*STRESS ME OUT*

[squid_ink]

just came back from my stress/echo. I don't want to see another treadmill for three-five years plz thx.

I wonder how many people have a coronary during this test?

The weekend was a busy one, on Saturday we went out to Great Island in Lyme and paddled out past Griswold and Poverty Point.. lots of osprey, didn't see any babies.

Later took a detour to Fort Trumbull, not so much to see the fort but to see that other battleground, Kelo vs New London. The whole neighborhood is still an empty lot, the only structure standing is the infamous 'Italian Dramatic Club'.

if anyone has not read Little Pink House, do so. And then take a trip to New London and see what Pfizer has left in its wake.

Sunday I went to Ginette's memorial service, it coincided with her birthday. She passed from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). She had escaped the Nazis in France as a child, came to America on a whim and became a successful businesswoman and wife. She drove me crazy sometimes, sometimes I wanted to strangle her but I will miss her dearly. I'm just sorry she had such a difficult journey to her passage. Thankfully, she passed not in a hospital or even a hospice, but at a place she called home for the past two years. I'll never forget her.

Comments

[mzmoonlight.livejournal.com]

How did you know Ginette? I'm sorry to hear of her passing. I lost my best friend ten months ago. It's just awful losing someone close. Even if we have an up and down relationship, it still affects us deeply - sometimes more because of it.

[squid-ink.livejournal.com]

Ginette and Gene were two seniors who rented a house across the street from me, they had downsized from a huge home because of mobility issues. Gene was using a walker and Ginette was having trouble with her ankle.

Gradually she was having more and more issues with her balance, and quite often I got phone calls that her husband had fallen down and couldn't get up. They had actually planned to move in with Gene's niece in a mother in law setup before Ginette's diagnosis two and a half years ago.

Gene just had his 89th birthday, and Ginette was probably around 80 when she passed. Up until her illness she was always entertaining, going out to lunch and dinner and going to antique auctions, that was her business before she stopped working at the tender age of 78. She didn't work because they needed the money, believe me... she said if she had to sit around the house it would drive her crazy. It just breaks my heart to think of her last months, knowing she was housebound and what was to come. :(

She was fortunate that the niece was able to take them in, she and her husband (an anastesiologist) have a HUGE spread and raise Borzoi. I met Majenkir Hemingway (also known as Eddie) (http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2007/results/breed/borzoi.html) who won a ribbon @ the Westimster Dog Show a few years back. Gene's neice is just like her uncle, so kind and with a huge heart. Thankfully Ginette was in good hands and had good care when she made her passage. I'd hate to think what people who are lacking in money or medical care/family have to deal with at a time like this :(

[adamant-turtle.livejournal.com]

It always just plain amazes me, the things that many folks of that generation survived -- and not only that, literally conquered! And there were no pity parties after, no therapy sessions; they went through such heinous things, and were just expected to dust themselves off and resume regular living. Incredible.

[squid-ink.livejournal.com]

I know.. it's amazing the adversary/hardships that people can rise above. I think that's one reason she lived life so large, even late in her life.

I should take a page from her playbook, life life to the fullest and for the moment.

[qlewkr.livejournal.com]

I fainted on my stress test. Went right over. :)Scared the heck out of everyone. They said my heart was fine, so they concluded it was just stress (ha!) or low blood sugar. I've dreaded going back ever since, although they keep trying to get me.

Did you really have a coronary?

[squid-ink.livejournal.com]

I don't mean to laugh but ... LOL, that must have really been a shock to all involved! I'm glad you're okay. I hate this fasting/no stimulants before the stress test. I figured screw it, I'll have a cup of decaf beforehand.

No, I didn't have a coronary, thankfully. Thats not my problem. I had open heart surgery in 2005 to fix a congenital defect that I just found out about, I had a 15mm hole (about half an inch) in my left atrium. Now I have a cow patch :(

moo.