This might just ramble on for a while. I never did a diary thing befor..I did work for years where a station log was required telling everything that happend sorta like a ships log.. I wont make my entries like that after this first one...I will gtry to make them interesting and motivating if I can...A note.. Yesterday I assisted in catching a live Bull alligater 10 feet 11 inches over four hundred pounds. I find that people will let me do things if I will try....I have to let them know that I WANT TO TRY....Yup I got PH..Was treated for asthma and various heart problems for years.. Finaly I was referd to a pulminary specialist and he had a bunch of tests performed on me scans breathing capasity,sleep aptnia. Then he had the right side heart cath done and dignoised PH. He told me it was a very rare problem and he had only seen it once but thought it could be taken care of.. he put me on coumadin and albuterol,usp and advised me to loose about 65 pounds.....I lost about 18 pounds and three months later was doing very good....About a year ago chest pains started again..All kinds of heart tests were done had a seisure douing a stepthalium test or a mild stroke, never did decide which..also went intoconginatelheartfailure.. angiaplast and a stent was done to my heart.. Finaly back to the Pulminary Dr and he did more scans and x-rays and said my PH was critical nd if I didnt loose more weight it would lead to a very excrusiatingly painful death..Kinda knocked the wind out of my sails. Sent me to heart rehab . While in Heart rehab they discoverd I was running on 84% oxygen saturation and put me on oxygen full time and started me on pulminary heart rehab.. Never did get much better in rehab .. finished the course and now go to the same rehab clenic three times a week which I have to pay for. The Dr will not give me an ok to go to a regular gym to work out saying he wants me watched during all workouts..This is probably good cause I still have trbls. I will check in to the rehab with normal BP pulse and oxygen and after somtimes a very short warm up and about ten minuted work out the pulse will be high BP 169/116 and oxygen still ok, Im on oxygen fulltime at nr 2 Other meds:

 

HCTZ25mg,,,POTASSIUMCHL(SLOW-K) 8MEQ..FURROSEMIDE 40 MG..TENORMIN 25MG PO...COZAAR 50MG...ZOCOR-PO 40MG...NITROGLYCERIN for chest pain...ROXILOX5/500MG For pain. The ROXILOX makes me hyper..

 

Ok that sorta catches me up to where I am medicaly.

 

Befor the oxygen I couldnt get to me truck out front with out being totaly exhausted..I never slept well, up many times nightly Now I am out and about almost all the time..I function very well as an assistant alligator trapper for the state of Florida. I am trying to stay as active as I can..This job is not as physical as most people emagin I feel the longer I can stay out and about the longer I can stay out and about

 

Today I went to rehab... Had BP trbl and sugar trbl..

 

Took grandkids fishing this morning

 

Helped soninlaw build Pinewood Derby race cars.

 

I hope you had a plesant day as well.

Went out to pick up my morning newspaper and saw Big Reg (the sun) just comming up.. Was realy somthing to see. Ill have to look again tomorrow. Had lotsa chest pain today and cramps in my legs that I just couldnt seem to work out.. Said the heck with it and enjoyed the day anyhow..My gunclub was having a rifle competition which I usualy compete in...But I just couldnt get up enough "Gumption". So I ran the firing line and did all the scoring.. Gumption?...Thats a word my grandmother liked to use to motivate us yungerns from time to time. Another one she liked was. "Aint you got no backbone?" .. That one would realy get us goin. Trying like I said yesterday to keep these a little shorter.. maybe more people will read them..

 

Dragon Slayer for Hire Poacher..jo

I didnt sleep well lastnite 2 much pain.. Took my LOC pain killers and as always they dull the pain but make me hyper and I dont sleep.

 

Spent the nite going through my old memories...Finaly the morning arrived, I went out 2 get the paper and found the "Master painter" had painted an even greater painting of "Big Red" than he did the day B 4.. It was a grand sight.

 

I turned to check out my troubles tree where I had left my troubles from yesteday and couldn"t find the tree.. I was still very tired and SOB today so I just did odd maintenance jobs around here.

 

I built a squrril house for my wild squrills 2 raise a family in a while back.. Today a couple of birds I cant identify started nesting in it and driving all other critters away..I guess Mama nature decides who lives where...I spent a lot of time looking in my bird books and chatting to other critter watchers trying to identify these birds..I consider this an ongoing project till I find out..

 

Why don't U look out your window or come out side with me in the morning and see how "Big Red" Looks

 

May your Breath come easy..

 

Poacher..jo Luvs Ya

Off and running on another day.. Yesterday I got copies of all my records from my Pulminary functions DR. found where he just started refering to my problem as PH. in the records. Talked to the clerk and she said I could get more info about the Right heart cath from the Dr woh did it. Who just happend to be my Heart Dr. So went by his office and got the report.. Now all I gotta do is figure out what all this means.. Its Greek 2 Me!.. My second language is Turkish so Im not doing very well figuring out this stuff.

 

I slept well again lastnite and was up befor "Big Red". I have alrerady fixed the dripping in my wifes shower. That put me in good with her for today..Hope Yu'all have things nice and going your way today..And remember the Poacher Luvs Ya all

I skipped a couple of days putting somthing in here. No one complained so I guess its ok..

 

Got all the records from My Pulminary Dr. and the report on my right heart cath and the regular heart cath B/4 that.. Still trying 2 figure out what all this stuff says. The weather didnt let us get our shutle up yesterday..(It goes up from My backyard ya know) but maybe we will get it up next month.

 

Went to my Primary care Dr. yesterday about a large lunp in my upper leg. Its very sore and keeps me awake. He referd me to an Ortho. surgeon next month..

 

Yall stay cool and Breath easy..

 

Remember the Poacher..jo Luvs Ya All

Saturday.. Had Real bad chest pain..After two nitro went to ER. Couldn't breathe and was throwing up. In ER nitro #3 still didn't help. So thought for sure it was a heart thing. Then the ER folks gave me the drug of choice so to speak Morphine, and the pain went away. Up to a room. All kinds of tests are run EKG, X-rays.Spect Thalium nuclear stuff. and wouldn't ya know both my Heart DR and my Pulmonary DR were away for the weekend.. My coumadin was stopped becuase of the possilibity of a cath Mon.They washed out my lungs all weekend with ATROVENT/FLOVENT= COMBIVENT.. and put me on nitro paste, sleeping pill and vicodan. Guess that was so I wouldn't care how much it hurt..They offerd PERC.and DARV. But they make me hyper. Mon came and my Drs went over all the tests.. Said it was all PH related as the heart tests all looked good for me...Turned me loose with my coumadin and Nitro inhaler. VIcodan Ativan. Damn I wish I knew what all this stuff is.. I'm back hurting already....

 

Well the Alligator complaints are piling up Its mating season..... DAMN the PAIN!! Im out and about AGAIN..

 

Just a note so you won't think just bad things happen to me..Last Friday I gave a presentation on alligators to a second grade school class. My granddaughter wanted me there for show and tell. It went real well.. The best part was today.. My daughter brought me a bundle of letters from all the chlidren.. I thought it was wonderful....I wish I could show them all to you...

 

The Poacher..jo Luvs Ya All

Its great to be out of that hospital. I learned a lot more about my PH. It hurts much like angina. Anyway it looks like the meds Im on now for PH are: Coumadin, Oxygen, Albuteral. Im suposed to take Ativan (So I can put up with it I guess), Lortab which is Hydrocodon, (For when I cant put up with it I guess),and Temazepam ( So I can just sleep when the Ativan and Lortab dont work....Just a note Im on Cozar. Lasix,Tenorman HCTZ, Zocar, SloK,Nitro paste, Notrolinqual (Nitro spray)... No wonder I have a weight problem, Im sure all these pills, paste and sprays must have calories in them. (lol)....My gater trappin partner let me rest Tue. and Wed. But we went out yesterday and had a great day...He takes it real easy on me.. He does all the hard stuff and I get the easy part. Im sure he understands my problem....I did't sleep well lastnite, DAMN THE PAIN... Got up and played Amature radio for a while waiting for "Big Red" to show his shining face..He finaly showed up and my animnal friends were ready for breakfast. (Wild squrrels and birds)....I think they missed me the three days I was in the hospital... I took an oath never to go to the ER again.. Just like I always have....Maybe this time.....As if we didn't have enough problens... The "I love you" virus screws around with our computers....Lets not let it cause us all that much trouble and work through it... Remamber,"There are always alternatives".. The Poacher..jo said that!... The Poacher..jo Luvs ALL of Ya..

 

Dragon Slayer for hire...

Not much sleep last nite.. Found out I had virus in my computer. considerd dropping out of all this to keep from spreading it but a very nice lady named Kathy spent most of the day talking me out of it.. Its under control now. Thanks to her patience. Lost all my ICQ addresses in the process. So Sherie in Isreal If you read this please give me a call on ICQ and anyone elce that would like to chat with me.. My ICQ NR is 46171752.. Just leave me a note Ill get back with you..Im having fun with the folks on PHLand.. Come watch us or even join us if you dair....Hey what the heck I spellum like I want to.. Who gave Webster the rite to say how wurds sposed 2 B spelt..."I cant remember anything I ever forgot" The Poacher..jo said that and you can go write it down somplace. Poacher..jo Luves Ya... Ya know and hopes your air is sweet and cool..

Big red came up in full bloom this morning.. Went to heart rehab and had a fight with them about a slip to get me back in the program. Came home got the slip, returned to rehab and told them they could have the slip but I wouldn't be back. I wouldn't have ben alowed to work out anyhow they had erated me enough to get my BP up to 189/122. and my sugar was 186. and pulse up to 110. nml morning readings are 120/76, 130/ 46.. Needless to say I didnt need to hang around that place..Came home and started to do battle with the computer trying to get KAK out...Had two very nice ladies trying to help me and I just misunderstood them more and more as the day went along. I told them I just wanted to quit because I was seeing more stuff on the phfriends about my computer problem and showing just how computerdumb I am and I finaly dropped out of the list. Im new to the list and I feel its ment for other things like discussions about PH problems and emotional problems rather than my technical problems.. My hunting partner Gater Bill came by to take me hunting with him and didnt think I looked in good enough condition to go and said maybe tomorrow.... Anyhow MIMI called me on the fone and very carfuly walked me though kicking KAK Virus out of my computer and I am very thankful that she was there for me in one of my more trying days.. Im alone again.. K is babby sitting for a while with the grandkids while ny daughter and soninlay are away to California on church business... The house is quiet and I can do some thinking..

 

Note we finaly got that pesky Titan rocket up up and away..

 

Sorry I cant make this more interesting but somdays are just not as good as others.. Maybe I should say that a little different some days are not quite as interesting as others.. May Your Breath Be SWEET and COOL and Sleep Be DEEP. And for heven sakes while sleeping dont just lay there DREAM DREAM DREAM I never sleep and not DREAM The Poacher..jo Loves Ya..

Oh my No sleep again lastnite.. too much pain and too many things on my mind.. So I drove out to our Gun Club Range, went back through the woods to a small lake where I know some large old gaters hang out.. Its mating season for them now. And It was interesting..The Bulls make a loud roar somthing like an African Lion and or a poorly played G on a French horn...Then they do a lot od mooving around showing each other how big they are by holding themselves high in the water.. Thats called profiling...I didnt see any physical contact lastnite nither sexual or fighting.. Its mostly just arguing about what girls belong to what guy..I had a nice chat with Terri for a while..This afternoon. She told me about as page where I could monitor the goings on in PHfriends.. I tried it but they wouldnt let me in because Im not a member..Vicky/victoria also told me about a page I could monitor and even send notes as an unknown, but I havent heard from her on that yet...Oh well it all works out for the best they say.. I see there is a groupe for cronic lung (folks) forum... I might check that one out..

 

A Good note..My Gater hunting Bossman came by this afternoon and took me out to work a few complaints and we did real good I Killed a seven foot seven and a ten foot eight.. Realy pirked me up.. Maybe Ill sleep tonight..

 

Yall Remember now... The Poacher..jo loves ya.. Hope your breathing is cool sweet and deep.. When you sleep....Dream..

How to start this.. First Im sorry.. We should all have the Attitude of sheila...The heart of cheir. the patience of mimi. the sticktoitivnes of Victoria.. The patience of those sending testing 123.. I think most of us are gun shy from the I love you

Yesterday was great for me..No pain. Went to the gun club and shot for a while and the good part was I was shooting a rifle a friend had and I didn't have to clean it.. Had a nice afternoon nap with plesant dreams.. I cant emagin people who sleep and dont dream..You mean you just lay there and your mind goofs off the entire time??...Went to hear my grandson in his middle school band. . . Its the third year I have attended and Im always amazed how good the music is and the power they can make with those instruments. Its great watching young folks do somthing they enjoy the audience applausae brings such smiles to their faces.. All in all a very nice evening.."Big Red" looked great this morning.. the weather is getting hot.. I pray for those who are having such bad weather now and the horible fires...I think we should always remember our mothers,, but especialy now... Thinking about you all.. The Poacher..jo Loves Ya

Ok This is my third attempt at writing this thing today.. Maybe somone is trying to tell me somthing...Anyhow "Big Red" looked a lot better this morning than I have felt all day...Woke up with chest pain, exhausted, exhausted, exhausted and still have it..Tried to do my normal Saturday activities and was too uncomfortable and came home.. Remembered that Mom's day is coming fast so off on the shopping trip I went.. Normally I have my daughter help me with this chore or ask my buddies what they bought for their Missis. This time after three jewlery stores I found a rose pendant with necklace that just said it was made for My missis. Im proud of my shopping trip...

 

This makes me think about gifts and something Amy jo said the other day.... Like a lot of guys I have an accumulation of guy toys Rifles shotguns tools knives cameras. I have been delaying geting rid of any of them cause I feel ...it would be like giving up..... Well like those dishes Amy jo wrote about..My toys are going to be played with , maybe not by me but they are going to get off those dusty shelves and out of those dark closets.. My toys need funtime too.... Well The pain is still with me so Im not alone. I try not to take the pain pills. It kinda fogs up my thinking and messes up my dreams..I think if I stay away from the pain pills as long as I can they will work better when I just have to take them..Lets remember to P U S H for each other.You PU S H for me and I"ll P U S H for you.. P U S H : Pray until sommthing happens....."Big Red" has ducked behind the trees now.the late feeding birds are at my feeder.My fat over full bushytailed friends have gone to nests and are sleeping by now..... Remember the Poacher..jo Loves you..May your breath be cool,sweet and deep..

 

P.s.Thanks Amy jo

Today was one of the best days for me in a long time....Enjoyed time with family. I had very little discomfort...To the mothers everywhere... God bless you all..,

 

Thanks to the MOMS!!!

 

Poacher..jo loves ya Specialy the Moms..

Hey Yall.. Didn't have anything to say yesterday.. I was still in comfort from mothers day.. Did lots of Gun work.... still trying to catchup.. Today on the other hand was great for me.. Thank God for My Boss man Partner Gater Bill. He called me and had me meet him to go after the great green lizards again and it was great .. It made My day.. Bill only has one eye anymore and its not too good.. He knows I'm not scared of the gaters so he pulls them up close with the line we have them hooked with and I stand my ground and bust them in the very top of the noggin... That way we get more for the hide and meat.. And it makes for a quick clean kill...He also Knows Ill be there to pull him out if somthing goes wrong..Im not a killer.. I don't think.. But if these alligators must die I'm the guy to give them a quick and instant death. I don't get paid for this. I do get a nice meal from time to time and the comradeship of Gater Bill.. People have paid as high as 3000 dollars to take a trophy gater.. My friend lets me do it for nothing..What about the Pain.. Yes I had Pain but DAMN the Pain I'll go out again..Whats this all about...Well I think You should do what you can do..Live what life you have to the fullest...Help somone when You can and it will help you..Be a friend and You will find a friend. Be a listener and you will find somone that will listen to you.. Pray for me as I pray for you.. I thank God for every day he gives me. For the excitment and the pleasure..He guided me to this fine group and I thank him for it.. Remember... The Poacher..jo Loves ya'll

"Big Red" Was a glory to behold again this morning.. I had another good day out with my friend Gater Bill .. We got another one..I get to see a lot on nice places..I was comfortable today..

 

I'm very sorry for the loss of Ginny. From all the nice remarks on PHFriends she must have been a great person... We got bad luck with our scheduled launch of the Atlas..Somthing technical didn't want to let it go today.... But What's that I see.!! A new bright point of light in the heavens. .. Thats not a satelliite. Its not the space station. The shuttle is not up...The Atlas is still on the ground.... Its so Bright and lovely... I'll call it Ginny.. We all Love and Miss Ginny very much Our thoughts and prayers go out to your friends and family.

Well I wasn't the only early riser around these parts this morning.. Yessir tourists and local alike were up to see a predawn shuttle launch...They weren't dissapointed.. The wind was calm and all was quiet. Then they lit that big skyrocket and sent it on its way to do work on our orbiting space station.. It was a sight to behold.. All that power turned night into day....The sound of all those powerful engines rocks the houses ,windows and plates on shelves... All the dogs bark..,Birds take early flight and folks not up for the event still in bed asleep are suddenly awakened by the great rumble. You can hear voices through the rumble, "Oh its the shuttle..The shuttle..Shuttle ". And nervous laughter... Yes it's somthing to see... But about the time that great rocketship started its climb and start down range, My buddy "Big Red" Came up to see what was going on...He looked it over and the combination of the cloud column and the rays from "Big Red" made it a wonderful sight to see.... "Big Red" showed them how to really light up the heavens.... And so goes another event in the drama of men and their skyrockets...May they have a safe journey.

 

May god watch over all of us. Poacher..jo Loves ya you know.

 

Dragon Slayer for Hire

Haven't written anything the past few days.. Just haven't felt up to it...I have read all the entries others have made and I don't feel mine could contribute much to anything.. I'm a lot more SOB lately and very tired...My temper is right at the point of blowing at the least provocation. It seems no matter what I say people just don't understand my point so I try not to say anything…. I did get a chance to go on the hunt Friday and took out my frustration (I guess that's what it really is,) out on the gators. I really don't like to write like this. But I guess I should so folks won't think I'm always so happy go lucky and that I have bad days as well as you do. I'm going to cut it short and write again when I'm in a better mood. Jo FL

Haven't had anything interesting to say for the past day or so.. The weather is really hot and muggy. I was out for a short time this morning and had difficulty breathing so I cut my plans short and came back home to the A/C...I'm having problems with my e-mail address. I'm not sure Ill be able to get this posted.. I'm very uncomfortable now. My chest hurts and I'm very dizzy. I didn't sleep at all last night. Maybe that is the problem. Seems like I have too many things on my mind to relax. Maybe I should take the adavan as prescribed.. I just don't like to feel like a zombi. I was talking to Terri on ICQ just before writing this and she had to grab her children and run for the tornado shelters.. I'm watching her area of MO and it sure looks bad. My thoughts are with her and others in that storm.

 

Poacher..jo

Things are about the same around my place lately.. That is until yesterday.. Two of my grandchildren came to stay with us for a few days. They are girls and one is eight years old going on twenty and the other one is twelve going on thirty. I'm sure most of you know young ladies like this.. They are children of my daughter and her husband who are missionaries to Brazil. They are here for leave. They are well behaved young ladies and are a pleasure to watch.. I'm watching them very close now because when they return to Brazil in about three weeks they will be there for another four year stay. And this may be the last time I will see them. They are off with my wife to have lunch with some other young ladies. It's a girl thing you know.

 

I'm still not sleeping well. I spend too much time thinking. Why do I have PH? Where did I get it? What the Heck is it ? And the question I'm sure many of us has asked, Do I really have it? I know I have had all the tests, and they say that I do. But GOSH! Maybe I don't have it. Maybe if I work out a lot I can get strong again. Maybe this tightness in my chest is from being a little over weight. Maybe This S.O.B. shortness of breath is just being out of condition.

 

These are the same type of thoughts I have when I'm at my private place in the woods. I wonder if it will get worse. I wonder how soon.

 

Yesterday after watching "Big Red" come up showing me it was going to be a lovely day. I grabbed my pistols and headed for the shooting range. I shot exceptionally well. Then I came home and thought maybe I should put a coat of wax on my truck.

 

Its funny how God let me shoot well after not shooting for so long and let me know real quick that I didn't need to wax that truck. It was like laying on the ground looking up at that big elephant standing on my chest. He was looking down at me swinging his big trunk back and forth indicating that's a no no. I have so many things to do and so little breath and energy to do them. I have started a couple of stories, maybe I should get back to them. I need to find a project that requires a lot of mental effort and very little physical effort. One that would pay a little would be nice too.

 

A little closing prayer; God, let me bear the strain and the pain. Let me accept what is. Save me from that Emergency room and Hospital. And I'll do the best that I can.

 

I look back at that prayer, and think I sure am greedy. I forgot to thank him for all the wonderful things I just told you about. I thank him for all the wonderful things he has let me see, let me do, let me experience. I thank him for people that read these things and for the others that write their thoughts Thanks God.

 

The Poacher..jo loves Ya Ya.know

I guess that lil prayer in my last entry really helped.. I got out and about big time yesterday. Had a real run on problem gator calls.. Got one out of a ladies swimming pool and a couple out of a large steel structure they are building out in a large lake. (Lake Washington). Taking the one pout of the swimming pool got us coverage on the TV News.. How bout that.. I wasn't out very long and we did a real quick job of all of it. I was back home in my A/C by 02:00. I gotta tell you My adoublescribble was really draggin .I was so SOB I didn't think I would make it. My energy was completely gone. It was a good feeling though. I'm so glad I can still get in on some of the excitement. I'm thankful I still have friends who consider me still good enough to be in on the hunt.. And again , part of it is meeting the people involved in all this. They all have a different out look on what we should do. Kill the gator or relocate the gator. Some of the people are very nice and some of them are really upset about having to kill the animal. They want it away from their house but not killed. Just relocate it to some other place… We cant please everyone but we do the best we can.

 

I slept like a new baby last night..

 

Nuff about alligators.

 

We finally got some really needed rain yesterday.. Not enough but at least an indication that it can still rain around here. I was beginning to wonder.. I don't remember seeing it this dry before. I read in the news that last year was the driest sense 1946 and so far we are eight inches lower in rainfall .

 

If you plan to come to Florida, maybe you should bring along your own water.

 

Good luck to all the Phfriends going to the conference. Hope you have a great time and bring back lots of good things to tell us .

 

I' m still very tired from all yesterday's activities but its a good tired . Ill rest a couple of days and be ready to give it a try again..

 

Get out and about if you can.. Get up and watch the sun "Big Red" come up. Watch the birds. Watch the butterflies FLUTTER BY. I like the sound of that.

 

Breath cool and easy and when you sleep…. Dream Dream Dream. Dont waste all that time just sleeping.

 

Poacher loves ya dontcha know..

 

Dragon Slayer for hire..

Hi All.

 

Things are going well with me the past few days I went to My Heart Dr. Friday.. I took in a small digital recorder. I didn't tell the Dr. I had it. My purpose for the recorder was to see just what I could ask him and get all the answers I could. It worked real well. I asked him all the questions I could think of and referred to this Phfriends group I'm getting al my information from. We discussed the PH again and I tried to get him to say maybe just maybe I don't have it. He assured me that I do have it no matter how much I don't want to have it. He surprised me how much he did know about the PH. The only thing he didn't know about was Flolan. He thought it must be something new. I assured him it was not new. He gave me a very good lesson on the pulmonary arteries and lung system. I asked about going to a PH specialist and he assured me he didn't mind and would help me in anyway he could I asked him about my meds and he decided to put me on Norvasc and will monitor me closely because My BP was not very high like he had seen it for years. It was 101/67. Pulse 53. He checked his records and said he had me on Norvasc in 1996. Evidently when I started going to the VA they stopped it. He thinks I should have been on it all the time. Makes me wonder just when I should have been Dx'd PH originally. He suggested that I stay out and about as much as my body will allow.

 

We still are not getting rain here. The holding ponds are almost all dried up. The St. Johns river is dry in the channel in some places and we are about 8 inches lower than our lowest rain levels on our worst year…Why am I telling you this? Well it effects this gator thing I'm in. We are finding female gators roaming in places we have never located them in before. We think they are looking for new warm yet damp places for nests. The mating season should be over by now but we still se an occasional bull following a female around.

 

We have a great stack of complaints we are working now. Ill be out on the road all day Monday trying to cut back on that list. If you folks think I like killing these gators you are wrong. But the system is such that once a complaint is issued by the state to remove one the death warrant is in effect and the gator is going to be removed. I feel if they are going to be killed I would rather it be me doing the killing. I don't remember if I told you that I do not get paid for this. I get a free meal now and then. I get some great foto opportunities I get to go lots of [laces and meet some nice people and also meet some very angry people. Its all part of it. My partner is the agent and I'm the assistant.

 

Poacher..jo

 

Dragon Slayer For Hire

 

Breath Easy! Get up and watch "Big Red" come up in the morning.

 

When You SLEEP Always Dream Dream Dream..

Seems just when I think I can get by with this PH, I get a complete turnaround.. I started the week doing real well. Went out and about all day running the alligator complaints. And by the end of the day I could hardly breath. So the rest of that day and evening was shot. Next day Monday, I got up feeling tired and didn't get anything done so went back to bed and slept all day. Got up that evening and went to a gun club meeting and was still SOB and worn out. I didn't sleep well last night and today is still SOB all day. I have been watching my BP and pulse because of the new Norvasc Im taking. Its been running low but not too low yet. The Dr said this drug with all the other ones Im taking might make me very drowsy so I could blame some of this sleeping on that.. I'm still having heavy chest discomfort. And very bad pain when I cough. Ok now for tomorrow, I'll Will get up before "Big Red" just to be sure he makes it. I don't like this staying so close to the house and I'm NOT going to do it. Whats little pain I'm going out and about again.

 

I got wild critters to look at and places in the woods no one will look at unless I do it. And you know things need to be looked at….I'll thinking about all of you while I'm doing all this and if I see anything interesting I will be sure to tell.

 

Just one other thing. I went to the VA to see if I could get to see a specialist through them. They set me up for an appointment for 26 Aug to see a NP. (nurse practitioner) and the NP will decide if I need to see a specialist and will further schedule another appointment. So I guess that means After at least six months I might see a DOCTOR.. Lets hear it for the VA

 

Goodnight all.

 

Poacher..jo Loves Ya Dontcha Know!

 

Sleep well and as always dont waste all that good time….. Dream Dream Dream,,,..

For me it was much better than expected.. I started my day early. Couldn't sleep so got up and out to the woods for a nice walk before the heat. Packed an extra 02 bottle and headed out to my private pond.

 

I found strange tracks again. I had found them before. They come into my private place from another direction. Up to now I have tracked him through the woods to a nice fishing pond.. I suspect he is a fisherman or bird watcher.

 

I was very lucky at my private place this morning. My old buddy "Gaylord" was cruisng the pond.. He is a site to behold. I'm sure this is the same alligator I have been seeing from time to time in this area sense 1973. You are not supposed to feed alligators. So, I pick up road killed small animals and take them to this pond and feed them to the soft shelled turtles. Can I help it if the alligators get the food before the turtles. I see sometimes eight young alligators in the pond of different lengths . I think they are children of the large alligator.

 

There are other animals in my private place.. I see many squirrels , hawks, starlings, cardinals, finches, flycatchers, herons, coots, eagles and many more that I cant identify. I also see snakes, lizards, mice and gopher turtles. One of my favorite things to see are the wild turkeys . I don't get to see them very often. However I always see their tracks and droppings. You can tell from the droppings whither the turkey is a Tom or a hen.. I can see that the hunters didn't get all the big Toms this season.

 

I told you in my last writing I wound tell you about the nice things I see.. I'm sure I'm not doing this justice.. I see so many things that are ordinary to me because I go there often. Heck I left out the flutterbys. I realy like to watch the butterflies "Flutterby

 

" Well I spent the rest of the day doing Father things for Fathers day. My daughter and her family; husband Doug and four children Will be leaving Tuesday returning to Gods work in the mission field of Brazil. This PH thing will probably mean this will be the last time I see them.. I feel they are doing the rite thing. I took lots of fotos and will put new ones on my web page: http://home.cfl.rr.com/poacherjo/

 

I'm so glad we have this Diary system so we can tell each other our feelings and hear others thoughts on many different aspects of our illness. I always look forward to reading others thoughts and ways they overcome problems. We must help each other. We must do the best we can. No one will ever expect more. It is always sad to me when I hear another Phfriend has passed away. My prayers always are to the friends and family . They breath easy now, they have passed the test.

 

Notes to writers of the Diary posts always help..lets us know someone out there is reading them.

 

The Poacher loves Ya all Dontcha KNOW

 

Poacher..jo FL

Things are going well with me the past few days I went to My Heart Dr. Friday.. I took in a small digital recorder. I didn't tell the Dr. I had it. My purpose for the recorder was to see just what I could ask him and get all the answers I could. It worked real well. I asked him all the questions I could think of and referred to this Phfriends group I'm getting al my information from. We discussed the PH again and I tried to get him to say maybe just maybe I don't have it. He assured me that I do have it no matter how much I don't want to have it. He surprised me how much he did know about the PH. The only thing he didn't know about was Flolan. He thought it must be something new. I assured him it was not new. He gave me a very good lesson on the pulmonary arteries and lung system. I asked about going to a PH specialist and he assured me he didn't mind and would help me in anyway he could I asked him about my meds and he decided to put me on Norvasc and will monitor me closely because My BP was not very high like he had seen it for years. It was 101/67. Pulse 53. He checked his records and said he had me on Norvasc in 1996. Evidently when I started going to the VA they stopped it. He thinks I should have been on it all the time. Makes me wonder just when I should have been Dx'd PH originally. He suggested that I stay out and about as much as my body will allow. We still are not getting rain here. The holding ponds are almost all dried up. The St. Johns river is dry in the channel in some places and we are about 8 inches lower than our lowest rain levels on our worst year…Why am I telling you this? Well it effects this gator thing I'm in. We are finding female gators roaming in places we have never located them in before. We think they are looking for new warm yet damp places for nests. The mating season should be over by now but we still se an occasional bull following a female around. We have a great stack of complaints we are working now. Ill be out on the road all day Monday trying to cut back on that list. If you folks think I like killing these gators you are wrong. But the system is such that once a complaint is issued by the state to remove one the death warrant is in effect and the gator is going to be removed. I feel if they are going to be killed I would rather it be me doing the killing. I don't remember if I told you that I do not get paid for this. I get a free meal now and then. I get some great foto opportunities I get to go lots of [laces and meet some nice people and also meet some very angry people. Its all part of it.

 

My partner is the agent and I'm the assistant.

 

Poacher..jo

 

Dragon Slayer For Hire

 

Breath Easy! Get up and watch "Big Red" come up in the morning. When You SLEEP Always Dream Dream Dream..