- but not by much. Let me hit rewind, and fill you in. I have been trying to up the exercise game since I came back from Palm Springs in mid March. Nothing's changed; I still loathe exercise. But I loathe doctors and medical care more, so I am trying to keep all the parts moving, currently by walking 5+ miles a day. Walking, mind, not running, but it seemed to be working.
About a month ago, my breathing started to become laboured. My walking - never very fast - became slower. Then, I could walk less and less. Then, I started stopping at benches along the route for a breather. Last Saturday, I collapsed, at home, just walking from my bedroom to the dining room - it is not that far. I called friend John, who said he couldn't understand a word I said, but figured out I was in distress. He grabbed my keys and his phone, and by the time he got to my place two minutes later, he had called the paramedics, and not too long afterwards, I was in the hospital.
Apparently, I had a very large blood clot on my lung, and probably came closer to death than I want to know. After a stint in the emergency ward and the intensive care unit, and a brief stay in the hospital proper, 4 days later to be exact, I was back home, equipped with blood thinners, bandaids, and requisitions for a slew of follow up medical appointments. In the next month or two, I will probably be seeing more doctors and nurses and technicians than I have in the last 24 years. You know what, though, given that I really haven't had to deal with all of this in 24 years, I'm just going to consider it already amortized. All in all, I have been - and am - pretty lucky. And, lord knows, I am not the first person in the world to be on a permanent dose of blood thinners, and no doubt won't be the last.
And, no doubt, after this initial flurry of activity, this will all settle down to a chronic condition, and as chronic conditions go, well, it could be worse. I will try to be compliant, and ensure that my life continues to be relatively comfortable, if a bit more circumscribed.
But what with COVID, and the smoke from the forest fires, and everything else, 2020 really is turning out to be Annus Horribilus. It will be good to see the back of it....
