Greetings from Burley, Idaho. We hope all is well with you and yours and that you have a wonderful holiday season! Yes, this is for 2024-sorry it is so late!
We are both just fine – for a couple of old farts! Jean continues to enjoy her total retirement and life of leisure. She plays a lot of solitaire and watches old TV shows on her iPad. However, she spends most of her time caring for the critters – giving them treats and letting them in and out!
Ah, the critters! There are three of them now. Stormy is just fine. Recall that, near the end of last winter we found two stray cats seeking shelter from the wind on our deck. Well, they have since moved in with us! Stormy gets along fine with both cats and actively plays with the little one. However, the two cats hate each other. I always thought that they were somehow related but it now appears that the little one just followed the big one (Walt) around when they were both strays. So, Walt resents the little ones very existence. They attack each other regularly but fail to inflict any real harm. I began this relationship knowing nothing about cats. So, it has been a real adventure watching their personalities slowly emerge.
The enclosed photo was taken on Christmas Day in the home of Frank & Jesse Matthews, where we were blessed to have a wonderful Christmas dinner! Thanks (again!) to Jessie for the great camera work!
I did have a bit of a medical adventure earlier this year. Late last year I had several episodes where I would black out and fall. I had recently switched to a new diabetes drug. I had read that it could sometimes cause enough swings in my blood sugar to present these symptoms. Then, one night I got up to take a pee and never made it back to bed. I fainted again and crashed into the nightstand. In the morning, my hand hurt enough that I went to the ER to get it checked out. Sure enough, I had broken a metacarpal in my right hand. After a while, things seemed to be taking too long. When I asked the ER doc when I might be ready to leave he said, “You’re not going anywhere until I am sure that you are not having a heart attack!” Sobering news!
Thanks to that attentive ER doc, I was soon wearing a heart monitor for two weeks. Then, the cardiologist who analyzed those results immediately ordered me in for a cardiac catheterization. That is when I learned the word CABG or “cabbage.” I had an ugly large blockage. They were not going to jam any stents through that thing! After hearing my options, I immediately chose the University of Utah for my surgery. There, I got to know Dr. Craig Selzman, Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and his excellent team. Long story short, everything went well. They put in four bypasses. I had surgery on a Thursday morning and went home that same Monday afternoon. I was told two important things by the team. First that I was very lucky – they usually only find blockages like mine when doing an autopsy after a fatal heart attack. Second, all of those years of running had helped as the underlying strength of my heart was very good. The worst part of the entire process was the neck-to-ankle full-body shave that I got just before they wheeled me into the OR!
Now, you might think a surgery like this for a fellow my age might push me into a speedy full retirement. I am just not ready for that! I am still having a lot of fun doing my work and thanks to AI, there are just too many things going on for me to walk away right now! If you are ever curious, see sellmorenow.com. The site is getting a complete rebuild (started just before my health issues began!) I Have several books to finish. I just started writing on Substack. So, I expect to be at it a few more years!
We do wish you all the best for a wonderful New Year! May you have happiness, good health, abundant prosperity and whatever else your little heart desires for many years to come!