Sunday, August 25, 2019

I just stopped in to see what condition my condition was in

First of all, I want to express my thanks for the many well wishes I received after I indicated I was ill last week.  This stuff really kicked my ass and I'm anxious to have it behind me. I looked at my stats this week and was shocked to see that I'd written less than 2,000 words. 
At over 900,000 words written so far this year, a week like this means I've been really sick.
It turns out, after multiple doctor appointments this past week, that the problem may not be focused on my lungs. An EKG revealed I was in AFib, an arrhythmia of the heart that was causing it to race up to 150-160 bpm. An echocardiogram showed that I have a leaky heart valve. I'm on some good drugs to thin the blood and slow the heart so I can go in early in October to have a cardioversion, in which they shock my heart back to a normal pace. I'm feeling much better now, but still on the mend and looking forward to getting past this little episode.
I am delaying my travel plans for this fall indefinitely. That was a tough decision as I've been planning for this trip since January. I might feel up to traveling internationally by January, but no promises to you or to myself.  I was hoping to spend November and December in Australia and New Zealand but I'll put those on a list for later. My current plan is to hitch the trailer and head south in mid-October, after the cardioversion procedure. Maybe head to Oklahoma for a while and then south into Texas. Of course, all plans are now written in sand and could be erased by the next big wave or gust of wind.
I hope to be back to full writing productivity by mid-October. Thank you again for the positive energy you have sent my way!
author Nathan Everett

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