Perhaps the Buddha will donate. Better include him. © P J Croft 2014

Re yesterday’s post, I’ll add some more titles for the ACF to list.

Cardinal (In case Mr Pell decides to contribute); Holiness (ditto the Pope); I Gusti; Ibu; Ratu; Tungku; Señor; Señorita; El Supremo; Viscount; Pretender; Dowager; Emporer; Czar; Czarina; Monsignor; Herr (why have Frau without Herr?); Fraulein; President (in case Barack Obama tips in); Vice President (ditto Joe Biden) … Oh what a joke.  I think I’ll have to send these in.  We wouldn’t want Australia to look foolish, would we?

________________________________________________

I’m home from a trip to the Mount Medical Centre in Perth this morning to see Gastro Boy. (Even at 9:30am he looks rumpled!)  It’s a very easy trip – bus at 0730 around the corner; Clarkson Station at 0745; train waiting, plenty of seats as it’s the top of the line; Esplanade Station at 0835; 950 bus along Mts Bay Rd to the Mount by 0900, time for coffee before my appointment at 0930. Easy.

Perth drivers!!!##** 😦   I walked across the south bound lane opposite the Mount with cars stopped at the lights 120m back (I’ve measured it in Google Earth). I’m using my stick and walking as fast as I can, which is slowly.  The cars roar away from the lights. They can see me from at least 50m away, but they still have to brake hard, hard enough for a small tyre squeal, as I try to get off the road.  Why don’t they just anticipate and ease off so they don’t need to brake?

This is in the same category as cars on the freeway that race up behind the car in front, then put their brakes on!  Bloody fools.  Never overestimate the intelligence of WA people.

________________________________________________

Back to Gastro Boy.  This appointment was to set a new date for band removal and discuss my diabetes progress.  I came away quite a bit less anxious.  He’s very happy with the BGL control and we set a new date of Wed 28 May.

But the main thing is that he now recommends the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass instead of the sleeve.  I feel happier about that.  It’s still a big change, but it’s easier to do and less risky in terms of leakage.  And the stomach remains in place, it’s not all ripped out.  I admit I was scared of that.

The other point is that it’s much better at fixing diabetes.  Make no mistake, this operation is known to fix diabetes, which is what I want.  Fixes it within days!  He told of one woman whose BGL dropped so much in the hospital after the op that they had to give her glucose to prevent it falling too much.

I also raised the point about fasting before operations.  I have trouble with that.  I asked him, surely I could suck a glucose sweet before the operation?  It’s not a solid once it’s dissolved.

No, he said, a sweet stimulates saliva and that’s enough to cause possible reflux under anaesthetic because your stomach tends to contract. The risk is getting stomach acid in the lungs. Big problem.  No sweets, no water, no nuthin’.  Oh well.

___________________________________________

All this talk about Grange … I’ve still got my bottle of ’71 Grange that I bought for $550 in 1995.  Quote from Wine Auction House:

“The 1971 Penfolds Grange is one of the best wines ever made in Australia; it needs no introduction.  In 1993, Max Schubert quoted  ‘If you had to point to a wine which fulfilled all the ambitions of Penfolds Grange, it would have to be the 1971 vintage’ “.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.  They only have five bottles available and the price is $1,150 a bottle.  I haven’t made a fortune but that’s a lot better than inflation.

But I’m in a real quandary.  I’ve never tasted Grange and I’d like to.  I’m tempted to drink my bottle, but it would be a waste – I don’t really think I’d appreciate it as my sense of taste is affected by Amiodarone (anti-arrhythmia drug).  You can buy Grange by the glass at a few places (at upwards of $35 a glass!), so I think it’d be better to sell mine and just try a glass some day.  It’s still in fine condition afaik.  It’s 43 years old and I bought it nearly 20 years ago, fgs!