Where is Duane?

[Zombie Master]

Anybody in touch with him?

[Kurt in S.A.]

Yes, I've been trading calls and emails with him. He had a confuzzling situation the other day. Woke pretty befuddled...could barely work his phone. Happened to call me. We talked...I said call 911 and get to the hospital. Later, I had heard that he was fully checked out and they could find nothing wrong. He thought he might have had a stroke. But he seems to be doing better. Probably just had a bad night...I'm sure he's back to being hydrated and will check in when he can.

Kurt in S.A.

[Zombie Master]

Thanx Kurt! Hope he is good.

[Airbear]

We're rootin' for you Duane.

[Duane Ausherman]

I am still alive, for now. I will email you when that is no longer the case:-)
My morning of confusion was quite serious. All tests were negative. By about noon I was pretty much back to normal, so they discharged me.

Kaiser, in order to protect themselves from liability, are running me through more tests. I just got the MRI done last week and again, it was negative. The neurologist may report me to the DMV to remove my driving license. I will still drive.

That night I remembered that I had an identical episode 10 years ago. Turned out to be an allergy to the statin drug that I was on. I was again on a low dose of statin this time, but I suspect that it was the same issue. I quit it and won't take any statin.

That time they put me through a day long series of tests. Must have been a couple of hundred tests or only a few minutes each. The Phd administering the tests knew less than I did about some of the vocabulary words. The result was very good.

Kaiser has this all recorded. In an abundance of caution, Kaiser is protecting themselves with more and more tests.

I feel fine, but my heart disease is serious and my prognosis isn't good. For those that don't know, here is some background. In 2011 I had a quintuple by-pass surgery. That is 5. They had to harvest 14 pieces of vein in order to find 4 that they could use. Most were too rotten. I have the scars of each one. I used to work in heart research at the Cleveland Clinic for one of the most famous doctors in the world. I know what all this means. Then, only 3 years later I had a heart attack. I had no symptoms that we hear about. Two stents were put in the cardiac arteries just next to where the previous veins were connected.

This shouldn't happen. To have a heart attack so soon after the by-pass surgery is not common. I expect another heart attack any time. I eat the best diet known for heart health. I exercise almost daily by walking 3-5 miles, at least when weather permitting. I take my pills etc. If the next heart attack is as minor as the first, I may not even know it happened. They tell me that having no symptoms is well known. Not by me it wasn't.

Some of you know what an unusual life I have lead. I have no complaints of any kind. It appears that we all die of something. My main goal is to get my website all changed over to the WordPress format. If you go to it, you should be directed to the new one. The site isn't yet working on smart phones. You need a big screen. For some humor, you might read some of the "About me" stuff.

Kurt has been kind enough to offer help with scanning a lot of period brochures for accessories. This is a huge job. My IT person is helping for free, so I must wait for him to give me some time. At this point, no way has been found to post the huge amount of material that we will have. I don't know the answer.

I still work with students and that is my main life passion. Go to http://www.duaneausherman.com/ to read about that.

A dear friend from the Czech Republic is sending her 12 year old son to me for 5 weeks to bolster his English. That will be July and August. Long story.

I have another student who also has Asperger's Disorder, like me. I like working with her, as we are so much alike. Many of my good friends also have Asperger's, such as Craig Vetter, my IT guy and dozens more. I will be visiting Craig next week.

I apologize for the long rant, but that is some of the story.

[Rob]

Good to hear from you Duane. Sorry you didn't have better news to report.
I am still alive, too, and if my recent postings are any indicator, I am in pretty good spirits. Which is a miracle these days.

You must have been very bad in your previous life to have to have lived long enough to witness Washington D.C. v.2017.

P.S. Your new website looks great!
(registered gay by the U.S. Army!)

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I am still alive, for now. . . . I apologize for the long rant, but that is some of the story.

No need to apologize, Duane. You are 'inflicting' nothing on anybody. Each of us chooses to read your words, or not. Of those who read your words, I reckon that nearly all of them are glad that the words were there to read.

Ken, expounding a word or two of wisdom myself in this post.

[Chuey]

Duane, I have driven up to Oregon a little more lately. Been watching for you but haven't seen you on the road.

Where do you live these days? I am under the impression you have left Galt.

Chuey

[Meerkat]

Hi Duane,
I'm very sorry to hear of your health problems, mine pale into insignificance compared to yours.
I had a quadruple heart bypass in 2000 which gave me a new lease of life. This year though, after 5 months of feeling unwell I finally saw a new GP who called an ambulance and I was rushed in to hospital diagnosed with double pneumonia. Not an experience I would care to repeat.
I haven't been able to ride my bikes since last December and at 83 it's going to be a long haul back. Keep smiling!
All the very best for the future.