Re: Arlene's accident

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>
> In his opinion the broken neck has been there for some time, who knows how
> many years. 
>  
> The CT scans were very educational to say the least. Hard to realize that
> there was so much broken (but not dangerously so) and we did not even
suspect
> it . Who knows when it happened.
>  
> Anyway, all is happiness in the Morris household, now if those ribs will
heal
> so we can do some riding.
>  


Makes me wonder when we'll get the opportunity to just sign up for our annual
CT and MRI at the same time that we get our annual blood drawn, BP checked,
mammogram, flex-sig for the over-50 crowd (don't ask ;-)), and various other
sundry tests as needed per gender or age.  As a nurse (and I'm sure some
non-medical people do this as well), I've often wondered what's reeeeaalllyy
going on under that skin...just *how* bad are my coronary
arteries...really?!! 
Is there something getting ready to blow that I could get fixed how while it's
an easy fix?  It could be very powerful preventative medicine...but it could
also make us a world of chronic hypochondriacs or worry worts.

A couple of my goals in the next couple of years or so is to get any available
advanced first aid certs, work with the mounted search and rescue a bit, and
become GPS "fluent".  When I started getting involved with the endurance
crowd,
I became very aware of the huge percentage of "seniors" involved in a sport
that has a strong possibility of a rider getting injured anyway...without
factoring in the fragility of the body as it gets older!  I'm currently BLS,
ACLS, and Basic First Aid certified...and I have a lot of operating room
experience which comes in handy for dealing with a lot emergencies.  I feel,
however, I could be better prepared.  

What *has* crossed my mind, however, is...how many people do you ride with
that
you know would know what to do if you had a heart attack or a compound
fracture
or a spinal injury or some such thing?  I would think this would be a bigger
area of concern...or maybe it already exists and I'm just not aware.  I ride
with a lot of medically oriented people so my odds are pretty good most
days...but as I get older (groan), it becomes more of an issue.

Bob...it's nice to hear of Arlene's improvement.

Sue 

sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.