Kyphoplasty, Heart Surgeon, Angry Man

I am pleased to report that Matt’s Kyphoplasty went very well although we ended up being in the hospital a lot longer than anticipated. After amassing 24 hours there, we are both hoping not to have to go to our local hospital again in a very long time. I must say the incision is miniscule and one would hardly know anything had been done if it weren’t for the fact that his whole back is covered in red iodine. He can’t shower until Friday either, so I guess he’s stuck with it. He appears to be feeling little or no pain, he talked about 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 – I hope that lasts. Friends have said he should let me spoil him, that’s a joke, if he can get on with something, he will, whatever I say. For the moment, he is not allowed to twist or bend so I have no idea how long that will last. He certainly won’t be bowling for a while. Cannot drive for about 24 hours, not that he needs to. So, its all over bar shouting. Adding grateful thanks to the doctor who sent me encouraging information a few days ago.

On Wednesday a friend posted a link to – what I think – is a very good article about what causes so many of our modern day diseases. The writer, Dr. Dwight Lundell, was talking about the States, but these days, what is happening there health wise is happening everywhere in the Western world. My friend’s doctor hubby says the article lacks attributions, however, to me it makes excellent sense and is very much what we have been practicing in this family for a while now. I gave up on things that were “low fat” a long time ago, principally because they taste like sh*t anyway, I rarely eat anything sugary although Matt does have 1 tsp. of sugar on his cereal every day, and we basically do not buy pre packaged pre prepared foods. My friend commented it was like Dr. Fuhrman’s recommendations.

Forgot to tell you – when we went to the family doc the other day, we were sitting quietly with a couple of others when there was an almighty crash, really made me jump. Then we could see a guy stomping across the parking lot. Matt said he had slammed the door; bearing in mind how the inner and outer door are constructed, I didn’t see how that was possible. Later, after we had seen the doc, we were about to head out when Matt noticed a big hole in the wall where the guy had slammed the inner door back against it. The staff hadn’t seen this yet and were obviously horrified. What idiots some people are. No idea why he was so annoyed, but really!!! Apart from anything else, the place is a brand new building which he has damaged. If I were the doctor I would sue him, don’t know if she will. Apart from anything else, the young lady who was dealing with him is always so nice and polite I cannot see what upset him.

Do you realise I didn’t have any asparagus yesterday. None at all.

This recipe reminds me of one in which prosciutto is used to wrap the asparagus. For some bacon may be a better choice, it is less expensive for a start. I must say I think the asparagus in the picture is pretty puny looking – I get thick juicy asparagus from Barrie’s.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Food.com
By Charlotte J on May 12, 2006

Yield: 16-20 spears

About This Recipe

"Easy-to-prepare appetizer. Laurita has a good idea so the asparagus does not over cook, to pre-cook bacon a little.

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh asparagus
• 8 -10 slices bacon

Directions

1. Wash and trim asparagus spears.
2. Cut bacon strips in half crosswise.
3. Wrap one-half strip bacon around each asparagus spear, leaving tip and end exposed.
4. Lay on a cookie sheet with sides.
5. Bake in a preheated 400° Fahrenheit oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bacon is cooked.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Have a great day

Kyphoplasty, $20 Bill.

Well, for those of you who are interested, we spent another 5 1/2 hours in the hospital yesterday. Matt had an appointment at the fracture clinic at 9:05 a.m. and that was fairly quickly over, maybe half an hour to 45 minutes. The surgeon said he would perform a Kyphoplasty on the fractured vertebra – basically this means they insert a needle with a balloon which is inflated to lift up the vertebra and then they inject bone cement to hold it in the proper position. This will take place on Wednesday next. However, he then had to go for blood work, pre surgery consultation, chest X ray and a conference with the anesthetist. As the whole thing was an “add on” this all took forever and we didn’t get out of there til about 2:30. We were not happy campers about this. We have so much paperwork I had to ask for something to put it in. Oh, and by the way, the also want to give him a bone density scan which takes place a week later as they appear to think he may have osteoporosis (thought that was a female thing). I guess if you’ve got bones you can have osteoporosis. That’s maybe more than you wanted to learn but that’s what’s happening in our lives. A couple of nurses assured us that Dr. Moammer was the best which is very reassuring.

I came across an article about the new Canadian polymer bills. The one shown was for $20. There is a video which describes all the security features. The main picture is of the memorial at Vimy Ridge in France, people think it is the twin towers, and then people also say they can see naked women. Damned if I can, maybe you would like to have a look at the video and see if you are able to. They are talking about the bills being too pornographic. Seems like a load of nonsense to me. I do think the design around the Queen’s head is a bit odd. There’s a bit of trivia for you, in England I would talk of a pound note, but here it’s a dollar bill.

Hanging around hospitals for hours makes me extremely tired. So I think I will call it quits for now.

Someone commented about asparagus risotto the other day, that has always been one of my favourites. I always add a little white wine to mine as it gives it a delicious flavour.

Asparagus Risotto

1/2 cup white onion, small diced
6 crimini mushrooms, quartered
1 Tbs olive oil
8 asparagus, blanched and cut into 1/4 inch lengths
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups chicken stock (kept warm in a pan)
To taste salt and pepper
1/2 cup parsley, flat-leaf chopped
1 small piece parmesan reggiano cheese

1. In a sauté pan, sweat the onions and mushrooms with the olive oil  Add the asparagus  Add the rice and slightly sauté  Add 1/3 of the chicken stock and continuously stir until the liquid is absorbed

2. Add another 1/3 of stock and stir til absorbed

3. Add the remainder of the chicken stock and continue to stir until it is absorbed. Add white wine if needed.

4. Season the risotto  and stir in the parsley

5. Spoon the risotto on each plate

6. Shave the chunk of parmesan cheese with a peeler over each risotto to finish

Servings: 4

Have a great weekend