Thursday, March 14, 2019

Happy Pi (Π) Day!

I got up once at 5:30 so I consider that sleeping through the night.  I finally got up at 7am and Teresa had already left for the gym so I had a bowl of granola.

At the gym I completed all my exercises in about 90 minutes.

Back at the apt I took a quick nap from 11:30 to noon.

Alex and Alba arrived at 1pm.  We showed them the apt and sat down for a few minutes.

Alex told me that yesterday he had an extensive physical exam and Alba is upset that he spent 420,000 pesos on it instead of using Nueve eps in Florencia, Putomayo.  He explained that when he goes to the clinic he’s in and out in 10 minutes and because the doctor doesn’t speak English Alex can’t explain all his symptoms and doesn’t understand what the doctor is saying.  Here it appears all the specialists know English.  Alex got his blood test results the same day and everything was good.

He also mentioned that in Medellin Alba would often just disappear from the hotel for minutes or hours.  On one occasion she went out and found another hotel because she considered the 105,000 pesos ($35) they are currently paying is too expensive.  Alex took a look at the other hotel and he considered it a dump.

We walked to La Buena Mesa where we had the menu del dia for 17mil.

The ladies went across the street to explore a clothing store and I showed Alex the restaurant area.  We agreed to meet back at the clothing store.  When we arrived the ladies weren’t there and were no where in sight.  I tried to call Teresa but I believe she didn’t have her cellphone with her.  We waited a while and kept our eyes open but didn’t see them.  I finally said “forget them, let’s go get a cup of coffee”.  We walked around the corner to the bakery where I had a café con leche and Alex had Jasmine tea.

Finally, Alba called me and put Teresa on the line and I explained that we were at the bakery where we met Erwin and Dora.  They showed up about 5 minutes later.

Teresa and I shared a slice of carrot cake and after we walked down the hill to the mall.  We toured the first 2 floors and the ladies checked out some clothing stores while we waited outside.  Finally I led them up to the 3^rd floor to Café Arangos where we sat and talked for hours.  I asked Alba, who is a pharmacist, for advice for my cold and she gave me a couple prescriptions.

Teresa said she was hungry and we decided to go to Frisby to eat.  First we stopped at the recycling machine where we donated a plastic bottle and received a coupon for Sarku’s so we went there for dinner instead.

We were finishing eating at 8:15 when Alex received an email with his medical exam results.  The doctor the results of his EKG is that he has atrial fibrillation and he should see a cardioligist ASAP.  Atrial fibrillation (AF), not to be confused with atrial flutter, is the term used to describe an irregular or abnormal heart rate.¹ While AF and atrial flutter are similar,² AF has more serious health implications such as an increased risk of having a stroke or a blood clot (thrombosis).  The doctor said the cardiologist he usually recommends is out of the country and he’s trying to find another.  We paid the bill and left and Teresa tried to find an urgency care clinic that is both nearby and open. 

Eventually, they took a taxi back to their hotel and will pursue a cardiologist tomorrow.

We walked back to our apt.

Steps 10,181.

Joke of the day

A woman brought a very limp duck to a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck Cuddles has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed," Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is no longer with us," replied the vet.

"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador retriever. As the duck owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.

A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, the duck is no longer with us."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.

The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$830?" she cried, "$830 just to tell me my duck is dead?"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had taken my word for it, the bill would have been $30, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $830.