Author Archives: mashland

4 months skating…

Posted on August 29, 2008 by mashland

Last April 15 I ended my post promising to “tell the tale in the mornng.”  It’s night and over 4 months later.  Sorry. Four months ago Jude and I went into the Apple store here in Portland.  I was looking … Continue reading →

Posted in Mike Ashland | 3 Comments

Back home…

Posted on April 15, 2008 by mashland

I am back home from the hospital but needing to rest.  I’ll post in the morning and bring this blog up to date.  No heart attack or huge news.  I have lost about 20% of my meager heart function and … Continue reading →

Posted in Mike Ashland | 5 Comments

Up and over: the trip back down…

Posted on April 3, 2008 by mashland

It’s been a good run.  A darn good run!  Other than my open heart “remodeling” on the second day of the new year, I have gone a year without ambulances or hospitals!  Whew!  Last summer I rode my vintage red … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Heart Failure, Mike Ashland, Politics | 6 Comments

Livin’ on Nitro

Posted on December 5, 2007 by mashland

It’s just a little-bitty thing. I carry it everywhere I go because it keeps me alive. Inside is an even tinier, smoky colored bottle with teensy weensy little Nitroglycerins pills. Since I was a kid I’ve always had this image … Continue reading →

Posted in Mike Ashland | 6 Comments

Bummerness inside my head

Posted on August 2, 2007 by mashland

So my church has this event called Tom’s Trek. Tom is for Fr. Tom, our pastor, and the Trek part refers to a hike around the Timberline Trail on Mt. Hood. The trek is about 42 miles, altitude 6,000 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Altitude Risk, Blood Clot, Death, Heart Failure, Mike Ashland | 10 Comments

Shoot! Don’t let me die to THAT song!

Posted on July 19, 2007 by mashland

Okay, it’s been a while. My soul patch has grown out and my hair is now blond/white. Later about that. Mostly these last weeks and months have been about living each day to absolute fullness. Some days that involves more … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Heart Failure, Heart Surgery, Mike Ashland | 5 Comments

My brain went off

Posted on June 14, 2007 by mashland

“Well, I’d eaten some tacos with Fire sauce and was watching “So You Think You Can Dance.” That’s what I told the docs at OHSU emergency last night when they asked what I was doing when it happened. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Heart Failure, Heart Surgery, Mike Ashland, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Music to my Soul

Posted on May 26, 2007 by mashland

Every once in a while I Google myself just to see what’s out there. I see this blog has been picked up by a lot of health sites. So be it. If you have heart failure, I guess I’m your … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Heart Failure, Heart Surgery, Mike Ashland, Music | 3 Comments

Schmaltz, and not the fat

Posted on May 22, 2007 by mashland

I am an undeniable sentimentalist. I cry watching Extreme Home Makeover and almost every American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. Music, dance, art…they cut through everything else and I am left dangling and wide open. This last year has … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Heart Failure, Heart Surgery, Mike Ashland | 5 Comments

Small farm animals return…

Posted on April 25, 2007 by mashland

Despite discovering a heart blood clot and the failure of my surgery to raise my Ejection Fraction, I have still enjoyed almost 4 months without chest pains and the terror they breed. Unfortunately a rather large donkey came out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Heart Failure, Heart Surgery, Mike Ashland | 5 Comments