All Things Must Come to An End

So I had a bunch of appointments on Wednesday.  One of them was a echo scan where I got to see pictures of my heart (including the valve).  That was pretty neat to see.  Then I had a follow-up visit with the heart surgeon.  He said that some of the weight restrictions were off and that I could drive again.  He also stated that I could return to work on March 1.  That is pretty exciting, I think.  After that, I had a CT scan.  I think that went pretty well.

After roughly two months, my antibiotic IV will be ending tonight.  I think I have enough penicillin in me to choke a horse.  That means, I will be released tomorrow.  I'm very excited about that because it means that I can return to a normal life again.  It also means that I will be able to work on my blog again (other than updates to my health).  I think I even have a project lined up.

What does all of this mean?  Well, I'm going to work at getting some of my weight off.  Fortunately, I was in pretty good health before this but as we know, this can be fleeting.  I'm also going to seek out more unusual spots for this blog.  It doesn't mean that I'm going to ignore aircraft and ships though.

Once again, I would like to thank all my fans for their support through this experience.  It's always nice to know that you are appreciated.  I will also give a shout out to the heart people at St. Joseph Hospital.  While I don't like the circumstances I had to meet them, I will have to say they are awesome.  I would also like to give a shout out to all the nurses that treated me through this.  You are all pretty awesome.

At approximately 11:00 A.M. tomorrow, I will be requesting permission to take off from my rehab place.

Good News

My IV ends on Friday January 26 which means I will get sprung from rehab on Saturday.  On Wednesday, I have an appointment with the heart doctor.  I'm pretty sure I'll have good news from that.  All of this combined means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Soon, I will return to an ordinary life.

Once again, I'd like to thank all the people that have shown support through this whole ordeal.

Even the big boys need a helping hand at times.

Life...an Update

So I figured that I would give my readers an update of my status.  I had an appointment with the Infectious Diseases people on Friday.  They were going to look at me and there was a possibility that I could get oral antibiotics instead of the IV that I am currently on.  If that would have happened, I probably would have been discharged from the rehab facility.  That didn't happen, so I am going to be here until the 26th of January at least.  I'm actually okay with that.

They ended my physical and occupational therapy because they said that there wasn't much more they can do with that.  They did clear me to wander the halls which is nice because I can talk a walk whenever I want.  I will have a wellness adviser for the duration of my stay.  That will be helpful because exercise will get me back to a normal state of healthiness.

The chest incision is healing pretty well but it still hurts on occasion.  I have an appointment with the surgeon around the same time as the IV is done.  I think I'll have good news then.  Maybe I will be able to get out photographing again.  I still probably will not do sports until I get cleared to go back to work but I don't see any harm of photographing ships or airplanes.

Again, I want to express my thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.  They've been very helpful in pulling me through this.

Since I can't get a current picture, I will leave you will an older picture of the current Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw.

An Update on My Health

I figured that I would give everyone an update on how things are going on my end.  I had my surgery two weeks ago.  They had to replace my mitral valve, so now part of me is bionic.  The surgery was kind of scary but I made it through.  It's weird to be hooked up to all sorts of tubes and what not.  But that is in the past.
The released me from the hospital to a rehab facility as I still need to get antibiotics.  I am going through therapy and that is going really well.  I expect to fully recover by the time I am released from here.
It looks like the only thing I'll have the change about what I do for here is that I wont be able to take pictures from directly under the basket.  Part of the exchange with the mechanical heart is that I will be on a blood thinner and I don't want to risk the injury.  Other than that, things will be just like normal except I may focus on other things.
Anyway, I'll leave with some older pictures but they are some of my favorites.

Enjoy.

 The Roger Blough as she prepares to enter the Poe Lock at Sault Ste Marie.  This day was special to me because it was my favorite boat on my birthday.

 This Nickel Plate 765 from the trip I took this fall.  I hope to see her again this year.

The Spirit of Freedom 757 landing at Detroit Metro Airport.

I hope everyone has a happy new year.

On Hiatus for a While

The past couple of weeks have been memorable for me.  About three weeks ago, I felt sicker than a dog but I went to work the next day.  My boss said that  I looked like hell, so I went home a slept.  Went to work the rest of that week, but kind of felt like hell.

I ended up catching the Algoma Niagara even thought I didn't really felt like it.  I felt kind of blah on Thanksgiving Week but I went up to my cousin's anyway.  I didn't eat quite as much as I normally too.  On Friday and Saturday that week, I pretty much slept the weekend.

On that Sunday, I had to do my laundry because I thought I had to go to work the next day.  I got the laundry in but barely.  I had a hell of a time standing up.   Someone offered to put my clothes in the dryer for me.  I unloaded the dryer but kind of fell as I was putting my clothes in car.  Someone called an ambulance.

I've been in the hospital ever since.  I turns out that my blood was infected.  It also turns out that my one of my heart valves was infected as well.  I'm looking at surgery for that early next week.  Hopefully they will do the minimally invasive version and I'll be back quickly.

Anyway, I hope to return to my readers soon.  Please pull for me.

I Am Blank Because....

I got this idea from another blog that I enjoy to read.  If you have the time, go check it out because it is pretty interesting.  I will admit that I put a bit of myself into this blog but it is not often that you get a deep glimpse into the person that is behind the camera that is being used to take all these neat pictures.  So I will give this a whirl.

I am wierd because:
I write a blog and I've kept at it after all these years.
I enjoy chasing after freighters or trains depending on my mood.  I will admit that chasing after freighters is not all that unusual in this state but there are still people who think I am wierd doing so.
After 45 years, I get myself a train set.
I have pretty eccletic music tastes.  If you were to crack open my iPod you would see classical, punk, country, rap, classic rock, pop rock, alternative and a few other things.  Generally, I will listen to my iPod on shuffle and the current song is by Erasure.  Prior to that, there was a song by the Who.  It just shifted over to a song by the Kinks called "Scrap Heap City".  This might be a good blog subject of its own.
After all of these years, I still like Star Wars.

I am happy because:
Football season is back and I am photographing from the sidelines at Eastern Michigan games.  Of the different types of photography that I do, I would have to say that sports is the most challenging.  You have to have an idea of where the action is going to be and you have to be on your toes but it is fun.
After five years, I am able to rest my old Digital SLR.  It has served me well but it was starting to show signs of age.  My new Canon will have alot to live up to.
I have enough modelling skills that I am able to build my own buildings for my train set.  I'm sure the kits would look better but my set up is my set up.  I don't have buildings like everyone else out there.
I've been at my current company for 15 years.  Prior to that I've held onto a job for a couple years and then moved on.  It seems that I've found my niche.


I am sad because:
Political season is upon us and you can't watch TV without seeing another ad.  It seems like there used to be a reprieve from the campaign ads but this year they started around February and haven't let up since then.  With all the money floating around, it makes you wonder who our politicians are really beholden to because it doesn't seem like it is the people.

I think I will do another post like this at some point but enjoy this one for now.