Danny Update-Medical February 5th 2014

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[caption id="attachment_2295" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Danny at Palos Verdes Medical Group February 4, 2014[/caption]

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                        Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. First, I would like to “Thank you!” to everyone that came by last week, and the week before. I am not sure if you all noticed, but? I now have several articles with 45 ‘Likes’ and that hasn’t happen in a month of Sundays! Thank you for all of the ‘Likes’ and Shares and mentions to friends and family. You have no idea just how Good I feel when I see all the traffic and all of the ‘Likes’. It makes my day, or week.

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Next, I have been absent, from The Other Shoe, since Sunday and for that I apologize.  I have, literally, a half-dozen articles swirling around in my head, as I write this on Wednesday. Lack of ideas, lack of content, lack of creativity? Not the problem. Aye, there’s the rub!

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Yesterday, Tuesday February 4^th, 2014, was my quarterly visit to my Primary Care/Gerontologist/Internal Medicine doctor, Dr. Gorlick. See, I first started seeing Dr. Gorlick here in Los Alamitos Medical Center, just a few miles away. It would take me 10-15 minutes to get to see him, and the same return. I would be gone3, from my home, for about 90 minutes, and be done except for going to the pharmacy to get prescriptions filled. Not anymore… not even close.

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Yesterday started @ 9:00AM embarking on an OCTA transit mini-bus right here outside my home. By 10:00AM I was at Disneyland waiting on my transfer to an L.A. Access bus (mini-van). Approximately 10:45AM I was getting loaded into the afore mentioned L.A. minivan, and off we went. We had one pick-up and one drop-off, then off to Rolling Hills Estates and The Promenade on the Peninsula. We arrived at 12:30PM for my 1:30PM appointment with Dr. Gorlick. We wandered around the (upscale) mall, window shopped (with the accompanying sticker shock) and ate some homemade bread we had packed for our journey.

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About this time I was getting the feeling we were in a ‘Lord of the Rings’ wannabe episode eating homemade lembas bread., as we had no money for food or drink. We enjoyed the fresh air and the very nicely stocked stores and displays. About 1:00PM we entered the Palos Verdes Medical Groupand checked in at the front desk. After about fifteen minutes of waiting (@ 1:15-1:20PM) we were told that Dr. Gorlick was ruining a little late, no problem I had until 3:30PM to get done and be ready for pick-up. Dr. G came in about 1:35PM… not even late. It was Dr. Gorlick’s Brithday and he was running a little late from a lunch date with his daughter. Who, by the way, had flown in from New York just to wish her father ‘Happy Birthday’.

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We met with Dr. Gorlick as he was entering the medical center, shook hands and I wished him a ‘Happy Birthday”. I have been seeing Dr. Gorlick for going on eight years, now, and I knew his birthday is February 4^th, 2014. He told me about his ‘Super Bowl Party/Birthday Party and we talked casually for ten to fifteen minutes. Then we got down to medicine. I explained my; growing pain, sleepless nights, fevers, (occasional) night sweats, headaches, developing arthritis and the grinding and popping sounds coming back in my cervical spine.

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Then I showed him the lump I had discovered at my right jawbone, mid-jaw. He frowned, and made some notes. We discussed how long I had been taking my current pain medications, and offered to change my pain medication to a stronger type of medication. He told me that I simply must make an appointment and see an ‘Infectious Disease Specialist’ for the fevers and night sweats. He had taken an HIV/Aids test in July and it had come back negative, as every other test of that type since I was 30.

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He had no answer for the fevers, elevated white counts and fatigue. He told me that he thought it was a strong probability that I had an infection in the bone grafts in my cervical spine or the “hardware”. JOY! Next, the lump.

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I am to make an appointment with an oncologist and an Ear/Nose and Throat doctor to evaluate the lump for cancer. His thoughts? Most likely a benign cancer that is removable secondary to thirty years smoking (I quite six years ago when I turned 50).

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Ok, wrapping up because my neck is just about to commit murder, here. My cervical degenerative disc disease is (big surprise) degenerating. Discs that were merely protruding into the spinal canal, have now ruptured. Discs, further up my spinal column, that we only slightly herniated are now the ones protruding into the spinal column. JOY! As if that is not enough ‘Good News’ for one visit?

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[caption id="attachment_2297" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Promenade on the Peninsula Flyer[/caption]

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The lumps are likely cancerous in etiology and can be either benign or not. No sense in jumping to conclusions or freaking out until I see the doctors I need to see. That won’t be until March… or April. Going to have to wait until I have the financial resources behind me prior to jumping that shark.

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Overall? A ‘Good Day’! All my rides were on time, or late. Meaning I wasn’t rushed at all during the day, just really hungry. I very much enjoyed the ride, I got a view of the L.A. harbor from the top of the Rolling Hills going down into San Perdo. What a view!

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Dr. Gorlick understood my increase in pain levels, and my lack of sleep and rest and graduated my pain medications to the next level. That is going to help me a lot.

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Now, I am going to go and get some rest. I just wanted to keep you all updated and let you know that I am thinking of you. I do hate these periods of slower publications of content. I have lots of ideas and several outlines I can write and publish quickly… just as soon as I am out of more pain, and I get out and get some much needed food.

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As always I am deeply honored that you come here and read my work.

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Thank YOU!

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="234"] The Other Shoe eBay Store[/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_2296" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Danny Leaving Palos Verdes Medical Group 2/2014[/caption]