just dang !!

[quattrothedog]

not a great week in the q-dawg household !!

some of you may remember i was off work before kyle ?

i'm still off.

on tuesday, my diagnosis was confirmed that i have a congenital heart condition.

it's called left ventricular non-compaction.

it's a doozer !! my younger brother has it also, and is currently awaiting a heart transplant.

as yet, i haven't spoken to the specialist, so i don't know how bad it is, or the long term prognosis.
however, it seems that in patients with symptoms, life expectancy is 42, plus or minus 40 months. i'm 42 this year. :eek:

it's pretty certain that i will need to leave my job. i cannot carry 32kg parcels up flights of stairs with a heart defect !

i am hopeful that i can get retrained, and find a career change, however, i don't know how possible this will be.


since i won't be working, it's unlikely i'll be able to raise the finance to run the cougar, so it's possible i won't be able to attend any other events this year, it depends when my sick pay stops !! i've already had to withdraw from selkirk, and i will make a decision on east fortune early next week, when i see if i've been paid or not.

that's a pi55er alright !!

[stackofire]

Hopefully its not gonna be very serious, pal. I really wish you well and I'm sure we'll see each other on many different shows to come.
Take care of yourself.

[Bigmincey]

Aw mate !:(

If there is owt I can do to be of assistance/help etc, just let me know !

Dont know of owt else to say really ?

Alan.............

[andyl]

hope everything turns out good for you buddy
we will hopefully see you at east fortune.

[quattrothedog]

thanks man.

at this stage, while i can't deny i'm a little shellshocked, i'm also taking positives from it.

it could lead to me being able to retrain to do something i always wanted to do, or, something i'd never thought of doing.

a friend has suggested that i go learn html, and some other stuff i couldn't remember, and go into website design.
as yet, not a clue how to go about that, but days are young.

wondering if i can get a course in paint spraying, or something like that. combine my hobby with my work.

it will certainly change my life, but it doesn't need to be a change for the worst.....................

Aw mate !:(

If there is owt I can do to be of assistance/help etc, just let me know !

Dont know of owt else to say really ?

Alan.............

[Andy Dean]

Shit Bob, that aint good news at all.

Being in limbo before you see the specialist and not knowing is really hard too, i know.

It's good that you're thinking positive tho, that's half the battle. If there's anything i can do just holler.

[quattrothedog]

thanks for the offers.

just spoke to the hospital, they have no available appointments until february. that's a long wait !! :eek:

possibly the worst thing about it, i now have to decide when, or whether to tell my 16 year old son, firstly that i have it, and secondly, that there's a reasonable chance that he also will.

[P.J.]

Hope things will get better and it's not too serious :( And change your job for something much less exhausting/stressful as soon as you can.

Whether you keep the Cougar or not, you can always expect help and support from us.

[Elliot]

Hope things go well for you.
id buy a very good respirator if you go down the painting route, that shit aint good for you. My painter has had 2 heart attacks and is only about 40!!
Id love to get into painting and fine airbrush detailing one day.

[T-Bird Kev]

Thats shit man, sorry to hear it, hope things go well for you and your kid.
Did i work out correct that you did a bit of air brush work, good money in that i would imagine if you can't work.
Good luck
Kev.

[GTODave]

Bloody hell Bob that sucks, dont know what to say:( having to wait till Feb is a joke:mad: As has been said already, if you need anything, please call.

[quattrothedog]

cheers guys, just doing a quick calculation of finances, looks like if i get standard dole money, i can just afford to live. there'll be a lot of sacrifices, but i should just get by.

depending what the specialists say, i may be able to claim for some sort of incapacity benefit, which might mean being a little more comfortable, until i manage to get a job.

east fortune is looking unlikely at the moment, but i want to make the edinburgh cruise on saturday.

it will probably be my last outing in the cougar for a few months.

[exitwound]

The right ventricle pushes blood through your lungs to be re-oxygenated then back into the left side, down into the left ventricle, and pumped out again via arteries throughout your body. Arteries being small and under high pressure, (like brake pipes) need a good pumping left ventricle to keep things flowing. Blood comes back in veins (big and low pressure like radiator hoses) once the oxygen content is used up.

Your condition means that the muscle tissue that makes up the walls of the left ventricle hasn't developed sufficiently from its original soft spongelike material into a harder substance that can cope easily with the forces within.

Possibly a heart transplant is what is ahead of you, but doing a less physically and mentally stressful job would definately help, as would a good diet. If it does go the transplant route, bear in mind its not so much the pioneer operation as it once was. To us its witchcraft, but to a surgeon its simply just 8 hours of stitching!

Paint spraying/bodywork to my mind would not be a good choice despite a good mask/respirator system as these guys get really physical prepping bodywork prior to applying paint. Think carefully and get good advice...

I wish you all the very best mate and hope that things work out well for you.

[quattrothedog]

maybe i should forget painting then, 2 votes against !!

thanks andrew, gonna try to talk to the dole this week, maybe the college too.

might give you a shout once i have, and know how possible it is, for some advice on what's best to do.

my g.p. has already told me i'm pretty much deskbound, but i don't think i could deal well with an office, (unless it's an office with a mandatory hot co-worker policy ! ;) ) so working from home seems more appealing.

[gordonbradford]

sorry to hear it bob but remain positive man
good luck hope to see you at east fortune
p.s.
if you need kirsti serviced i've got a number round here somewhere.....erm

[quattrothedog]

i'm not sure i can comment on that without getting myself into trouble ? ;)

sorry to hear it bob but remain positive man
good luck hope to see you at east fortune
p.s.
if you need kirsti serviced i've got a number round here somewhere.....erm

[gordonbradford]

seriously man.... just try not to wind yourself up... not that it's going to be easy
anything you need give me a call

[quattrothedog]

So, I've been to see my specialist now, and a clearer picture has emerged.

On the upside, although I do have the condition, my heart appears to be functioning perfectly normally, so, I'm not at immediate risk of a slight case of deadness. :D
Long term prognosis seems good, but I'll probably be monitored every 6 months as a precaution.
Seems i don't need to give up my class 2 licence, because i have no symptoms. he doubts it's even necessary for me to tell them about it. :cool:

On the downside, it means I might need to go back to work.
no problem with working, I'm getting a bit bored after being off since August ! but this job is a nightmare, and Imma do everything I can to get out of it, so, the jobsearch starts in earnest.
Because of the benefit I'm on, there's a remote chance I can get my class 1 for free, as it'll improve my employment prospects, but, we'll see. That depends how long I can stall my employer, and how long my GP is willing to sign me off for.

Worst case scenario is i'll just need to go back until I find something else, but, at least the money's good, so if I could get the time, it would give an outside chance of me having Coog on the road for late summer. Hopefully Blackford/Kyle timespan.


Watch this space............................................. .............:)

[T-Bird Kev]

Not great news but a bit better eh?

Good luck with everything.

[Bigmincey]

Better news than the start of the thread Bob !:)

I take it there would be better oportunities with a class one ?

Hope it pans out mate, and keep focusing on the Coog being on the road again !!:D

Owt I can do, just holler !!

Alan...........

[Big Gordon]

Never met you Bob, glad things have taken a more positive turn.

All the best mate.

[superbeat]

If you need any help just ask Bob, all the best

[stackofire]

Is the Coog gonna be on the road this year then?

[quattrothedog]

I'm not sure, Mike.

It's catch 22. If I have to go back to my old job, I'll be making plenty money, but won't have much time.
If I get a new job, it's likely I'll have loads of time, but not much money.
The one I'm after at the moment could give me the best of both worlds !

There's probably only a week or so's work in fitting the doors, but then I'll need to paint them, and touch up the front wings.
Also, the back arches are quite bad, so I'd like to get in and about them, then it's done.
So, I'm probably looking at a lower half respray.

So long as i can get good weather, the bodywork's not a problem.
I have all the equipment, it's just that I need to move the car to weld it, since I've no power in the lock up.

I also want to move the battery to the boot, and do some rewiring.

Mechanically, it should be OK for a test, possibly a weak wheel cylinder on the front, but apart from that it's OK. Just need to bypass the sequential lights and stick some gun gum on the exhausts !

It's only an outside chance, but, maybe if the planets come into alignment, and I get a litttle luck, I might just make it.

It depends when I finish it, if I don't git 'er done till September, it's barely worth spending money to mot it for a month or so's running

Is the Coog gonna be on the road this year then?

[GTODave]

Hi Bob, that good news about your heart, would be cool to see Coog out this year. but even if thecar dont make it you will :cool:

Live for today we could all be dead tomorrow;)