The boys are back. Bert and Ernie (or a close facsimile of them) came by for breakfast.
While waiting for my lumber delivery to arrive, I set up my hammock. Out by the road seemed like a good spot so I would be aware when the truck arrives.
A pallet of block for the bathroom walls,
and some 2 x 4’s and 2 x 6’s for the walls and the roof.
Perhaps I should get busy taking these pallets apart for the 2 x 4’s for porch decking and the 1 x 4’s for what ever else.
November 25, 2024
The chipper needs a little attention. I removed the carbureator and took it over to a shop in Oceanview where they rent tools. They also do repairs, so I thought they might have a new gasket for this. Nope. So I re-used the old one with a little TLC.
There is a pile of branches waiting for me to get the carbureator back in place. Maybe tomorrow!
My porch decking is getting a bit precarious. It is past time to replace a few of these boards.
Luckily, I have a handful to use.
Some of the lumber has been moved off the roadway before it grows legs and walks off.
The pile is smaller, but the larger boards are the next ones to move!
November 26, 2024
It works! The repairs I did to the carbureator seem to have helped!
While moving the larger boards from the roadway, I made a new friend! Six to eight inches long!
And Big Red came by in the afternoon for a chat!
November 27, 2024
My neighbor asked for help with pouring a driveway to his parent’s house up on the hill. Fabulous view from up here.
Going to be a real challenge!
November 28, 2024 – Thanksgiving Day
Papaya for breakfast
Add a few guavas
and a bit of orange
Had a different bird stop by. A brown one. He sat for a short while on the cross bars of the handrail, them flew off.
Off to Kona in the afternoon. Alanah arrives from Arizona tonight – late! For the long holiday weekend.
Had an interesting conversation with Dr Kumar at Arizona Advanced Surgery. She patiently explained the purpose of the gallbladder and the possible (and most probable) reasons for my abdominal pains last month.
From what I understood, the Liver creates a substance called “bile”, and secretes it into the gallbladder. The gallbladder concentrates it by removing the water and stores it until food gets past the stomach and into the intestine. The bile travels through the bile duct, into the intestine, where it aids in the digestion of fats.
Apparently, I eat too many fats – dairy, bacon, etc. and acidic foods like tomatoes!
She draws a diagram on a small white board kinda like this:
Cholesterol builds up in the gallbladder creating stones. I have high cholesterol! One (or more) of these stones can get stuck in the opening of the gallbladder when it is trying to release the bile, causing it to swell and get irritated, creating the feeling of having a tennis ball stuck in my stomach! When the gallbladder relaxes, the stone drops out of the opening and back into the bladder.
Apparently, 20% of people have gallstones with no issues.
If this condition persists, or if the gallbladder does not relax, it is time to remove it!
“But, wait!” I said! “It was put there for a reason. Just like the door on this examination room. You can’t just eliminate the door into this room, or the room becomes unuseable.”
“It’s more like your wisdom teeth” she explained. “Yes, they are there for a reason, but sometimes, it is better to remove them.” Hmmmm. . . good analogy!
“But, I wanna keep all my body parts”, I am reluctant to give in!
“OK, then you can choose to just live with the pain!” she smiled!
“But, the pain is gone, now!”
“Well, then we should monitor it, and see if it reocurrs!” she replied, “and if the pain re-occurs, we need to remove it.” A compromise, I can live with!
“But, if we remove it, then the liver just dumps the bile straight into the intestine.” I counter. “Doesn’t this create issues?” I don’t wanna give up so easily!
“For about the first month after removal of the gallbladder, there is some discomfort” she explains, “but the bile duct expands and acts as a storage container in place of the gallbladder.”
Her definition of “some discomfort” and mine, may be a bit different – especially since I will be the one experiencing the “discomfort”!
“OK” I reply. “But what about the cyst on my kidney?”
“That is a different issue that is unrelated to your gallbladder” she replies. “And there are two of them – a cyst on each of your kidneys. And there is also a small growth on your gallbladder.” She adds a little dot to her drawing directly on the gallbladder.
“HUH?” “What small growth?”
“Yes, there is a small growth – about 6mm in size- on your gallbladder. 6 mm is not too bad, but we get real concerned if and when it gets to be around 10mm. Then we need to remove it and the gallbladder.” she smiles. “We can monitor this through the ultrasound.”
It just keeps on getting better and better! “Sounds like I’m getting near death” I reply!
“We don’t wanna go there,” again she smiles.
“So, how do we ” monitor” my gallbladder?” I ask.
“We need to do an ultrasound every year.” she says. “So in about a year, you will get an email from my office reminding yo to go in for an ultrasound to check your ballbladder and the small growth on it.”
“Well,” I reply, “I’m scheduled for a CT scan on the 27th.” I continue, “Will this tell us anything?”
“Not about your gallbladder.” she explains. “That is for identifying the two cysts on the kidneys. Make sure you keep that appointment.” she says as she gets up from her chair. Apparently, it is time to go, so we head towards the door.
“So, do you have any questions for me?” she asks as we leave the examination room.
Upon returning to Arizona, I made an appointment with my doctor to check me out because of my stomach pains. (The hole in my head from the branch on the 7th has healed) They could not get me in until the 14th of October – five days away. (I was calling on the 9th)
After describing the issue, my doctor examined me and poked and probed my abdomen – from the front, from the back, from both sides. He was most concerned about my liver and kidneys, and they drew blood – three vials of blood – and did tests. He gave me an order to get an ultrasound done at a place called SimonMed.
I called them for an appointment and the first appointment they had was on October 30. More than two weeks away! I could have gone to one of their locations other than the one closest to me, but the earliest at any of these other locations was the 28th. If this was serious, I could be dead by then!
The next day, I got a text from my doctor’s office that the blood tests all came back great, that they found no issues, but the doctor would still like me to get the untra sound!
On the 30th, I showed up at the SimonMed office, and they told me that there would be a $179.00 charge, in addition to my insurance! I don’t think so! I left and went home. Then I called my medical insurance company. They told me that there should be no additional charge! My insurance company called the people at SimonMed and verified that according to my insurance coverage and their contract with my insurance company, there was no charge – not even any co-pay! They also set up a new appointment – for November 12th!
I went back to my doctor’s office and talked to the office manager. I told them that I did not like SimonMed, and she replied, “Nobody does!” I asked if they could use anyone else other than SimonMed, and she said that SimonMed was the only medical imaging company on my insurance. I asked about Scottsdale Medical Imaging Labs, a company they had used before and was on the first floor of their building, but I was told that while SMIL was able to get patients in within a couple of days, they no longer had a contract with my insurance company!
So, today, the 12th, I showed up at SimonMed for my appointment, and after I told the receptionist my name, gave her my insurance card and my ID, (the same ID I need to vote), she checked for my appointment and said, “There will be a $179 additional payment.”
I replied that I had spoken with my insurance company and they assured me that there would be no additional payment needed. She frowned, and said, kind of under her breath, “Hmmm . . .I ALWAYS collect SOMETHING!”, before turning back to her computer and pushing some keys. Then she said to me, “Well, you’ll have to take a seat while I CHECK on this!”
Ten minutes later, she said, “There will be no charge! Someone will be with you shortly!”
I wonder how many patients blindly allow them to overcharge them?
Yes, I’m just complaining!
I got the ultra sound and they are sending the results to my doctor. It will probably take them two weeks, just like it took for them to set up an appointment! By then, I’ll be back in Hawaii!
TTFN
Update:
November 20, 2024
The doctor said that the ultrasound indicated something called a “fatty liver”, definitely gallstones, and a cyst on my right kidney!
He wants me to schedule a CT scan for further diagnosng, and to see a surgeon!
I have an appointment fot the CT scan and the surgeon preliminary appointment on the 20th of December.
It sounds like I am at death’s door. Thank goodness I have Health Professionals to see me through – but through in which direction?
I’m back in Hawaii. On the 18th, I got up at 3:30 AM to catch a 5:30 AM flight out of Phoenix. I landed in Kona (after a layover in Oakland) at 12:10PM.
The same two girls were there to welcome me with leis as have been there on every other trip.
After collecting my luggage, I waited out front of the airport sign by the terminal for my neighbor. He was going in to Kona today, so he said he would pick me up. Wahoo! That meant I was able to do a bit of grocery shopping for milk and eggs, etc.
We arrived at the property in Na’alehu around 5 PM. I wandered around the property and found that things were much the same as when I left in October.
The next morning, after breakfast, I took a better look around. Holowai street didn’t look like it had overgrown much at all.
The other wheelbarrow is full to the brim!
The two wheelbarrows were both full of water, so it must have rained a bit.
The Holowai property also doesn’t look too overgrown.
My first task was to set up the fountain to attract my little feathered friends. I also set up the solar panels on the roof of the shed. One of the guave trees has a bunch of guavas on the ground under it. I gathered them all up so I could see if any new ones fell that might be edible.
Over at Ahi, things were a bit different.
The grass on the road in front of the property is getting tall again and there is some tall grass growing in the driveway.
The trees above also have grown downward and will need some trimming.
I used the weedeater on the grass in the driveway until the battery went dead. Then I used my clippers to cut down the overhanging branches.
The grass is also getting long on the Kona side of the driveway.
I found another battery for the weedeater that had some power in it and I trimmed the grass on this side of the property.
On the 20th, I took a look at my plants at Holowai. The Tomatoes have grown and produced since I left. I watered them to help them along.
The carrots and onions are still growing – slowly, but still growing!
Back at Ahi, I started trimming the grass at the top of the hill at the front of the property.
I borrowed my neighbor’s lawnmower and mowed the grass on the road leading to the property,
And directly in front of the property.
I hung around until after dark to see if the solar lights on the signs worked.
They did!
The next day, I began gathering up the guavas I had put in various places and put them all in the hanging basket in the kitchen.
Then, I took some of my dirty laundry from my last trip, over to my neighbor’s place. Someone had given him a washing machine and a dryer, so I “volunteered” to try them out. the machine washed the clothes, but during the spin cycle, it was jumping all over the place – obviously unbalanced. So we stopped the cycle to balance the load inside the machine, but the lid was locked and would not unlock. Only by unplugging the machine and getting it to totally reset, did the lid unlock. I took the clothes out and brought them over to Ahi and hung them up to dry inside the bungalow.
After hanging up the clothes, I went up to the road, and saw this rainbow. It was a full rainbow from ground to ground, and it even had a double lighter one above it!
This morning, as I was eating breakfast, Bert and Ernie came by for a bite to eat.
They stopped in yesterday afternoon and sat on the handrail, but when I got up to get my phone to take a picture, they vanished!
Today, I didn’t get up, and they proceeded to eat at the feeder before flying away.
While I was in Arizona, I went golfing at the same course I like in Mesa.
Standing on the 8th tee looking across the 9th fairway towards the shrinking lake
This is a nine hole executive course that is just the basics. The grass on the course is a bit browner than normal.
And the lake is reduced in size quite drastically. But this white egret doesn’t seem to mind.
The brown shows the normal level of the lake when it is full. this shot is looking at the tee area for the 9th hole!
I like this course because of the trees. They provide welcome shade – relief from the Arizona sun, but are difficult to hit golf balls through!
Past the fifth tee, the path travels through a concrete spillway that directs overflow water from an area next to the freeway and into the lake. Obviously, this is only in usd during heavy rains.
The clubhouse is quite simple, and the driving range only gets watered when it rains!
The last section of the gazebo floor is ready to pour. I haven’t had any more issues with stomach pains at 2:00 AM, but I will go see my doctor when I get back in Arizona.
The mixer is set up in the driveway at the road for easy access to the pile of sand and gravel.
And just like that, it is done!
Afterwards, I worked on leveling the area at the door for the bathroom. I also need to somehow create a trench through here to extend the sewer line up to the house for any plumbing drains I might need there. Looks like I will need to borrow Brian’s chipping hammer again.
October 4, 2024
After extending the plumbing vent with a coupling and a section of pipe above the level of the block, I finished with the rest of the block on the second row at the bathroom.
October 5, 2024
More work on the area at the bathroom door. Also, created short walls of rock at the bottom areas of the bathroom.
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I will backfill behind the rock wall with gravel and this will further identify a pathway from the house past the bathroom.
October 6, 2024
Yesterday, grouted the upper part of the house columns. Today I pulled off the forms.
Further work on cleaning up the area at the bathroom door and some backfilling behind the rock walls.
I have piled up the smaller sand and gravel from the pile at the road. Using my screen, I have separated the larger rock and I use this as backfill material, while preserving the smaller material for mixing concrete.
This has reduced the pile considerably. Not bad for an old guy with a shovel and a wheelbarrow.
I pulled a couple of carrots from my garden. They have been growing for about four months, so I’m not sure just how they will taste!
October 7, 2024
I cooked the carrots for dinner last night, and they were great!
There was a pile of branches at the chipper so I thought I should chip these before returning to the mainland. They will be easier to chip before they dry out. I also decided to trim a few more of the branches that are overhanging the neighbor’s property near the shed and chip these while I was at it.
The branches in the christmas berry trees grow in a tangled mess. After cutting them off the trunk, it is difficult to pull them out of the tangled mass of branches. I had cut one branch with my small electric chainsaw and was pulling on it but it would not come loose. I dropped my chainsaw to the ground – I was on a branch that was ten feet off the ground – and using both hands, I pulled real hard. It came loose and the end of the branch bashed me in the head. I was lucky that I didn’t fall out of the tree!
Since I cannot see the top of my own head, I took pictures to give me an idea of the hole I had created in my head! Surprisingly, it didn’t really hurt. I walked over to my neighbor’s because he has running water, and used his hose to wash the blood out of my hair and off my face.
Then I went down to Honoapu to soak my head in salt water!
October 8, 2024
My last day in Hawaii was clear and sunny. I had to catch the early bus out of Waiohinu in order to catch my 9:00AM flight! And just like that, I’m on the way back to the mainland.
I slept through the night. No 2:00 AM pain. The medication must be working. Or, maybe I had food poisoning from something I ate and it has worked it’s way out of my system! But if that were the case, why did it just happen at 2:00 AM?
I have been able to lay more block on the bathroom walls. Being 6″ block, I will need to cut a special piece in the corners to make up the difference. Also, in the corner where the plumbing vent comes up, I need to get a coupling and some glue before I cement these block in place, so the block in that corner are just stacked there. This gives me a better visual on quantities!
At one side of the kitchen gazebo, I had built up some rock walls and backfilled behind them to create a flat area for a second lanai. Today, I set up some forms around this area so that I can pour concrete here. I won’t have time this trip to pour the concrete, but this is one step closer!
In anticipation of leaving the island, I didn’t want to leave a large pile of gravel out in the roadway for others to help themselves to, so I began moving it onto the property.
And, of course, I had to visit the ocean shore for a quick dip in the swimming pool.
This is the view out towards the ocean from inside the swimming pool.
Last night, or I should say, this morning, as it was 2:00 AM that I had a repeat of last night’s discomfort. This morning was not as difficult because I knew it would eventually end. But I had the same pain with the same result, except this time I made sure I took an extra light with me to the toilet so I didn’t have to return in the dark! I was able to poop during the day yesterday, so I knew I wasn’t stopped up, but the feeling of a solid ball or rock just under my ribs was there again. Trying to poop at 2:30 AM was again unsuccessful!
I tried taking an antacid, but with my stomach relatively empty, the antacid tablets made me throw up – the dry heaves – which was absolutely horrible!
And, once again, I was able to go back to sleep at about 4:00 AM and didn’t wake up until 8:30 AM.
In spite of this, I was able to add more to the four columns in the house foundation, to bring them up to the height of the walls in the corners.
I also did not eat any tomatoes nor any citrus, yesterday, nor today!
September 30, 2024
This morning was another repeat performance at 2:00 AM. The first time I thought I was going to die, it hurt so much. This time, I was afraid I would not and woulf have to suffer this every morning forever! But yet, just like the last two mornings, the pain was gone when I woke up, and I just had to deal with the soreness.
After breakfast of pancakes, I loaded the truck with my empty water bottles and went to the water station in Waiohinu! While I was filling my bottles, others came with larger containers such as the 250 gallon cubes, loaded on a trailer or in the back of a pickup truck. They were able to collect 250 gallons in half the time it took me to get around 60 gallons in my individual bottles!
When I returned to the property I began laying block on the stem walls of the bathroom. I intend to lay two or three courses of block to raise the walls above the level of the surrounding ground, then build frame walls up from there.
There are more guavas on the small guava tree near the chipper.
The bathroom and the gazebo continue to be my focus.
Building forms around the outer edges of the bathroom at Holowai took the better part of the day. These forms are on top of the slab “footings” I started with and will be the basis for the walls. They need to be level and square, while the footings were a rough outline.
On the side away from the driveway and not in a direct downhill line, I blocked out a section within the forms wide enough for the door.
September 27, 2024
Setting up the generator and the cement mixer next to Holowai Street, I was able to shovel the sand/gravel from the pile directly into the mixer. Each mixer batch creates one totally full wheelbarrow load, but it is difficult to control a wheelbarrow that full, so I would dump about half the load into the wheelbarrow and then wheel it down to the bathroom. There, I would have to shovel it into the forms, dumping the last bits that I could not shovel directly into the forms.
While I was mixing, I poured more of the gazebo floor around the compass rose.
After finishing the surface of the “stem walls” at the bathroom (not necessary for a troweled finish, just tamped level with the tops of the forms) and troweling the surface of the gazebo floor pour, I still had some time to do a bit of trimming around the property. I piled these branches up next to the chipper.
September 28, 2024
At 2:00 AM, I woke up with a severe pain in my abdomen. It felt like there was a tennis ball stuck in my intestines! Just off center, on the right side and directly below the ribs, was an area that felt hard and was very tender to the touch. I lay there in bed in agony. By rolling to the side, and sitting on the edge of the bed, I was able to pull on a pair of shorts and my sandals. Then, carefully, I made my way down to the compusting toilet using one of my inflatable solar lights as a flashlight. I sat on the toilet seat and tried to poop without straining. I knew that straining to go was not a good thing! Nothing! Plugged up tight! But yet, not! It didn’t feel like I needed to poop, I just thought that it might make me feel better. Sitting up was better than laying down, so I tried to make my way up to the gazebo to sit in one of the chairs. Unfortunately, my solar light ran out of power and I found myself in the dark. Carefully, I felt my way back to the gazebo. Being able to brace myself on the arms of the chair did help, but I was still in pain! Around 4:00 AM, I went back to bed and was able to fall asleep. I woke up at 8:30AM.
The pain was gone, but my abdomen was still tender and sore. All of my movements were caeful and measured so as not to jostle my belly. I drove over to Pahala about 15 miles away where there is a drug store. I dscribed my experience to the pharmacist and he said, “You really need to see a doctor about that!” Yes, but, . . . my doctor is in Arizona, and anyone I see here will be “out of network” as far as insurance goes – which will be worse than having no insurance! Eventually, he recommended I try some prilosec, or maybe some omeprazole, while strongly reiterating that I need to see a doctor. I said, “Well, if you hear about some haole who died this week from a stomach ailment, you will know it was me!” He chuckled. He also recommended an antacid and that I not eat anything acidic – like tomatoes, or citrus!
If I weren’t already feeling a bit sick, the price of milk in the grocery store next door would have really done it!
On the way back to the property, I stopped off at Honuapo and soaked in one of the shallower and therefore warmer tide pools! This helped my sore muscles in my abdomen to relax!
I was able to remove the forms from the stem walls I had poured yesterday.
Using the screws that had come the other day, I finshed screwing down the boards on the roof of the gazebo.
The other day, I had spotted some golf clubs under a storage container at my neighbor’s property. I retrieved them and plan on trying to clean them up and maybe playing a bit of golf at the course in Discovery Harbor. After all, I really have nothing else to do! It’s gonna take a bit of work, and they might be too far rusted. But not today!
The grass and weeds were getting tall out in front of the gates, so I borrowed my neighbor’s lawn mower and mowed in front of the property.
While I had the mower, I mowed both sides of the road and down to the corner.
On the way down to the ocean at Honuapo, there is a fruit stand in front of a large property. I stopped there and picked up a couple of mangoes and these bananas.
They are really short and extremely fat, so I wondered if they were plantains instead of bananas. When I ate one, they tasted like bananas, but they were definitely not the apple banana common on the island, and they didn’t taste like the ones I buy at the grocery store in Arizona. I think the ones in Arizona are shipped in from Costa Rica.
Down at Honuapo, I parked at the far end near the point, under some trees.
This is a prime spot for parking, as few other places here have large trees like this that provide shade and privacy.
The wading pool was totally full,
but it had not overflowed into the overflow pool next to it . . . yet!
The ocean was pretty calm, as well as the larger swimming pool.
The sky was a bit on the cloudy side, and the temperature today is lower than other days. This has made the water in these tidal pools a few degrees cooler than normal … but still refreshing and a good substitute for a bath!
TropicalCastaway 