The recent announcement of yet another partnership agreement between CMH and OHSU is terrific news for all of us. Even better, this arrangement brings a Cardiologist to Astoria from OHSU's premiere program.
I know this program intimately. They saved my life and improved it.
Columbia Memorial is moving forward in addressing a pressing need in this community and the partnership with OHSU cardiology means far more than just one Doc coming to Astoria. At OHSU the cardio team is huge providing many years of research and treatment experience that is easily tapped to provide exceptional care.
By the way, CMH already has a great cardiac rehab program. I'm going through it now.
Three days a week I hit the Gym at the hospital with a personal trainer and a nurse keeping an eye on my stats while I'm working out. It's a first class experience all the way with the latest workout machines and high tech remote monitoring. It surprised me that we have something like that here.
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September 29, 2010
September 22, 2010
Demonstration Brings Town To Stand Still
Well...not quite.
The twenty or so, mostly out-of-towners, braved a perfect day to hold up signs. I'm not quite sure what the signs said since most were being held every which way. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with liquid natural gas. The location of the protest was odd. They were somewhat close to the wooden Indian statue at the entrance to Astoria so at first I was hopeful they were protesting against it and calling for it to be moved someplace more appropriate...like Westport. I was disappointed in this faint hope when it became clear it was just another protest of the Warrenton LNG project.
Since I strongly believe one should not be critical without offering up a better idea and in the interest of the community as a whole here are some helpful suggestions for the next big protest.
1. If you are protesting a project to be built in Warrenton don't stage a protest in Astoria. It is a matter of credibility to at least get the city right.
2. The use of very uniform style and color signage sends the wrong message. You already have a unfair image in the community as lock-step morons. Take immediate steps to encourage at least the appearence of being intelligent individuals who have gathered almost spontaneously.
3 Involve young people. Right now you come off as a bunch of older people who are acting selfishly. If you can't get actual young people I would suggest using stand up cut outs of young people. When an older person objects to projects that will create jobs or increase the tax base leading to better public safety and money for schools the general public doesn't understand that you are actually standing with a bunch of strangers because at least it gives you something to do. The perception changes as soon as kids are carrying the signs. Sometimes.
I hope these suggestions can help you protestors out there do a more effective job..
The twenty or so, mostly out-of-towners, braved a perfect day to hold up signs. I'm not quite sure what the signs said since most were being held every which way. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with liquid natural gas. The location of the protest was odd. They were somewhat close to the wooden Indian statue at the entrance to Astoria so at first I was hopeful they were protesting against it and calling for it to be moved someplace more appropriate...like Westport. I was disappointed in this faint hope when it became clear it was just another protest of the Warrenton LNG project.
Since I strongly believe one should not be critical without offering up a better idea and in the interest of the community as a whole here are some helpful suggestions for the next big protest.
1. If you are protesting a project to be built in Warrenton don't stage a protest in Astoria. It is a matter of credibility to at least get the city right.
2. The use of very uniform style and color signage sends the wrong message. You already have a unfair image in the community as lock-step morons. Take immediate steps to encourage at least the appearence of being intelligent individuals who have gathered almost spontaneously.
3 Involve young people. Right now you come off as a bunch of older people who are acting selfishly. If you can't get actual young people I would suggest using stand up cut outs of young people. When an older person objects to projects that will create jobs or increase the tax base leading to better public safety and money for schools the general public doesn't understand that you are actually standing with a bunch of strangers because at least it gives you something to do. The perception changes as soon as kids are carrying the signs. Sometimes.
I hope these suggestions can help you protestors out there do a more effective job..
September 21, 2010
What I Did On My Summer Vacation
So it's 4 o'clock in the morning and I'm sitting here thinking about my radio show for today. It's exciting to be back on the air after being laid up for a good portion of the summer and under doctor's orders. The last time anything like this happened to me was 50 years ago. It was the summer I turned seven years old and my family lived in Albany Oregon at the time. I remember it as being just like Mayberry on TV.
I got very sick one Sunday afternoon and ended up in emergency surgery to remove my appendix. I now understand that they didn't
Hold out much hope for me then. The organ had burst and the infection was serious. It was months before life got back to normal and I got back to the serious business of catching frogs in the city canal.
The reason all those memories dominate my thoughts this morning is a phrase spoken by two different Doctors separated by a half century of time. "You are very lucky. It is obvious someone wants you here". Interesting huh?
This year, in early July, I simply disappeared from the public eye. The silence wasn't intentional. Very little about my life has been private for the last three decades. In this case personal privacy laws prevented anyone at KAST from saying anything in public. The rumor mill was wild. Stories about a terminal brain illness appears to have been the most popularly accepted explanation although a few people held that it was more likely I was caught up in some scandal and had left quietly in disgrace (bless your black little hearts for that one!)
The truth is less interesting but provided the kind of experience I would wish on no one. My heart was failing. It had been failing for several months but it felt at first like a serious cold I couldn't get rid of. Fearing lung infection and noting that I just didn't look good my wife dragged me down to CMH urgent care. The last time I'd had any serious contact with Doctors was when my kids were born and it had little or nothing to do with me.
Doctor Little, following examination and some quick lab tests told me two things. First, I was suffering from some serious form of heart failure and second, that it was nothing to mess with. Before I knew it I had my first local primary care Doctor and he was working hard to get me into see the best cardiac guys he could find. That put me in front of the team at OHSU. August 18th I underwent open heart surgery for a quadruple bypass and I had recovered quickly enough to be back at work less than a month later.
I'll live with the heart failure for the rest of my life which, at this point looks like it will be a reasonably long period of time. Today with proper treatment, exercise and a diet based on moderation and some common sense a person can thrive.
The only thing I must guard against is excess stress and anger. I'll be sounding less angry on the radio. That may be a real challenge at times.
I got very sick one Sunday afternoon and ended up in emergency surgery to remove my appendix. I now understand that they didn't
Hold out much hope for me then. The organ had burst and the infection was serious. It was months before life got back to normal and I got back to the serious business of catching frogs in the city canal.
The reason all those memories dominate my thoughts this morning is a phrase spoken by two different Doctors separated by a half century of time. "You are very lucky. It is obvious someone wants you here". Interesting huh?
This year, in early July, I simply disappeared from the public eye. The silence wasn't intentional. Very little about my life has been private for the last three decades. In this case personal privacy laws prevented anyone at KAST from saying anything in public. The rumor mill was wild. Stories about a terminal brain illness appears to have been the most popularly accepted explanation although a few people held that it was more likely I was caught up in some scandal and had left quietly in disgrace (bless your black little hearts for that one!)
The truth is less interesting but provided the kind of experience I would wish on no one. My heart was failing. It had been failing for several months but it felt at first like a serious cold I couldn't get rid of. Fearing lung infection and noting that I just didn't look good my wife dragged me down to CMH urgent care. The last time I'd had any serious contact with Doctors was when my kids were born and it had little or nothing to do with me.
Doctor Little, following examination and some quick lab tests told me two things. First, I was suffering from some serious form of heart failure and second, that it was nothing to mess with. Before I knew it I had my first local primary care Doctor and he was working hard to get me into see the best cardiac guys he could find. That put me in front of the team at OHSU. August 18th I underwent open heart surgery for a quadruple bypass and I had recovered quickly enough to be back at work less than a month later.
I'll live with the heart failure for the rest of my life which, at this point looks like it will be a reasonably long period of time. Today with proper treatment, exercise and a diet based on moderation and some common sense a person can thrive.
The only thing I must guard against is excess stress and anger. I'll be sounding less angry on the radio. That may be a real challenge at times.
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