The World as We See It

A Different Side of the Saga

March 15, 2012 in Heart Attack, Life | 1 comment

posted by Patti

Tuesday, February 21, not quite 1:30 in the afternoon, I’m sitting at my desk in my cubicle in front of the computer screen, as usual. My cell phone rings. It’s John.

Me: Hello

JP: Now, don’t freak out …

Me: (!!!!!)

JP: … but I’m at the OHF [occupational health facility] and they want to take me to the hospital.

Me: What?!?!?!?!?

JP: I’m sure it’s heartburn but they want me to get it checked out.

There’s more to that conversation but that’s mostly what I remember. John told me not to come home right away, and against all my instincts I did not. I told him to call me when he got to the ER. Then I tried to work while convincing myself it was heartburn.

About an hour later, he called from the ER. He told me that they gave him nitro and the chest pain went away. Uh-huh. Not heartburn, then, eh? They planned to keep him overnight to run the blood tests to confirm a heart attack. After sending an email to John’s buddy at his job to let him know what was going on, I finally left work. My commute is about 75 minutes. That was the longest drive ever.

After stopping at home to grab a couple of things John requested, I found him in the ER still insisting it was heartburn but we both knew better. We figured he might have to stay on Wednesday to get a catheterization and a stent. Home by Thursday or Friday. Yeah. Right.

A Touch Of Heartburn. Really.

March 9, 2012 in Heart Attack, Life | 4 comments

By Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator [CC-BY-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Tuesday, February 21^st, was a normal workday for me. It was the first day back from a 4-day weekend that didn’t quite go as planned. Friday morning I had been setting up camp for the long weekend when I dropped a picnic table on my big toe, turning it various colors that are not good for toes to be. Other factors conspired against us that weekend so we returned home early and took it easy. I had had a mild case of heartburn for several days, unusual for me, but the big thing on my mind that Tuesday was my throbbing toe.

My heartburn kept getting worse, though, and after lunch I googled the differences between heartburn and heart attacks, just to be safe. I was pretty sure I wasn’t having a heart attack since the pain was central to my chest (not radiating into my arms), and I felt it in my throat and glands, which led me to think acid reflux. There were two symptoms that I had — sweating and light-headedness — that were heart attack indicators and it was getting kind of painful so I hopped in my truck and drove over to the Occupational Health Facility (OHF) to have them check me out. I walked in and told the lady behind the counter that I was having chest pains. I have had pretty much zero control over my life since that moment.

About 15 years ago, I had done the exact same thing. At that time I had never had heartburn before and Google wasn’t around yet so I didn’t know what to expect. They hooked up an EKG, took a look and declared me okay. They sent me home and told me to get checked out by a cardiologist. I did so. The verdict was heartburn. I expected no different this time. I was wrong.

They took the EKG, which looked okay. But they told me that they were shipping me off to the hospital in an ambulance just to be sure. I kept insisting it was probably nothing more than heartburn. They said maybe but they weren’t screwing around. I called Patti and told her what was up and not to worry. (HA!) Off I went in the back of an ambulance for the first time ever — strike that one off my bullet list. The EMT and I chatted the whole time and he told me I looked good, all the signs were fine, not to worry. And I wasn’t worried (even when we were followed the last several miles by a hearse). I was feeling fine by this time and was convinced that they’d check my blood, no markers would be present and I’d be sent home.

The ER was nuts, like all ERs the world over. They wheeled me in, moved me to a bed and I said bye to the KSC EMTs. And it began. I was poked and prodded, blood was drawn, students came to take their shot at me. At one point they gave me some nitro under my tongue, which seemed to help (a mild pain had returned by then). That was when I knew that I might be in trouble, since I had been told that nitro only works on heart attacks. Crap. I remained fully in denial.

I was in the ER for many hours. They kept drawing blood to watch the markers, which were indeed trending up. I had already been told that I would be spending the night and by that time Patti was there as well as my good friend Oscar. Oscar had told his daughter Michelle, who just happened to be in town and who just happens to be a cardiac nurse, what was happening and she came over too. The moral support was much needed.

Finally, they came in and told me the news that by now had become inevitable: Wednesday they were going to run a tube from my groin up into my heart, take a tour and, if necessary, put in a stent or two. No sweat. By 10:00 that night I was settled into a room enjoying all the comforts the hospital had to offer. The next day was going to be an interesting day.

Coming up next: Women laugh at me, I see my heart in action and I spend the day on my back.

A Few From The Smokies

October 10, 2011 in photography, Travel | 5 comments

Here a few shots from my recent trip to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park via the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Near Asheville, NC, 9/12/11

These two shots were taken early (very early) in the morning from the Blue Ridge. It was gorgeous and a nice, cool break from a long Florida summer.

Near Asheville, NC, 9/12/11

This guy was just standing on the side of the road near the Smokemont Campground. Again, very early.

Smokemont, NC, GSMNP, 9/13/11

And this guy was well off the beaten path in Cades Cove.

Cades Cove, TN, GSMNP, 9/14/11

Finally, here’s a shot of Pearson’s Falls, just off of I-26 near Saluda, NC. After spending almost 9 hours behind the wheel, this walk was a short and enjoyable detour. Just what I needed at the time.

Saluda, NC, 9/11911

Let’s Wrap This Subject Up

September 10, 2011 in Ireland, surreal, Travel | 1 comment

To complete this little trilogy of burial customs we’re going to Ireland. One destination that was on our list was a region known as The Burren. They are, believe me, aptly named. Miles of steep hillsides running down to the sea that are covered with rocks. Little to no vegetation. Barren.

In Ireland there are these brown arrow signs to sites of interest. We got quite skilled at following them to our destinations and this was one of those occasions. They led us away from the coast to, basically, the middle of nowhere. Our goal was an ancient burial site known as The Poulnabrone Dolmen. It’s a stone-age site (Neolithic, actually), kind of like a mini-Stonehenge, that sits a few hundred yards off the road. We were there on a strikingly beautiful day with blue skies dotted with clouds and we had the place to ourselves. It’s truly surreal: this arrangement of rocks sitting in the middle of a vast field of stones. When you get to it you realize that it’s only about 5 1/2 feet high…you have to crouch inside of it. But looking at it you can’t help but wonder at the motivations that drove the construction of this monument, a non-trivial task if ever there was one. According to Wikipedia, there are between 16 and 22 adults and 6 children under there. And here we are, 5-7 thousand years later, visiting their resting place. Maybe that’s why they built it.

5/3/03, The Burren, Ireland

5/7/03, Drombeg Stone Circle, Ireland

Those brown signs I mentioned earlier were quite a help. On more than one occasion we pulled a u-turn after seeing one and would wander down these tiny roads until we came to something: a castle, a circular stone fort or even a small stone circle set in the middle of working fields. The Dromberg stone circle wasn’t very big but it was pretty representative of the circles to be found all over Ireland. Nearby were the foundations of two huts. There was a pool of water in one into which they would drop hot stones to boil the water. Pretty clever, but a lot of work for a simple thing like hot water.

5/7/03, Drombeg Stone Circle, Ireland

“We saw dead people”

August 9, 2011 in Paris, photography, surreal, Travel | 2 comments

Paris, FR 12/8/05

So, in keeping with the spirit of the last post, I’ll tell you about another Parisian tour we did. Navigating the subway system brought us to a normal commercial district with cafes and stores, similar to many we had been through while we were there. The guidebook led us to a nondescript door opening into a narrow hallway. At the back was a lady behind a window that collected our Euros and then we went through a door and down a narrow stairway. A long way down. 130 steps, then down a long stone corridor and into a room (or a grotto) full of bones. Human bones. We were in the Catacombs.

It’s really pretty amazing to see. We’d heard about them before, even seen them on TV, but in person it’s…hard to describe. It’s somber, spooky and overwhelming all at once. The bones are carefully placed, it’s not like they just dumped them. The catacombs were originally quarries but when the cemeteries got exceedingly nasty (which doesn’t even begin to describe the, um, sanitary conditions of the time) they moved the remains on in. Several million of them. That’s lots-o-bones. They placed them in piles according to type, piles of thighs and legs and arms. Piles and piles of skulls. Arranged in many different styles. Skulls were used many times as accents.

They made art.

We walked a long way, 2 km, through rooms and corridors all the same and all different. It wasn’t depressing in any fashion, it was fascinating. And then we climbed up another 85 steps and were, rather jarringly, back on the street trying to figure out where we were. It was nice to see the sun.

Note: All photos were taken with no flash. The only illumination was the bare electric lights and my mag lite, held by my lovely assistant. I used a fast lens (50mm, f1.8) and got some interesting shots. I’ve seen almost the same shot as the first one below published somewhere. Apparently the rose is a regular feature.

Paris, FR 12/8/05

Morbid Tourism

July 27, 2011 in Paris, Travel | 5 comments

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, 12/9/05

Several years ago, Patti and I went to Paris to celebrate one of life’s little milestones. We went in late-November/early-December and it was, for the most part, cold and gray most of the time we were there. Towards the end of the trip, we made a stop at a location that all the books said was totally worth it: the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery. You may have heard of it. It’s best known among people of my demographic to be the final stop for Jim Morrison. We found it to be much, much more than that.

First off, it’s huge (over 190 acres). There are lots of other famous people resting here. One of the first we saw was the bizarre tomb of Oscar Wilde, which for reasons I can’t begin to explain was covered with the red lipstick impressions of hundred of lips (not all female, I suspect).

Oscar Wilde's lipstick covered tomb. Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, 12/9/05

Morrison’s grave was protected by some fans, all significantly younger than ourselves, to protect it from vandalism. At Chopin’s tomb, there was a little old man tending to the many fresh flowers (in December no less) and generally keeping things tidy for old Frederic. We strolled past the resting places of Abelard and Heloise, Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein, and many other graves, tombs and monuments of Parisian society. It was all pretty cool, even though it was our coldest day yet.

Chopin's monument is tended with great love. Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, 12/9/05

What surprised us the most, however, were the monuments to the losses taken in WWII. We ran across them early and often. There were many of them commemorating the victims of the camps, members of the resistance, specific incidents and who knows what else. And some of them, many of them, can only be described as surreal. Grotesque shapes, skeletons and weird art adorned them. It was quite sobering.

One of many sculptures honoring the lives lost in WWII. Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, 12/9/05

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, 12/9/05

Time To Move On

July 8, 2011 in Space | 3 comments

STS-135, Atlantis, lifted off earlier today on the last launch of any meaning for the foreseeable future. As I type this, there are friends of mine on the launch team with all kinds of emotions running through them. Many people have been laid off with many, many more heading out the door later this month. Sad stuff. The entire launch team is like a family with a common purpose. They did their jobs well and with passion and they are justifiably proud of their 30 years worth of accomplishments. After wheel stop on this mission, the US will no longer have a Manned Space Flight Program, at least an active one. Time to move on.

The first launch I saw live was STS-6 (Challenger). Today I stayed home, unwilling to brave the roads to watch from close up. 1,000,000 people all hopping in their cars at the same time is not my idea of fun. (I talked a bit about that here.) I watched from my back yard but, due to weather, I only saw it for about 2 seconds before it slipped into the clouds. The view below is a quick shot from my backyard. It’s something that every taxpayer should have seen at least once. I was very fortunate. I can only hope that I will have the chance to see men launched from KSC again before I retire. Odds are not good at this point, but you never know.

PS: A huge pat on the back to every member of the Launch Processing System (LPS) team, past and present. LPS comprises the Computer and Display Systems that checkout and launch the Shuttle. During 30 years of operations, there was never a launch delay due to an issue with LPS. That’s the kind of people I work with. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

STS-6 Rollout, Spring of 1983

STS-135, 7/8/11

Yours truly in the Orbiter Pilots seat, Long, long ago

All Together Again For The First Time

July 4, 2011 in Family | 3 comments

In 1979 I worked for a company in Baltimore that performed quality testing on various construction materials: concrete (not cement!), soil, paint, steel, etc…. It was a turning point in my life; not because of the job itself, but because of my boss. George & I immediately “clicked” and became close friends. He was my best man at my first wedding, as well as at my final wedding. During that early time frame he was a keyboard player in several bands. Although I tried to get him to come camping with me for years, he had a wife and two kids. Between work, music and family, he had no time for an additional hobby.

Then, in 1982, I moved to Florida in order to finish college. Leaving Baltimore, I had to shed a bunch of ~~crap~~ stuff so I gave him several rucksacks … essentially big sacks with a couple of wooden strips sewn into them for stiffness and a couple of shoulder straps. Crude, huge and uncomfortable. And off to Florida I went, with no idea of what I had started.

That winter, while huddled around a heat stove in the cold garage that served as the testing lab, George and another friend/co-worker Arne, decided to put the gear to the test. They packed everything they could think of into the packs, threw some more stuff in just in case they had forgotten something, and went backpacking in the Shenandoah National Park. And were hooked. George went on to become extremely involved in the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club where he devoted countless volunteer hours over the years. And a traditional camping trip to a backwoods cabin on the second weekend of January was started. For about 28 years now, we have gone off to the woods for a bit of hiking in the cold, more than a bit of adult beverages and laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. Early on, George’s son, Jesse, became part of the crew (I can still picture his first taste of alcohol in the Virginia backwoods). Each year we caught up as kids were born and grew, as divorces took place and marriages were celebrated. Each year a group photo was taken. Most of these show four guys heavily bundled mugging for the camera. One of the first was taken during a summertime trip on the porch of the cabin that gives our group our name: Corbin Cabin.

The Corbin Club, taken a long time ago.

Last week, we met on the beach of North Carolina for a week to attend the wedding of Arne’s daughter. We shared a house just a few minutes walk from the ocean and the unique thing about this trip was that we each had our ladies with us. Although Patti had met all of my buddies before, this was the first time she had spent an extended amount of time with them. On the way back to Florida, after watching George, Arne, Jesse and myself interact for a while, she stated that she now has a better appreciation of why the four of us are so close. The only way I can explain it is that they are members of my family. The family that I have chosen. I look forward to seeing them whenever and wherever it may happen.

Like 6 months from now on the second weekend in January.

January, 2011

Oak Island, NC. June, 2011

The Corbin Family, June, 2011

Here, Kitty Kitty

June 12, 2011 in critters, photography | 3 comments

The other day my boss had the Division over for a picnic/party.

Not this kind of cat

Burgers, dogs, beer (or, in our case, rum): the normal summertime shindig. He lives in a rural area in East Central Florida where there are lots of farms, groves and horses. We had a good time meeting people’s spouses and kids in a relaxed setting.

A woman in our group happens to live very close to my boss. Her family has been involved for the past several years with a cat rescue program. Now, we’re not talking tabby cats here, we’re talking big cats. Very big cats. At one point late in the afternoon a bunch of us drove down the street to her house and strolled into her neighbor’s back yard where these cats are kept. I was glad I had my good camera.

These folks have a huge cage in their backyard, just beyond the pool (this is Florida after all). Behind three layers of chain link fencing are two 400 pound tigers. They are, to say the least, impressive. Particularly after a couple of adult beverages. Before we were allowed into the inner enclosure we were warned to not stick our fingers through the chain link fence. As if THAT was going to be an issue. The reason was not in fear that they’d be used as a snack, but that these tigers are pretty much like any other cat in many ways. Cats like to rub against things. Four hundred pounds of cat rubbing against fingers stuck through fence equals broken fingers.

No fingers were harmed in the making of these photos.

Mims, FL, 6/4/11

It’s a Weird World

May 4, 2011 in Travel | 3 comments

OK, so we’re in the Orlando Airport the other morning waiting on a flight to Baltimore (more on that in a later post). Patti heads off to find us some breakfast and when she comes back she tells me that she saw a lamb in the concourse. Actually, she heard it first amidst the din of a modern airport: “baaaaa…”. (do you put quotes around an animal’s sound?) She saw a guy with a lamb in his arms.

Huh.

I, of course, head up there with my camera and, sure enough there are not one, but two guys, each with what turned out to be baby goats. Before I took a couple of quick shots I asked him the obvious question. Scroll to the bottom to see the only reply I could get out of him.

4/28/11, Orlando International Airport

He told me that “It’s Bring Your Kids To Work Day”.