, July Mercurio, pulmonary embolizm, Steve Mensinger
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 6/27/2016 03:09:00 PM
19 Comments:
Geoff, you know will be back. Its in your blood, what's left of it. At any rate, perhaps a modified schedule wouldn't hurt? There are just some things that don't need as much coverage. You get well, my friend. Both my wife and I are pulling for you.
What a scary time for you. all the sitting not good for anyone. Missed you and will keep in touch. Guess u will have to join me online watching the meetings!
I didn't know but had a bad feeling due to the lack of posts.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, GEOFF!!!
No way does the workload you carry on this blog along with the stress involved trying to save this city not affect your physical being. Take it easy. TAKE IT EASY!
Hope all goes well for you Geoff. Nothing in the next couple of weeks is worth the risk. It will all still be here for you to report on in the future!
So relieved you made it! Please, please take care of yourself. Take it easy. The bad guys aren't worth your taking unnecessary risks with your health.
Best wishes for your well-being!
Get some rest, but don't sit too much - you don't want more clots. Follow the doctor's orders. We want you in good shape as the election gets closer.
Glad you survived! This sounds like it was very serious. I appreciate all you do to help move things in a positive, rational direction!
Your absence makes the heart fonder. Imagining the vacuum of CM news, opinion, and back-and-forth we'd face if you weren't regularly cranking it out -- i.e., no ol' cracker barrel -- makes me hope you'll find a way to stay healthy and still report at least the big stuff.
And considering how dedicated you were to write and publish the Council meeting whilst suffering the pain of an embolism, I think the least we can do is double your salary ... again.
Best wishes!
Thank, all. We just keep moving forward. And, Tom, please spell the name right on that pay increase check!😃👍
Sadly, Martin is not dealing with his plunge into irrelevance very well. Could be a sign of onset of dementia.
I guess it takes more than a little old blood clot to slow you down! That was a close one, though, so I join your large group of friends and neighbors who are relieved that, thanks to excellent care from the staff at Hoag Hospital, you are on the road to recovery. Thank you for sharing your medical trauma experience with us since we were all concerned. Please take very good care of yourself and rest up. There will be enough trauma and drama in the community as we approach the election and we need your voice of reason to help sort out the upcoming mess. Thank you for keeping us on our toes, but feel free to put your feet up as you need.
@Geoff:
Marty's gonna have lots of explaining to do when he meets Black Jesus...
Go slow - life is precious, enjoy it and relax. Your health is paramount.
Get well Jeff...and by the way where do you get your great clip art....c'mon you can tell me...seriously get well fast CM needs you....
Hope you are feeling better Geoff..
Ken,
Feeling better, but far from 100%. Will keep a low profile for awhile. Thanks.
So, so glad you're on the mend. Wow. You never know what life will serve up. Thanks for all you do, it's a great service to Costa Mesa.
Take Care, Geoff!! Sending you best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Hope you are feeling better.
Geoff, I'm so glad you are feeling better now.
Many of us were very worried about you.
Take good care of yourself and follow the doctor's
orders.
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