I Didn't Need To Hear This

This last year has not been the best healthwise for this old geezer. First, I break my elbow. As they were fixing that, the doctors discovered I have diabetes. Even though the elbow healed well and the diabetes is being controlled by pills, I thought that was enough bad news for one year. Evidently my doctor didn't.

She decided that I ought to see a heart specialist. Worried, I asked what she had found. She said, "Nothing. It's just a good idea to get it checked, having diabetes at your age." So I go off to the heart doctor, expecting a clean bill of health. No such luck.

The specialist decides I need some tests (stress and echo). A couple of days ago, I get a call from a nurse. She says my tests showed some blockage and I need more tests. If those don't look good, I may need a stent or heart surgery. She certainly knows how to scare the hell out of a guy!

Now, I'm not saying this to elicit sympathy -- I actually feel fine. It's just that on the heels of getting this news, I read this article. It seems that they've now discovered that stents (a mesh sleeve inserted in the artery) may actually increase the possibility of death by an aneurysm.

Thanks MCNBC! I really needed to hear that right now. Anyone else with bad news to dump on me? Might as well do it now while I'm in a "bad news" mode. Sheesh! Getting old is no fun.