April 15, 2013

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Healing – Part 2

After the removal of my tonsils and a bad case of Asian flu, both while in elementary school, I stayed out of hospitals – except to visit a patient or pick up my wife, Cathy, a hospital nurse – for nearly 40 years. I would like to have gone longer, but the human body has frailties.

In early 1996, I was moving office furniture and suffered what I thought was a muscle strain in my lower abdomen. I babied the injury for a few days and it seemed to improve. However, when I tried running again or doing any lifting, the pain returned. After several weeks of no improvement, I did some research and diagnosed myself as having an inguinal hernia. I knew I would need to see a doctor to confirm the diagnosis.

We had been living in the mountains outside of Idaho Springs, Colorado for the past three years and I had not gone to a doctor during that time. I did not know who to contact, so I returned to a physician in Wheat Ridge, more than 30 miles away, who I had last seen several years before. The exam took only a few seconds – the old turn your head and cough; yep, it’s a hernia. The doctor referred me to a surgeon, as surgical repair was the only treatment.

The surgeon was an older gentleman who did a slightly more extensive examination to confirm the diagnosis. He explained that he had performed literally thousands of these operations. He described how modern medicine uses surgical mesh to strengthen the hernia site and prevent recurrence. I thought it odd this man did not look directly at me when we were talking. Other than that, he seemed a fine doctor and I proceeded with the operation.

The day after the surgery, Cathy, against her better judgment, drove me to my office to pick up some work to do while recuperating at home. I was in good shape from running regularly and doing t’ai chi each day. Within ten days, I was able to walk, albeit slowly, more than a mile up the mountain near our house. The surgeon was impressed with his fine result.

Two weeks after the surgery, on Memorial Day, I was at the office, working to get caught up, when I felt a pain in my abdomen. Nothing serious. My body telling me I should take it easy. I went home to spend the rest of the day with my family, and then retired early. I woke around midnight with sharp pain in my chest and my side. I tried to make it go away by walking and doing mild stretching. That didn’t help. Cathy was concerned it might be a heart attack. The hospital was a 45 minute drive down the mountain, and she thought we should head there immediately in case her concerns were correct. Continue reading →