I haven't been around FTE much in the last year or so - Health Issues suck - I went in for an X-Ray on my hips to start the process of being able to walk more than a hundred yards or so - They discovered "shadows" in the area of my kidneys and lower lung - I had to go back for a cat scan and everyone was all excited and dancing around - Seems as if I had some very large kidney stones and if they moved it would block my tube to the bladder and some could block my tube from my bladder to my wacker and it would hurt. - A few days later I was in the hospital so that they could make sure they were stones and not cancer - They were stones and the Dr. played Buck Rodgers with his lazer and blasted all the stones to sand or smoke - I didn't pee any smoke but I pissed sand for a week. - I was on the table for two hrs and twenty minutes - The only time I felt any real pain was when they removed the catheter two weeks later - After the Dr' "Well lets take a look here" he stuck a needle next to my pee hole and the stuck some pliers into the end and grabbed the catheter and yanked it out - The damn thing was 15 inches long. - He wouldn't even give me a band aid to stick some where.
Next adventure - I was at my Dr.s office for my annual appointment and she asked me if I was still smoking and I told her that I only smoked 4 or 5 cigarettes a day, that didn't matter I was still smoking, she asked how long I smoked and I told her since I was around 8 years old - She wasn't impressed at my 62 years of smoking - She told me that some medical/government was doing a study of long time smokers between the ages of 60 - 75 years - I would get a Low Dose CT Scan of my lungs to see if I showed any damage - I had the scan at 11 AM and at 4:30 OM my Dr called me and told me I had to go see a lung Dr about the large shadow in my lungs - F'n shadows again - I had seven groups of shadows in both lungs in both lungs - Saw the Dr and he wanted to go exploring because lung shadow aren't the same thing as Moon shadows - I had to wait about a week until he could get me into the hospital - We had a come to Jesus Talk cause he said he was only going to sample the largest shadow to see if there was any cancer - I asked why only one - He said that the chances were low if the largest didn't show any signs that the rest wouldn't either - I asked him "What if the rest of the shadows hadn't read the book about If lung Shadow Size Mattered. I told him that he was going to sample ALL the shadows or he wasn't going to do anything - I was on the table for 4hrs and 50 minutes - He sampled every lump (shadow) in both lungs and he also sampled every lymph node in the lungs - All the tests came back negative - I could breath again, my brain had me so screwed up that if I took a deep breath it hurt - It all stopped with the words all showed negitive. All that time in the operating, the strain of the stuff they had down my lungs and the drugs used had me on my *** for about a 5 weeks - I saw the report on the operation and they gave me 3 doses of Fentynal that each would have OD me if I hadn't been in the hospital - There was 3 or 4 other drugs that would have been addictive if they would have given any more - i have two more appointments for cat scans and seeing my Dr between now a June for follow up.
So why the long story - It's all about a new Hot Rod Truck and spending My Daughters inheritance
I have almost no ability to crawl around a vehicle, can't lift any thing heavy, no stamina and my feet stink

More Chapters To Come

 

 

Hopefully the worst is behind you. Work on getting some strength back, get that new hot rod truck, and take your daughter for a ride in it. I'm sure you'll both love it! Larry

 

Sad to hear what you had to deal with Dick.

 

Wow Dick
Sorry to hear about your travels. I sure hope the worst is behind you.

I'm pretty sure that I'll be jumping at shadows from here on out.

BEWARE THE SHADOW!!!

Bobby

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I too have gone through the kidney stone removal process with the laser, not fun and neither is the catheter removal. 🤕

 

There are bad shadows and really really bad shadows. Glad that you didn't have the really really bad ones. I have lost a lot of friends to them, and years ago my mother. Hope yours don't ever come back, sounds like it wasn't fun at all!

 

 

Pain SUCKS! You went through a LOT. After all that it was GOOD news. Coulda been worse. Time to heal instead of fighting cancer. I'm glad your tests were negative.

 

Hey Dick,
I've done the catheter thing …. there has to be a better way to remove them!
Have you tried switching to a vape cigarette? Seems less harmful than actual smoke
but the jury is still deliberating... At least you got sick during the winter when you probably couldn't do much
truck work anyway.

Hang in there and get back after it when you feel up to it.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Dick, sorry you're going through these health issues. I can somewhat relate, having had quadruple bypass and replacement knee surgery. I hardly spend any time in the garage anymore. It sucks getting old and then you die...

 

Sorry for your troubles. Glad that you're still with us. Heal well.

 

Hang in there, glad your feeling good enough to post, I was wondering where you'd been lately.

 

Hi Dick, wow, the golden years are not as advertised are they. I was very relieved when I got to the part of your thread that said all your shadows were benign. You and all the long time FTE'rs have become like a family to me, so when one of you have a health scare I sincerely feel as a family member would. By the way, I get the results of a CT my Dr ordered in two weeks. He didn't like the x ray he took and ordered the CT, oh well it's just part of getting older I guess, and they wouldn't wait so long for the results if it were anything. it's good to see to see your avatar on the board, Rock On my friend.

 

I was really scared scared shi---- my Brother was in the hospital for a pacemaker swap and he had a little congestion - They took a xray and found a SHADOW - Because of the pacemaker swap they decided to do a needle biopsy - It was cancer - He died the following week - That's why I was crapping chickens when they told me I had SHADOWS and is also why also why I'm going to spend my daughter's inheritance - I may be here another 20 years or not make the end of 2019
I going to by parts and pieces and have someone glue it all together