Trackside Lounge: Sep.-Dec. 2009 Edition

[Modelcar]

43 early this morning....and just a tinge of frost on our back yard.  Beautiful clear and sunny sky.  To be upper 60's this afternoon.

Me, a dentist appointment in about an hour.

Looks like more sunshine as our week progresses....possibly a bit of rain tomorrow.

Wishing a good week for all.....

[tree68]

blhanel

Larry, that first one better show up in Fuzzy's TWP so I can vote for it!

I'm still working on recovering all my favorite links from my old computer...

Soon.

[CShaveRR]

Larry, I liked your color shots--we're not all that far behind you, and they'll go fast. It looks like the storms didn't hurt things too badly.

Over the weekend I had to visit one of the nicest but least-favorite places in the world for me--Elmhurst Hospital. Saturday, while working (with a tad more than the usual stress levels), my heart just flipped out. It does that from time to time, but this time it didn't return to normal. So after a few minutes, I excused myself (they had somebody who could fill in for me) and drove to the ER. (I was told by several people that I shouldn't have done that.) An EKG showed my heart rate as 205!

A subsequent angiogram showed no arterial blockage, which is more or less what we suspected. My problem is "in the wiring, not the plumbing". I'm told that they now have a cure for this (supra-ventricular tachycardia), so I'll be trying to make an appointment with my regular cardiologist to look into it.

Colin says UP 844 is coming to Chicago tomorrow--haven't had a chance to confirm.

[Modelcar]

Carl, that must have been a bit scary.  Hope your Cardiologist can get you set up with the new "treatment" if it is appropriate for you.

[tree68]

Carl - the problem with your heart beating that fast is that it doesn't pump efficiently.  I've had patients who show one heart rate on the monitor, but their pulse is just half of that - for all intents and purposes only every other contraction of their heart is actually moving blood.

Super-fast beats like that can also cause problems with clots.

Your cardiologist will probably have a couple of little pills for you to add to your daily regimen, or else some changes to what you might be taking now...

[Deggesty]

Carl, I trust that you wll get whatever it takes to calm your heart down so that it works right and keeps you going.

Johnny

[CShaveRR]

Larry, you kind of nailed it--what was happening in my case was that the upper and lower portions of the heart were beating at different rates, so nothing was being accomplished. Blood pressure was extremely low (I didn't see how low). That's not good for heart condition, and some sort of enzyme was being released that suggested that cells were being killed off. The cardiologist who did the angiogram said nothing about that, though, and my EKGs were all normal within a day of the event.

No changes in my meds, at least until I see the regular cardiologist (found out today that he's on vacation). It sounds like a nervous-system disorder that happens whenever it wants to (at least we can't think of a specific trigger). I'll be interested in hearing about a cure for this, and whether it's worth it for how rarely it occurs. If it were to happen to me again tonight, they'd fix me up in the ER and send me home.

This morning Pat and I walked a couple of blocks or so downtown. While we were there, the second eastbound perishable train of the weekend went through. We also got to check out the new CWR and ties they put on Track 3 at the platform (they replace everything at once so that the tie gang doesn't have to waste time in the confined area next to the somewhat-elevated platform--kind of like a quarter-mile-long section of panel track, with big rail and Pandrol clips).

[CShaveRR]

Back to work this morning. My backpack will have to remain in the car (too heavy for me to lift, per restrictions). Pat moved it out there for me. Fortunately, they're allowing me to climb stairs.

Just heard a couple of trains calling me...

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

Back to work this morning. My backpack will have to remain in the car (too heavy for me to lift, per restrictions). Pat moved it out there for me. Fortunately, they're allowing me to climb stairs.

 

Just heard a couple of trains calling me...

Carl, it's good to know that you do not have to take more time off. Also, you do not have to line the switches by hand.

Johnny

[CShaveRR]

Yeah, but with my restrictions I can't throw them as far as I used to!

The day went fairly well, given the signal-related problems we had the entire time.

I noticed that quite a number of yard employees were called back to work since the last time I checked the seniority roster. They may have gotten back into the '07 people. No evidence that actual assignments have been restored, though.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Carl, my wife (Marie) had that same problem and symptoms for many years - supra-ventricular tachycardia, only hers was the "A-V nodal re-entry" type.  I have not much of an idea of what that means technically - only that there was something like an extra pathway or electrical short-circuit in the heart's control system that made it 'fire' or signal for a beat to occur something like 2 to 3 times faster than normal - 230 to 250 beats per minute were common, like she'd been running a marathon, only worse.  But when it happened and she needed medical attention, it made the attending staff happy to A) know that the symptom had already been diagnosed, and was identified and known; and, B) it was not one of the types that can be fatal, which are often addressed with a pacemaker.  Since they let you out without installing one, I would not be surprised to learn that's what you have - though it could be another kind as well, I suppose. 

Although she had known about it since she was around 12 or 13 circa 1965, it was some 20 years later and only after some extensive 'electro-physiological studies' with catheters and wires and probes into her heart, etc. in 1984 at the Hospital of the Univ. of Penna. in Philadelphia that the diagnosis was established.  They sent her home with an Rx for Norpace, but she didn't tolerate that well - low BP, adverse reactions to sunlight and heat during a vacation trip to DisneyWorld in Florida in June, etc.  So she lived with a maintenance dosage of digitalis and maybe some other meds for about 8 years.  Nevertheless, the tachycardia would reoccur essentially randomly - sometimes twice in a day, sometimes as long as 6 weeks betrween episodes.  Although we were 'regulars' and on a first-name basis with many of the staff at the local ER at Reading Hospital then, she also carried a copy of her EKG and a diagnosis letter from her cardiologist in her purse in case something happened on the street or in a different town - that happened only once or twice, I think.  When it did, the recommended treatment was 5 mg Verapamil IV, which worked almost every time, I think, within a few minutes.  Famously,  the 'tachy' once 'broke' when an ER doc applied his cold stethoscope to her chest - the 'laying-on of the stethoscope', we joked.  But that was in the middle of the night - this could and did occur at all hours, and was tough on her when I was on the road and she never knew when it might happen.  We also had 1 younger doctor - Hermanovich by name - tell her it was all in her head; see below for how good of a clinician he was.  Along the way was bio-feedback training and a few other mitigation techniques. 

In 1987, we moved to Allentown in large part to have a less-isolated location that would work better for her.  She changed cardiologists - from a competent but standard guy who was good at the usual heart-attack patient types - to a fellow who was first an electrical engineer by training at Cornell Univeristy in NY, and then went to medical school.  Naturally enough he specializes in electro-physiological problems like this.  He basically continued the treatment, with the thought that something better might come along someday.  Around 1992 he called us one day to tell us that it had - Radio Frequency - 'RF' ablation, which means - to my primitive understanding - that a catheter is inserted into the heart, and the extra electrical pathway in the A-V node is destroyed or at least interrupted by essentially micro-waving it.  At the time only about 300 such procedures had been done - it was still experimental - and only 3 places in the US were doing it - Michigan, Oklahoma, and Presbyterian Hosp. in Phila., so you know where we went.  Back then, it was a 6-day hospital stay; today, I understand it's commonly done on an outpatient basis.  Anyway, she had it done then; happily, it was a complete success; no reoccurrence; no more meds; no pacemaker; no limitations on physical activity of any kind; could engage in wine-tasting, which she now loves; discharged as his patient after 5 years or so.

If there's a lesson here, it's this:  Find the right specialist.  In my opinion and experience, a regular cardiologist won't do - you need one who specializes in cardiac electro-physiology to understand and treat this correctly.  Keep looking until you find one - the others just don't have the knowledge and tools to deal with it properly. 

She was written up in the local newspaper after a few years, and we've shared her story with others in similar situations - friends of friends, daughters of my work colleagues, etc.  If you want to discuss any of this further, just PM me and I'll either tell you what you and/ or Pat would like to know, or provide our e-mil address or our phone number, and you and/ or her can chat with her - whatever would be most helpful.

Good luck and best wishes to both of you for a sucessful treatment and outcome, Carl.

- Paul North.

[CShaveRR]

Thanks, Paul--we're in the process of setting up a dual appointment with my regular cardiologist (when he returns from vacation) and an "electrician" at the same hospital.

Mine doesn't recur nearly as often as Marie's does/did--the last major flip-out was about five years ago, and the one that brought my cardiologist and me together was 14 years ago. This time I was clocked at 205.

New business--Pat has a seminar to attend in Chicago today. In our 36 years of marriage, she's always gone down to the city with me along. Today will be the first time she's ridden Metra alone into the city. She has to drop me off at work, find her own parking spot (a challenge in itself), catch the right train, get breakfast on the fly, find her way across the Loop, make her seminar, and get back and catch the right train home in time to pick me up. She's a little uncomfortable about it (I wish she could talk to our daughter, who became a regular commuter for a while, with nearly the same walk every day, but Linda's in California, and the time difference won't allow that).

[CShaveRR]

More new business: happy anniversary today to Joe and Stacey Kohnen (15 years!). And I can't believe I forgot Mrs. Mudchicken's. birthday yesterday. Hope it was a good one, "Boss Hen"!

[tree68]

Carl - It's all familiar to me, since I have to understand how the heart works to be able to treat disrythmias in the field, but I'm certainly no expert.  Best of luck with it.

And let us know if the missus requires a search party....

Best wishes to Joe and Stacey (who I've had the pleasure to meet - along with Matt), and Mrs MC, who I haven't met (yet). 

Time to head for a meeting regarding my impending retirement... 

[Deggesty]

Paul and Carl, I had not heard of such a thing as this disrythmia until Carl brought it up. It is wonderful that there are some (would that there were more) cardiologists who have knowledge of the disorder and are able to help those who the trouble. Carl, may you find the relief that Marie has found.

Pat WILL get home, safely.

Johnny

 

 

[CShaveRR]

I am happy to report that Pat is on Cloud Nine. The nervousness she felt changed to excitement as soon as she safely got on board the train. She made it across the Loop (northwest to southeast) in time for her seminar. Said seminar just proved to her that she (we) use the best policies in newsletter editing, so although she didn't learn much, the positive reinforcement was worthwhile. She also made it back across town--got slightly confused but worked her way out of it--and caught the earlier scoot so she had time for lunch before she came to pick me up, nearly on time.

Johnny, I wasn't really worried that she'd get lost, knowing that memories from the many trips we've made would come back to her. She just needed the confidence to pull it off.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

CShaveRR

  Thanks, Paul--we're in the process of setting up a dual appointment with my regular cardiologist (when he returns from vacation) and an "electrician" at the same hospital.

Mine doesn't recur nearly as often as Marie's does/did--the last major flip-out was about five years ago, and the one that brought my cardiologist and me together was 14 years ago. This time I was clocked at 205. [snip] 

Carl -

''That sounds like a plan !''    Seems like you're in good hands, with a cardiologist who knows when to get a super-specialist. 

And so it probably wasn't necessary for me to write as much as I did.  But it brought back a lot of memories - surprisingly, not all of them bad - and maybe it was worthwhile for you or others to know a little more about this kind of thing.  Back then the term used for this class of symptoms was ''arrythmia'', and to get a person out of it was called a ''conversion'' or ''cardio-version''.  I'd also forgotten about wearing the 'Holter' [not 'halter'] monitor and all the unusual 'Vagal' / para-sympathetic nervous system techniques that can also be used - in our case, usually not effective.

Earlier today I did some brief Internet research for ''A-V Nodal re-entry'' and ''tachycardia'', and came up with several websites that seem to have good information, based on our experiences.  Here are the links to them, for anyone who is interested.  For Johnny's benefit and as a 'for instance', it seems to occur at the rate of several cases per thousand persons, often in young adults, and more often in females:

"AV Nodal Reentry Tachycardia (AVNRT)" - a brief explanantion at:

http://www.arrhythmia.org/general/whatis/avnrt.html 

"Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry Tachycardia (AVNRT)" - a very comprehensive webpage, with about 5 separate pages - Overview, which includes a little diagram; Differential Diagnoses & Workup; Treatment & Medication; Follow-Up; and Multimedia; at:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/160215-overview 

Hope this is helpful and informative.  But since I'm definitely not qualified as a doctor or MD or medical expert of any kind - other than through limited personal experience, the usual disclaimers apply - and consult your own physician for medical advice. 

- Paul North.

 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Carl -

It's neat to be able to empower people - esp. women - to navigate public transit and big cities by themselves without fear and with confidence.  I've done it with my wife, my daughter, and several co-workers for both Philadelphia and New York City.  Congratulations and kudos to you !    I'd say you read the situation and the need for just a single successful confidence-building exercise exactly right.  That's the good news . . .

The 'bad news', of course, is to now think about the 'monster' you've unleashed . . .   What's now to keep her from going downtown whenever she wants to go shopping, to shows, to fancy restaurants with her friends, museums, etc.  You can now envision where this can lead, I'm sure . . .

- Paul. 

[CShaveRR]

I'm reasonably confident that I haven't unleashed a monster that I can't deal with. Pat is not a shopper (and our daughter will take her to places much closer than the Loop if she does feel the need for something). She does bemoan the fact that I'm not much of a museum person, but is unwilling to go to those by herself.

My younger daughter (not the shopper) built up her own confidence by having to go to orchestra rehearsals downtown while in high school. Some long-time Forum-dwellers might remember the story I told on her, when she was working her summer job at Bard College, north of New York City. She wanted to go into the city, and, since no one else did at the moment, she did it by herself. Took Amtrak one way and Metro-North the other, walked between the stations in Manhattan, and to all of the sights she wanted to see, and had a great time. Pat was a little weak in the knees when Linda told us what she'd done, but I was very, very proud of her, and made sure she knew it.

Now Pat says that her biggest anxiety concerned the company she was going to be in--an amateur among professionals who put out company newsletters, etc. But she and the newsletter we're involved with (for our local historical society) held their own--she dove right in when she had something to say, and that was enough to get her through it. Yes, I told her I was proud of her, too.

[CShaveRR]

In the Diner yesterday, Mudchicken mentioned the episode of the runaway plastics covered hopper that went through five miles' worth of BNSF trackage in Arvada before derailing. So, would the headline I saw for the incident be slightly "sensational" in nature?

Runaway rail car races through Colorado

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Carl -

Reading how well you've done with mentoring your ladies into 'pushing their comfort envelope' with travel, etc. causes me to wonder if either of your RR employers have ever tapped into your abilities and used you as a trainer or teacher of some kind on a regular basis ?  I think I understand that you don't want to be a mangaement-type - and I recall that possible retirement isn't that long away - but you seem to be well-suited for that.  Just wonderin', that's all . . .

- Paul North. 

[CShaveRR]

Paul_D_North_Jr

Carl -

Reading how well you've done with mentoring your ladies into 'pushing their comfort envelope' with travel, etc. causes me to wonder if either of your RR employers have ever tapped into your abilities and used you as a trainer or teacher of some kind on a regular basis ?  I think I understand that you don't want to be a mangaement-type - and I recall that possible retirement isn't that long away - but you seem to be well-suited for that.  Just wonderin', that's all . . .

- Paul North. 

I come from a family of teachers (mother, sister, daughter, to name just three), and I married into another family of teachers or teachers-in-training (my father-in-law was a teacher, and Pat trained to be one) but I'm not particularly cut out for such things myself. In the first place, I'm far too shy. Second place, actions speak louder than words, and I don't use too many words when I'm talking. In the third place, I have no patience. In the fourth place, I'm too much of a perfectionist.

I do have to train students to qualify for my CRO job on occasion, but I don't especially like doing it. People can learn a bit from watching (and listening to) me doing things at work, but they will have to ask the questions. It would be counterproductive for them to take a new candidate and give him/her to me, but I do pretty well with the "400-level" students, or with people doing re-familiarization sessions.

I was approached at one time, over 30 years ago, to be a guest lecturer at Michigan State University for a railroading course. The course was never funded, so it didn't happen.

[bubbajustin]

Hi all!

Back in here. Has been for ever since I’ve been in here! Carl I may have a post for you here in a few minutes!

Justin

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

In the Diner yesterday, Mudchicken mentioned the episode of the runaway plastics covered hopper that went through five miles' worth of BNSF trackage in Arvada before derailing. So, would the headline I saw for the incident be slightly "sensational" in nature?

 

Runaway rail car races through Colorado

This reminds me of the time that I slept all the way across Arkansas and Texas one night, and then rode all the way across Texas and Arkansas the next day. I then rode across three other states the same day, as well as going across Arkansas a second time.

Johnny

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

I do have to train students to qualify for my CRO job on occasion, but I don't especially like doing it. People can learn a bit from watching (and listening to) me doing things at work, but they will have to ask the questions. It would be counterproductive for them to take a new candidate and give him/her to me, but I do pretty well with the "400-level" students, or with people doing re-familiarization sessions

Carl, I sympathize with you. You make me think of various teaching responsibilities I have had. When I was a junior in college, I was asked to teach an introductory math course (as I recall, my brother had taught it the year before, when he was a senior). I tried; as long as I could stick to what I really knew, I was able to talk to the class, but I had trouble with some of the questions I was asked. The next year, I instructed one section of the freshman chemistry lab. I was comfortable when talking with a student individually, even with the one or two who had no idea as to what was going on in the experiment, but when I had to demonstrate a particular experiment  before my section and the other section that met the same days, I was almost petrified. Perhaps I should have asked Sugarlump (he was the instructor of the other section) to lead.

Again, the summer after my second year in seminary, I assisted the pastor of a city church. One of my responsibilities was to lead the Wednesday evening prayer meeting. we met in the large room in the basement of the church, and as long as I had something to protect me from the congregation (all of whom had nothing against me), I was all right. One week, however, the lectern had been taken away, and I felt naked.

It certainly helps if your instructee has some knowledge of the work, and has enough understanding to ask intelligent questions.

Johnny

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Well, Carl, I see that idea has already occurred to you, and your analysis is really not open to debate - only you know best what you're comfortable with.  I've known for a while that people learn in different ways, but I hadn't thought before about how the teacher might teach better in different ways, or be better with students at certain 'levels' or methods of learning than others - kind of a 'mirror' or 'pairing' effect is needed, I suppose. 

Thanks for the response, and insights.  Best wishes with whatever comes your way, and you decide to do.

- Paul.

[CShaveRR]

Good morning (and thanks to you wiser folk)!

We have a couple of very important birthdays to celebrate today:

First of all, Willy is 19 today. Good luck with that, Will, and have a great day (that was a very special year for me!).

And also a happy birthday to my favorite editor, quilter, and wife (not in that order), Pat. This is a significant birthday in some circles...let's just say that she's in a different decade than I am, for now.

[CNW 6000]

Happy Birthday to Willy and Pat!
I hope your day is a good one.  Just don't party too much!

CN's been running more and longer trains lately.  I wonder if that's a sign of things improving.  I've heard some more guys have been called back, but some are still 'out there'.  I have noticed several times now SD70M-2s running long hood forward (ditch lights on) at track speed.  They are usually leading 2 or 3 units and a long train.  I've seen this evenly spaced between NB and SB.  Any ideas on why?

[Willy2]

CNW 6000

Happy Birthday to Willy and Pat!
I hope your day is a good one.  Just don't party too much!

19 years old, that means I can now squander my money on lottery tickets and scratch off tickets. Yay!

Happy birthday to Pat!!

4 inches of snow on the ground here in Omaha today, and it's still snowing. This was just one day shy of breaking the record for our earliest one inch or greater snowfall.

[CShaveRR]

Were you dreaming of a white birthday?

They've taken the snow out of our forecast, but this morning I had to scrape frost and ice (from last night's rain) off the car before driving to work. (Car is parked outside this week, as I'm still not allowed to lift the garage door.)

Pat's been getting a lot of phone calls and Facebook greetings today. Shortly we'll go grocery shopping, and she's already picked out the place where she'd like to dine tonight: Buona (Nora knows this one!).