Surprise Visit!

We had a couple of surprise visits from our niece Robin a few days ago! She lives in Alberta and was out here in BC to visit her uncle on her dad's side (me) and her aunt on her mother's side in Comox. It was great to see her as Robin and I have always had a close relationship.

We spent a few hours catching up on our lives and family and on Thursday night the whole group met down the beach at the Driftwood Cafe for dinner. It was a beautiful evening and a fun time was had!

Cardioversion!

Today Was The Day!

Cardioversion - done
A Fib - gone
Heartbeat - normal

The process started at 7:30 AM and took only a few minutes. I am home and feeling great. I can't drive for 24 hours as I am legally impaired but other than that, I am done! 

I had a really good nurse who stayed with me right through the procedure. He answered all my questions. Does this always work? He said stats say no but he personally has never been involved in one that failed. He said Doctor Dhansay is very good. The nurse stuck the electrodes on early as perfect contact is important. He wrote himself a reminder to remove them while I was still "out" as it hurts to remove them. He said I might have two burns (front and back) from the electrodes but there were none so the contact must have been good.

He told me if the first shock does not work they will probably give me one more at a higher voltage. Some doctors will keep going for several shocks but my doctor normally stops after two. They only had to give me one before my heart fell into "normal" rhythm. That was it. The nurse told me that when they shocked me I bounced on the bed and my heart fell into normal rhythm but I was not breathing which is not optimal. The anesthesiologist tipped my head back to open my airway and I quickly started breathing on my own. Everyone except me knew what they were doing! Thankfully!

 I had to lay there with the monitors attached for one hour and then for one more hour under observation. Another cardio technician gave me an ECG and then they let me go. The specialist wants to see me in about two weeks.

He gave me a coffee soon after I woke up and refilled it when I asked. In hindsight I thought that a little strange but maybe they wanted the stimulation.

Anyway, I feel great!

Changed Title of Blog

I changed the title of the Blog by removing the term "Mexico". It has been three years since we have been down there so it seemed appropriate to do this. It makes no difference to readers, the Internet address remains the same, only the title you see when you get here has changed.

Like Trump is so fond of saying, "We'll see how it goes".

Made Norma's Day!

Made Norma's Day!

Norma was at the local Husky / Mohawk station yesterday paying at the till when another customer came in to pay. The gentleman, about her age (mid 70's), looked at her and asked, "Would you go out for dinner with me tonight?" She said, "No, but thank you SO much for asking!" The clerk told her he was a regular customer and had recently moved here from Newfoundland.

She is quite pleased with herself! "Well, I still must look pretty good"!

Making Plans

We are going a little stir crazy here. The weather has been cold and wet for months and we are hardly ever out of the house. Our friends Ken and Kris have booked space in the Cluxewe Resort and RV Park on north Vancouver Island near Port McNeil for later on in the summer and we have decided to join them. We called and booked a waterfront site for a week starting July 2.

During my work life I have spent a lot of time on north Vancouver Island and actually lived in Pt. McNeil's Dalewood Inn for several months back in the early 70's. It will be fun to go back to see it!

CPAP Sleep Apnea Test

For some reason my doctor became concerned I might have sleep apnea. I must have answered a question like, "Are you feeling tired lately". wrong. I said, no I didn't have it but he said sometimes you can have it and not know. He thinks sleep apnea is associated with the A Fib they are going to shock me out of in a few days. Anyway, he ordered a test and yesterday the equipment arrived by courier from the sleep centre in Courtenay.

I know I don't have it and Norma says the same thing. She worked with a guy who did and I display none of the same symptoms. I sleep well, don't or seldom snore, don't wake up in the night gasping for air and wake up refreshed. So I don't have it, I used the equipment anyway.

Well, it probably made it look like I have it! I hardly slept, waking up several times in the night and woke up for the day at about 6:00!

The test consists of a controller that straps to your chest, two tubed that go up your nose and a rubber device that goes on a finger to register blood oxygen content.

It is uncomfortable and has lights that blink all night. The thing on your nose has to be taped to your cheeks and the finger device is tight. It took ne at least an hour to get to sleep and Norma says I was tossing and turning all night as I tried to turn on my side but the wires and hoses would not let me.

I finally took it off at about seven, called the courier this morning and it is on it's way back. They will analyse the recordings and notify my doctor. We have decided no matter what they report, I am going to insist I do not have sleep apnea. Because I don't.

Imagine trying to do a "normal" night's sleep with this!

Still Cold And Wet!

It is still winter here on Vancouver Island. It has rained almost every day with no sign of letting up soon.  The drainage on the bank behind us held up well over the winter although we have been told this is one of the mildest winters we have had in the past few years. It was almost warm enough to have morning coffee on the new porch the other day so we are hoping things will soon improve.

We got a notice in the mail telling us that the shoreline in front of our property would be worked on over the next few years to prepare for rising sea levels. Our house will be OK but it is the seawall and road we are concerned about. Right now in a big storm accompanied with a high tide and south east winds, waves and driftwood can wash onto and even across  the highway to the foot of our driveway. I am very curious to see what work they will be doing. Do they intend to raise the highway?

We lost our lawn mowers, they have moved on to other endeavors. We called around to a few places and found one we are going to give a try. They say they cut 400 lawns a month and I neglected to ask how many crews they had. The cost will be a little higher than last year but I guess that is to be expected. The previous guys wanted to be paid in cash every time they cut but the new outfit will email us an invoice every month with a link to pay them with a credit card.

Our taxes are done for the year, thanks to Turbo Tax. Our total is just over $7,000, some of which has already been paid and I will delay paying until just before the due date at the end of the month. We may as well enjoy the .01% interest rate the bank pays us. LOL.This is probably more than Donald Trump pays.

Anyhow... that is it for the Randle household for now. We are alive and kicking and I hope all of you are as well. We are looking forward to some better weather and maybe hitting the road for some short trips in the motorhome. We strangely miss living in it.

Motorhome Accessory Testing Day

Testing Day

Generator - works
Hot water tank - works
Fridge on gas and electric - works
Furnace - works
Air Conditioning - works
Extra 115 volt fridge above driver's seat - works

Now we wait for some good weather when I will pay the insurance and take it in for a lube and oil change. We are anxious to get out in it!

This is the first year in a long time that everything works right from the start. Usually there is some problem, usually with either the water heater, the fridge or the propane system, all expensive repairs. Last year was an exceptionally expensive year, costing us a total of $4,800 CAN over the winter of 2015 - 2016 plus another $850 for car dolly tires and repairs, This was more than double our average costs.