Time To Put On My Traveling Shoes

Sometimes the translation says it all without meaning to.

Ben Phillips @benphillips76

German TV news on what is happening in British politics is amazing. No need to understand German, watch to the end

I’m flying to Minneapolis this morning, and I’m feeling a lot better about my mother’s health. I Facetimed her on Thursday morning, and she looked and sounded like her old self, just a bit more than 24 hours after having a pacemaker installed. Then again, I suppose that’s the point of having a pacemaker, right? So far, so good.

I have a good friend who’s a physician’s assistant in a cardiology practice in the same hospital my wife works in, so I called him Thursday night. Paul has a wonderful facility for breaking down complex cardiology issues into easy-to-understand vignettes. He’s also very good at putting patients at ease, and he did the same for me. The bottom line is that while no invasive surgery is “minor,” implanting a pacemaker is about as straightforward as it gets. Mom’s feeling better, there’s a wee bit o’ healing for her to do, but all things considered, she’s in a good place.

Not only that, everything is monitored wirelessly, so her doctors will know everything about every heartbeat she has 24/7/365. So if a problem arises, they’ll know immediately, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester is 20 miles down Highway 52.

There are times when it’s nice to have friends in medicine.

So, I’ll hang out with Mom for a week and do what I can to help her. I can only hope it won’t snow while I’m there. I left Minnesota to get away from that.

Here it is, mid-October, and the rainy season finally began yesterday in Portland. This morning, it’s 47 and drizzling, while the forecast for Minneapolis is 75 and sunny.

I know; WHAT climate change??

Stay tuned.