Mortality

The doctor says I'll live...but in that never ending pursuit of my insurance money he wants to run some more tests. He wants to do an ultrasound to check my carotid arteries for plaque and a CT scan of my heart to see if my bicuspid aortic valve is okay and if there is any chance of an aneurysm in any of the arteries in my chest. These tests will cost thousands of dollars and I don't see the necessity if there are no symptoms present. I sometimes think it is time to change doctors. I also think that if something is found then I will have more worry. I sometimes question the purpose of the endless pursuit to extend our lives. I have had a very good life to this point and need to start by preparing a legal directive for healthcare to hand these doctors. I'm still "young" at 67 but there will come a point where I will say enough is enough and I have to have the legal document to enforce that decision.

My father lived to 81 with his bicuspid aortic valve... my mother died of a massive stroke probably brought on by blood clots from her colon cancer and other factors. On my moms side of the family brain aneurysms are common and her mother and many sisters died as a result of these. Family medical history isn't bright for me so I have lived each day as if it was my last. I do not fear the end but I do fear being helpless in a bed in a nursing home on life support.