Cancer/writing Journal #101

 I had an appointment with a physician's assistant yesterday and learned that when I had a CT Scan of the calcium in my blood vessels which measured zero, what that in fact meant was that there is no plaque in there.  So statins, not gonna get me!  I may have mentioned before that a test of my cholesterol was done which found that it comes in unusually large chunks which is what you want.  Little chunks find a place to get stuck in and the accumulation of those blocks the arteries.  I also had an EKG this last week (I think that was what it was.  I get my medical initials mixed up) but no results back--although I did have a pleasantly frank conversation with the technician doing the thing about how awful it is to raise adolescents but that it gets better.  The test will tell if there is something funny with my heart which accounts for a slightly irregular heart beat.  It goes "bump, bump, bump, bump, bip, bump...."  I am told that it is PAC or "premature atrial contraction" and is probably harmless but maybe not.  I fear my interest in my own health is getting boring.  Don't want that.

The upcoming issue of the Economist magazine which I read is apparently about how living to be 120 is going to be routine.  Don't know that I want that but also don't want to develop habits that would prevent that from happening.  The actuarialists with both the Social Security Administration and my state pension fund would have me dying just about now, something I show no signs of doing.  I feel mildly guilty about messing up their funds.  Christopher Buckley, the humorous novelist, has written a book about a world where that problem is taken care of.  At a certain age, you take a 'Your Time is Up' pill at which point you do the big sleep.  Unlikely that that will be the solution but there is a certain logic to it.   OK.  Enough.

Comments

  1. Jan COctober 2, 2023 at 12:48 PM

    Yay on no plaque! Hoping for a good outcome on the EKG, if indeed that is what it was.

    Adolescents AND toddlers! There IS life afterwards, thankfully.

    Yeah, I don't think I want to live to 120. Jimmy Carter just turned 99! Wasn't there a Kurt Vonnegot plot like that too? When your number/age comes up, in you go and you don't come out.

    Let's savor each day of whatever time we have left, eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. charlieschaeferOctober 2, 2023 at 5:37 PM

      Great to be beyond adolescent. More toddler, despite its demands would be OK. It is funny, the ambivalent feeling about going on living. No ambivalence on staying alive after major decline though. I have never heard anyone say, " I just want to keep on going for years confined to my bed, my thinking and bodily functions all compromised." But yes, savor the day.

      Delete

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