My Echo Cardiogram Results

     The nurse called with the results of my Echo Cardiogram.  "You have the same leaks as last year."
"Leaks?"  The plural was more pronounced than last year.  Quick get the IPad .  Sure enough a photo of the heart appeared with four valves.  Where was my leak?
       The nurse was available on my next telephone try.  My question was, "which one of the valves is leaking?"
        "All of them."  This is too funny.  I should be dead.  "No, no, many people have the same thing.  You can excersise and go about your business in the same way.  Nothing to worry about.  In fact, I have the same thing.
        "My Dear, if you were going to drive to Alaska  in your car.  You would take it in and have it all checked.  Soon they found out your tires all had mild leaks.  Would you continue with your plans or what?"
           " Just go on with your life as before."  My silent response screamed.  11/16/2015. Phyllis Rehmar.  www.women70andover.com. 

Mass General Hospital Boston/Voice Center

     October 28, 2013 was the date of my recent surgery to restore my raspy voice to the strong sound of a voice similar to a baseball empire.  This all came about because of the condition of my voice due to thyroid cancer when I was thirty.  After fifty years of a voice that was almost a whisper to a miracle of strength.  I can yell, "I have a new voice!"  What a miracle.
     This all came about because of Julie Andrews and Dr. James Burns of the Boston Voice Center and the New York Times article on the Voice Center.
     After making my appointment and going up to Boston I learned I was a candidate for the surgery.  My good friend, Gwen Kotler became my care giver also and went with me.  I was to be there maximum of two weeks and a minimum of one week.  All according to complications.
      I was on the operating table for 2 and one half hours, just like my surgeon, Dr. James Burns said.  There was no pain.  He got to the vocal cords by slitting my neck open.  I had twelve stitches.  All went well.  I was up during surgery, so the doctor could tweak the voice.  I was in no pain.  I was euphoric with joy and as loud as a baseball empire!
     After fifty years to have a strong voice.  This was a true gift from the  skilled surgeon's big perfect hands.  This is eighty-year old heaven on earth.  Thank-you Dr. Burns.  Phyllis Rehmar phyllisreh@aol.com  
     

    

8/4/2014                          What Next?    

 

Changing the bed.  Why not take the mattress cover off and wash it.  After I took it off it became large and thick and puffy.  Oh well.  The water started bubbling in the wash machine.  I was laboring stuffing the "thing" in the water.  Ah ha.  I called for my husband.  We almost got it in together.

 

We both looked down at the floor at the same time and wondered why our feet were wet. Water was pouring out of the bottom

of the wash machine.  "Let’s  get this thing out of here into a garbage bag."  When I opened the garbage bag it was too small.  We carried it to our large garbage type thick container in the garage.  We felt comfortable we got rid of our problem.

 

The garage door was open to the hall inside the house where the wash machine and water was gushing out.  I turned the wash machine on spin.  It did get the remaining water out of the machine.  Yes?  No.

 

We then began sharing a squiggly mop and I with the broom to sweep the water from the house area to the garage.  Just like dominos I then had to sweep the water out of the garage floor.  We had to pull the wash machine out of its position and clean behind it.  We had a large fan in place to help dry the tile floor.

 

After that area was clean.  I thought we might as well pull the dryer out and see if any of the water had gone under it.  There was nothing wet under the dryer.  Instead there was dirt, a thick lone sock and a wash rag.  I can clean that up in a minute.  I got the vacuum.  The dirt which came up easily, so did the sock and wash cloth, making the vacuum stuck and silent.  This was a mess.  We both continued to have intervals of heavy laughter.

 

My husband was thrilled.  He could now get to use his new wonder drill.  He hummed.  I laughed.  He unscrewed the hose from the machine and got the sock and wash rag out.  Gee, what a great man.  I will never say,  "What do you need a new drill for?"

 

With the hose in place he quickly found he missed attaching a small rubber circle that should have gone on first .  So he had to use his new found wonder drill again.  I was laughing more at this point.  Poor man.

 

We both were laughing.  This is what people do when they are eighty and eighty-five.  Stuff happens!       Phyllis Rehmar       www.women70andover.com  

 

                          Doctor    Anyone?  8/2/2013 

     Appointments of all sorts for two people is not an easy job.  The Ipad is a

big help until I do a screw-up of not putting in which person the appointment is

for.  Infact,  that was the lesson I learned this morning at the eye doctor

appointment.

     They were so creative.  They swapped appointments.  Everything glossed over

my error.  I deleted my mistake.

     Every doctor appointment is a learning experience.  How long have I been

trying to convince the eye doctor I was able to see better than I do?  If I was

really smart I could memorize the letters they ask each time.  The last letter

is an e.  Am I right?  A four you say.  I am  not even close.  They catch on real

quick.  What is the point of my deception?  One perk of it is it makes me laugh

when I am found out in the doctor's office.

       The internist office presents a different deception.  I have to get on

the scale .  Off come my shoes.  Do they really weigh five pounds?  It is too

late to help myself when I get on the scale.

     This all started with my last  birthday.  Eighty.   I must try and be

honest with myself.  Is it too late? 

      There is no reason to be so hard on myself.  Laughing is the best way to

make sense of my doctor's appointments.  That last letter is an e.  A four you

say.  You are right...I am not even close.

 

Post your comments here on your doctor appointmets.  Just press the button  www.women70andover.com  phyllis

 

3/27/2013 The 80 Choo! Choo! Almost Here! pf

The thought of comparing myself to fine wine will not work.  Who would ever have
a bottle of eighty year old wine un-opened?  I feel very much opened!  As far as
feeling old.  I do feel old when I tell someone I will soon be eighty.  There is
no doubt about it! Eighty is old.  It is almost one hundred years old!  Who in
the world could ever make that?  The statics are if major illnesses have not hit
before you are eighty, it is possible you could have quality of life.  Good
health maintenance throughout your life does have rewards for us.  Even if you
get hit with with  major illness, your stamina and energy will kick in for you.  All
those apples you ate will help!

Eighty coming up and recuperation from breast mastectomy is challenging.  Being a
vegan for years  that turned into a McMoo burger and back to a vegan.  I was
pleased I could keep something down.  With a recovering  Cancer patient, me ! 
My food likes can Change from day to day.  Just the other day, I craved fruit. 
Off I went and got cherries, blue berries, mango's and red seedless grapes.  What
a party I have had.  My belly talks to me quickly if I eat something I think I
really want, only to learn here comes a burning in the esophagus that stops me .

The above was written awhile back!  My writing is just like the refrigerator!  Ah! Ha!
There is all is in back of that large box of cereal someone stuck here!
My eating is quite normal as no meat..but I have had a love affair with poached eggs.
We got this two cup looking cooker at Walmart for two bucks!  You put an egg in each
compartment with one teaspoon of water over each egg. Pop it in the microwave for 60
seconds.  Perfection!    OH! OH!, if they come out hard...your microwave is telling you
to try 30 seconds, then stop open the microwave door and put in for another 30 seconds.
It is a high tech thing. Hugs, phyllis  05/06/1933    www.women70andover.com

 

3/4/2013 Pulling It All Together pr

We are both well and very busy.  Just checking in to let you know at this time I will not be writing the blog daily.  Too much to catch up with.  I am taking excerpts from the blog and editing and cutting them. (what a horrible job).  This is for a self published book I hope to complete and perhaps turn into an ebook online.  For me this will be finishing a goal of completion. 

Our other time is being used as we volunteer at Halifax Hospital, here in Daytona.  Bill has designed a Tree of Life that will be used for people recovering from Cancer and other things.  It will be used for posting and messaging in the form of drawings and words.  I with the help of social workers and a large team at the hospital I am helping put together an art therapy program.

All of this mixed with a program for volunteers for Hospice Help.  This is a learning program with the hope we both will help with Hospice.  This is intermingled with our dogie, Precious, as I have trained her to pass the test for Service Dog and Therapy Dog.  She will goes with us some of the times.

I have hope that all of our efforts will help others and lead to me writing about it.  At this point I am very interested on helping people cope with major illnesses as they can be over-whelming.

So, there you have it ...in alot of words!  This is what our bucket list is made of, instead of Bon Bons! Hugs,phyllis 05/06/1933  www.women70andover.com

1/30/2013 Where Are My Keys? pr

Did you ever walk into a room and say, "Gee I forgot what I came in here for?"  @#$% happens!  There are free online test you can easily take from your computer with the test results for you.  The one below you take monthly.  This is an easy way to monitor your progress.  These tests are now available through Medicare at your doctor's office when you are sixty-five. Hugs,phyllis 05/06/1933  www.women70andover.com    phyllisreh@aol.com

The website this is taken from is MEMTRAX.. go there and sign in.  TAKE THE TEST! 

Memory Maintenance Program

10 recommendations to help defer the onset of brain decline

It is important to lead a brain healthy lifestyle to help defer the onset of brain decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. These top 10 recommendations as developed by Dr. Ashford and his colleagues at the Stanford / Veterans Affairs Aging Clinical Research Center.

1. Maximize and continue your education and mental exercise:
   • Learn about your brain and how to care for it.
   • Develop habits to maintain your brain.
   • Take classes in subjects that interest you; education is associated with decreased Alzheimer’s risk, learning a new language may be very good.
   • Do mentally stimulating activities, including puzzles (like crossword puzzles, sudoku, and most importantly also learn new things).
   • Engage in a personalized brain training program.
2. Maximize and continue your physical exercise:
   • Have a regular exercise program.
   • Physical exercise is best 10-30 minutes after each meal for 10-30 minutes, 3 times per day.
   • Do both aerobic and strengthening exercises.
   • Stretching improves flexibility.
3. Maximize your social network and spiritual interactions:
   • Stay active with your friends.
   • Get involved with your community.
4. Continually monitor and improve your diet:
   • Take your vitamins daily.
   • Take at the morning meals: Vitamin E 200 iu; Vitamin C 250 mg; Multi-vitamin (with folate 400 mcg and no iron). For discussion, see: Willet WC, Stampfer MJ, “What vitamins should I be taking, Doctor?” New England Journal of Medicine, 345, 1819 (2001).
   • Check with your clinician yearly to be sure your homocysteine levels are not high and you have no signs of or risk factors for B12 deficiency.
   • Ask your doctor to make sure your B12 level is above 400. If diet doesn't help, take oral supplement. If oral supplement doesn't work, get monthly B12 shots additionally.
   • Maximize your vegetables.
   • Increase your dietary intake of omega-3-fatty acids.
   • OPTIMIZE Plant products and fish: Fruits - citrus, blue berries; Vegetables - green, leafy; Fish - deep sea, finned, oily, at least 3x/week; Nuts - especially almonds, and also dark chocolate.
   • MINIMIZE other animal products: Red meat (no more than once per week); Dairy (limit to low-fat); Poultry (limit eggs to 7 or fewer per week).
5. Keep your Body Mass Index (BMI) in the optimal range (19-25):
   • If you don’t know your BMI, make a point of finding out.
   • To optimize your BMI, control your food intake and exercise.
6. Physically protect your brain:
   • Wear your car seat belt.
   • Wear a helmet when you are riding a bicycle or participating in any activity where you might hit your head.
   • Decrease your fall risk through physical exercise; improve your balance.
   • Make your environment safe.
7. Visit your clinician on a regular basis. Know your body and your health risks:
   • Decrease your risk of type II diabetes. Monitor your fasting blood sugar yearly. If you have diabetes, make sure that your blood sugar is optimally controlled.
   • Consult your clinician about your joint and muscle pains (treat arthritis with ibuprofen or indomethacin).
   • Keep your hormones stable. Check with your clinician about your thyroid hormone. Discuss sex-hormone replacement therapy with your clinician (such therapy is not currently recommended for Alzheimer prevention, but may help memory and mood).
8. Optimize your cardiovascular health:
   • Take your blood pressure regularly; be sure that the systolic pressure is always less than 130, diastolic blood pressure is less than 85.
   • Watch your cholesterol; if your cholesterol is elevated (above 200), talk to your clinician about appropriate treatment. Consider “statin” medications and be sure your cholesterol is fully controlled.
   • If approved by your clinician: 1 enteric coated baby aspirin each day.
9. Optimize your mental health:
   • If you have difficulty getting to sleep, consider trying 3 - 6 milligrams of melatonin at bedtime (consider different brands if not helpful at first).
   • If you snore, consult your clinician about sleep apnea.
   • Get treatment for depression if needed.
   • Keep your stress level under control. While some stress is needed to maintain motivation, severe stress is bad for health.
   • Avoid excess alcohol use.
10. Optimize your cognitive health:
    • Have your memory screened regularly after 60 year of age.
    • Be sure the people around you are not concerned about your memory.
    • If you think that you have significant difficulty with your memory, talk to your clinician about further evaluation and therapy.
    • Engage in a variety of cognitive stimulation activities .

The Memory Test

• Become familiar with the demonstration before starting the test.
• MemTrax is the unique test that provides you a quick, reliable and easy to use memory screening test.
• Results are clearly detailed and provide an easy memory monitoring.
• Try our iPhone and iPad memory test!

Your Brain Health

• Discover Dr Ashford's recommendations to help defer the onset of brain decline arising with aging.
• What is memory? How do memory losses appear?
• What is a medical examination for memory problems?
• Improve your cognitive abilities with an efficient brain training program.

The Science

• Memory is declining all along aging, that's why a regular follow-up is essential to detect memory troubles.
• Dr Ashford, well-known for his work on Alzheimer's disease, is the inventor of the memory screening test.
• MemTrax is the result of a 10 years research work. Several studies prove its scientific validation.