rad riding w rowdy

a rare prototype deemed too unique to destroy

What's next? Winning the lottery. Nah... I don't play anything I can't reasonably win. Or cheat at. Gaining the ability to jump scary doubles? Possibly, I am starting to visualize success here and riding with people who encourage me. Shaving my head? Nope, liking the compliments I get with longer hair.

How about then that UCSD called me this morning and said they are working on scheduling my experimental procedure and I should hear back next week!!

I am the first person ever they are going to try this on!! Wow. My momma always told me I was unique but I had no idea......

Basically I have a tunnel that starts inside my small intestine and goes out through my body to exit out two surgical scars I have. Think of a "Y" shaped tunnel. Since I am a poor surgical candidate I was referred to the super genius Mayo clinic doctor that just came to UCSD in San Diego. I posted about it/him last month if you wanna go back and read it.

The plan was to use a new interventional gastrointestinal (IG) procedure that has been successful in the stomach, rectum and large intestine. But never has it been tried in the small intestine. I'm the first and this is the only place on the west coast that does it.....

What will happen is they will do a regular endoscopic procedure "look and see" from the top and the bottom. So while they are looking around to see what is up and if I have any active Crohns disease they are going to try and reach my jejunem (middle part of my small intestine where the fistula starts).

If they can reach that part of my gut then they will squirt hydrogen peroxide through my fistulas from the cutaneous (skin) side and see if they can see where it bubbles out into my gut. If/when they visualize this then they deploy a thing that basically looks like a bear trap down the scope to that point and CHOMP the clip it onto the wall of the lumen of my intestine, physically closing the hole and origin of my fistula.

Leaving me with all the intestine I have now. No surgery. Still able to get MRI's. Able to go home that day (I hope). Cross your fingers, burn incense, pray, fast, think of me or whatever you feel will work. If this works I will probably cry for like 24 hours straight.........

The endoclip as it looks open.

The endoclip as it will look on the scope that goes down my throat or up my rear end. Also how it looks once it has snapped shut, bear trap style, on my insides.

rainy day rowdy

Remember the song as a kid to teach you your body parts, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes? I do. I still need it for when I have to remember a litany of injuries for medical history purposes.

But today is the rare rainy San Diego day so as I sat down to begin my day I realized all the things I was doing involved very little of my body.

Homemade breakfast burritos of turkey sausage, eggs, cheese and tomato. Mouth and nose.

Fancy hot chocolate with caramel sauce. Mouth and nose.

F.W. Munrau's "Faust" from 1926 on Netflix. Eyes, ears and brain.

California Physicians and Physician Assistants CME article, "Animal to Human Health Risks." Eyes and brain.

San Diego Physicians magazine article "Infectious Diseases." Eyes and brain.

Looks like nothing is going on today below my neck.......(insert jokes here. pun intended) I'm going to have to change that and make it a 'full bodied' kind of day.

Rich, roasted, Rowdy full bodied all-day flavor.

My first day back at work!! Mi primera dia regressa a trabajo!

My Spanish is horrible, so please forgive me if I totally butchered that version of my blog title. I felt like using my mind, not Google translate.

So I had my first day back at 'real' work. Nuclear Medicine. What my degree is and what most of my real big boy job experience has been.

I'm getting paid an OK amount, $40 per hour. Not as much as I've made before but more than a lot of other jobs. So I'm very happy with that. Only two days a week right now but who knows. It will either grow or shrink. But I am happy for what I have now.

Of the 9 iv's I started I only had to poke one person twice. I did everything on time and never had to apologize for a mistake. Because in the medical field you want to make your mistakes a 1 in 1,000 occurrence. After about 3 hours I was totally back in the groove.

Which to me, this is something I was very afraid of. I have not worked in nucs for almost 2 years. Two years of not using a skill at all. Since I am good at riding a bike and that's the analogy always used, I quickly remembered how to ride the nuclear medicine bicycle.

And of course, here are the pics. A couple of me in the brief moments of non-frantic working. My computer work station. And the camera with a patient. Sssshhhh, don't tell anyone.





Since you've read this far I will reward you with a funny story from the first day back...
A little old Filipina lady, whom I thought was a nurse in another part of the office, was talking with the medical assistants and stopped me as I was leaving by saying, "Ohhh, you have red hair. I bet you are HOT! All the girls want you I am sure."
To which my reply was, "Some do. I have what I want."
She then said, "Well let me show you how to get them. You say 'It's my birthday come give me a hug.'" To which I follow her arm motions and hug her.
She tried to grab my butt during the hug and coos "Oh you are hot!" Then she follows it up with "Now you say 'Give me a kiss'", and she does the European style cheek kiss. I play along, not thinking at all about the impending molestation.
I kiss one side, as I'm moving over for the next...... she moves fast like a honey badger and kisses me full on the mouth.
Yeah. That's how I end my first day at work. Don't hate.

the Louvre is now at my house

Just bought 4 pieces of art.... My Xmas gift to self this year. Here is hoping I made a good choice investment wise. I know I made a great choice from a point of view of my personal enjoyment. They are awesome if you ask me and very "rowdy". But it would be cool if they also appreciated in monetary value over time.

I can picture my will being read in 40 years and these things being something prized after by my inheritors.

When everything arrives and is framed I will get photos up. Until then it will be a secret and a huge chunk out of the bank account. Oh yeah, it just got real!

1st bmx race equals???

MagicMac(MM) and I met at the Kearny bmx track wednesday night. It was my first time and he had done it tons years ago.

Get dressed, pay our $15 for practice and race and off we go. He's on his blackmarket dj/park bike and i'm on my transition double. They just put us in the cruiser class.

Lots of practice runs, him getting back into the groove and me just trying to stay out of people's way. I was just happy to be able to track stand at the gate each time without falling.

Now it's heat race #1 time! I'm on the outside gate of our group and get left in 3rd by MM and the girl state champ in cruiser. Going into the first berm I run too low and wash out the front at speed in a spectacular manner. GoPro hit hard enough to eject the card so the file didn't save. Dang it! I get back up and go for it! 3rd place. Bloody but oh well. MM second and the girl 1st.

Heat race #2 and we flip flop. MM goes down where I did and I ride past him. Girl is first, I'm second and MM exits the track bloody. Not enough people in our class for a 3rd heat so rest time till the final.

Final race and MM is not going to let this girl push him around. He makes it a known fact he is gonna hold his line and beat her on the straights. Boom the gate drops. They are neck and neck. I'm trailing way behind. Going into the second to last corner she runs high and trys to cut down onto MM. He is in front and doesn't yield. Her pass attempt is not solid and she goes down with a THWACK. Still laying there as I pedal by slowly... not sure what to do. But there are not yellow flags in bmx and someone is attending to her. So off I pedal and 2nd. (secretly hoping they would have taken each other out and I could have won the final)


Each of us crashed. She was 1st, 1st, 3rd. MM was 2nd, 3rd, 1st. And I was 3rd, 2nd, 2nd. That got me 3rd place, missing out on 2nd place by one freaking point!

We got trophies. MM got his revenge. I realize I'm going to need a lot of work. But it was fun fun fun. Cheap, easy to get to and fast. Fast racing. So I will be back next wednesday for sure! With a different set of tires though, no 2.3 mtb tires!
set of tires though, no 2.3 mtb tires!

No pics, so you'll just have to trust me....

But I made burritos tonight and I used ground buffalo. Bison. Instead of beef. And it tasted pretty delicious. Even with using vegetarian refried beans. HA!

And if a buffalo burrito isn't something enough of what you don't hear everyday I'll contribute something I heard once.

Boy: I don't like scary movies. At all.
Girl: Me either.
Boy: Yeah, one time I went to a scary movie and I just looked at my feet the whole time with my ears plugged.
Girl: Well I had a boyfriend who knew I didn't like them and asked me to go to a movie called 'The Ring'. And I was thinking ring like wedding ring, it's a romantic comedy, I'll go. Boy was I wrong!!
Boy:hahahahaha.