I didn't mean to bring the good conversation of yesterday to a screeching halt, but, on the advice of my doctor's nurse, I spent last a good chunk of last evening in the ER...which is an interesting place, with nice people. The problem with it, I've decided, is that a) when you're there you're either sick, hurt, or worried, and b) the meter is running at a frantic rate, clicking off the dollars like a Geiger counter in a uranium mine. I'm fine, by the way. They thought I might be having a mini-stroke, a.k.a. "TIA," but I wasn't. "You have a normal human brain!" the doctor informed me cheerfully after my CT scan. No sign of past strokes or what he tactfully referred to as "masses." Then he added, "Scratch that. I mean a healthy human brain. You'll have to tell me if it's normal!"
Sort of. I was thinking, well, I like primes and not zooms, and black-and-white more than color, and prints more than on-screen images, and pictures with people more than landscapes, and so forth.
Not entirely normal. Scratch that—not entirely average.
In other words, I had just been one of the worried ones. But not any more. Now I'm reassured. But poorer. We still have to explain the strange symptoms, but hopefully a follow-up visit with my doctor next week will do that.
I did very little at the hospital but lie around, but for some reason it seemed to tire me out anyway. So I spent today resting and listening to Coleman Hawkins. I think I might spend a good chunk of tomorrow resting, too. On the other hand, I suspect that resting too much might be what got me into trouble in the first place.
But you don't want to hear about that...
[Con't. in the next post]
Mike
Godspeed!
don't post. I like you, at least to the degree I know you from your blog and old mag days, I was a subscriber.
kindly,
bill
Posted by: bill | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 05:38 PM
Two weeks ago tonight I was in the hospital too. In my case, a clogged artery caused my heart to stop. Somehow they managed to get it going again and now I am home and doing well. Just wanted to say I am happy for you that nothing unusual was found. I really would miss your blog.
Posted by: Tom Basista | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 05:43 PM
Hmm, I wonder if it could be the Nikon curse. Canons protect!!!
Glad you're ok, Mike. We'd be lost without ya.
Posted by: Mark | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 05:43 PM
Whew! Glad you're ok. Coleman Hawkins is an excellent choice to spend the day with. Bravo.
Posted by: Andy deBruyn | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 05:58 PM
Glad you're well, Mike, and I hope your symptoms are non-reocurring and easily explained away.
And your brain is, at least marginally more normal than mine--last time I went to the hospital I took my camera with me. I was really excited about the prospect of getting pictures of everything they were going to do to me...
Posted by: James Sinks | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:02 PM
Take care cyber friend. Been there.
Posted by: Christopher Lane | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:04 PM
Mike, Sincerely hope you are feeling better now.
Posted by: Peter Wright | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:05 PM
"I wonder if it could be the Nikon curse."
Mark,
Reminds me of a song...see if you can find a song on the Internet called "The Curse of the Mekons" from the album of the same name. (The only post-1986 Mekons album never released in America, hence not on iTunes.) I think from now on this is how I'll hear the first two lines:
Magic, fear, and superstition / This is the Curse of the Nikons....
Mike
P.S. The curse of the Mekons is that nothing will ever make them successful, famous, popular or rich. I don't know about the curse of the Nikons.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:07 PM
Very good to hear you're ok. And, regarding primes, B&W and people, I'm with you on that, so maybe we're pulling that perspective into the norm.
Matt
Posted by: Matt Stevens | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:13 PM
Hope you are ok Mike! (I thought you were out with the new camera.) A little Hawk will set you right, bit of Prez, too. Be well my friend.
Posted by: Rob Atkins | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:15 PM
Crawled my way to one last year for kidney stones ("the male version of giving birth"). Nicest people you could ever meet- esp after the second shot of morphine, when I could actually focus again.
Take it you got POV shots with the D800 of the whole procedure. Glad you're well...
Posted by: s | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:20 PM
I can't imagine the amount of resting needed to cause damage. I was going to suggest Nikon poisoning too.
Posted by: The Lazy Aussie | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:23 PM
"In my case, a clogged artery caused my heart to stop."
Jeez, Tom!
Cut that out.
Glad you're okay.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:30 PM
All the best Mike. I suffer from migraines and sometimes the onset resembles a mini-stroke. Worrisome for sure. Take care of yourself.
Posted by: Eric Rose | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:37 PM
"I can't imagine the amount of resting needed to cause damage."
I think it's called "a sedentary lifestyle."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:37 PM
Holy cow, The Mekons. Forgotten about them for years - but a swift wiki reveals an upcoming documentary 'Revenge of the Mekons' in 2013?
Oh, and do take care Mike.
Posted by: GuyB | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:38 PM
Pixel peeping 36 megas will give you that...
Now seriously, it's good to know you're ok Mike, take your time, you do a great job for us.
Posted by: Francisco Cubas | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:42 PM
I'm sure you have an understudy ready for situations like this. Okay, being silly. Glad to hear you came through sort of normal. Perhaps a Cat-scan funding print sale will be in order.
Posted by: John Krumm | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:49 PM
How did the D800 handle the harsh, contrasty light commonly found in emergency rooms? Did you finally have to use a tripod and bracket to capture the full exposure range?
Just kidding. Be well.
Posted by: Ed Grossman | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 06:55 PM
My theory is that when people try to shoot at too low of a speed, like 1/4 of a second (or really, anything lower than 1/60), the normal shaking of the human being is artificially repressed. Eventually, it will have to come out somewhere, and when it does, this shaking is often mistaken for TIA. This theory has been accepted by the AMA, and has been submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine for publication. (They haven't yet gotten back to me on the date of publication.)
Posted by: John Camp | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 07:02 PM
Take care of yourself, man. Seriously. Your body is trying to tell you something and you'd be well advised to listen. A false alarm is still an alarm. For those of you who are feeling safe and smug, check out this link (http://mashable.com/2011/05/09/sitting-down-infographic/). "Blogger's Disease" is becoming epidemic.
Posted by: Gordon Lewis | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 07:18 PM
Glad you're OK. Had a similar experience a couple years ago--also a false alarm, with no recurrence since. So just take care and try not to worry. What would I do over morning coffee without your column, oh dear!
Posted by: Pat Trent | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 07:21 PM
It's actually more the curse of an OM-4 spurned.
Be well. If film, prints and b&w aren't normal, I'm in deep do-do. At least we're together.
Posted by: Earl Dunbar | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 07:31 PM
Take care, Mike.
Posted by: Manuel | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 07:41 PM
Yes, how annoying that the very thing which is allowing us to soar in our creativity, that devil with the keyboard, is also destroying our health. I sit and sit and sit, thinking, must get up and walk, but I'll just finish this first ... it's going to be the finish of me, I fear. It's a vicious cycle - the less we move, the less we can move.
I know: a pedal driven timer under the desk. Unless you pedal at a certain rate, the power to your computer goes off without warning. Patent pending.
Posted by: Peter Croft | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 08:07 PM
Glad to hear you're OK, Mike.
I'm months older than you and sedentary but smaller in more ways than one.
Your brain is "superior vintage".
Be well.
Posted by: Sarge | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 08:49 PM
Mike, glad you are OK.
I don't care how friendly they are in ER, I would rather be in an unfriendly bar.
Which of course may lead to the same....
Posted by: Steve Jacob | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 08:58 PM
My best wishes to you for a happy healthy and long life.
We share the same medicine "A man with a hobby is never alone".
Posted by: Richard Alan Fox | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 09:03 PM
Mike, take care of yoursellf. We would be lost without you. Maybe you should back a way from your coffee a bit, and you might feel better. I love coffee as well, but too much is not a healthy. More Coleman and less time in front of a computer. Eric
Posted by: Eric Erickson | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 09:08 PM
You could have taken pix of the ER with your iPhone.
Posted by: Mike Mundy | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 09:34 PM
I hope they quickly find the cause of the problem!
Posted by: Bahi | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 09:54 PM
A 'normal human brain'.... Heh! All I can think of is Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein and Abby Normal.
The last time I was in an ER the entire staff was dressed in black. Kind of like a dark joke, but it turned out it was SOP dress for that ER. Sure looked like angels of death hovering over me, though. Or maybe those flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.
Posted by: Will Whitaker | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 09:56 PM
"You could have taken pix of the ER with your iPhone."
...If I could remember it has a camera in it. I never remember until afterwards, when I'm thinking, "I wish I'd had a camera with me...."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 10:24 PM
"Migraine equivalents" mimic stroke. But a normal scan is not necessarily 100% reassurance. TIA is not an easy diagnosis. I have a professional interest. Email me if you like.
Posted by: Richard G | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 10:26 PM
"I know: a pedal driven timer under the desk. Unless you pedal at a certain rate, the power to your computer goes off without warning. Patent pending."
Peter,
You laugh, but when I was a kid I heard of a family the father of which had rigged up a stationary bicycle to a generator to the TV. Unless someone was pedaling, the TV went dead.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 11:01 PM
Holy cow!
I'm glad you are okay, Mike. This is selfish, but I don't know what I'd do without you.
Will
Posted by: Will Frostmill | Friday, 30 November 2012 at 11:10 PM
Hope is was one of these things that go away. Please do whatever you need to take care of yourself; we'll do our holiday shopping through your links to help pitch in for the bills. Can't have you getting sick on us.
Posted by: G | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 12:09 AM
Ditto. Too long at the monitor the Mayo brain trust told me. Eyes focusing for too long at too much detail (or lack thereof). Cost me $1,800 (plus Medicare) to hear that 5 minute breaks per hour are henceforth mandatory. So I've set the computer's alarm to whack me on the head every 50 minutes. So far no more dizzy, fainty fall-on-the-floor feelings. Best to you, would sincerely miss your musings. -TR
Posted by: Tony Roberts | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 12:22 AM
Mike, I wish you the best, hope that you are okay, you have a great blog here.
Posted by: Gary Nylander | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 12:59 AM
About a year ago, after having some days when I was feeling like being continuously drunk (dizzy), I was taken to the hospital, where the doctors were pretty sure I had a stroke. After almost one week of hospitalization and a whole lot of tests, the MRI showed nothing. Until today, they do not know what it was. I think it's simple: I am getting old.
Wishing you the best!
Posted by: John Caradimas | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 03:57 AM
Mike, better safe than sorry, even if it's an expensive proposition.
I am extremely glad that all seems well, both for you and on a purely selfish basis - there's not enough good stuff out there, we can't afford to lose TOP.
Posted by: Andy | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 07:14 AM
You need to spend more time with Lulu.
Posted by: darr | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 07:17 AM
Glad to hear all turned out to be ok, medically speaking. It's great to see your sense of humor made it out of th ER intact, too...
Posted by: Walter | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 08:08 AM
Mike, say, have you considers moving someplace where you could get everything done by walking everywhere? Rent an apartment in Annapolis, or Amherst MA, or something for a year. I could suggest some picturesque places in the Northeast that also feature some street photography opportunities. Sort of a 'year with a fixed transport mode' instead of a fixed lens, giving 'zooming with your feet' a whole new meaning.
Posted by: Will Frostmill | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 08:21 AM
hey Mike,
I hope you are feeling better! We need you here,it's a lot of work, so sometimes the body tells us to slow down or stop thinking too much. I was wondering if the love-affair with the Nikon has got you into a touch of overdrive....you've even got me thinking of getting one, and I only have one good working arm these days!
Take care,
Ben
Posted by: ben ng | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 08:50 AM
I think what you have to do is remember that a D800 is just like a black Lab, they both need regular long walks. Good for you to.
Posted by: Terry Letton | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 09:11 AM
I'm definitely glad that you're okay now, but strongly recommend that you follow up with your regular physician. If it was serous enough to take you to the ER you shouldn't just let it go -- ER doctors don't know everything.
[Thanks Bill, I'm doing that. --Mike]
Posted by: Bill Mitchell | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 09:45 AM
Winter has set in...spring for stationary bike....with generator or the computer rides ..I like my Schwinn........
Posted by: Nicholas Von Staden | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 10:28 AM
All the very best, Mike - I'd miss your writing an awful lot. And without wanting to start a political fight, those of us with medical care provided 'free at the point of use' do have one less source of anxiety when we're down. I know there are disadvantages, too.
Posted by: John Ironside | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 11:41 AM
Geçmis olsun, Mike!
This expression is in Turkish, that is not even my language (even though I live in Istanbul and my wife is from this country), and I love it! In fact, I don't know a better way to wish someone well after a bad moment. It does not mean "get well soon" but rather "may it have already passed"; much more optimistic, isn't it?
Take care!
Posted by: Filippo M. | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 12:13 PM
Load up the iPod with jazz, blues and a little JJ Cale. Slap on the noise cancellin' headphones, hit the treadmill and those miles will pass in pure joy. (Start slooooow.) Seriously! Do this, yes?? We need you !!
Posted by: Andrea B. | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 05:22 PM
..........Hey Mike.....you with half a brain would be grey cells ahead of most of the noggins out there.....hang around.....and take a walk.
Thanks for your insight
Posted by: Dana Thomas | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 07:17 PM
Mike, this is the first I've read of your scare (I didn't see what I guess was a initial note that you've since removed). Am really glad to hear that you're OK and it wasn't a mini-stroke. It must have been a shock to experience.
I'll second the point that Gordon Lewis made above (though the link has died). If you can't actually set up a treadmill with the desk and computer, at least set the computer on a "standing desk" so that you can stand as you work. Sitting for periods longer than 20 minutes is now said to be as unhealthy as smoking.
Posted by: Rod S. | Saturday, 01 December 2012 at 07:34 PM
I had a similar experience several years ago. The symptom that caused the visit to the ER was a scintillating area in my visual field that obscured my vision. The diagnosis was that since no damage was found, I had had a visual migraine. Since then I have have had one or two a year, and it's no big deal.
At the time, my wife was working for the head of Neurology at the University of Minnesota. His response was, as I recall, "Well, at least one of you has had your head examined!"
Posted by: Chuck Holst | Sunday, 02 December 2012 at 12:13 AM
Take it easy and follow their advice... Not easy sometimes, but it works. Get well soon!
Posted by: Mark | Monday, 03 December 2012 at 04:42 AM