By John Grindrod
Guest Columnist
Although it has been a very long time since I sat behind one of the little desks in a classroom, like most of us, I still carry lots of memories from those days, including the subjects to which I gravitated and also those with which I did not.
While I always found subjects like English and history easy to comprehend and quite interesting, I really struggled to keep my head above the academic waters in the hard sciences. I’m pretty sure I was the last in my St. Charles class to grasp that whole long-division thing.
While I was more of a liberal-arts academic one-trick pony, there have always been others who I would classify true renaissance men and women, those who developed an interest and exhibited a keen aptitude in both the sciences and the humanities. My friend Jim O’Neill, who before his retirement was one of this region’s top orthopedic surgeons, in addition to becoming an accomplished pianist, thespian and director of several LCC class plays.
As for my scientific times, while I have such respect for those who tried to broaden my knowledge base in science, I just wasn’t all that interested in their subject matter.
Looking back, I have to laugh about those times because over the last couple of years, I’ve developed a much stronger interest in science, not really by choice but more as a matter of self-interested necessity. I suppose if you want to get specific about this relatively sudden interest in the sciences, it would be human anatomy as it relates to me.
Because of the instant-information age in which we live, I’ve been able to open my iPad and Google away to gain more insight into prostate concerns and the cancer that came a-calling in ’23 and the robotic surgery that would follow.
Since we all know that much in life doesn’t go as planned, especially with PSA blood testing with which legions of men become acquainted each year, I’ve dived into that Google world to make sure I was understanding my oncologist, Dr. Court, and the radiation treatments I underwent over a seven-week period last spring even after that prostate removal.
My body apparently decided to add some pretty crazy blood-pressure challenges to my medical menu, which led to my working with another of Lima’s fine men of medicine, Dr. Brandeberry, to bring the numbers into more reasonable ranges both on the systolic (the upper number) and the diastolic (the lower number).
When my blood labs that Dr. Brandeberry ordered indicated I had low potassium levels, I Googled in addition to listening carefully to the doctor to learn about the effects of such a deficiency, learning that my low potassium was contributing to my high blood pressure.
And, when Dr.B. mentioned the need for my switching to a low-sodium diet, I did quite a bit of reading on my choices in following a low-salt diet. To try to stay as close as possible to the 1,800 milligram daily ceiling, I’m eating a lot of tuna, leafy vegetables and fresh fruit these days.
While I’m doing my best to adhere to the low-salt thing, it’s difficult, especially when eating out. I’ve discovered there aren’t a plethora of options when ordering in restaurants in the low-sodium category.
I used to love my trips to Arby’s for one of those delicious Reubens, that is until some scientific research revealed the sodium content in one sandwich is a whopping 2,420 milligrams. And as for my trips to Panda Express, sadly, unless it’s a “cheat day,” those are in the past as well.
Hopefully, all of my youthful bravado and false notions of invincibility are eradicated at this stage, and as all in my graying tribe, I’m trying to make better lifestyle decisions while trying to manage a few more laps in the great (human) race as a means to thank my Good Lord for his greatest gift, life.
While many have tried to define just when old age begins, I think the best definition I’ve heard is as follows. It knocks on your door when you first begin to get that feeling that the rules of the game you’ve always played have over time changed and WITHOUT your consent!
While I remember my youthful indifference and disregard for science, now that I’m the one who’s the lab specimen and not some lifeless frog or fetal pig, I guess you might say I’ve become very interested.
John Grindrod is a regular columnist for The Lima News, a freelance writer and editor and the author of two books. Reach him at [email protected].
