Voting Time~A Name for McG's New Puter

[Agent0013]

I smoked from the time I was 16 until I was 45. Got lucky to not get cancer from it, as I started reducing my amount of smoking at the age of 37. By the time I quite, I was down to 2 cigarettes a day. I quite easily from there, just stopping altogether. I had a preacher anoint my head with oil and pray for me to no longer have the desire, and it worked! I am now 65, and have not smoked tobacco for 20 years and a few months now. Others that smoke can blow their smoke in my face, trying to make me want one, and I still don't get the desire. I never developed any problems from my former habit. I have no precancerous cells in my system from what my doctor says, so I got really lucky!

I feel for the people that are slaves to tobacco, and for what they will more than likely suffer because of it. After all that time being free from smoking, I have to say I breathe fairly well. I do have asthma stage 1, but that is a condition I was born with, and it rarely flares up. Usually the onset is triggered by my pollen allergies. I really hate the wicked headaches I get during those spells.

[McGrandpa]

My body is different, now, after all the cancer mess.   I started smoking when I was 12 in 66 because I was dared.  I stopped cold in 2010 because a little old doctor got on his knees and begged me to stop, while I still could.   I did.   I didn't smoke daily until June 72, because it was one of the very few things we could do, in Coast Guard boot camp.   Oops.   Comes out to 38 years, don't it?   Gee.   Well, I quit in 2010, then in late 2012 I was diagnosed with cancer, positively.   So in mid 2013 I had completed the chemotherapy, then went in for The Big Op.  It was a Radical cysto-prostate-ectomy.   Bye Bye Bladder, Prostate and ALL the external bits and bobs that went with the prostate.  All gone.   July 2022, a decade after diagnoses, no cancer, no PSA (hormone).  PSA is checked as an indicator for cancer when PSA increases from Low or Negligible amount.    ALL that mess, you can be sure of one thing:  I will not light up another cigarette, nor allow anyone to smoke in my abode.  Even the owner of the property.   If you don't want to fight, don't light up in my presence.

[McGrandpa]

My chest, lungs, are clear.   Shouldn't be, I know that.   But still clear.    Big favors eh?

[thelufias]

THAT IS a good thing......

[McGrandpa]

Saw my doctor today.  First time in 3 weeks.  She had to cancel last week, emergency surgery.   Kinda like the one where she met me.  I don't get upset when that stuff happens.   She is suddenly the only podiatrist and tending the patients of three.   Helluva workload.   I do what I can to make life easier on them there.   Means not moaning groaning bellyaching about how long its taking to get seen.  I did have to holler a nurse up when my ostomy pouch got full.   Either get me a pee bottle or to a bathroom!  OR we get a mop n bucket.  I had spares with me.  JIC.   Other than that, my 1 o'clock got into a 2:30 o'clock and I kept the peace.  When the doctor did come, she was wearing her scrubs still, and bustling all over the room.  Then she sat down to my foot and focused entirely on that work in front of her.  Amazing.   Foot is still doing good.   She learned the home care people are not doing exactly what she wanted done and my foot is not better for that.   She is annoyed about that.   She said that I will do what is needed at that point if they "see the orders as THIS or THAT" and not what the doctor wants done.
Might just result in a different outfit sending nurses to the house.   I like the people, cannot handle the difference in application.  The supplies are here, no shortage of necessary materiel.    Got to be an addage somewhere, "Where room is left for interpretation, someone WILL get it wrong".   Or something.  Heh!  :)

[thelufias]

Glad all went well....And yup...as mentioned ... Same problem at our clinic...Understaffed and you've become part of the assembly line instead of a patient...  But...more and more folks are avoiding that profession after what happened with covid...Overworked and under appreciated.

[McGrandpa]

Where I got to pay something, I don't mind.    Where I have to sacrifice a bit of time or effort, that's ok.   I have seen two nurses in OUR clinic out with COVID, even though they showed no symptoms.  They come to work and get get swabbed, wait for the in-house test to show positive or negative, THEN go to either work or back home.  Same with us now.   I saw where one of our doctors was in the hospital for acute respiratory trauma, and he tested positive on entry to the ER.   He made it, but is dealing with after effects, retired now.   We've learned we don't have to be in direct contact with a COVID infected person to get it.   The few things we have to fight it, *I USE*!   Vaccine, CHECK!   Facemasks ON, CHECK!   Wash hands often soap/hot water, CHECK!   Always wash before and after eating, CHECK!   Pet my cats, wash me hands. CHECK!  Veterinarian doc said our pets CAN get that from us now.   OW!
IF COVID hits you, and it really gets a hold on you, then you will get awfully sick.   Imagine a smoker with nasty smokers cough...and covid takes hold hard... I worry a lot about my brother in law and baby sister.   Only, SHE is down to one or two cigarettes per day, not packs.  HE is down to less than a pack a day, was at 2.5 packs a day.  ME I am still at 00.0000 packs PERIOD!  LOL!    The after effects of my smoking are going to be with me the rest of my life man.   UROSTOMY.   It's a booger folks!

[McGrandpa]

BTW, if it isn't obvious, TL .... I agree with you totally!

[thelufias]

LOL...Obvious it was my friend...

[McGrandpa]

This last visit, I got the  doctor for nearly a full hour.   The foot needed the attention, and boy did she give it to it!   OW!  And all she did was see if a bit of skin on the foot was undermining any.   Nup!  Not EVEN a little bit!   And she was talking the whole time.  Either to me, or to one of the nurses present.   Her final verdict was "I don't see anything new, alarming or bad.  I like it.  And, I can SEE you are taking all your meds, and staying off it.  And that you do use the cam-boot when you are up.  You keep that up!"  And she was out the door headed for another patient.   So we KNOW what the foot is doing, we know about the old bone infection, we know about this staph infection, and I am taking all the meds for that now too.   Dr. Perez and I agreed with each other again;  we do NOT want to lop off the ol foot!  :D