Heart Update

May 8, 201312 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: May 8, 2013

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So, here's the skinny on my heart for those of you who are following this. The doctor I had gone to see told me that the results came back from the single day heart monitor and he saw nothing despite the fact that I clearly felt a palpitation at 10:30 that night. He, literally, just told me to take it easy. Now, in all honesty, I think most people would take that and leave, but I'm not one to lay down when something doesn't feel right. The LEAST he could have done was perhaps offer another reason for the palpitations and/or talk to me about future options. He did neither. So, I hung up the phone and decided to get a second opinion.

Second opinion cardiologist was recommended to me by my mother's friend who has her father going to see this doctor. My mom's friend is the most nitpicky, judgmental, and unafraid to question person I have ever met and so I had it figured this guy would be awesome and, so far, he is. He's very thorough and asks a ton of questions. He's also very friendly and helpful and he is already investigating other options (e.g. my thyroid). He did not agree with putting me on a heart monitor for a single day since I'm not getting the palpitations every day. So he has me on a 30 day heart monitor that has an event record button on it that I'm required to press when having a palpitation. It then transfers the data via a landline phone after I call a number. The machine sounds like old morse code mated with an old AOL dial up connection when it's working.

Downside is I have two electrodes attached to my chest, one clearly visible with all the summer/spring shirts I have, which are attached to a beeper sized machine at my side. Hooray for weird looks. My skin is also already irritated by the electrode stickies and it's only been three days. 27 to go.

The upside is that I had gotten called for jury duty last month and I sent in my information to do my civic duty and all that. I can't viably sit in court with a heart monitor on that I'm required to push a button on when I palpitate which makes noise. No noise in court. Plus, I need access to a landline after it records so I can send the data through. Hell, just going in for the selection process next week might be next to impossible. You have to walk through a metal detector and it looks like a bomb is strapped to my chest. OR even getting into downtown NY without getting stopped by a cop or two.

It'll be interesting to say the least. Anyway, I'm hoping to call my doctor today and see if I can get a note or official document from him that I can bring with me during the selection process to be excused.

So, that's that. I see the doctor again in three weeks while I'm still wearing the monitor and he'll have some of the results I'll be sending over the phone. So far, no palpitations to send. It's annoying me considering I'm wearing this damn thing, it might as well see some use. Then again, I have 27 days to put it through its paces.

Thanks for reading!

Book Review: Faith of the Fallen Written by: Terry Goodkind - After Soul of the Fire I wasn't too sure if I was ready for another several hundred page Goodkind book. Thankfully, this installment in the Sword of Truth series proved to be worth the read. Unlike his other books, this is a much faster paced read, at least in consideration of time. Instead of covering one year over the course of six books, he covered a year inside the space of 700 pages which was a refreshing change. It's hard to imagine that so much can happen in just a year's time, so this is a bit more realistic (or as realistic as a fantasy series can get).

In this installment we find Richard abandoned by his home, Hartland, and its people. They have even fallen under the provocative sound of the Imperial Order and all of the morals it spews. What follows is a deeper look into the Imperial Order's flawed governing system. There's a moral cause, but completely misguided. It sounds great, but it looks awful because it isn't governed properly. In a word, it's idealistic. Unfortunately, ideals are very rarely plausible in reality and unfortunately for the whole of the map that we get in each book the people are falling under this rule.

We also get a background to Nicci, a Sister of the Dark, and a previous teacher of Richard's at the Palace of the Prophets. We not only get what she's been doing since the Palace fell, but also her past so that we might care for her. She's obviously a hard character to write since she is powerful, supposed to be evil, but also confused and I think Goodkind does a valiant effort at trying his best at her. Though she never quite fits right. Whether that was intentional to communicate her own confusion or it was just hard to write her is not for me to say, but it did take away from the book itself.

The story is centered around Richard who is always being captured. Nicci is the culprit this time and though she doesn't use a physical collar, she uses one in the form of Kahlan. I'll say no more so I don't ruin it for you, but it's certainly a clever form of a collar. A collar nonetheless. In the interim, it's a convenient time to be captured since Richard's plans to do anything about the Imperial Order became stagnant since the people must prove themselves to him and realize the need for unity. Similar to Greek city-states, those that wish to fight against the uniformity of the Order must band together and show him what they are capable of accomplishing.

Kahlan is left in the dust with Cara to help the D'Haran soldiers. Unfortunately, things don't go very well as the Imperial Order is put into perspective for the reader. What small victories are accrued are ruined quickly by the sheer size that the Imperial Order has accomplished in gaining.

On a lighter note, Goodkind also comments on art and its subsequent power. He plays around with the idea that an idea can't die. A person can, but art can change people's lives forever and it can become an idea which is part of an altogether immaterial realm that won't die. Art can change the course of action and of faith and of entire lands if properly imposed upon them. I tip my hat to Goodkind for that commentary.

The book itself is, as usual, a quick read and surprisingly jam packed with action. My only dislikes were Nicci's portrayal and Goodkind's consistent fall back to getting Richard captured and having him busy with one thing or the other instead of the Imperial Order. Always two conflicts, always getting captured. It gets a bit drab. I'm just happy it wasn't another Soul of the Fire.