We're quickly approaching the 25th anniversary of 9/11/2001. For many who responded during the rescue and recovery operations the exposure to dust, smoke, and toxins, have left us dealing with 9/11 related health issues. Luckily, there has been what is now called the Mount Sinai World Trade Center Health Program. It's a program made up of two parts, the monitoring program and the treatment program. For 25 years I have been a part of both and I'm grateful that these programs exist.
Yesterday I had a two-part visit. First was a stop for another low-dose CT scan of the chest to check on the status of the lung nodules and stuff that have been detected in both lungs. The second was an appointment with my thoracic surgeon, Dr. Raja Flores, to see if and or when he may have to get in there and do what surgeons do, which is to cut bad stuff out.
Theresa and I were sitting in a patient room when he opened the door with his always supportive smile. That brought both of us some relief. The plan was to go from having repeat CT scans every six months to annually. He preliminarily liked what he saw but need to wait until a radiologist reads the scan and files his report. He basically said, as he always does, "There's stuff going on there, you basically are symptom free, it could be cancer, but let's wait and see". And then he adds, "If you went to any other surgeon they'd want to cut you open (and do a wedge resection), which is what surgeons do, but if I were you, or you were my Mother, I'd just wait and continue to see". I guess that's good news, although the pending report will tell us more. And in the end I'm coming back in six months, so I'll be back in NYC in February.
And since I was in NYC it was a great opportunity to catch up with my daughter Juliet. It's been a bit since I checked up with this almost now 30 year-old woman. She works down in the Meatpacking District so Theresa and I had planned on driving down and picking her up to grab a bite and drive her back home to Brooklyn. We got there early, and scored a legal parking spot on the street, so we hit a Happy Hour at The Standard Grill which is part of The Standard Hotel.
After the kind of nerve -wracking day between the 3-1/2 hour trek from Cape May to 102nd Street and Madison Avenue and the test and consultation is was time for a drink. Now you know I'm cheap, well let's say frugal, so I was expecting to empty out my wallet for a quick bite and a beer.
It was Happy Hour. It's bougie NYC. And we were surrounded with high end stores and office buildings many of which are headquarters for trendy businesses. So I was shocked to learn that this place, from 4-6 pm, offers $5 Budweiser's and $1 oysters. Imagine that. Two Buds and half a dozen oysters set me back $16, now that's a bargain anywhere, especially in Manhattan.
We had about an hour to kill before Jules got out of work and we resisted ordering more to eat so as to not ruin dinner in Brooklyn. It was the prefect stop and I would go back if I'm ever down that way again. Surprisingly the rooms at The Standard High Line Hotel run about $350 a night, which even to me sounds fair.
After we picked up Juliet we headed towards the Williamsburg Bridge. The end of the day traffic was starting to build as we made our way through The Bowery towards the Lower East Side. As we drove east on Delaney Street towards Essex I saw something that caught my eye. A frantic woman on her cell phone, a few people standing over something, and a man down who was less then responsive. We were in Theresa's car and I didn't have my Jr. First Aid kits that I always carry in my own truck. But I knew she carried something that might come into good use...Narcan.
As I pulled to the curb Theresa fished the cardboard box out of the glove compartment and gave me one of the two nasal injectors. Narcan, or naloxone, is the go-to opioid antagonist medication if someone has overdosed on an opioid. It's generally a miracle medication but these days with people using poly-substances, including fentanyl, it doesn't always work even after multiple treatments. In the ER when I was at Capital health this past spring it wasn't uncommon to have patients on Narcan drips.
Luckily for the guy all it took were some intermittent sternal rubs to get him breathing again. His dilated pupils told me this wasn't an opioid event, and the Narcan I had next to me would just be wasted if I gave it to him, so I just stayed and kept stimulating him to breathe.
It took about 5 minutes before the FDNY's Engine 9 and EMS arrived on the corner. It wasn't a big deal, and most people just kept walking, and not even looking down, without even missing a beat. And as far as getting a picture? You know me, always. The good, the bad, and the ugly. So if you're with me and you get run over by a train, make sure you have a smile on your face before you land. I find stories without images don't have the same umph, and if there was an ever a doubt as to the truth that it ever happened, well there you go.
It's also a bit of a public service announcement. If you can't bring yourself to stop and help directly, at least see if there's anything you can do, which at least, is to ensure someone has called 911. Many times people stand around thinking the person next to them called, while the firetruck and ambulance sits in the apparatus bay unaware. And if ever get a chance to get a dose of Narcan from a pharmacy or a health fair, grab one. It's a simple nasal spray you administer which can restore a person's breathing, which in the end could save their life, or prevent brain death from hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen.
After that pit stop we made our way into Williamsburg and went to a Thai return called Sage. It was a great meal with better company. If you know then you know, there's nothing better then
sitting across from you adult children and listening to them tell you about their lives. It would be an understatement to not say how proud I am of her, and miss her as well.Brooklyn was a distance from Titusville, with Cape May even further, and Bluffton another world away, so I have to make sure I do a decent job in staying connected and in-person as much as I can. It looks like my next specialist appointment at Mt Sinai is on October 5th, with Dr. Morgenthau, a world reknown sarcoidosis expert, so maybe I'll make it a medical and personal trip with a sleep over in Brooklyn.
We pulled into Cape May just before midnight and needless to say we were beat.