I just got home from the hospital, feel like I have been run over by a truck, have not slept more than a total of 3 hours in 3 days, the doctors screwed up my regular medications, which shot my blood pressure over the end of the Richtor Scale, and have not received any breathing medications the entire time I was hospitalized. I am amazed that anyone gets out of that hospital alive.

Consequently, after finding out what the initial problems stemmed from, I told the nurse this morning when she didn't show up with any of my regular breathing medications that I was out of here by high noon - come Hell or high water. She promptly said I could not do that, at which point I replied "Wanna bet?"

Then the attending physician came in and asked a really stupid question. She looked like she was only 19 years old, had a pleasant smile and said "Hello Mr. Diamond, my name is Dr. So&So. Tell me what brings you to us here." I guess I must be getting a bit old and cranky, plus the lack of sleep allowed my disposition to slide over the top a bit. I fired back at her and said "For Christ's sake, didn't you read my God Damned chart?" The nurse looked like she wanted to crawl under the bed, the doctor appeared somewhat indignant, and I said "I'm outta here - Hell or high water."

I just finished checking my email, had a quick lunch consisting of a chicken salad sandwich and I'm now sipping on some Jim Beam Honey Bourbon over ice. Also had to take a bunch of pills to catch up on some of the medications that have been neglected for the past three days.

Fortunately, the cardiologist provided me with some answers, says my heart is just fine, though I'll probably glow in the dark for the next month from all the radio-active material they injected in me yesterday. The radiation arm pain is most likely from the herniated C-3/4 disk in my neck that takes a bad beating when I go into a bad coughing spell from my fibrotic lungs. He recommended me seeing a neurosurgeon, or at the very least a neurologist to address this problem. Said I might be able to get away with some steroid injections, but I have doubts.

Hey, at least I made it out of the Hospital From Hell - ALIVE!

I would personally like to thank everyone for your wonderful support and well wishes and now I'm going to join my cat in the family room recliner chair and take a long nap.

Love ya all,

Gary