A Long Day of Tests

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

What a day!  I survived not eating anything last night, not drinking anything but water.  The hard part was waking up and not having coffee.  I've done this now twice in the last month.  A bit of a drag but you really appreciate your routine after it is all over.

I arrived at the hospital at 7:30 in the morning.   I walked into the lobby, registered and went down into the dungeon of the building.  No one around and I was afraid I would walk into the morgue.   Then the radiologist appeared with a robe and asked for my name.  He took me to x-ray and began taking my vital signs, personal data and then stood me up against the wall for the battery.   He took three shots of my chest cavity and sent me down the hall where then nurse was waiting with her syringe.   She squeezed out a bit of red stuff and asked if I could give more.  I told her I'm very stingy with my body fluids.  Off I went with small dot bandage for the nearest cafeteria.  I had two hours to waste so I went for a long walk and stopped at a 7 Eleven.  That's right, the best coffee in town.   This particular store is setup like a small cafe with tables and chairs.  Lots of doctors and nurses coming in and out buying their morning coffee.   I had a coffee and a banana muffin and read the paper for awhile.   I headed back to the hospital for the wait.

I sat in the lobby for an hour watching the local news and then headed up the elevator.   They were there waiting to greet me.   Very nice place with a VIP room complete with a comfortable lounge, coffee, juices and television.   After about 30 minutes a doctor came and asked to follow her.  She took me to her office where she asked me about 3 guzillion questions, family history, mental state, shoe size, etc.   She looked in my ears, eyes, nose and throat.   Then she took me for an EKG and signing of a waiver that said I wouldn't hold them liable if I had a heart attack on the treadmill. 

Back to their waiting room.  I could see lots of unhealthy people.  The eating craze has crossed the border and the pant and dress sizes have more than doubled.  Yikes!  Then my doctor called me to his office.  His first words were, "you're stronger and younger looking and I've got more of a stomach".   I know, I pay him to say those things.  We chatted for a while and he told me about his life, having a new little one and his wife who is also a doctor being diagnosed with breast cancer.  Too much for me at that time of the morning.

He said, "lets do it" and we went for the treadmill.   Off came the shirt, on went the little suction cups and the monitor.  He has a complex system of computers and gizmos and I hope they do something.  13 minutes I walked, jogged and ran. 

Bottom line, my heart muscle is in good shape and he says for an old fart my age I'm way ahead of the pack.  Keep exercising.  My blood pressure hasn't improved except for the use of the medication he prescribed me.  He says to get used to it, learn to live with hypertension as it is hereditary.  I am doing all the right things so I am good to go.  Liver is good, sugar is good, cholesterol is good.   Final results come on Saturday.

Looks like I will be blogging for another year.