Yesterday, I ranted a bit because I was having to do my Coffee Stops without my coffee because of a test scheduled for a bit later in the morning. I'm over that now...because I have a fresh cup of coffee beside me right now and I'm making up for lost time!
What was worth depriving a sadly addicted man from his fix of Maxwell House? The test is call a transesophageal echocardiogram.
You're probably familiar with the term echocardiogram. I had one of those, too, several days ago. That thing is no big deal. All I had to do for that one was bare my manly chest, lie down on my side on a table, allow a tech to smear goo on me and run a transducer around me like I was carrying a baby somewhere under my left nipple. Like I say, no big deal. (For those of who don't know me well, that's not me in the picture.)
So let's get back to this word, transesophageal. The fact that what they call the test requires a modifying term might alert you to the fact that this animal is different all together in it's "big dealness." Add to that the reality that you're told not eat or drink after midnight before the procedure should alert you to it's potential grossness, as well.
Notice from the drawing above that if the probe is inserted far enough into the stomach, the heart can be visualized from the bottom as well and the side. TRUST ME ON THIS. They can do it!
Because the there is no camera on the probe, it was necessary to get the probe into the esophagus BEFORE the introduction of a miracle drug call Versed into the I.V. line
Why in the world would I subject myself to such? The standard echocardiogram from several days ago, ordered by a physician as a prudent measure considering other health issues, came back suspicious. Since it looked to the cardiologist that evaluated the data that there might be a problem with the aortic valve, the physicians wanted to take a closer look.
Well, by golly, take it from me. THEY GOT THEIR CLOSER LOOK!
Results? Everything looks fine. Thank the Good Lord. But.....eeeeeyyewwwww!
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How appropriate for me, then, that the meditation today from the Daily Office from the Northumbria Community site reminded me thus:
THE FIELD
Every curse becomes a blessing
to the people of God's choosing.
He who spoke it shall perform it.
He shall bring on us the blessing,
though the enemy may fight.
My Jesus has done all things
right.
In the dry and desert places
Jesus is our souls' oasis.
He will give us of His plenty,
fill the vessels once so empty,
pour His waters on the ground,
living waters gushing round.
See the land so black and barren;
God will make a watered garden:
fruitfulness where once
was parchedness,
light to break into the darkness,
upper springs
and nether springs
in the field
that Father's given.
Satan tries, but cannot block it,
powers of Hell could never stop it.
Darkness flees as light is given.
God establishes His heaven
in our hearts, and in this place
shows the radiance of His face.
Reflections on Judges 1:14-15;
Numbers 24:1-10; Psalm 26:3-4
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Nakedpastor: Another Dream: War - David Hayward
David shares a description of a dream he experienced leading to an intriguing, sometimes dicey, string of comments on love and doctrine.
Blog Itch: "And All God's People Said, 'Amen'"I want to reiterate this post from L'Hôte, an interesting young writer, on the importance of words entitled many a morn, I mourn my lost language of specificity and sight-sound, the meaning drained to nothing, dead and undone
Washington Post: A Post-Evangelical America?
Lisa Miller, a Senior Editor at Newsweek and Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary, engage in a dialogue on evangelicals and politics in light of the recent election
Lisa Miller: For at least four decades, white evangelicals have been the religion-and-politics story in this country. Their power, their rhetoric, their numbers, their theology--all have been so dominant that many of us in the media had forgotten that religious faith could be expressed any other way.
Richard Mouw: After a week or so of basking in the afterglow of the presidential election, I am starting to get a little grumpy. It's not about President-elect Obama. Like many other Americans I wept tears of joy when he addressed the nation on the evening of November 4. What is irritating me is much of the post-election analysis, especially as it focuses on religious issues. Lisa Miller's Newsweek piece, "A Post-Evangelical America," is one of the things that has put me in a foul mood.
The Daily Dish: Vindication - Andrew Sullivan
Peter Schiff, President of Euro Investment Capital, has been ringing the warning bell on the upcoming, now current economic crisis since the end of 2006. The other economic talking heads on Fox News have been poo-pooing him all along. Peter has been spot on.
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