Wednesday, February 22, 2006



The plot thickens, the blood thins.

On this episode of the most blogbastic blog, we get the results of last episode’s cliffhanger. Dum, dum, dum…

Plavix and Aspirin. Left to their own devices they are ferocious declotters, but together they form the ultimate tag team. They fear no hemoglobin. They spare no platelets. To say that this Bonnie and Clyde of the red road prevent future strokes is an understatement. They will become Eric’s savior and current regimen. They are here to save the day, for the meantime.

A new test has been scheduled for three months to see if that pesky ole carotid artery has healed. By all accounts, we all just want it to close and not heal itself. Sometimes being a good healer is dangerous. Essentially, if the artery continues to heal, the blood flow from the left side will increase. Good thing, right? Not at all. Right now the right side is providing good flow and is quite happy on its own. Introducing increased blood flow will cause harm to this delicate balance. And, since it’s all occurring in the brain, it spells bad news, potentially. Truth be told, we won’t know until the next test in May. Don’t y’all just love this stuff? I know I do.

On the bright side, my left ear should be good to go by Thursday, and the hearing continues to increase. It appears I’ve lost some hearing in the upper ranges. Sorry all you sopranos, please lower your voice. American Idol has been slightly more pleasant this season.

Things continue to change. Reconstruction continues, and, while some events may be viewed as setbacks, I understand their necessity and know that in the end I’ll be okay. No doubt.

Saturday, February 11, 2006



We now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this special report:

“This is Rock Rockelsroll and I’m reporting live from Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado. Just a few hours ago Eric Jones, whose blog I represent, was admitted for a scheduled procedure to check the status of his left carotid artery. This procedure, an angiogram, inserts a dye into the artery by means of a tube placed in the groin and run through the body to the neck. This was done to discover if the artery is fully closed. If it is not, it could cause blood clots and lead to another stroke. While the angiogram was successfully completed it found that the carotid artery was open but narrow and irregular. We should find out next week what would need to be done. For now, we wait… ok; it’s cold out here. Colorado in February! Anyone have any hot cocoa? A barrel fire, perhaps?”

This has been a special report. We now take you back to your program “Heavy Equipment in Local Markets”.