Hey Rusty,
Good to have you back to keep us all in line. Your knowledge is very
appreciated on boomtalk and I have noticed several boomers that look up to
you for this reason. Good health to you Rusty. Vic and Family.


>From: "Rusty Harding" <rustyrangs@...>
>Reply-To: Boomerang_Talk@yahoogroups.com
>To: boomerang_talk <boomerang_talk@yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: [Boomerang_Talk] My Health problems
>Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:27:58 -0600
>
>OK, Guys,
>
>First, thank all of you for your prayers, your well wishes, and your
>concerns. All were much appreciated. You can never know just how much the
>friendship and camaraderie of being just one member of the ever growing
>boomerang community means to me. Thank you all!
>
>Most of the rest of this post is about me and my medical problems with
>little reference to boomerangs so unless you really want to know about my
>physical problems, you may want to opt out here. If you are interested, the
>following will, in detail, give you a better idea of what happened to me
>and
>what is being done about my problems.
>
>Here's the straight scoop about me and my hospital stay, but I do need to
>give you a little background first.
>
>I left home on October 16th and drove to West Virginia to be a guest of a
>dear friend who, for over a year, had begun, single-handedly, to put
>together a family gathering and genealogy record of the descendents of
>Peter
>Burr, the only brother of Aaron Burr, Sr., who was the first president of
>the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and father of Aaron
>Burr, Jr., U.S. Senator and 3rd Vice President of the United States
>(1801-1805).
>
>This gathering was to be held at the Peter Burr House, the oldest standing
>wood frame structure in the state of West Virginia. You can read more (if
>interested) about this house and some of the associated history, at:
>http://www.preservehistory.org/pburr_history.html
>16 year old George Washington was the Surveyor of the property on which
>this
>house was built. While I won't go into it further, there is a tremendous
>amount of American History surrounding this house, its owners, and friends
>of the owners that I am interested in, and so, felt honored to be invited.
>On Sunday, October 19th, I left there to visit Gary, only some 250 miles
>away.
>
>Most of you know of that visit, and if you've ever been to Gary's house,
>you
>know too of the fun and learning to be had there. Yes, we did make
>boomerangs, take trips, etc., and all had a great time.
>
>I have been on a Furosemide (water pill) regimen for many years to control
>water retention in the body. In my case, it seems to collect most in my
>lungs and legs, resulting in breathing problems and severe leg swelling.
>Since I also have Asthma and Emphysema, lung water retention worsens the
>situation quickly, breathing-wise and leg water retention can and did cause
>leg ulcers, red shiny skin, and localized elevated temperature of the skin,
>along with severe leg swelling.
>
>Furosemide makes you have to urinate, often and urgently, especially at the
>dosages prescribed by my doctors. It also causes drowsiness and dizziness,
>bad while driving or while in areas where bathrooms are not readily (read
>that as quickly and urgently) available. So, in a nutshell, I did not take
>that medication as often as I should have been doing so. The result,
>coupled
>with cold, high winds and difficulty breathing, caught up with me during a
>2:00 AM necessary rest room stop in a rest area, and again around noon the
>next day. By the time I got home about 4:00 PM that afternoon, I was
>totally
>exhausted, went straight to bed and slept for 5 hours. I awoke, coughing
>and
>choking, and had difficulty breathing, at which point, my wife took me
>straight to the VA Emergency room. That was the night of November 9th/10th.
>
>They kept me there until Friday afternoon, November 14th in order to get
>the
>water out of my lungs and legs, and to treat the ulcers that developed on
>both legs a few inches above the ankles.
>
>I did NOT have a heart attack! However, sometime within the 4 months prior
>to September 10th, I DID go back from normal heart rhythm into Atrial
>Fibrillation. (for information about what this is and how it might affect
>me, see:)
>http://www.a-fib.com/Overview.htm
>
>After my triple bypass heart operation in 1995, I did go into a-fib (Atrial
>Fibrillation) three times. Each time, they stopped my heart (clinically
>dead) and restarted it with paddles, each time required a bit more power
>(the last time, they used the maximum power they were allowed to use, it
>left me burned on my chest) and finally decided to give me an experimental
>drug Amiodarone, to keep my heart rhythm normal. That worked for over 8
>years before they discontinued it about 6 months ago. The VA lost a lawsuit
>about a patient losing eyesight in both eyes, because of this drug. It was
>discontinued for me when they discovered that my right eye has begun to
>have
>some "tunnel vision", the field of view has closed a little, prompting this
>decision. This drug stays in the system a long time, but its effectiveness
>has now gone. It was the one thing that kept me in normal heart rhythm.
>
>So, while people with a-fib can still live, there is a reduction in the
>quality of life for a-fib patients, and, I'm sure, was a contributing
>factor
>in what happened to me. A-fib DOES increase the odds of having a stroke,
>too, so I will be slowing down, even more.
>
>Well, there you have it, that's what has happened to me.
>
>Now, let's get back to boomerangs.
>
>Rusty