Well the guys made as I knew they would. They are in Panama today and have made the end rally point which is the Bridge of the Americas. Congratulations guys, you did a hell of a job !!
And yes I wish I was with them. There are not words the describe my disappointment of not being able to complete the trip.
As for my health I am feeling better. My regular doctor cant find anything obviously wrong with me i.e.: had a heart attack, high cholesterol, etc. All the tests so far are inconclusive. He is putting it down to high "endothelin concentrations" in my system caused by the pollution. He figures that it affected my lungs with the asthma then as it progressed it affected my heart. Thought he was full of BS but Karen has been talking to some of the other doctors at the hospital and doing some research with the New England Medical Journal, some case studies out of the UK and some work done by Health Canada and maybe that is exactly what happened. Apparently even fairly short term exposure to certain air pollution, notably that caused by diesel emissions, can cause elevated blood pressure and arrhythmia along with affecting lung function.
I spent Thursday and Friday with a heart monitor attached to my chest so that the specialist can have an accurate read out of what has been happening. Along with all the other tests I have taken hopefully he can tell me what exactly caused it so that I can better deal with it in the future. But I will probably not find out for a few more months until I see him.
As for now I have stopped taking all the heart medication as my regular doctor cannot tell me what is wrong with me. I figure if they don't know what's wrong then why would I take medication ? So finally I have stopped feeling light headed and dizzy and my blood pressure - which I am taking 4 or 5 times a day - is lower and stable at this point. The pulse is still a little irregular but nothing like what it was in Mexico.
Well this is it for the time being. I will post a link to the pictures - I have a photo share with Shaw - after Dale, Brad, Steve and I get together and swap all of our photos but that will not be for a few months yet.
We will keep this blog account as Karen and I will use it for our upcoming trip this summer to Northern BC to see Ian, Heather and the kids and hopefully our Alaska trip next year
Thank you to all my friends and family for their support of the trip and your concerns over my early return.
Kevan
The ongoing misadventures of Kevan and Karen Ibbotson
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