Hmmmm, what is wrong with me? Well, if you ask my ex, the answer that you get will be rather lengthy, abusive and all inclusive. By that I mean that everything that ever went wrong with her life is my fault. Sigh, she blamed me for rain once. Oh well, I'm not concerned with all that now, but more about what is wrong with me health wise. Since a friend asked, I thought I would put it all down here.
My problems stem from an overall failure of modern medical science, the government and the proliferation of chemical use in modern farming techniques. A lot going on here. Back in the nineties, Julie and I bought a house on a golf course in the middle of broccoli and corn fields. That was the first year. The second year, they planted cotton, and did so every year I lived there. That cotton was sprayed each fall with Agent Orange so the leaves would drop and they could mechanically harvest the cotton with big vacuum machines. The problem was the cloud of Agent Orange dust that hung over the fields. My childhood asthma bloomed and I had a lot of problems. When I moved to Mesa in 2002, things got better. Sort of, still problems that I didn't have previously. Then in 2008, I moved into an apartment in Austin that because of the poor service, the kitchen sink leaked a lot of water. When FINALLY repaired, the wood underlayment was rotting and warping. The management then agreed to replace the flooring and cut around the sink cabinet and replaced the flooring that was noticeable. They didn't do anything about the flooring or the cabinet itself where all the water was, and of course all the black mold was growing. That's when I started to get sick. Lung problems so bad that I was constantly on prednisone and albuterol nebulizer treatments. My friend Key took me to a holistic doc in Bee Caves and he did blood tests and allergy tests. My blood showed that I was lacking in testosterone, so he prescribed a testosterone cream, and also allergy treatments. A month later I was not any better, and came down with a huge set of six, yep, count them, SIX, blood clots in my lungs. I found out what a death watch is. I drove myself to the ER from my doctor's office against his wishes, he wanted to call an ambulance. My blood oxygen was at 80% and I was a little dizzy. After the CAT scan, they found the PE's and I spent the night in the ER with a crash cart next to my bed and they moved me right in front of the nurse's station so they could do something should I stop breathing. Oh well, they pumped me full of steroids and albuterol and I survived. My brothers and sister drove to Austin and when they went into the apartment, they found the mold in the kitchen.
So, the apartment management moved me to a new apartment, I thought I would get better and hoped it was all over. It wasn't. The massive doses of steroids destroyed my left hip and was working on my right one as well as my shoulders, knees, ankles, elbows and wrists. It is called Avascular Necrosis. The death of the joints due to steroid use. Something they don't tell body builders about. But then those guys don't take the amount I did to survive. Mine is progressive non-terminating, actually pretty rare. So, now I have new problems to deal with. My sinuses became so impacted when living with the mold that I could not smell anything and the pressure in my sinuses was so great that along with the steroids, I could barely focus most days. I went to an ENT doc and was scheduled to have the roto rooter sinus cleaning surgery but was unable to as I threw another PE the day before the scheduled surgery. When at the hospital for this one, I started to see a pulmonologist who prescribed a number of drugs to help. They didn't help though, in fact two of the drugs together inflame the pancreas and can destroy it if taken long term. Shouldn't the hospital pharmacy have caught that? I found out about it on drugs.com. Well, five days of excrutiating pain and I left the hospital against the advice of my doctor. The hospital people are wrong, your insurance still pays for it all.
So, now I have a choice, do the roto rooter or get my left hip replaced, as I am now taking coumadin as a blood thinner to prevent more blood clots, doctors place me in high risk for surgery and they won't do a surgery more than once every six months or so. I chose hip. I went off the coumadin, did daily injections of a different anticlotting drug and had the hip replaced. A month after getting out of the rehab facility, I had another blood clot. Back to the hospital. Oh well, I am getting used to them now. Six months later, I am back to the ENT and he cultures my sinus stuff in preparation for that surgery. Oops, now I have MRSA in my sinuses. Must have gotten it while in the hospital, as that is where virtually all people get it. So, off to the infectious disease doctor and they put a PIC line into my left arm and give me a month's supply of antibiotics to put directly into my artery. Oh yeah, and I need to eat yogurt everyday because this stuff kills everything in your system. And rather than have diarrhea every day for a month, they suggest yogurt. Well it does kill stuff, but not the MRSA. I still am plagued with that. But, as I was tired of blowing out huge globs of gross green crap out of my nose that was at times larger than my thumb, I went in for the sinus surgery. Again, off the blood thinners for this surgery so I won't bleed to death. A six hour surgery. I could barely see for a week. Again, two weeks later, another PE. I may be used to them, but I don't like them.
So, as my problems continue, I try to live my life, work my business and get some semblance of health. All to no avail. My new pulmonologist thinks that all the flour dust in the air of the store is what is causing my lung problems, and sinus as well. I sold the store. I never got any better. So, maybe it is the high mold count in the air there. I move back to Arizona where we don't have a lot of mold. And you know what, for the most part, I am better. Still some sinus problems, but then, I have MRSA infection up there. So all in all, what has happened is that
1. modern farming techniques irritated my lungs
2. poor maintenance caused mold growth in my apartment
3, same poor cheap maintenance replace the visible evidence but not the source of the mold
4. the mold irritated my lungs and sinuses, the treatment, steroids, destroys your joints
5. one doctor set me up with testosterone cream, which we now know causes blood clots. I stopped taking that 2 years ago, not sure why I ever took it, i have never had that low T problem.
6. treating the lungs with more steroids opens them up enough so you can breath
7. blood thinners to prevent more blood clots cause your hair to fall out, your skin to become so thin that you bruise super easy, and make your overall health poor. I stopped taking coumadin 8 months ago, afterall, not taking the T cream anymore
8. when getting a hip replaced, I acquired a sinus infection of antibiotic resistant bacteria MRSA
9. Trying to do anything to get better, I sold my business, lost most of my money paying for medical procedures that have done little to cure me and everything that has happened to me has disrupted my existence dramatically
10, because my apartment building was owned by the city of Austin, no attorney would attempt to sue the city. It seems that Texas is a state that is trying to reduce frivolous lawsuits so they allow themselves and all government entities to set limits on their liability. In this case, 250k. That is not enough for an attorney to consider to make money. I tried 14 different ones.
In america today, you can spill hot coffee on your groin and win a million dollars. If you break into some one's home and slip and hurt yourself on broken glass that you broke, you can sue the homeowner and win a half mil. But when your life is destroyed by the medical community, the limits of liability and just plain carelessness and stupidity, then I can't get a dime in damages from anyone. All these problems killed my cat, and have left me penniless and with recurring sinus infections and pneumonia.
A week before I moved to Phoenix, I emailed my ex and told her I was leaving, so she could stop telling customers, friends, strangers, anyone, all the lies and crap she spouts to everyone about me. And also that I hoped she had a nice life and was happy. She emailed me back and expressed her wonderment as to why I was still alive. I didn't deserve to be. I take umbrage to that. I am a good person, I live a good life, simple by some standards, I am honest in my business dealings, love my friends, (a few a lot more than others) and have oneness with the universe and live the life set forth in that belief. I am at peace with my past, and with my life. I woke up this morning, that is something that just a few short years ago I had a group of highly skilled nurses and doctors watching me constantly to make sure I did. Well, thanks to all that helped, and I am not all that upset with all those that did things contrary to my health. I have achieved oneness. ooooooohhhhhmmmmmm.
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