EMERGENCY!

Back in the early 1970s there as a show on the air called EMERGENCY! in which two guys showed the world the new Paramedics in California. This show was a key motivator for me to get into emergency medicine and lead me to go initially the Coast Guard, who wasn’t hiring, but finally into the US Army as a Combat Medic (91B plus others). It progressed from there. Anyway a great TV series, and I found it, all 100 episodes, available on Netflix, and started watching them again. A GREAT series still!! Although I have been laughing at the cloths of the time. (Didn’t think they were funny looking back then though….)

Today while checking out what was available, I also found “The Rat Patrol”. LOVED this show when I was a kid, in black and white, but didn’t see a lot of them, as, if I remember right, when it was on, there were things that my parent’s wanted to watch instead. Started watching it today, in color now!!, and am enjoying them too!

So, without commercials, I am now catching up and re-watching Seaquest, Emergency!, and The Rat Patrol, as well as watching new and old movies… A happy camper, and it keeps me busy as I recoup from surgery and exercise on and off all day at home.

An update!

Been “out of it” since the 10th when I had my surgery. The days immediately following the surgery I seem to have slept off (for the first three days anyway) and I don’t remember a whole lot from surgery day till Thursday afternoon. Wednesday just kinda vanished!! Thursday afternoon I felt like I had had my surgery the day before, and that I had gotten home just yesterday. I BARELY remember the ride home, other than sitting on the recliner when I got home. Don’t remember getting up to go to bed or anything!!

By Saturday I was pretty much clear headed from all the drugs/trauma/etc., but was still on the pain pills and such. By the end of Sunday I had pretty much had it with the drugs and stopped taking them. Early Monday I started feeling like I had a fever, but was unable to take it, as I didn’t have a thermometer, and no one I called did either! I’ll have to get one. Anyway, after a few times of feeling like I was burning up for an hour or two at a time, and then going into cold sweats, I decided I was having a fever, and called the Doctor’s office, but was only able to leave a voice message. (Never did get a call back, two days later…)

Yesterday morning I woke up in a cold sweat that later turned into feeling like I was burning up again. I called a friend and we were off to the ER. After making sure I didn’t have a clot (blood) formed/forming in my leg and checking my blood stats, it was decided I was probably coming down with a cold and sent home.

Luckily there was no signs of infection in the left knee, which would have been VERY bad! Still feeling kinda “uh” aside from the knee, which is swollen again (too much hobbling yesterday?), but at least it is not an infection!

So, back on track today, and things will be back in line by the end of the day in the direction of goals, plans, writings, readings, etc. I’M BACK!!

Recovery time…

Ok, surgery was done this past Tuesday. They took a bit over three hours apparently, instead of the one hour they told me it would last. I was also supposed to go to Physical Therapy Wednesday morning, but the doctor gave VERY firm, multiple times, instructions that I was not to take my locked brace (locked straight) off until the 26th when I go see him again.

He then added an “important” second appointment on the 19th for some reason!?

Wonder what happened in those 3ish hours that took so long and why changed as to the PT I was supposed to start?

I was brought home by a good friend Tuesday evening, arriving about 8PM, and was out cold shortly after that. Don’t remember much of the ride home either… Slept most of Wednesday, and Thursday felt like it should have been Wednesday and that I had just gotten home the evening before. I slept a good bit Thursday as well.

Not as sleepy today, and have taken no naps (yet…) today. Knee still hurts a good bit, especially when I go to raise it up when I sit, or when I go to put it back on the ground to get up to eat or to go to the restroom. Dull throb between… Unless I’m standing, then its a steady pain…

Can’t wait to get the brace off though!

Not the best way to get off of working, but I’m kinda glad I’m not at work right now..

2012 Goals/2011 Goals Review.

Ok, here are my goals from last year:

Goal 1: Continue my process of getting down to 210 lbs, and a 10% body fat.

Goal 2: Work on shrinking my debt, and begin building my credit score at the same time. It is too low to make me happy.

Goal 3: Increase my religious studies and reading.

And the drum roll for the results??

Goal 1: Not so good. Went back up roughly 15 lbs, mainly due to a leg needing surgery again, and not being able to exercise the way I should have been. (And also due to not eating right, in the way if probably eating the wrong foods, and too much there of!) However, my body fat is actually down by about 15% from where it was last year!

Goal 2: This goal I did much better on! I am much, MUCH closer in this area!! And I’ve not added any new bills (except medical, which is now a gone thing as well, no new medical bills as of July of last year!) My credit score has gone up a small amount, but NO WHERE near enough!

Goal 3: A TOTAL success! I read and pray for about 2 to 3 hours each night! And I pray all day when at work as I work, provided I’m not talking to someone, or someone isn’t talking to me.

Goals 4 and 5 (that I kept to myself): Goal 4 was a total success. Goal 5 I am still working on.

This years goals?

Goal 1: Continue my process of getting down to 210 lbs, and a 10% body fat.

Goal 2: Work on shrinking my debt, and begin building my credit score at the same time. It is too low to make me happy.

Goal 3: Increase my religious studies and reading.

And there are a couple of private ones as well….

Yep a re-run of last year, with the exception of 5 is now 4, and a new private goal 5 is in place.

Surgery Pending.

My knee continues to act up, hurt and all but give out (and occasionally give out completely). I am tentatively schedule for another surgery on January 10th for an ACL install (they took mine out back in July but couldn’t get the fused in screws out), or potentially a total knee if they can’t successfully get the old screws out and destroy my knee in the attempt to get them out.

This means when that happens, after the initial few days post surgery, that I should have more time to post and keep my blogs update. The down side is I will be out of work for a couple of months, and potentially longer….

Looking forward to removing this pain and the unstable knee though!

No More TV!

Ok, after only two months of having TV on here at the apartment, I turned it off on the 7th, only two days after thinking I would do it at the end of the month. For the almost $50.00/month to have cable TV, there was really nothing much on. I did, however, find myself watching the NCIS re-runs (which I hadn’t seen in the first place) every day, which was taking me away from my reading projects, and home grown homework studies in theology and philosophy.

And I don’t miss it at all!! This last six days have been very productive in the evenings, even those days when I had outside events/meetings to go to, when I got home, and I am getting back on track to having my studies and reading done on my “original” schedule.

I can say that TV has gone WAY down hill over the years as to what is shown and how it is put together. (Now, mind you, on the TV I have, the picture is OUTSTANDING, which kinda helps in the viewing!) The cinematography is often weak, especially comparing it to times long past, and that is with the better technology today! You would think it would be OUTSTANDING now. It isn’t.

When I bought my TV back in August, I also picked up a BlueRay player. WOW, that picture is GREAT!! Almost 3d in appearance when watching a BlueRay movie! Now to find CHEAPER BlueRay movies!! WOW, they are expensive!

I will probably continue to watch movies on the TV, via the BlueRay/DVD player, but I intend to cut WAY back on that as well, and have done good in that area this past 6 days as well!

Christmas, ALREADY?

Today I went to a friends house to fix some computer issues. When I got home, I turned on the TV, which I am disconnecting at the end of the month, to see if anything is on… One channel is non-stop Christmas movies today. Isn’t it a bit early?

Now, don’t get me wrong… I love Christmas… And I think celebrating the birth of Christ, Jesus, should be done every day of the year.

BUT, we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving here in the US. Historically, until recent years, the start of the “Christmas Sales/Movie/Show” season was with the crossing of Santa Clause in the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving day. This year seems even earlier for the start than last year, by about two weeks! Decorations have already started showing up a few weeks ago as well, again, two weeks earlier than last year.

Christmas is NOT about presents and gifting each other. It is the Mass of Christ’s birth. I pray daily that we get back to that concept! This coming season is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, and the salvation He has given us in His life, death, and resurrection.

I enjoy the movies, I enjoy looking at the decorations (although I hate putting them up myself…), I enjoy the food of the season, especially the cookies my mother use to make, and I enjoy some of the parties that happen at the time. But I DO NOT like the commercialization that has come to the season.

Bring Christ back to CHRISTmas!

Winter is almost here… Kinda early?

Well, got up yesterday to go to work and found frost on the grass and frost on the windows of the car. Had to scrape them off… Not looking forward to this coming season. While I love snow, my car isn’t in the best condition, and even in areas such as this that get snow every year, I swear people don’t know how to drive in snow.

I like winter though. A lot. I hope we have some snow, but not tons, and that we can keep our streets clear this year.