Luddites

The Luddites were a group who rebelled against the use of the machines that replaced people during the Industrial Revolution. Their leader was a man by the name of Ned Ludd. The name has since become a term for anyone who is against new technology.

My wife Carol is a Luddite!

When we got our first computer in the late 1990's I was completely enthralled and I was soon emailing, learning how to do spread sheets, editing photos, and using the word processor. Carol reluctantly and sparingly used it for email, genealogy, and solitaire games. That was twenty years ago and she hasn't updated her opinion or use of computers a bit since then.

When the old original Packard Bell became outdated, I ordered a new custom built computer from a company in Tacoma and then after a few years, when it got long in the tooth, I built a state of the art, super fast, new one from scratch. (With help from my brother!) I transferred all of our old video tapes to DVD and edited them using the new computer and it became an important part of my daily life.

Carol isn't comfortable with more than one remote control in the living room. Even though there are separate remotes for the surround sound, the Bluray DVD player, the CD player and the VCR, we keep them put away out of sight.

In contrast, my brother JC, has at least six remotes (at last count) sitting on his coffee table. His big screen TV plays 3D movies and his lab and bedroom are a technophobes dream. (Or a Luddites nightmare!)

Lately I've begun to agree with Carol. I know that when we all get together for a barbecue or just a visit, sitting outside on our patio or JC's deck and talking is a whole lot more fun than sitting in silence in the living room watching a movie on TV.

I've already made it clear how I feel about cell phones and now people are packing lap tops, tablets, iPads and iPods around with them also.

New cars come with GPS systems and built in computers, new refrigerators have computers to tell you if your food is out dated and that's just the beginning.

I'm afraid that if there was an electromagnetic pulse, either from a giant sun spot or a nuclear attack, which would fry the power grid, kill the computers in automobiles and shut down all of our electric and electronic devices, we'd all be walking helplessly around in circles not having a clue what to do next. Aborigines in the Australian out back would hardly be affected and would go on with their daily lives, blissfully unaware that the “civilized” world was coming to an end.

It's all coming so fast that I feel like technology just passed me by and left me spinning in its wake.

I'm afraid that I'm becoming a Luddite too!

Good Excuse

Three weeks ago a doctor recommended that I don't drink any alcohol for two months because of stomach inflammation that showed up on an EGD. I'm not so sure that was a good idea.

I've been reading articles about the benefits of red wine for some time, and I thought that now with Japan's nuclear reactor scare I should post some highlights:

Reports on the benefits of red wine are almost two centuries old," "The breadth of benefits is remarkable – cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases such as inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more,"

Red wine contains a complex mixture of bioactive compounds, including flavonols, monomeric and polymeric flavan-3-ols, highly colored anthocyanins, as well as phenolic acids and the stilbene polyphenol, resveratrol. Brown said that some of these compounds, particularly resveratrol, appear to have health benefits.

Resveratrol exhibits therapeutic potential for cancer chemoprevention as well as cardioprotection.Resveratrol may aid in the prevention of age-related disorders, such as neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

And here's the kicker:

According to the latest research, red wine – along with its many other claimed benefits – may also protect you from radiation exposure. A team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered that resveratrol, the natural anti-oxidant found in red wine, can protect cells from the damage caused by radiation.

Impending nuclear attack? Then scientists may soon recommend that it is best you start drinking heavily and not just because you may be facing oblivion.

Didn't I see on CNN that a tiny amount of radiation is showing up on the west coast? I for one, plan on being well protected no matter what the darn doctor says!!

Listening

Since Parkinson's disease has reduced my voice to little more than a raspy whisper, I sometimes get frustrated at not being able to speak loud enough to be heard.

However, I've found that because of this I'm becoming a much better listener. This is not a bad thing.

Now, during a conversation, I try to take time to think about what I want to say, and often after some consideration, I just keep quiet and listen. Like Thumper was told in the movie Bambi, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!"

A few of our family and friends are getting hard of hearing, which compounds the problem, but as long as they can see my face, a little lip reading on their part helps.

I've also found that It's pretty hard to put your foot in your mouth if you keep your mouth shut, although it is possible, (especially if you're married.)

Doctors and Nurses

Lately it seems as though we spend more time at doctor's offices and hospitals than we do at home. Between Brad's ongoing stomach problems, Carol's arrhythmia , JC's cancer, my weight loss, and now Don's latest scary close call with a perforated intestine, the doctors and nurses are getting all too familiar with the name Cleland.

JC and I have already had our hospital records switched when my records were accidentally put in his folder and his in mine. Luckily we caught it before Dr. Frank Stein operated on the wrong hump.

More than once when I've gone in for a test or “procedure” a doctor or nurse will say, “Hmm, Cleland, are you related to Brad? Or Don? Or John? Or Carol?

Hopefully one of these days we can all get back to normal and become strangers to the doctors and nurses again.

Skinny Bob part 2

Well, I finally remembered not to eat before a fasting blood test and got that accomplished. A few days later the clinic called and said the results were negative.

Then I went to the hospital in Newport for chest x rays, and again the results were negative.

Next was the CT scan, and except for springing a leak and dripping blood all over the floor after they unhooked the IV, I passed it with flying colors.

A Colonoscopy was next and when I went to the pre-op appointment to see Dr. Hoque, he suggested having an EGD, (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy) also. Which is basically the same as a Colonoscopy but they go down from the top end to look at the inside of the stomach. (Hopefully not with the same equipment!)

Carol and I arrived at the hospital a little after 6:am, since I was the first “procedure” of the day. I weighed in at 131 pounds. The nurses and anesthetist all were great as they prepped me,and at 8:am they rolled me into the operating room.

The next thing I knew I was in the recovery room waking up.

In a little while a nurse helped me into a wheelchair and wheeled me back out to the outpatient room where I had started. They paged Carol and after she arrived another nurse sat down with us to explain what they had found and what the doctor had prescribed.

They had found and removed a polyp from my colon, (No big deal.)

The doctor advised a high fiber diet. Yum, sticks and twigs!

The EGD however, revealed a Hiatal hernia and Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) and they had the gross pictures to prove it!

The doctor prescribed Carafate liquid, 2 ounces 4 times a day for 2 months. The nurse pointed to the sheaf of instructions for me to take home. The Carafate can only be taken 1 hour before and 2 hours after you eat. Huh?

The doctor also advised no coffee or alcohol for the next 2 months. WHAT?

My head was spinning from the leftover anesthetic and the instructions, but I did manage to ask, “Could any of these things be the reason for my weight loss?”

“No, the doctor doesn't think so.” Great!

So I still don't know why I'm losing weight, my morning coffee and my evening wine are gone for two months and I have to drink this gunk that tastes like watered down Pepto Bismol 4 times a day.