Appreciating the simple things in life…

2 1/2 weeks ago I was informed I needed a nuclear stress test due to chest discomfort and shortness of breath doing one of may favorite things…washing one of our vehicles. I failed the stress test spectacularly. The pictures they took showed my heart wasn’t getting enough blood. The following echocardiogram confirmed it. I was scheduled for a heart cath a week later and during that they found I had 99% blockage in a left descending artery and because of that they inserted a stent. The entire procedure was painless (they went thru my right wrist) and uneventful. Modern medical science is amazing. After a week of taking it easy I was told I could resume my old activities. I did 4 hours of yard work yesterday and today, after a 3 mile walk, I swept out, washed and waxed the Tundra. She is so clean I had to snap some pictures!

 

Glad you are ok and feeling better! Truck looks great. Washing is one of my favorite things too.

 

Life is short brother, enjoy it and take good care of you, that's all it matters. And the Tundra looks like I wanna get a room with that one

 

By the way, I’ve been wanting to get TRD wheels. What size are yours? Do you mind sharing the tire name too? Exactly the look I want.

 

Beautiful rig, and outlook as well. I wish you continued health improvement.

 

The wheel size is 18” X 8”. I ordered them on eBay. They were originally the OEM TRD Off Road wheels that a company out in California powder coats black. They included the center caps too, I purchased the black lug nuts from Toyota. The tires are BF Goodrich K02s. Great looking tire imo. They have about 40k on them and I plan on replacing them next year with another set. These are 255/70/18 and I’m going to upsize to either 275/70/18 or 285/65/18.

 

She’s a pretty gal…and well behaved too.

 

Awesome, I really appreciate the info!

 

Wait for the KO3' I have 3 sets of KO2 in my garage

 

waiting on them too...

 

Caught that widow maker just in time. That LAD is the big one. Glad you’re doing well!

 

Glad to hear that you are doing better Dan.

 

This is a diagram of the blockage. I had being feeling that something wasn’t quite right the last 6 months or so. The cardiologist said “we caught your problem none too soon”….I’m feeling blessed!

 

I didn’t know there were K03s…I’ll have to check them out!

 

Glad you're feeling well, recovering and caught the medical issue before something more serious happened! Nice truck!

 

should be released very soon.

 

Glad you're okay! You clearly have work left to do here! Beautiful truck. Thx for the info on the wheel and tire setup

 

Serious Heart Disease tends to change ones perspective, values and priorities quite rapidly. One minute you're sitting in the back yard chomping on a steak and sucking down a beer without a trouble in the world and the next, if you're fortunate, you're flat on your back rolling down a hall staring at the ceiling being wheeled into surgery. Wife and I have stumbled through similar circumstances. Congratulations you've been granted a second chance. Enjoy the ride while you can.

Best

 

The backyard scene you describe was pretty close to my station in life. I’m turning 72 next week and in the last five or six years I have finally wound down from a lifetime of work and have just been “enjoying life”. We camp in the summer 2 weeks a month during the 4 summer months and vaca in Florida in May and October. A common occurrence will find a steak or chicken on the grill, cold beer and a double of bourbon nearby. With 2 great kids and 5 awesome grandkids it all amounted to me reaping my reward from 42 years of work.
An event like this, even tho I did not have a heart attack thank God, surely gets your attention…and rearranges your priorities. I am entering stage #2 in retirement…taking care of my health and uncoupling myself from all the negative things going on in this crazy world. My goal from here on out is to find peace and quiet and strengthening family ties and friendships. The world can just carry on without me. Now, I think I’ll go for a walk thru the park and come home and sit on the porch swing with a good book.

 

glad to hear that all worked out. i have enough hospital experience to know not everyone gets off quite so easy.

beautiful truck btw

 

You seem like an active person. Did they say what caused the blockage?

 

That's your circumflex artery thankfully and not the LAD (known as the widowmaker). Glad they caught it in time and got you fixed up!

 

I imagine my poor diet over the course of my entire adult life played a huge part. They are also guessing part of its hereditary. My grandfather died at 68 from heart disease but smoked 2 packs of filterless Camels a day and was an alcoholic. My dad died at 53 of something unrelated to the heart but his 2 brothers had heart issues, the one had 5 stents and then a bypass. He passed away when he was 82. I have lived with somewhat high cholesterol, again hereditary, and high blood pressure since my 40s. I have been on meds for both for 30 years.
Since the recent procedure the cardiologist upped my Crestor from 10mg to 40mg. He added another bp med, amlodipine, to take along side the metoprolol. After a week or so on that cocktail my bp is averaging 125/70 vs 140/85 on the metoprolol alone. AND I FEEL GREAT! The combination of the stent and the new meds has really transformed how I feel health wise. I truly feel like a new man. I have so much energy, my breathing, my stamina and my mental acuity is way better than before. I am telling all my friends “if you feel something isn’t right, say something!” Had I waited another week, month or year this story may have never been told.

 

Thanks! Yep, the proximity of the blockage is right where the circumflex connects to the LAD. Because of that I will need to take a blood thinner and a baby aspirin the rest of my life. So be it…the trade off isn’t an option Lol!

 

Glad you found out "the easy way" and that you're feeling good!

Not only do you seem to have a great outlook on life and your priorities, you obviously have impeccable taste in trucks and trailers.







So I am scheduled for open heart aortic valve replacement 11 days from now. They discovered a murmur in 2016 due to my valve being a bicuspid... rather than 3 leaflets my valve only has 2.

I've known this was coming at some point. My Dad had valve replacement at about the age I am now (61) and my older sister just had it done about a month ago.

I'm pretty active, in otherwise good health, and haven't had any noticeable symptoms, so I'm pretty confident that the outcome will be good.

Coincidentally, my wife is a coordinator for the Cardiology Fellowship program at UCSD and has close working relationships (and in some cases personal friendships) with some world renowned Cardiac surgeons.
She's been an invaluable advocate and has been making stuff happen. When I need a test or appointment scheduled she just calls the doctor or their assistant directly, and it's scheduled in two weeks instead of months out.

Should be 5 days in the hospital, 1 cool scar, 2 months off work, and then straight back in the ocean! So far I'm a little surprised that I'm not more nervous and freaked out, but I'm sure that'll change as the date gets closer.

 

Now that your feeling great and are active you prognosis will be good. A small diet change and you'll be around for a long time.

 

@SD Surfer …. Brilliant minds think alike lol! Nice Lance and Tundra. I too, had a calmness leading up to my angioplasty even though they may have gotten in there and found I needed open heart surgery. I guess having several friends and family members who have had both and all are doing relatively well gave me peace about the entire ordeal. I am sure you are in great hands out there on the left coast. Please revisit this post in the future with an update of the results of your surgery.

 

You dodged the bullet! Congrats,, same thing happened to my mother and she is fixin to turn 90 and hasn’t had one problem since.

Had a friend that was not feeling right ended up getting a 6 pack of stents and he is doing great. Medicine has made major leaps when is comes to matter of the heart ❤️ and glad you were able to get it fixed right fast and in a hurry.

 

I definitely will... Since they want me off work for two months, I'm sure I'll be on here quite a bit. (And Netflix, and YouTube, and Prime, and FB, and LOA)

@BulldogDan Are you on LOA? (Lance Owners of America forum) Great resource, a bunch of very nice and knowledgeable like minded Lance owners. Some very smart cookies on there. Much like this site but for Lance campers, and slightly less NSFW humor. I'm Bruce R. on there
https://community.lanceowners.org/

The surgeon who's doing my valve is kind of a big deal apparently, and does full transplants, both heart and lung. I figure if he can do a heart transplant, my lil ol' valve is child's play.
Kinda like a master Tundra tech who can do engine replacements changing an alternator.

I will say that this is the first medical issue I've had that kinda' makes you think of your own mortality. Most of my stuff has been more lifestyle and injury related... concussions, surfer's ear surgeries, etc.

Heart problems used to seem like something that other people had... my Dad, not me! That was "Old man" stuff. It's weird being the same age as old people now.

Thanks for kind words and for this thread. It's good to have things and events that put life in perspective, and as you said appreciating those "simple things". That's usually the most important stuff.

 

@SD Surfer ….

This is my first health issue. I quit smoking at age 30, enjoy a few beers and have acquired a taste for good bourbon in recent years but partake only once in awhile. A 18 pack of beer and a fifth of bourbon lasts me over a month or more.

Yep, been a lifetime member of LOA since we bought our 2285 in 2020. A great bunch of people on there. We love our Lance and outside of a recall on the Dometic gas stove and an intermittent water pump issue (loose spade connector on the switch) we have had no issues whatsoever. They are definitely high quality outfits. And unlike many travel trailers the Lance have been appreciating in value. Says a lot about the company. We’ve been very happy with our purchase.