PORTLAND PICKLE Vol. 1 Issue 1

Hello from Portland, Oregon.  The Ashland Avatar is going on hiatus for the next month or two.  In fact it will be reinvented for the short term as The Portland Pickle.  Next disclaimer  . . .  many of you know that Mick was diagnosed with a mitral valve (heart) problem and has just gone through open heart surgery.  That said many more of you were totally unaware of this event and really only follow the Avatar as a means to do a little armchair travel.  So, after this installment, if the title is the Portland Pickle you can anticipate a blog about our experience with surgery and recovery in Stumptown.  When it reverts to the Ashland Avatar you can expect further adventures in travel.

This whole episode came as a total surprise to both of us but then who plans or expects to have heart problems or require open heart surgery.  That phrase “open heart surgery” is really quite terrifying, but the medical profession seems to treat it as just another surgery.  Love the response from his primary care physician . . . He initially schedule an appointment for something mundane like an ingrown toenail or some such and in the course of conversation mentioned that he was unable to run as far as he once had and was enjoying a midafternoon nap more than occasionally.  This prompted her to do an EKG while he was there in the office just to see if it showed anything of interest.  After reviewing the results she walked in to the exam room and commented “well, aren’t you a surprise!”  

Long story, short, from there it was a referral to a cardiologist, a bunch of tests and exams and ultimately a diagnosis of a leaky mitral valve and an

additional hole in the valve itself which was producing a jet of blood back in to the heart chamber.  The specialists all found this quite entertaining and unique and were anxious for a good look/see. 

If you are going to do something as dramatic as have you rib cage split open, or as the surgeon so eloquently put if “crack you open like a lobster” you may as well do it somewhere where the recovery will be a little more entertaining than sitting in a lovely, though ultimately not particularly stimulating environment, like a single family residential neighborhood like Ashland, Oregon.   

We opted for Portland, where the surgeons have more experience, walking during rehab does not require an uphill slog regardless of what direction you go, there are services that will deliver food and do you shopping for you and the view out the window is endlessly entertaining. 

So Portland it is.  We did our research, thank you Benjamin for your assistance, made our plans, informed our kids (sorry you may be adults but you will always be kids to us), reviewed and updated our Advance Directives and transplanted ourselves to Portland for the foreseeable future.  Leigh, Ben and Dino have joined us for the week and surprisingly two of the hoteling suites in the Cosmo were available.  So it’s happy family time, which, we all recognize is absolutely wonderful and totally chaotic all at the same time. 

Portland, and the Pearl in particular, is totally walkable, 10,000 paces a day, no problem.  The first day we were all together, Sunday, we explored the Saturday Market (a bit of an oxymoron I understand) walked the waterfront and had a quick explore of the gallery district.  Capped it off dinner at Grasso (I think that’s the name) which is a new restaurant by the owner of Lardo that specializes in pasta.  Totally casual, you order at the desk on your way in and they deliver to your table (communal).  The pasta was really outstanding and their eggplant parmesan bites a delight. 

Monday, our first face to face visit with the surgeon, left the rest of the family on their own to entertain themselves.  Leigh remarked that at the end of the day her Fitbit registered in excess of 20,000 paces and 11 miles.  Dino did the research on places to eat and Ben made friends with every dog in sight.  Need to hire him to stay a while and introduce me to all the dogs and owners who frequent Fields Park which is the view out our window. 

So where are things now . . . Surgery was this morning, had to get up at 4 a.m. and be at the hospital for no later than 5:15.  The things you do for love!  Providence Hospital has it down in terms of making things flow, providing guidance and assistance where and when needed.  Really impressed.  If you want to know more specifics about that or the surgery specifics just email me and I will share.  Otherwise, I will leave off for now with the fact that the surgery is over, the doctor was pleased with the procedure and didn’t need to do a valve replacement, just a repair.  As I said in a previous text to some of you no need to save up your pig jokes, some portion of his heart might have gotten zapped or toasted but there is no smell of frying bacon.  We’re going back to see him this evening when might actually be conscious and not be hooked up to so many machines.  Going forward I hope to share the recovery and rehab process while expounding on the newfound delights of living in Portland.  Hoping this won’t turn in to a medical treatise or morose descriptions of problems and process.  There’s gotta be some fun in it somewhere.  Like, the joys of being asked to take 3 iron tablets a day or the whether sleeping in a recliner (hopefully not one of those where you push the button and it propels you on to your feet) is really necessary.