Simply stated my life expectancy goal is to remain as active as possible for as long as possible. Of course I would like to live as long as possible, but the quality of life is important, and this objective drives me to exercise and eat healthy. My previous blog post provides much more insight on my views on this topic.

In June of 2019 my primary care physician diagnosed a heart murmur and referred me to a cardiology practice for further testing. In July 2019 I underwent an echocardiogram, and the heart specialist recommended a TEE. A TEE is a procedure, whereby, an instrument is lowered into the esophagus to obtain a clearer view of the heart valve. For various reasons related to insurance and referrals this procedure was never administered until January 2020.

During this time period I ran a road race in Stapleton, and although I placed first in my age group, I severely injured my Achilles tendon. The ache on the inside of my right heel was so severe, that I canceled all pickle ball and halted my running program. When the pain ceased to improve, I began attending physical therapy, and these sessions continued from September through November. July, August and September are my favorite months to fly fish, and my Achilles did not inhibit my stream time, so I was partially guilty of not pushing treatment for the heart murmur condition.

By October my Achilles improved, and I began a controlled return to running. Shortly thereafter the physical therapist approved a return to pickle ball, and I jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately this action resulted in another delay in my return to fitness. During a pickle ball session in the middle of October, a short rain shower left the court wet. I circled back to the baseline for a lob shot, and when I planted my right foot, it slipped and moved twelve inches. I applied my muscles to prevent a fall, but the sudden action generated a popping sound. For the next several weeks my inside groin and the outside of my hip were extremely sore. I attempted to return to running and pickle ball, but the soreness after each session was significant, and I sensed that I was doing more damage than good. I returned to physical therapy in January, and the therapist diagnosed me with a severe right hip nerve impingement. Maintaining an active lifestyle during my aging was proving to be more challenging than I expected.

Also during this time period Jane and I booked two bucket list trips. The first was scheduled for May 17 to Kauai, as Jane and I never visited Hawaii. We also made a deposit on a June 6 boat and bike trip from Cologne, GER to Amsterdam, NED. The boat would transport 26 guests on European waterways. and the guests would disembark each morning and cycle for 20 – 25 miles and then return to the barge, as it floated down the river. Breakfast, lunch and lodging were provided by the boat and were part of the package. Needless to say we were quite excited about this new adventure.

By January the TEE was finally scheduled and approved by my insurance, and it took place on January 24. I called to make an appointment with the cardiologist who performed my procedure and learned that he was on vacation for two weeks, and the earliest I could meet him was four weeks later. Given the scheduled trips I did not wish to wait four weeks, so I opted for a different doctor. Within a week of my TEE, I met with Dr Decicco, and he informed me that I had a leaking mitral heart valve. The border for severe is 60 ml, and my leakage was 100 ml. My atrium, the heart chamber downstream of the heart valve was somewhat dilated because of my condition. I was shocked and dumbfounded by this news. I felt strong and fit and did not exhibit any of the leaking heart valve symptoms. Dr. Decicco told me that the rest of my heart was extra strong due to my fitness and compensating for the leak, but he advised that this could not continue forever. Eventually the condition would deteriorate, and in all likelihood the repair would be more difficult and the recovery longer. I agreed to pursue surgery, and Dr. Decicco prepared a referral. Another prerequisite to heart valve repair surgery was to undergo a heart catheretization. This step was necessary to confirm that the remainder of my heart was healthy, as the surgeons did not want a surprise.

Meanwhile my physical therapy was progressing nicely, and I resumed running and pickle ball. I began the running program by walking for three minutes and running for two minutes for a total of twenty minutes. Over time I increased the running over the walking and eventually the distance and time. I played pickle ball indoors, and my Achilles and hip held up well under the increased strain of my activities.

Concurrent with my fitness and health progression, the rest of the world began to display signs of distress from the corona virus. The first U.S. case was reported on January 20, so the timing of my heart valve evaluation roughly coincided with the covid progression in the United States. I scheduled the heart catheretization for February 7, and the procedure confirmed that my heart was very healthy other than the leaking mitral valve, and Dr. Decicco referred me to a doctor at CU Health, who was highly recommended, to perform minimally invasive surgery. Things were moving along, and I clutched at the hope of threading the needle with surgery without cancelling our trips.

I contacted the office of Dr. Rove at CU Health, and I discovered that she was out of network, but her assistant was very certain that I could be approved and treated as an in network patient. I made an appointment for February 18, but two days before the meeting, I received a call from my primary care office, and they told me the doctor visit was not authorized. I immediately assumed it was because of being out of network, but instead I was told that the referral was only submitted two days earlier!

Again wishing to expedite the process with the hope of completing our scheduled trips, I decided to pursue in network options. I did an online search for cardiologists who perform minimally invasive mitral valve repair, and as I did this, I cross referenced the doctors’ names to the United Healthcare provider search list. I found six in network doctors that could perform my necessary surgery. One stuck out to me, Dr. Daniel O’Hair, at Boulder Health. He did robotic minimally invasive mitral valve repair, and I experienced good results from robotic surgery on my prostate. I made an appointment with Dr. O’Hair and asked my primary care physician to generate a referral. Ultimately the referral for Dr. Rove was approved, and I ended up with back to back appointments with two cardiologists during the first week of March. In the end I elected Doctor O’Hair, because I liked the idea of robotic, and he was in network, thus, less risk of not being approved given my tight window before our scheduled trips.

The die was cast, and Dr. O’Hair’s office called fairly soon after my appointment to offer surgery on March 16. I gritted my teeth and signed up with the continuing hope of fitting the surgery and recovery in before our Kauai trip. During the week prior to my scheduled surgery my daughter visited from Portland, OR, and in an effort to take advantage of her stay, we spent a day skiing at Vail on March 9. On March 15, the day before my surgery, the rapidly rising number of covid cases in Colorado ski country caused the governor to self quarantine anyone who had been there in the previous 14 days. On Monday morning March 16 I reported to Boulder Community Health for my surgery. The receptionist in the cardiology area asked, if I had been in the high country, and I truthfully answered yes given our ski trip the previous Monday. She immediately tossed a surgical mask my way and asked Jane and I to sit down the hall, while she investigated the next steps since the protocols were only announced late on Sunday.

After a short time, however, Jane and I were ushered into a pre-op room, where I was asked to remove my clothes and get into a hospital gown. The nurse arrived and hooked my left arm up to IV, and I was starting to believe that I would sneak in under the wire. My optimism was unfounded, as a Dr. Ellis eventually appeared, and he told me that my surgery was cancelled, and that I needed to self quarantine for 14 days. In addition the hospital was discontinuing elective surgeries starting on March 17, so he was unsure when my surgery would be rescheduled.

I put my regular clothes back on, and Jane and I returned home. My stress level dropped considerably, but now what about the surgery. Given the progression of the pandemic, I was convinced that I would not be rescheduled until May or June. Did I even want to be scheduled for heart surgery during a respiratory virus epidemic? I decided to take advantage of the break, and I resumed my running and fly fishing. The Stay at Home order put a clamp on pickle ball, but outdoor activities remained in bounds when associated with social distancing. I continued to ramp up my running, until I was able to run forty minutes consecutively by April 14. When weather was cooperative, I managed five fishing trips to Colorado rivers and streams. I was making good use of my surgery hiatus.

On April 7 I was sitting in my home office, when the mobile phone rang. I answered and heard the voice of Beth, Dr. O’Hair’s assistant, who informed me that she signed me up for surgery on April 16, and was I interested? I told her the timing was perfect, but I was concerned about the safety given the corona virus crisis. She provided a host of reasons that the doctor and hospital felt it was safe, so I accepted the date. In the final analysis I felt that the hospital would not accept the liability, if they were not very certain that the risk was low.

Until recently I tried to avoid thinking about aging. The human body will inevitably break down, but I set a goal to remain as active as possible over my lifetime. My strategy included daily exercise, running, and an abundance of outdoor activities. My eating habits since childhood have generally been exemplary. My father always planted a large garden, and fresh vegetables were always available. I was the rare child that did not need to be prodded to eat my vegetables. I am lactose intolerant, so that eliminates fatty dairy products from my diet, and I elect to avoid red meat on a regular basis.

In 2010 I acquired an iPad, and at the time my weight had ballooned from the 120’s of my twenties to the 155 mark. I would not consider myself overweight, but I began to experience difficulty getting up when I fell on skis, and my impact while running was noticeably heavier. I decided to try a calorie counter app and downloaded FatSecret to my new iPad. I set a goal to finish each day at negative 500 calories. Later I discovered that a cumulative negative 3000 calories over time translates to a loss of one pound of weight. Counting calories was a significant eye opener. Early in the game I discovered some quick hitters to cut my calorie intake. First came sugary beverages. I was amazed at how many calories could be avoided by shifting from Gatorade to water or unsweetened ice tea, so that was an easy move. I regularly ate a whole bagel for breakfast, so I reduced that to one-half, and once again a small change in diet resulted in significantly reduced cumulative calories. While I was still working, I had a small scone along with my cup of tea during a mid-morning break. Can you guess how many calories a small scone has? I stopped buying scones. I am an avowed pretzel lover. Pretzels are actually a relatively healthy snack, but they are a carbohydrate, and they do provide calories.  Previously I could binge on a half bag of pretzels at one sitting. Once I understood the calorie impact of my addiction, I limited myself to two servings at snack time.

In the three months after acquiring my iPod I reduced my weight from 155 pounds to 135 pounds. Since that period of time I have been in maintenance mode. I continue to track my calories, but rather than be in a net negative position each day, I target to balance intake and burn. It is not unusual for me to tabulate my position after dinner with the hope that I am negative 800 and, therefore, eligible for an evening snack. Counting calories made me appreciate the value of my running program, as running burns significant calories in a short period of time. Running translated into more snacks for Dave. In addition, running along with cycling and hiking improved my cardiovascular strength and allowed me to enjoy outdoor activities that were out of reach for others my age.

Of course there are no guarantees in the game of life, and in 2016 I faced my first obstacle to a continued active lifestyle. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2015 and survived a prostatectomy in January 2016. The operation and recovery were a bump in the road, but I survived and eventually elevated my fitness back to levels before the operation. The next four years were golden years, as I maintained my weight and fitness and achieved record years in fly fishing accomplishments. I was retired and in good health, and Jane and  I maximized our opportunities for travel, hiking, camping, cycling, running and fly fishing. I was living the dream.

My Medicare plan provides for an annual “in home” check up, and during this event in November 2018 the nurse heard a heart murmur. She advised me to confer with my primary care physician, and I followed up with a physical in June 2019. My doctor confirmed the heart murmur and referred me to a cardiologist. In July 2019 an echocardiogram revealed a leaking mitral heart valve, and a TEE procedure in January 2020 refined the diagnosis, and my valve leak was placed in the severe category. In spite of this condition I remained without symptoms, and my cardiologist attributed this to my superb conditioning.

I was reluctant to proactively go from a healthy sixty-nine year old male to a rehabilitating heart patient, but the cardiologist reasoned with me. First there was the chart that showed that the life expectancy of a man with a repaired mitral heart valve was the same as a man without a heart valve condition. On the other hand, the life expectancy curve diverged rather rapidly when comparing a male with no heart valve problem compared to a man who failed to correct the condition. Facing death is always a sobering experience. In addition, I was a candidate for minimally invasive repair, and this procedure is far more desirable than invasive repair or even heart valve replacement.  Aging increased the likelihood of the latter developments, and aging also made recovery longer and more difficult. I was convinced and made the decision to undergo minimally invasive heart valve repair. My next post will resume the story from here.

Originally when I embarked on my blog journey in 2010, I was seeking a way to combine the text from my fishing logs, that I maintained in Word, with the photos that I accumulated in my albums. Ten years later I can unequivocally state that my blog has more than served its intended purpose. My son has been instrumental in the evolution of this forum, as he provided endless hours of technical support from securing a server and URL to digging me out of technical difficulties. The tabs for the fish counter and fishing analytics are purely the creations of Dan.

This site now contains ten years of entries that include every fishing outing during that time as well as other significant travel adventures. In many ways the travelogues are more fun to review than the fishing logs. My blog has evolved into a hobby unto itself, as I enjoy writing, and I chronicled a significant part of my life story. I am convinced that composing the blog improves my writing skills, enhances my vocabulary, and stretches my mind.

What role do I envision from this blog? Well it is sort of grandiose to even think that I planned a purpose other than logging my stories, but I repeatedly refer to it, when I project future fishing conditions based on historical experiences on the same rivers. Why start a day of fishing from ground zero, when I already possess clues about what tactics worked in the past? Change is constant in fly fishing, and one must be careful to match the variables before drawing conclusions, but many times the past has been a predictor of the future. In addition to this practical application of the Wellerfish blog, I also enjoy immensely simply reading about many of my fishing days and travel adventures. During the winter I relive days on the stream from the summer, and I particularly love re-imagining my travel adventures years after the fact.

What about the readers? Why share all this information with strangers around the world? I have spent upwards of thirty-five years fly fishing, and if another angler can pick up a tip or learn about a fly that propels them to success, I am all in favor. I constantly read about fly fishing and fly tying, but the best teacher is on stream experience. I truly write this blog for myself, but if it can help others, that is even better. The ten years of fishing reports contain a huge amount of information on flies, approaches and conditions. Most of the information is available elsewhere, but this blog applies it directly to a specific river or stream, and that is not always easy to obtain. I have curated an infinite number of fly choices for my part of the world, and I can cite results to back their effectiveness. Are there other, better and even more productive flies out there? Of course, and I constantly search for new winners, but it is reassuring to have workhorse flies that I know I can depend on. Why not read and take advantage?

But what if I create efficient fly fishing robots armed with killer flies that hook, land, injure and pressure local fish? First of all it is quite presumptuous to suggest that my humble web site could do that. I do not have that much power. But more importantly I am a strong believer that fly fishing success is not attainable from having the right fly or fishing in the best place. It requires days and days of practice and years of continuing education. two of the most overlooked aspects of fly fishing success are casting and reading the water, and these keys to achievement cannot be learned by reading. They require on stream experience. The majority of fishermen do not have the time or inclination to devote to fly fishing in order to develop a high level of proficiency. The risk of stream exploitation from this blog is infinitesimal.

I also utilize different techniques, as I explore the waters of the west and beyond. I am a huge believer in paying attention to the water type that produces fish during a given day at a certain time of the year. My casting becomes more efficient, if I know fish are holding at the tails of deep runs or in the cushion in front of large rocks. I can exploit this advantage, as I move from place to place and limit my casts to higher probability spots. Dry/dropper, double dry, single dry, indicator nymphs, and streamers are all possible techniques; and I apply them all. This blog provides feedback on what worked and did not work in many situations. In short, this blog can accelerate the learning curve of novice or beginning anglers. Are you the type of person that needs to be hands on and learn through success and failure? By all means go for it. Half of the fun of fly fishing is the process, but I like to gather as much knowledge as possible, so that I can accelerate my learning curve and become better faster.

This blog opens me to criticism over revealing secret spots and contributing to the escalating crowding on western streams. If folks are using this blog simply as an enhanced Delorme Atlas, I really cannot do anything about it. However, most of the rivers and streams that I fish are easily accessible public waters. There are books and online resources that reveal more details about hot spots than this blog does. I have no problem with identifying a creek or river, when similar information is available in the fly fishing universe. For large rivers secrecy is never a concern. It would be ridiculous to assume that a fisherman could catch more fish if they used my blog to identify a place that is better than the wide array of options available. And if you do, congratulations, there are an unlimited number of alternative places for me to seek out and find success.

I never keep heavily fished rivers like the South Platte River and Big Thompson River secret. In these places the game is about being a better fisherman than others as a way to achieve success. There are a few high mountain creeks that I protect. If I put in a lot of shoe leather and discover a hidden gem, I am not going to reveal the location. A small stream is too fragile to expose, and I like to lessen the chances of meeting competing fishermen. But these situations are rare, and nearly all of my posts refer accurately to the actual destination.

Why am I going through all this background? A week ago I had a mitral heart valve repair, and I am considering posting short pieces that chronicle my recovery. The last week has been a rough experience, and perhaps other readers are out there that could learn from mine. Besides, I enjoy writing, and a lot of new material is available to me in the health care industry. Stay tuned. Perhaps the purpose of this blog will expand to include my new physical challenges. It has, after all, become my life story.