My free health care from the VA with referrals to private care have done me well from four year's regular service as a U.S. Marine.

I was out to the Northport VA Hospital on July 13th to see my ophthalmologist about the cataracts. I'm a prime candidate for the surgeries (one eye at a time) but she wanted clearance from my cardio/thoracic surgeon at NYU/Langone before proceeding.

I got that and now I have a pre-op appointment set for August 3rd at the VA hospital. That's where you get checked out to make sure you won't croak on the table and have enough lung power to keep breathing in the OR. And I'll be peeing and bleeding for my friends in the lab. I'll be having the lovely Dr. Francis cutting into my eyes with a Ka-Bar fighting knife and a rusty bayonet. I like her. She's young and has nice lower quarters.

In my youth I got into a lot of saloons but now as an old fart I seem to be making the rounds to a lot of ORs (endoscopy & colonoscopy, lung biopsy, lobectomy etc.) . It still beats going blind or being dead, however. You do what you have to do to stay upright as you age, at least I do. This eye surgery should be a piece of cake in that it's outpatient surgery with the wife driving me back and forth when my eyes are repaired.

Catch your health tests and exams when you can. Being a senior citizen and knowing your health status is a good deal. Catching a bad surprise when it's too late is not.

Whew!
Read "more surgery"...and .... ...but catarack surgery

I have lost pets...but...enough is enough. I take it hard.

2020 ain't thrilling me yet but I'm upbeat.

You should be...