Some know, but in the interest of full disclosure the night of December 16th Fred took me to the ER due to pain symptoms that might have been heart.  We arrived at 9:30 pm and got home at 7 am the next day.  Not because of me, but only one doctor, and several serious emergencies.  That one doctor was ready to whisk me off to surgery to have my gallbladder removed.  Fortunately, he found a gallbladder specialist to come check me out, and her cooler head put the brakes on that diagnosis. During my stay, I had 3 CT Scans, two blood draws, and one UltraSound. This is NOT the best way to get a complete physical — but I’m pleased to report that my heart, lungs, pancreas, etc., and blood chemistry were all an A+!  For 9+ hours Fred sat by my side on a wooden folding chair with only a padded seat, and without his crossword puzzles!  When we left the hospital, Fred told them, “Next time I’m bringing a recliner, and my puzzle book!” Back home, I slept most of that day.  Dr. Susan Hagen, the gallbladder doctor called me the next day to see how I was doing.  No pain, and none since!  Because of the last CT Scan, she reported that I had a 2 cm mass on my left kidney, and that I would be hearing from our primary, Dr. Jennifer Christensen.  When we saw her, she had spoken with both the radiologist, and Dr. Hagen which impressed us.  Next stop was to see Dr. Fronczak, the urologist.  She wanted to see it for herself — so yesterday, the 27th, I had a more complete ultrasound at BCH — results unknown as of this writing.

Here’s to a Happy 2023, for ALL of us, without too many bumps & bruises.