Thank God! Kenny's Gonna Be Fine

Just spoke to my buddy Ken's daughter and he's out of surgery; apparently it went well.

(She did tell me he had another heart attack "on the table" but by the same token she told me his heart remains only minimally damaged... perhaps - God willing - not damaged in a layman's meaningful sense at all!)

Apparently they put two stents in. Apparently one artery was 99% blocked... at least that's what Amanda tells me.

Since I believe the world revolves around me... I just want to thank "The Big Guy Up There" for not taking my buddy Ken.

I actually do believe that God watches over me and my friends... and I honestly do believe that God doesn't "test" me beyond my endurance.

OH... HOLD ON! JUST GOT A CALL FROM COLL - KEN's WIFE!

Yep. One artery was 99% blocked; another artery was 90% blocked; (these were the two stented arteries, obviously); and they found the third artery 60% blocked - which they're dealing with via medication without stenting for the moment, but he may be getting another stent before too long. (He's supposedly being released tomorrow and is supposed to meet with the cardiologist in two weeks to decide on the next move.)

It looks like he's gonna be out of work for at least the next six weeks.

(*SIGH*)

Ken would have died if Colleen hadn't forced him to go to the Urgent Care on Monday night. There's simply no doubt about that.

Folks... my friends... take care of yourselves.

My buddy Ken is 44 years old! He's a worker! I mean he's a guy who busts his balls driving a pump truck and digging holes. He makes a good living at it too - but he earns every last cent the hard way.

As of Monday night he's now an ex-smoker! (The rainbow behind the cloud so to speak!)

This is gonna make Colleen quite too, I'm sure.

To have looked at Kenny a week ago you'd have thought him the picture of "rugged" health.

It was the cholesterol apparently. Apparently he should have been on medication years ago - but not being a "doctor kinda guy" he wasn't properly diagnosed and so he wasn't under treatment.

Dumb...!!! Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!

I get my full physical every year and my doc insists on seeing me at the six month mark whether I think I "need" to see him or not.

I get my skin checked once a year... I get my colonoscopies regularly... I see the eye doc every 18 months or so... when I was 45 (a year older than Ken is now) I made sure to get checked out by the cardiologist (stress test, etc.) just "because."

I walk... I take my baby aspirins... I don't drink enough booze but I'm working on it...

(*GRIN*) (Seriously, folks! 1-3 drinks a day is what the experts recommend!)

Seriously, folks... what I'm saying is that there's nothing more important than your health and everyone reading this should take this message to heart... so to speak.

Anyway... enough lecturing... enough preaching... please just add my friend Kenny to your prayers and remember that life can change in an instant... life can end in an instant.