A chronological rendition of my medical history for the last 19 years.

It was something my sister Lois said, that led me to contemplate all of the medical machinations, operations, and just plain medical issues I have had over the last 19 years. As an aside, I didn't realize it had been 19 years until I just stopped and did some math.

Up until 1992 my health was pretty robust and I had very few health problems. I had just turned 55 in 1991, which was the year that I finally accepted a job with NEC Technologies which was located in McDonough, Georgia. Just 2 years prior to this I had been working for Data General Corporation in Johnston County, North Carolina, until they closed their plant in 1989.

At any rate I had been working for NEC Technologies for about a year when I went into the hospital for an exploratory cardiac examination, which turned out to be open heart surgery involving 6 bypasses. No I hadn't had a heart attack at that point so the operation was extremely successful and I felt one hell of a lot better as a result.

Now for the rest of the story.

For the next 8 to 9 years my health remained pretty good. But some of the people I had to work with were less then desirable, in fact they were SOB's and gave me a lot of grief. I didn't fully realize just how bad it was on my body, but in fact the stress caused me to wind up with 2 heart attacks at work, the second of which caused a 40% loss of heart function. I was told by my doctors that the next time I got carried out of work on a stretcher I would be dead. Their recommendation was that I should retire as in medically because of my heart.

Well! it turns out that NEC was moving the operation to Mexico anyway and thus closing the plant that I decided that retiring was a good idea. I asked the doctors if they would agree with me applying to Social Security 100% medical disability and they said that they would. So I went into my boss and reported that my doctors said I had to go on 100% medical disability.

I have to give NEC Technologies credit for one thing, their benefits package was excellent. So, I applied for and received both short term and long term disability as a result of my bad heart. The result of this was that I received 2/3rds of my salary until the disability insurance ran its course, by the end of which I was finally approved for 100% disability on Social Security.

During all of the time I was on disability I was still on NEC'S medical insurance as was Claudia and Elizabeth until she reached age 23. During 1999 and 2000, when I started disability, I kept having pain in my lower abdomen which turned out to be a hernia, so in 2000 I had a hernia operation. In about 2002 I was diagnosed with Sudden Death Syndrome and my Doctor suggested we install a combination pacemaker/defibrillator, so that if my heart should stop it would be restarted automatically by the defibrillator, to which I agreed. The pacemaker was a passive type that only started pulsing when my heart beat would falter. I kept having problems with what I thought was the pacemaker, only it turned out that a MRSA infection was introduced, either by the device or by the doctors during the operation when installed.

At any rate, I wound up back in the hospital for 2 weeks in isolation and the infection came real close to killing me. The pacemaker had to be removed, a pick line installed under my upper arm clear into my heart, and then pumped full of a mixture of antibiotics for 24/7 for 2 weeks. In the meantime, the wound was kept open with a vacuum pump to keep vacuuming out the infection, and this was also 24/7. Needless to say, I couldn't have any visitors and Claudia was going out of her mind with worry. It was not a fun time for either of us.I did survive this major medical problem and after several months my cardiac doctor asked it I would be willing to have another pacemaker/defibrillator installed. After discussing it with Claudia I decided we would give it another go.

This one was installed on the other side and everything seemed to go well. I recovered and the pacemaker/defib was working per design. I, however, never really felt as good as I should, I kept running a low grade fever, and I didn't have any energy, I was tired all of the time. Which for me was a major set back. This went on for years until 2009, when the water pipe buried under our concrete floor started leaking, causing our water bill to go from $30.00 per month to over $400.00 per month. The leaking was not obvious because the water traveled underground out to the back yard below the patio. When I finally found out where the water was going, I sank into the mud almost 6 inches.

The broken water pipe was the hot water line which ran from the hot water heater in the garage under the concrete floor into the kitchen, then on into the bathrooms in the middle of the house. Well, this entailed enlisting my friend Bob's help. We had to cut into the walls, cut off and cap the pipe going underground then run a new pipe overhead in the crawl space from the hot water heater in the garage over into the kitchen then over between the wall between the two bathrooms.

Our trouble with water wasn't over yet, only a few months later the water line from the street, ran under the garage and into the kitchen, then under the kitchen to the bathrooms. I was outside digging up the yard when I suddenly collapsed with extreme pain in my chest and a fever spiking over 104 degrees. An ambulance was called and I was off to the hospital. The doctors found I had another MRSA infection, again in my heart, and so the pacemaker/defibrillator had to be removed, another pick line and antibiotic pump and vacuum pump had to be installed for 24/7. This time I was sent home after five days with both pumps being carried on my person. I had to go to a lab every other day, to get a fresh bag of antibiotics installed and my vitals checked. It seems that the MRSA infection was sitting in my heart for several years causing my low level fevers and constant tiredness, until I started doing strenuous work causing the MRSA to erupt beyond my bodies ability to cope.

While I was incapacitated my friend Bob and Claudia had to call in a plumber to fix the water problem, which ended up costing us over $3500.00.


Needless to say I did not allow any more devices to be implanted. I will walk around with sudden death syndrome, if I die, I die.

Following this, my eyesight was going out on me. I got so I couldn't drive at night, and I kept putting brighter and brighter light bulbs in so I could read. Here is a link explaining this medical problem: http://victors-journal.blogspot.com/2006/03/to-see-again.html

In April 2008 I had my hip replaced, here is a link to that medical problem,  http://victors-journal.blogspot.com/2008/06/follow-up-on-replacement-hip.html  
My bad hip caused me to have to purchase a power chair so that I could get around as I really couldn't walk hardly at all. It was paid for by medicare and my supplemental insurance. In the meantime we had to get a power chair for Claudia and we had to pay for it out of our own pocket for another $3600.00.

In 2009 I had rooster comb shots in my left knee trying to keep from having to go into the hospital to have the knee replaced. The shots did help for about 6 months. I wish it were longer. Now here it is the end of 2012 and I really need the knee replaced. I want the doctor that did my hip to do my knee but have been unable to make an appointment to see him. I will try again after the holidays.


On August 31st of this year(2011) I went into the hospital for another major heart operation, this time to open up the front major anterior artery which has been closed for 10 years. This was an experimental operation and was very successful. I do feel better with the increased blood flow to my heart.

 As I may have mentioned before, I am going to cardiac rehab exercise 3 times a week and my strength and stamina have improved considerably. I have also lost a considerable amount of weight, forcing me to have to buy new smaller better fitting clothes. Gee! isn't that a problem to have.

All told over the past 5 years I have had 10 angioplasties, and 20 stents, plus the original 6 bypasses on my heart.

Truth to be told, if it weren't for modern medicine, the skill of the doctors, and God's intervention, I wouldn't be alive today.

God Bless us all. from the gahillbilly.


"(C) Copyright by Victor Winebrenner"

HERE IT IS, LATE NIGHT AND I CAN'T SLEEP.

Guess I shouldn't have taken that nap late this afternoon. But I was so tired. I reckon it has something to do with the fact that I just got out of the hospital after having a heart catheterization. During which I had another stent installed and an angioplasty performed. While the procedure is minimally invasive, the body has still been invaded and it needs time to recover.

How do I know this, you ask? Well because all told I have had 6 bypasses all done at the same time, and approximately 15 stents and at least 6 angioplasties. In addition I have had two defibrillators' installed, one on each side, and both times I wound up with MRSA infections that damn near killed me. My Heart Specialist and I have discussed the possibility of installing another one, and I said NO!! I'll take my chances with sudden death syndrome, which is a condition I also have.

I can truthfully say that I am very grateful to God and to the skill of my physicians for keeping me alive this long. Evidently, since I am still here on what is left of God's green earth, I still have something he/she wants me to do.

If anybody has a direct line to God, ask him/her what it is I am supposed to do.

I can't drink, can't smoke, can't have sex, what is left besides death and taxes?  Speaking of death and taxes are congressmen, senators, and President can't wait to add to the deficit and add more taxes to our burden and our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, and on and on ad nauseous.

Getting back to our congressmen and senators, are they listening to the common person, that's us folks. Hell no, they are there to do nothing but kowtow to the powerful lobbyists from Insurance Companies, and Pharmaceutical companies. Look at how the current power play is going with the National Health Care Bill. The Pharmaceutical and Insurance company doesn't want an National Health Care Bill. They especially don't wish to have there money machine shut down, because that is what the current state of affairs is, a money machine that makes them a clear 50% profit every year, with a 25% increase in profit every year.
It is criminal and it should be stopped.

Do I sound bitter? I hope so, because I am bitter. The rich and powerful keep getting more rich and powerful while the rest of us are working ourselves to death trying to make a living. The gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting wider and wider, while the middle class keeps getting smaller and smaller. Which is just what the rich and powerful want to happen.

Take a really good look at yourselves folks and tell me you better off now then your were 10 or 20 years ago. I doubt it.

I guess I have ranted enough.

God Bless us all, everyone, gahillbilly.


"(C) Copyright by Victor Winebrenner"

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

I have been reviewing the National Health Bill H.R.3200 and I find that it is way too long to read and understand.

MY OPINION is that we need and must have a National Health Plan.

Why, well my wife has had no health plan of any kind for over nine years. Nine years ago is when I had to retire with congestive heart failure. In my case I was able to apply for and receive 100% disability from Social Security. I was 64 at the time. Prior to nine years ago, Claudia was covered under my companies health plan.

The company I worked for had a short term disability plan and then a long term disability plan. Under those plans I continued to be covered under the companies health plan. At age 65 I automatically was covered by Medicare.

I took the precaution of buying a supplemental health plan, which has paid off big time, since I have been in the hospital at least 18 times in 9 years. I think it has been more than that, anyway, virtually all of my medical bills have been covered. Up until two years ago I had to pay for all of my prescriptions.

Now Medicare part D screws me over. Medicare part D is the so called prescription drug program administered by Medicare. But the law was written by the Drug Companies, not by our Senators or Congressman. So the drug companies are making money hand over fist, while us common folks continue to get screwed. I won't go into the over 50 different Part D Prescription PLans that are available in Georgia alone. Trying to pick one that will cover all of your medicines is difficult.

Anyway, back to Claudia and no Health Insurance. We could not buy health insurance for her at any price because of her pre-existing condition. That condition being post-polio syndrome. It is incurable and degenerative. There is no cure and there is no research being done to find a cure as it is terminal, period.

In the past two years Claudia has had to go into the hospital twice for emergency surgery. The first time was in 2006 for pancreatic disease and gall stones. She damn near died from it.

The second time was in March of this year for a broken leg, her femur was snapped in two and required a metal rod be inserted in order to repair it.

In both cases we had no money to pay the hospital and doctor bills. Each time the bills exceeded $70,000. We had applied to Medicaid several times and each time were told I receive too much money from Social Security, so tough luck. With the money that both I and my wife recieve we are not able to pay all of our bills each month, so go figure.

Here are some questions that I think are the Right Questions:

1. DO WE NEED A NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN?

2. SHOULD THERE BE A GOVERNMENT SPONSORED PLAN?

3. CAN WE AFFORD NOT TO HAVE A NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN?

4. IS FREE SPEECH GETTING IN THE WAY OF DEVELOPING A HEALTH PLAN?


gahillbilly

People we need a National Health Plan.

Your questions and comments are welcome.