2022

So this year was quite a revelation to me. It began when i finally met up (in February) with my urologist who confirmed that i hv a sizable cyst (4.5x 3.3 x 3.5 cm) in my left kidney.

Actually late last year during my yearly check up, they discovered it  although  the cyst had not changed in size , it now had septations (walls). So now it was no longer a simple cyst. It's called a complex cyst, which is could be more  sinister. So dragging myself, i made appointment with the specialist($) who for a hefty sum told me what i already knew (from my last yearly check up) that there was a cyst, and said to come back 6 months later (Aug) to see what gives (any further changes). So before i left i  had to ask him what if it is malignant.. to which he replied quite non-chalantly "bcos  it is  located deep in the kidney, I'll hv to take off the kidney".


Hmn.. (NO u WON'T '! I thot to myself )

Anyway, i didn't tell wifey his reply.
That was in february.

Then in early april, i paid a visit to my cardiologist (my last visit was  5 yrs ago), as i had developed some  breathing issues. She was simply horrible, lacking in patient concern, left me with more questions then answers. She immediately presumed my  breathing issues was due to the  heart but upon further examination she couldn't conclude it was due to my heart. But instead she 'discovered' my IVS (inter ventricular septum, which divides the heart into the left /right ventricles ) was moderately thickened, which according to her, was due to high bp. She was quite deliberate in insisting i start bp meds. I protested and showed her my daily recorded bp readings ; however she questioned me in a manner which seem to suggest i fabricated  (imagine that!!) these numbers vs the high readings seem in the clinic. To convince me further she said  i have a thicken IVS ( due to high bp condition) .
But since she is the cardiologist (a professional) and according to he EKG results  (echo cardiogram ) my IVS is  thickened so i couldn't argue further. She insisted i begin bp medication immediately.

The medication brought on  the terrible  side effects which left me  dizzy, weak, and quite dismayed. After trying the med for two weeks and showing her my (very) low daily recorded  bp readings , she finally agreed that  my previous high "in-clinic" readings was due  white coat hypertension (clinical hypertension). Which was what i told her in  my first meeting (which she dismissed). She was totally unapolgetic and said flippantly go off the meds, and come back to see her again in 2 weeks. Forget it maam!

I had enough of her.

So i had two health  issues on my mind which weighed heavily on my mind even  while  i continued  my daily exercises and weight training.



Then sometime in June, something strange happened to me as i exited church. I suffered something called a global amensia. I forgot where i was and couldn't remember anything of that day. All i did rmbr was that  i was feeling hungry and that my body needed food. Fortunately i was with church mates (after church, Sunday) , and when they realize i wasn't myself, they took me to the emergency room at the hospital. They ran brain scans etc, but nothing abnormal was detected ( thank God, no signs of any stroke ). That was when the  neurologist first mentioned the term Global Amenesia, which they deemed  harmless (though they cannot explain the reason) and doesnt usually  not repeat itself. But I was warded 2 nights for observation.
Since  i was warded i could utilize my insurance so i requested to see the cardiologist (i wanted a different opinion other than that previous (awful) cardiologist. He took my ekg scans, treadmill results etc, and curiously  he didn't mention anything about a thicken IVS which the earlier cardiologist, from Beacon hosp had  so definitively said it to be so.

Like an experiment, gone wrong?! 

Fistula is the most painful
thing right at the wrist. 

Linda spent 2 nights on the uncomfortable couch w me in the room. Bryan upgraded us to a single room. 

Two weeks after my discharge from hospital, i went for my  follow up; the first appointment was with the neurologist which was  uneventful, except  he did something out of his way. When i showed him my past weeks bp readings, he took the trouble to do both a manual reading concurrently with my home  bp machine (which i brought along with me).

So although my readings were  high at the clinic (as usual), it did confirm  that my bp machine was accurate.
(actually my bp machine read higher on the diastolic number by 7 pts). That was good news because now i know for sure my home readings are accurate bcos most of my bp readings done at home were in the normal range.

Oh joy!! PTL

My visit with the cardiologist was equally stunning ; when he said my ekg readings were normal, i brought out  all the earlier records by the  other  cardiologist. He took time to evaluate the readings which were done by his ekg technician  (unlike my earlier ekg which  done by the failing  cardiologist herself) and concluded they're was nothing wrong in the size of my heart chambers, including the IVS(!!!)

All normal!! Yayyy!  A clean bill is health.

Rejoicing on the way home we stopped at Bumbu Bali for lunch 

On the way home, we stopped by our favorite restaurant to celebrate the good news.



Then in  August, i was to go check my left kidney on status of the cyst.
That day  before i began to pray earnestly even  as a went for my morning hike. With every step i took, i began to declare, 'as Jesus is, so am i in this world (1 John 4:7). 

I felt good.

The next day i went for an ultrasound check by  technician (before seeing the urologist) . The technician took time to record the readings. At the end of the session  she told me to wait as she wanted  to check the readings with the earlier ones (10 months ago). When she came back she said affirmatively that the cyst had shrunk. The cyst has shrunked by 80%.(!!!) 

(fr 4.5x3.3x3.5 to 2.5x 2.1x 2.0)

Oh wow PTL (again!)

Later, the urologist glumly confirmed the technician report. Before i left i had to ask him, if he's ever seen a cyst shrink, or if it was  normal for a cyst to shrink. He just replied, 'no'.

Whoohooo! Jesus did it!



I thank God for his miraculous hand over my life. He has removed the 2 health concerns, and i contnue to hold on to the scripture of 1John4 :17 which declares "as Jesus is so are we in this world.."