Update on April/May AFIB Report

Hi All,

I am knee deep now in preparing the next AFIB Report issue for April/May and should have it out by weekend after this coming one, if not a day to two sooner. This will be around 2 months after the last issue at our new normal range of 3 to 4 weeks into each two month publication cycle.

I've just returned from a 10 day business trip to Honolulu, my old home of 38 years, to address a host of errands and meetings as well as clearing out a big storage locker that were long overdue, while also very much staying daily involved with Magdalena's efforts to assist her elderly mother while she has been in Canada with her mom who had a stroke 4 weeks ago, and who was just released from the hospital late last week,

This unexpected medical saga for her mom has required a lot from us both and many conversations with various physicians, speech therapist and social workers in addition for me in addressing her financial issues with her various institutions there from long distance while she has been incapacitated.

We are tentatively keeping our fingers crossed that her mom will be able to manage on her own at home after making some progress after her stroke, but she still requires a couple times a day speech therapy. So far, we have arranged some on-going help for her with a very kind neighbor couple and a social worker to check in on her each day along with a Lifeline beeper service for any emergencies. Plus, Magdalena who just returned last night from Canada for a few weeks to recharge and regroup here back home in Arizona with me, before returning the British Columbia again, is conducting added speech lessons daily with her mom on the phone as well.

We will just have to see how it all goes, and likely we both will be making repeated trips to Kelowna BC the rest of this year as we get a better understanding of what her mom's long term care might require. At least, the hospital felt is was worth a trial to see how she manages on her own so we are cautiously hopeful she can maintain her independence a while longer.

Her mom used to live in Arizona too many years ago, but returned to Canada for health reasons over 20 years ago as she had no US health insurance. So bringing her back to Arizona now at 89 yrs old is a non-starter.

In any event, it seems our foray with family medical issues that has been a big part of our lives the last couple years has yet to fully run its course, or at least simmer down to an average norm.

Nevertheless, I am working with a exciting new prospect for helping to upgrade our Afibbers websites, hopefully starting in the autumn after a summer of planning and decision making. These efforts too are very time consuming, but will pay off for all of us Im sure in the long run with a website far more accessible to many more afibbers out there than currently are even aware we exist. And we can do so with more updated design features and compliant search engine optimization as well.

Doing so, will open up more creative ways to evolve the AFIB Report content in a more user friendly way conveying so much of these new news reports and study highlights in smaller bite-sized chunks on-line and with some video and multi-meida sprinkled in, where possible, to make the learning and reviewing all the easier.

And yet, as a truly one man operation now and not a web expert myself, I am limited in how quickly I can execute these steps while also putting out the very time-consuming AFIB Report as well. As such, a little more flexibility in the AFIB Report publication date, though still as much as possibly within each defined two month time period, should be expected the remainder of this year. Though I will endeavor to get the 6 issues out in any event until we are ready to morph the whole site and newsletter into a new format and era, that hopefully will preserve and sustain all the wonderful content and archives as well as this very special forum that Hans and Judi Larsen so tirelessly helped support, and insure it remains available for future generations of afibbers to come to enjoy and benefit from.

I'll keep you all posted as we progress along on these necessary changes, as I too learn the scope of what will be required along the way. Thanks to all of you in advance for the support and help with your own continued presence here on the forum helping others as well.

All the Best,
Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2015 03:22PM by Shannon.

You have a lot on your plate, my friend! You and your family are in my prayers. I'm glad Magda's mom is doing well enough to try it alone.

Were you able to find some suitable glasses?

Ken

Thanks Ken, and also for the help with the glasses with your daughter too ( Ken's daughter is an optometrist.

The week before I left for Hawaii I broke my glasses ( first time in 45 years I have done so) and I am blind as a bat without them with a -8.50 vision in both eyes.

My spare pair I quickly was reminded was 7 years old and not at all the same prescription. Alas, when I took my broken pair to the local optometrist in Sedona to try to shoe-horn my current lens from the now broken frame into a new frame that might fit, the lady doing the fitting was apparently unaware not to dip my special lens which are called 'hi-index progressive lens' with such a strong prescription into the hot bead like sand box they use to fit lens inside plastic frames.

As such, this optometrist glasses fitter inadvertently ruined my only good lens such that I have been stuck with the very old and entirely wrong headache-inducing prescription the last two weeks and still have another 10 to 12 days to go before salvation. I got a new prescription here in Sedona the day before I left for Hawaii and found a suitable frame at my old glasses shop in Honolulu I have used for three decades but still with these type lens it will be another week and a half or a bit more from today before those new correct lens in the new frames arrive here in Sedona.

As if I needed a bit more gedoe right now to deal with, right! :-). Anyway, Ive discovered that I can keep the headaches and swimming vision to a minimum if I limit my computer work to more or less bite sized chunks of 15 minutes or so at a time and go outside for bit to look around at long distances. Needless to say, this little dance has seriously cut into my computer and reading work schedule as a result. Luckily, the solution is well at hand and soon on its way, so not too much longer that I have to put up with this floating watery vision.

I tried some contact lens too, but was reminded quickly why I had to give those up years ago due to having too dry eyes, made all the more so now since I moved to desert country four years ago.

In any event, that is what Ken was referring too as he and his daughter were most kind in volunteering to help with good suggestions when this little saga first happened. Thanks again Ken and to your daughter as well! I'll send you a photo of the frames Ken so you can show Kristen what I wound up with.

Cheers!
Shannon

Wishes for a total recovery for M's mom.

/L