Jessie,

Boy, you and your wife take more classes and charter more sailboats than about anyone I’ve ever known!  Are you getting ready for some sort of great sailing escape?

Deb and I spent some time in San Francisco for our 35th wedding anniversary.  (August 6, 2021 will be #44!). We took the tour boat around Alcatraz Island.  The big America’s Cup catamarans we’re out practicing on the bay.  It was really amazing to see that kind of speed under sail!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 

Sent from my iPad

> On May 30, 2021, at 11:07 PM, Jesse Shumaker <jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Roger, so sorry to hear about the health issues.  You've continued to go on
> many adventures that others would not take on at any age.  Best wishes for
> a smooth procedure.  Hopefully the doctors can find and address the issue
> so you can get back in adventure shape soon!
> Oats
> By the way, I'm sending this from a Fountaine Pajot 35 docked at Treasure
> Island in San Francisco Bay where we're taking a few sailing classes
> through Afterguard Sailing Academy.  Yesterday was the first day out and we
> had sustained 35 knot winds for over an hour.  It was a lively start to the
> class!
> 
> Jesse Shumaker
> S/V Zephyr
> 
>> On Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:46 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <Roger_Pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> As many of you know; my two sons, brother-in-law, and I were going to take
>> a grand circle tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in July,
>> 2021.  This was going to be a sailing/beach camping/sea kayaking trip.  We
>> were going to use our Rhodes 22 as the mother ship and tow the 4 sea kayaks
>> in order to cover the miles between islands.  The sea kayaks would be used
>> to explore the sea caves, sea stacks, and sea arches on the many
>> uninhabited islands in the Apostle Islands archipelago.  We were going to
>> back country beach camp on 3 different uninhabited islands.  These High
>> Adventure Trips are a family tradition dating back almost 22 years.  We do
>> something different every year.  There is an article in the Rhodes 22
>> archives about another High Adventure Sailing Trip to Garden Island in the
>> middle of Lake Michigan many years ago.
>> 
>> I had my second cardiac ablation in February, 2021 and was working hard on
>> my cardiac rehab.  Unfortunately, my cardiac issues are not getting
>> better.   I recently spent most of a day in A-Fib and tachycardia (rapid
>> heat beat).  Apparently, my cardiac arrhythmia medication, Metoprolol,
>> isn’t working for me anymore.  So, on June 1st, I’m scheduled for a 3 day
>> stay in the Cardiac Unit at Midland Hospital.  They are going to hook me up
>> to cardiac monitors and try a new drug called Tikosyn.  They will try to
>> establish an appropriate dose for me that stops the A-Fib without stopping
>> my heart.
>> 
>> Then, on June 10th, I’m scheduled to go back to the Invasive Procedures
>> Unit at the Midland Hospital for a cardiac catheterization procedure.  This
>> is another procedure wherein you are put under and they make an incision in
>> the right groin.  They insert a catheter-like probe into the large vein in
>> the groin and snake it back up the circulatory system into the heart.  They
>> also insert an X-Ray emitting probe down the windpipe to where the
>> bronchial tubes split off to each lung.  On the operating table, you are
>> lying on top of a solid state X-Ray imaging plate.  This gives the surgical
>> team a real time image of the heart so they can tell where their probe is
>> inside the heart.  Inside the heart, the surgical team will search for any
>> congenital defects like a hole between the chambers, heart valve problems,
>> plaque build-up in the arteries, infection of the heart muscle, and even
>> malignant tumors.  The probe also has a sensitive pressure sensor which
>> they will use to map the performance of each chamber of the heart as it
>> beats.  Some of these high tech medical procedures sound like overhauling
>> your car engine while it’s in the car and running!  Some issues they can
>> fix immediately and other issues will require open heart surgery, which
>> would have to be scheduled in the future.  This is supposed to be a 1 day
>> in & out procedure.  But, during the February cardiac ablation, which is a
>> similar laparoscopic procedure, the X-Ray probe tore my windpipe causing
>> them to keep me overnight.  I was coughing up blood for a week!  So, in a
>> nutshell, this is going to be experimental surgery to try to figure out
>> what’s wrong with me.  It will be a different doctor, which I requested in
>> order to get a second opinion.  It wasn’t easy to get our medical insurance
>> to approve this; but, I insisted.
>> 
>> in my present condition, I just don’t feel comfortable going to a remote
>> area like the Apostle Islands.  I would need to be able to paddle my sea
>> kayak 3-4 miles on Lake Superior without passing out and I’m not confident
>> in my ability to do that.  Emergency medical care, if it could be summoned
>> at all, would be hours away.   We all still have those days in July off.
>> If I’m feeling better by then, we may try to do something less strenuous
>> and closer to home.  Everyone is really disappointed; but, they completely
>> support my decision.  There’s always next year, right?
>> 
>> I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day holiday weekend.  I had
>> a COVID-19 test on Friday and Deb & I are quarantined until I go into the
>> hospital next Tuesday.  Stay tuned.  Please keep me in your prayers.
>> 
>> Roger Pihlaja
>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
>> Windows 10
>> 
>>