14 years

This past week I finally got around to doing something I've been meaning to do for the last couple of summers. I went to see a doctor to get a full physical. It has been 14 years since I last saw a Dr. for anything. I certainly have had a few reasons to see a doctor in the intervening years. I have had the flu once or twice, one case of mild food poisoning, a bacterial illness courtesy of Belize (that one almost got me into an ER), and a couple of motorcycle crashes, one where the EMT admitted I seemed perfectly fine but should get myself checked out just in case, and another that left me with some pretty skinned up knuckles which are now nicely scarred, and a fractured finger.
When you grow up with an RN for a mother, you learn that most things people see a doctor for can be treated at home with bed rest, plenty of fluids, antibiotic ointment, hydrogen peroxide, and gauze. You go see a doctor for test and serious stuff, and I didn't have a reason for tests and nothing I deemed serious.

However, due to my steady aging I finally decided I should get a physical, just to ensure I am healthy, and get a baseline set as I start my downward slide towards the inevitable body decay and eventual death. So last Monday I had my appointment and this Monday I had my follow-up to go over my test results. The good news is that I am in perfect health. There was one suspicious thing that showed up on my EKG. My heart rate was far enough below typical that the machine flagged it as suspicious. My doctor's advice was simply, "Just keep doing what you've been doing, because it's working."