Lifestyle Change Necessary

One of the reasons of the earlier journaled trip to Spokane was to visit Dr. Bradley Bale, a family practice doc who has done some amazing research in heart attack prevention.

Back in October, I had a scare. On a routine trip to my internist, I complained about indigestion and "shortness of breath". I now know I was "huffing and puffing" from exertion, not "short of breath". But what do I know? The internist decided to do an EKG to compare to earlier ones, and it was not normal. I exhibited a "left bundle branch block". The doc decided that I maight be having a heart attack, and the next thing I knew, there were hot and cold running nurses, paramedics, IVs, gurneys, an EMS ambulance, and a ride the local emergency room. Geez...

There, after a cardiac ultrasound, blood tests and a chemical stress test, a cardiologist decided that I wasn't having (nor had I ever had) a heart attack, but one might occur at any second. I was referred to another cardiologist, who looked at all the tests and decided that, I needed a procedure called "cardiac catheterization". A few days later, I had the procedure. They inserted a needle into the artery in my groin, and ran a tiny probe up into the arteries in my heart, where he injected a dye. The dye enables the doctor to take x-rays to determine how much blockage that I have.

The result was that some of the vessels had 30% blockage and one had 50%. No balloon angioplasty or stents were required. I was told if it gets worse, I would require bypass surgery, however because I was not a candidate for those less invasive procedures.

These results prompted Becky to arrange for us to go to see Dr. Bale. In preparation for the trip, I had several blood tests, which were sent to Berkeley Heart Labs. Between Vegas and Spokane, we were required to fast. Upon arrival, more tests were required. It was determined that I am "pre-diabetic", insulin resistant, and have that arteries of a man 25 years older than my current age. It felt (and still feels) like a death sentence.

At the end of it all, the medication to control my cholesterol is now far more agressive, and escalating. I have been ordered to lose 10 inches in my waist. By my calculations, I need to lose 80 lbs. This will be accomplished with a combination of diet and exercise, and should take approximately one year.

I will keep this log updated periodically - perhaps weekly.

Edisto Salt Marsh 

Sea Oats on Edisto 

Edisto Beach

Edisto Salt Marsh

Edisto Island - South Carolina

29 December 2004

We awakened early at our home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and by 7:45am struck out for Edisto Island by way of Columbia, SC. The trip down the mountain was uneventful as was the trip in the Columbia to pick up Becky’s mom and dad.

We had lunch at a seafood restaurant near the river, then put the rented DeVille on I-26 southbound. Thereafter, the trip was less than ideal. About 5 miles north of I-95 traffic screeched to a halt, and crept along at about 1 mph. We learned later this was caused by an 18 wheeler accident. 30 minutes passed before we made the first exit, where we took some back roads and arrived at I-95, which was also creeping due to a grass fire.

More back roads and finally after a 2 hour delay, we were able to make our way back to I-95 which was finally running at posted speeds. At dusk, we arrived at our destination on Edisto Island.

Edisto is a very interesting place. It’s like a jungle on the beach – a very quiet, sleepy, beach community, which has very few commercial developments. And despite pressures to do otherwise, the residents here fight commercialism at every turn. And it makes for a very unique environment.