Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Sunday, March 5, 2023
Tomorrow's the day!
This could've taken place in January 2017...except the need to replace the transmission on the car I had at the time (a 2006 Ford Taurus SEL that I bought in June 2007) came first.
Instead, it's going to happen tomorrow at 9:15 AM at the Miracle Hills Surgery Center (11819 Miracle Hills Dr., Suite 201, Omaha, NE 68154).
The mission: To remove the cataract from my left eye.
Quite a few things during the intervening six years and two months delayed the surgery...from the need to continue building a retirement fund to 2020's successful enrollment in Medicare to my having to buy a replacement car in April 2021 to retiring from my factory job in October 2022.
But now, I'm ready for Dr. Matthew Brumm to come after that cataract.
A followup will ensue this coming Tuesday at 8:30 AM at Brumm Eye Center's north office (6751 N. 72nd St., Building 2, Suite 105, Omaha, NE 68122).
After all this...who knows?
All I want is to see better...so that I can, among other things, drive at night again.
Now...it's your turn. Have you faced cataract surgery (or surgeries) in the past? What was it like? How'd you fare?
Thanks for reading "Boston's Blog!"
Sunday, May 31, 2020
It sure didn't have to be this way
On Wednesday, 5-24-2020, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States became the first country to suffer 100,000 deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
That's just about like wiping a Billings, MT off the map...or a Davenport, IA...or a Sparks, NV.
Think about that.
And it sure didn't have to be this way.
I read an online article at theintercept.com that stated America's first confirmed case of COVID-19 was made public on 1-20-2020. That same article said that Vietnam saw its first case of the disease three days later.
Vietnam still has yet, as of 5-24-2020, to record its first COVID death.
Yes, yes, yes...Vietnam doesn't have as many people in it as the US; the 2020 edition of "The World Almanac" states that Vietnam has 97.9 million people in it compared to America's 327.2 million people (a 2018 estimate).
Now take a look at the world's most heavily-populated country, China.
Not counting Hong Kong or Macao, China's population is 1.39 billion people. Billion.
If you go right now to worldometers.info, you'll find that the latest figures show that 4,634 Chinese have died from COVID.
Nope. That's not a typo.
As far as I'm concerned, it all comes down to the White House's totally inadequate and completely halfhearted response to the coronavirus pandemic.
And yes...it's an utterly racist response.
Maybe you've heard that deaths from the disease have been disproportionately Black and Brown...the two biggest ethnic groups America's Republicans love to defecate on.
If you're thinking about cutting out on this post, just understand that the same article from theintercept.com yielded a quote from HHS Secretary Alex Azar: "Unfortunately, the American population is...very diverse."
That's Azar trying to justify the world's highest COVID casualty total.
Remember: Azar is part of the first White Supremacist administration in Washington since Woodrow Wilson slept at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Republicans- especially those in the White House- made this whole coronavirus pandemic political. They, not I.
To them, it's all about winning on 11-3-2020. The Con Artist in Chief knows that the fewer people out there casting ballots this year, the better his chances of staying in the Oval Office.
And to The Adolf...oops, I mean The Donald, the pandemic is just another weapon in the GOP arsenal. Just like the call to keep the country's meatpacking facilities running, labeling meat as a vital item.
A significant percentage of immigrants and non-White people works at those plants.
And too many of the employees at those plants have complained about the lack of coronavirus (or any other kind of) protection at too many of those facilities.
Listen, if protein's the issue, cookinglight.com lists 21 other sources of protein.
For instance, you can get protein from peanuts, yogurt, cottage cheese, kidney beans, peanut butter, veggie burgers, lima beans, and all kinds of cheeses from Swiss to mozzarella to Colby Jack.
Okay...is social distancing the issue?
I get that millions of us are chafing to Get Back to Normal...even if it's not going to be all that simple. Millions are chafing to hear the nation's cash registers "KA-CHING!" at the same rate as when 2020 began and we were looking forward to a whole new decade.
Coming back to the article from theintercept.com, epidemiologists Britta L. Jewell and Nicholas P. Jewell said that about 90% of America's COVID-19 deaths could've been prevented if social-distancing policies had been put into effect on 3-2-2020.
At that time, only 11 Americans had died from the biggest global pandemic since the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918-20.
In response to COVID, social spacing finally got placed into effect on 3-15-2020.
Think where we'd be right now if the United States had REAL leadership at the top...instead of the con job that commenced on 1-20-2017.
For now, let's think about saving lives first.
Then we can worry about saving the economy.
That's just about like wiping a Billings, MT off the map...or a Davenport, IA...or a Sparks, NV.
Think about that.
And it sure didn't have to be this way.
I read an online article at theintercept.com that stated America's first confirmed case of COVID-19 was made public on 1-20-2020. That same article said that Vietnam saw its first case of the disease three days later.
Vietnam still has yet, as of 5-24-2020, to record its first COVID death.
Yes, yes, yes...Vietnam doesn't have as many people in it as the US; the 2020 edition of "The World Almanac" states that Vietnam has 97.9 million people in it compared to America's 327.2 million people (a 2018 estimate).
Now take a look at the world's most heavily-populated country, China.
Not counting Hong Kong or Macao, China's population is 1.39 billion people. Billion.
If you go right now to worldometers.info, you'll find that the latest figures show that 4,634 Chinese have died from COVID.
Nope. That's not a typo.
As far as I'm concerned, it all comes down to the White House's totally inadequate and completely halfhearted response to the coronavirus pandemic.
And yes...it's an utterly racist response.
Maybe you've heard that deaths from the disease have been disproportionately Black and Brown...the two biggest ethnic groups America's Republicans love to defecate on.
If you're thinking about cutting out on this post, just understand that the same article from theintercept.com yielded a quote from HHS Secretary Alex Azar: "Unfortunately, the American population is...very diverse."
That's Azar trying to justify the world's highest COVID casualty total.
Remember: Azar is part of the first White Supremacist administration in Washington since Woodrow Wilson slept at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Republicans- especially those in the White House- made this whole coronavirus pandemic political. They, not I.
To them, it's all about winning on 11-3-2020. The Con Artist in Chief knows that the fewer people out there casting ballots this year, the better his chances of staying in the Oval Office.
And to The Adolf...oops, I mean The Donald, the pandemic is just another weapon in the GOP arsenal. Just like the call to keep the country's meatpacking facilities running, labeling meat as a vital item.
A significant percentage of immigrants and non-White people works at those plants.
And too many of the employees at those plants have complained about the lack of coronavirus (or any other kind of) protection at too many of those facilities.
Listen, if protein's the issue, cookinglight.com lists 21 other sources of protein.
Okay...is social distancing the issue?
I get that millions of us are chafing to Get Back to Normal...even if it's not going to be all that simple. Millions are chafing to hear the nation's cash registers "KA-CHING!" at the same rate as when 2020 began and we were looking forward to a whole new decade.
Coming back to the article from theintercept.com, epidemiologists Britta L. Jewell and Nicholas P. Jewell said that about 90% of America's COVID-19 deaths could've been prevented if social-distancing policies had been put into effect on 3-2-2020.
At that time, only 11 Americans had died from the biggest global pandemic since the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918-20.
In response to COVID, social spacing finally got placed into effect on 3-15-2020.
Think where we'd be right now if the United States had REAL leadership at the top...instead of the con job that commenced on 1-20-2017.
For now, let's think about saving lives first.
Then we can worry about saving the economy.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Well, it didn't hurt as badly as I thought
The results from the 3-22-2018 biopsy are in.
Before I tell you just what happened (what the biopsy revealed, that is) on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act becoming law, here's a confession:
The whole procedure took only 45 minutes, and...it wasn't as painful as I'd first imagined the biopsy would be.
A little after 8:30 AM, Cynthia (the nurse on duty at Omaha's Urology Center) had me fill out another form, then instructed me to strip down (I could keep my T-shirt on if I wanted to...and it stayed on my back), then gave me a surgical gown to put on.
She then had me lie down on my left side on the gurney...to inject an anesthetic into my hind end. (I didn't even want to see the needle. After all, it and the syringe housing the needle added up to the length of my arm.)
That turned out to be the worst part of the procedure.
Next, Dr. Michael Kroeger came into the procedure room to team up with Cynthia.
They joined forces to put a probe into my rectum in order to take twelve pictures of my prostate, all to find out if there was any trace of cancer in it. (I got through that phase of the procedure by counting to twelve with each click of the probe.)
And by a little after 9:15 AM, I was out of there...and ready to spend the rest of the day at home.
No strenuous exercising or heavy lifting for another 24 hours (and that meant a trip to the supermarket was out)...I finished taking the antibiotic Michael prescribed (one tablet before the biopsy and the other three afterwards)...and I got plenty of opportunities to watch some NCAA Division 1 men's basketball tournament games.
Finally got the word this past Tuesday (and, knowing my luck, it came while I was still at my factory job).
The results of the biopsy showed...no trace of prostate cancer at all.
Next time I meet up with the Urology Center staff will be Monday, 10-1-2018, at 8:45 AM, for a blood test.
All I can say is: We'll see what happens next, now that the biopsy is...behind me.
Before I tell you just what happened (what the biopsy revealed, that is) on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act becoming law, here's a confession:
The whole procedure took only 45 minutes, and...it wasn't as painful as I'd first imagined the biopsy would be.
A little after 8:30 AM, Cynthia (the nurse on duty at Omaha's Urology Center) had me fill out another form, then instructed me to strip down (I could keep my T-shirt on if I wanted to...and it stayed on my back), then gave me a surgical gown to put on.
She then had me lie down on my left side on the gurney...to inject an anesthetic into my hind end. (I didn't even want to see the needle. After all, it and the syringe housing the needle added up to the length of my arm.)
That turned out to be the worst part of the procedure.
Next, Dr. Michael Kroeger came into the procedure room to team up with Cynthia.
They joined forces to put a probe into my rectum in order to take twelve pictures of my prostate, all to find out if there was any trace of cancer in it. (I got through that phase of the procedure by counting to twelve with each click of the probe.)
And by a little after 9:15 AM, I was out of there...and ready to spend the rest of the day at home.
No strenuous exercising or heavy lifting for another 24 hours (and that meant a trip to the supermarket was out)...I finished taking the antibiotic Michael prescribed (one tablet before the biopsy and the other three afterwards)...and I got plenty of opportunities to watch some NCAA Division 1 men's basketball tournament games.
Finally got the word this past Tuesday (and, knowing my luck, it came while I was still at my factory job).
The results of the biopsy showed...no trace of prostate cancer at all.
Next time I meet up with the Urology Center staff will be Monday, 10-1-2018, at 8:45 AM, for a blood test.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Forty long days...and forty long nights
It all started on the morning of 2-10-2018.
I woke up that Saturday with a dull pain in my left shoulder.
Taking a page from legendary middle-distance runner Glenn Cunningham (whose mom and dad massaged his legs when he was a little boy who'd survived a schoolhouse fire), I thought that massaging my left shoulder would help out. If not that, then letting the shower water hit that shoulder would take the pain away.
No dice.
So I started taking ibuprofen. (It helped a little...but not nearly enough.)
The following Monday, I called my doctor and made an appointment...and it was going to double as a checkup.
And so, on 2-22-2018, I was on the receiving end of a checkup for the first time in...70 months.
Yeah, I know. It was MY fault I stayed away.
In April 2012, my previous checkup showed that I needed to improve my cholesterol score- or else I'd have to get put on a prescription medicine to lower that cholesterol. So...I traded my beloved snack cakes for cereal bars, and I started eating less beef and less pork while going for more chicken and more turkey.
Well, the February 2018 results demonstrated that my cholesterol was where it needed to be.
The bad news was my 10.4 PSA. (A 4.9 PSA is considered healthy.)
Next thing I knew, I was given an appointment to Omaha's Urology Center (111 S. 90th St., 68114).
I reported there on 3-5-2018...and ended up finding out, through the center's own lab tests, that the doctors and nurses had me at 1-in-3 to 1-in-2 odds of developing prostate cancer.
Result: Tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I've got to undergo a biopsy.
The biopsy will take place at the Urology Center's surgery facility (105 S. 90th St., 68114). Once that procedure's finished, I'll know in five to seven days whether I've got the Big C.
At least prostate cancer's treatable.
Meanwhile, my left shoulder had been getting better, thanks to Diclofenac sodium tablets (two 75-MG pills a day...and they've got to be taken with food).
I had to stop taking Diclofenac on 3-13-2018...in order to get ready for tomorrow's biopsy. (And I can't wait to get back on the pills again, 'cause my left shoulder's feeling the pain again!)
Here's hoping everything goes fine tomorrow. (Don't worry...I'll fight to get a checkup every year from now on.)
And here's hoping all the very best for you, too.
I woke up that Saturday with a dull pain in my left shoulder.
Taking a page from legendary middle-distance runner Glenn Cunningham (whose mom and dad massaged his legs when he was a little boy who'd survived a schoolhouse fire), I thought that massaging my left shoulder would help out. If not that, then letting the shower water hit that shoulder would take the pain away.
No dice.
So I started taking ibuprofen. (It helped a little...but not nearly enough.)
The following Monday, I called my doctor and made an appointment...and it was going to double as a checkup.
And so, on 2-22-2018, I was on the receiving end of a checkup for the first time in...70 months.
Yeah, I know. It was MY fault I stayed away.
In April 2012, my previous checkup showed that I needed to improve my cholesterol score- or else I'd have to get put on a prescription medicine to lower that cholesterol. So...I traded my beloved snack cakes for cereal bars, and I started eating less beef and less pork while going for more chicken and more turkey.
Well, the February 2018 results demonstrated that my cholesterol was where it needed to be.
The bad news was my 10.4 PSA. (A 4.9 PSA is considered healthy.)
Next thing I knew, I was given an appointment to Omaha's Urology Center (111 S. 90th St., 68114).
I reported there on 3-5-2018...and ended up finding out, through the center's own lab tests, that the doctors and nurses had me at 1-in-3 to 1-in-2 odds of developing prostate cancer.
Result: Tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I've got to undergo a biopsy.
The biopsy will take place at the Urology Center's surgery facility (105 S. 90th St., 68114). Once that procedure's finished, I'll know in five to seven days whether I've got the Big C.
At least prostate cancer's treatable.
Meanwhile, my left shoulder had been getting better, thanks to Diclofenac sodium tablets (two 75-MG pills a day...and they've got to be taken with food).
I had to stop taking Diclofenac on 3-13-2018...in order to get ready for tomorrow's biopsy. (And I can't wait to get back on the pills again, 'cause my left shoulder's feeling the pain again!)
Here's hoping everything goes fine tomorrow. (Don't worry...I'll fight to get a checkup every year from now on.)
And here's hoping all the very best for you, too.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Well, It Happened
The eye operation I was scheduled to undergo, that is.
It wasn't the cataract surgery I'd written about earlier. (Last month, I was told by the ophthalmologist scheduled to do what turned out to be yesterday's surgery that putting me through cataract surgery at this present time might mean losing my eyesight.)
Yesterday's operation had to do with repairing the retina in my left eye.
A couple of months ago, when I made my first visit to Midwest Eye Care in eleven years, I was told that a retinal rip had been found in that left eye (as well as the cataract in said peeper).
So yesterday, at 9:30 AM (Central time), Dr. David Ingvoldstad (the O.D. I met last month) and one of the clinic's nurses, Sarah Plagman (Sarah, I hope I got your last name right!), went to work on that offending eyeball of mine.
First of all, I received six drops of dilating fluid (Sarah was hoping that just three would turn the trick); then, when the left eye proved it was lubricated enough, a numbing fluid was added.
Then David put a new lens into my left eye. And after that (with Sarah holding my head so that my chin would stay on the bar), he administered four laser blasts to that left eye.
The whole thing was completed by 10:00 AM.
And something I'd agonized about for almost two weeks turned out to be fine.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they didn't have to stick a patch over the affected eye once the operation ended. (The patch would've gone on if a local anesthetic had been applied around that left eye.) What's more, I was told that I could immediately go back to my pre-surgery activities...like reading, watching TV, computer work, etc., etc.
After yesterday's argon retina laser operation, my left eye feels a bit better...for now.
The final verdict is yet to come, for it usually takes a month or so before argon patients can tell the difference in their eyesight. (I'm still worried about the halo effect in my left eye.)
Well, for me, the next test comes on 1-18-2016, when I come back to the Midwest Eye Care office at 4353 Dodge St. here in Omaha.
Here's hoping yesterday's operation turns out to be a complete success.
Monday, October 19, 2015
I Don't Want to Wait Another Eleven Years
On 10-13-2015, I went to Midwest Eye Care at 4353 Dodge St. here in Omaha to do something I hadn't taken care of in eleven years: Undergo an eye exam.
I was hoping to replace the eyeglasses I bought there the last time I visited the facility- the first set of bifocals I've ever owned.
Instead, the staff told me it was time to get cataract surgery. (Dr. Scott Greder and his staff found a single cataract in my left eye...the only thing wrong with either of my peepers. Outside of my needing glasses to begin with, that is.)
Felt stunned to find this out.
Ever since then, I've experienced all kinds of emotions; almost everything from grief to anguish to relief. (After all, when you have to close your left eye to get clarity when you're driving at night, you've got to do something to correct the situation. And when you experience a halo effect when you're trying to see, you need to do something to fight the situation.)
After I got home from a trying shift of work, I got home and went to the very computer on which I'm typing this post. I started doing some research on cataract surgery...and when I reached www.mayoclinic.org and read up on what the Mayo staff had to say about the procedure, well...let's face it.
Tears came to my eyes.
Okay, I've probably now lost the support of any rap music fans by admitting tears ever came to my eyes about anything. (You know what some rappers and some of their fans have to say about men who've shed tears. With that in mind, how would they feel about Jesus in John 11:35?)
The day after the Midwest Eye Care appointment, I started asking around about what it's like to go through cataract surgery.
One of my coworkers at a local plastics factory went through this last year; after both his eyes got the treatment, he's seeing much better than before.
My ten-going-on-eleven-year-old nephew has already undergone the surgery twice...when he was three, then again five years later.
Found out the procedure is commonplace, and it takes anywhere from five to twenty minutes (at the fewest) thanks to laser technology. And you get to come home the same day of the surgery.
In all, according to the Mayo Clinic Website, it takes eight weeks to fully recover from the operation.
I was able to get the eye exam in the first place due to receiving a bonus from the company I work for. Even with health insurance through the company, I've still got to be ready to pay a deductible. Right now, I'm all set financially to fork over the deductible dough.
I'm scheduled to go on a consultation at MEC at 2:00 PM on 11-24-2015; afterwards, I'll be able to find out when my own operation will take place. (I'd rather get in on laser technology than the old procedure- the one with tiny knives. Laser surgery is more accurate than the old system.)
So in the meantime, I'm working to take comfort in the chance to see better than before (and get in on experiencing more vivid colors and sharper images).
Who knows? Maybe, fifty years after putting on my first pair of glasses, I might not need them anymore.
Here's what I do know:
I don't want to wait another eleven years to get these eyes checked out.
I was hoping to replace the eyeglasses I bought there the last time I visited the facility- the first set of bifocals I've ever owned.
Instead, the staff told me it was time to get cataract surgery. (Dr. Scott Greder and his staff found a single cataract in my left eye...the only thing wrong with either of my peepers. Outside of my needing glasses to begin with, that is.)
Felt stunned to find this out.
Ever since then, I've experienced all kinds of emotions; almost everything from grief to anguish to relief. (After all, when you have to close your left eye to get clarity when you're driving at night, you've got to do something to correct the situation. And when you experience a halo effect when you're trying to see, you need to do something to fight the situation.)
After I got home from a trying shift of work, I got home and went to the very computer on which I'm typing this post. I started doing some research on cataract surgery...and when I reached www.mayoclinic.org and read up on what the Mayo staff had to say about the procedure, well...let's face it.
Tears came to my eyes.
Okay, I've probably now lost the support of any rap music fans by admitting tears ever came to my eyes about anything. (You know what some rappers and some of their fans have to say about men who've shed tears. With that in mind, how would they feel about Jesus in John 11:35?)
The day after the Midwest Eye Care appointment, I started asking around about what it's like to go through cataract surgery.
One of my coworkers at a local plastics factory went through this last year; after both his eyes got the treatment, he's seeing much better than before.
My ten-going-on-eleven-year-old nephew has already undergone the surgery twice...when he was three, then again five years later.
Found out the procedure is commonplace, and it takes anywhere from five to twenty minutes (at the fewest) thanks to laser technology. And you get to come home the same day of the surgery.
In all, according to the Mayo Clinic Website, it takes eight weeks to fully recover from the operation.
I was able to get the eye exam in the first place due to receiving a bonus from the company I work for. Even with health insurance through the company, I've still got to be ready to pay a deductible. Right now, I'm all set financially to fork over the deductible dough.
I'm scheduled to go on a consultation at MEC at 2:00 PM on 11-24-2015; afterwards, I'll be able to find out when my own operation will take place. (I'd rather get in on laser technology than the old procedure- the one with tiny knives. Laser surgery is more accurate than the old system.)
So in the meantime, I'm working to take comfort in the chance to see better than before (and get in on experiencing more vivid colors and sharper images).
Who knows? Maybe, fifty years after putting on my first pair of glasses, I might not need them anymore.
Here's what I do know:
I don't want to wait another eleven years to get these eyes checked out.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
I've Got to Do It
On 5-15-2012, I went for a medical checkup for the first time in seven years. (Yes, I was long overdue.)
Turned out that my scorecard was one for three.
I found out that my blood pressure's normal (118/88)...but my cholesterol figures are at issue.
When my cholesterol numbers ought to be 200 and 100, the lab tests showed 220 and 151, respectively.
And yes, I was floored. I was stunned.
I asked the receptionist who'd called me with the information about my lab tests: "What can I do to bring my cholesterol down?"
She told me that a daily 30-minute walk would do that. So would cutting out red meats, cakes, and...my beloved Little Debbie snacks.
If you've ever had a chance to see the recently-released documentary "The Entertainers," you heard me talking about putting into my lunch box foods that can be eaten quickly...and Little Debbie snack cakes are some of those foods that can be eaten quickly.
Well now, I'm replacing regular beef, corned beef, and pastrami with chicken, fish, and turkey...and, in the meantime, I'm trading those LD Oatmeal Creme Pies and other LD delights for granola bars and cereal bars.
And I'm thankful that McKee Foods markets cereal bars (in addition to all those Little Debbie products)...because I hate the thought of throwing the Collegedale, TN firm under the bus.
At first, I thought I was going to force myself to starve, I felt that devastated at first. (Besides, I'm a big, big fan of burgers!! But being able to emphasize chicken, fish, and turkey will take the sting out of getting off beef.)
Taking the everyday walks will be the hardest part.
Nevertheless, I've gone on two such walks since getting the call from Dr. Steven Weyhrich's office. (One was here in Omaha to make a car-repair payment...and the other was in Peoria last weekend, when one of this year's OTPP contestants, a first-timer named Diana Stein, walked with me to the riverfront.)
You can bet I'm going to fight to bring these numbers down...even if I have to walk around my kitchen for a half hour each day. (The 220-151 figure didn't happen overnight...and it's going to take a while- and determination- to reduce the figure to 200-100.)
Speaking of numbers...when I come back, I'm going to talk about something I've been able to take in for the first time since 2009: The Peoria experience.
Turned out that my scorecard was one for three.
I found out that my blood pressure's normal (118/88)...but my cholesterol figures are at issue.
When my cholesterol numbers ought to be 200 and 100, the lab tests showed 220 and 151, respectively.
And yes, I was floored. I was stunned.
I asked the receptionist who'd called me with the information about my lab tests: "What can I do to bring my cholesterol down?"
She told me that a daily 30-minute walk would do that. So would cutting out red meats, cakes, and...my beloved Little Debbie snacks.
If you've ever had a chance to see the recently-released documentary "The Entertainers," you heard me talking about putting into my lunch box foods that can be eaten quickly...and Little Debbie snack cakes are some of those foods that can be eaten quickly.
Well now, I'm replacing regular beef, corned beef, and pastrami with chicken, fish, and turkey...and, in the meantime, I'm trading those LD Oatmeal Creme Pies and other LD delights for granola bars and cereal bars.
And I'm thankful that McKee Foods markets cereal bars (in addition to all those Little Debbie products)...because I hate the thought of throwing the Collegedale, TN firm under the bus.
At first, I thought I was going to force myself to starve, I felt that devastated at first. (Besides, I'm a big, big fan of burgers!! But being able to emphasize chicken, fish, and turkey will take the sting out of getting off beef.)
Taking the everyday walks will be the hardest part.
Nevertheless, I've gone on two such walks since getting the call from Dr. Steven Weyhrich's office. (One was here in Omaha to make a car-repair payment...and the other was in Peoria last weekend, when one of this year's OTPP contestants, a first-timer named Diana Stein, walked with me to the riverfront.)
You can bet I'm going to fight to bring these numbers down...even if I have to walk around my kitchen for a half hour each day. (The 220-151 figure didn't happen overnight...and it's going to take a while- and determination- to reduce the figure to 200-100.)
Speaking of numbers...when I come back, I'm going to talk about something I've been able to take in for the first time since 2009: The Peoria experience.
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