Heart Ablation, A Pele New Year, Travel Insurance

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.]

1/17/26

 

Aloha Everyone!

 

This week Pele awoke to 2026 and had either an angry fit or a joyous celebration, depending on what you want to project.  On Monday morning around 8:30 am fountaining began and continued for nearly 10 hours.  This was following several days of gurgling, sputtering, and squirting.  Once again the volcanologists correctly predicted the beginning of the episode, which they had set as between 1/10 and 1/17.  Current information from the monitoring devices suggests another episode in a couple of weeks, near the end of January.  The air quality monitors along our coast showed a strong increase in pollution after winds carried the SO2 from the eruption around the tip of the island and up to our region. This dropped fairly quickly though, after Pele went back to sleep.

 

The Geezer Gazette news this week is all about heart issues.  My results of last Friday's echo cardiogram came back very quickly online.  They were the same as the first time 1 1/2 years ago -- no significant "stenosis" -- narrowing of the blood vessels.  The interesting and new information is that I was in Afib during the recent exam, whereas I was in normal rhythm during the first one.  This was kind of a good thing, because it allowed a comparison of how my heart performed under both conditions.  The major difference is that the outflow of blood is 10% lower during Afib -- not due to clogged arteries but to the heart pumping less efficiently. The Afib level is below the normal range for someone my age and can produce fatigue, dizziness, light-headedness, breathlessness even in the absence of other symptoms, like heart palpitations and chest pain.  I don't feel any palpitations or pain, but I do experience the others if an Afib episode goes on for a long time, which is what is occurring these days. Although this isn't good news on the face of it, at least it provides an explanation for much of what I've been just attributing to "geezerness," and offers some hope that things can improve. On Tuesday I had my video consultation with a cardiac electrophysiologist (aka "ticker zapper") on Oahu. She seemed quite knowledgeable and competent, though like a few other of my physicians she looks like she's about 13-14 years old.  She recommended an ablation procedure, and expressed confidence it might improve my quality of life, both now and in the future.  She was careful not to promise the moon, though, only that it was likely this would reduce the number and length of Afib episodes to the point that anti-arrhythmic drugs might not be needed. I signed up, and was pleased to be able to schedule the operation fairly quickly -- February 12th.  If all goes well, this should give me time to recover before our trip in March. As I've mentioned before, this will require going to Honolulu for 2-3 days, but that's ok.  I'm looking forward to having it over with, but certainly not to having the actual experience of the procedure.

 

Speaking of travel, we've now passed the point where we could get most of our money back if we canceled.  Our usual strategy these days is to only get insurance when the cost of the premium is less than the refunds.  As you might imagine, when you get older the cost of travel insurance gets extremely high because insurance companies know that cancellations increase with age.  We've stopped getting

policies that completely cover the cost of the trip because it seems more reasonable to "self insure" for the portion of the total amount of a tour or cruise that you feel you can afford to lose. The health insurance part of the policies, however, is essential because health care or evacuation costs can be quite high if you have a problem while traveling in another country -- keep in mind, for example, that Medicare doesn't cover you during foreign travel. But you can get the full travel health coverage in the policy even if it doesn't cover the entire trip cost.  We determine what the total premium we are willing to pay is, and then use the insurance companies' online calculators to see what refund coverage that provides.  It turns out that no matter what the refund coverage is, these policies still give give you full medical coverage (including evacuation and the ghoulish "repatriation of remains." Keep in mind that almost all of these policies operate on the "reimbursement" model -- in other words, be prepared to pay upfront and then try to get your money back from a company that is motivated to deny your claims.  We tend to be frugal about the premium because it isn't refundable at all. Also note that a shortcoming of our strategy is that the medical insurance doesn't cover problems arising from pre-existing conditions unless you buy the policy right when you put a deposit down on your trip, and cover its entire cost.  That would be very expensive insurance and if you need it you probably shouldn't have signed up in the first place.  But at least we're covered if we're bitten by a cobra, fall off a camel. or get attacked by piranhas.  

 

Ok, that's about it. I would be remiss, though, if I didn't acknowledge that a very momentous national anniversary will happen next week -- January 20th.This was the day a year ago that our American Democratic Republic died, along with truth, decency, civility, dignity, reason. and the rule of domestic and international law. In its place we are moving toward a fascist oligarchy headed by an autocratic leader who is a convicted felon, a proven prolific liar, a man who is without moral scruples, and who will never give up power peacefully, no matter how badly he loses a fair election.  In my view one of the most disturbing parts of this situation is that a dishearteningly large portion of our population regards these changes as positive.  Welcome to 2026......

 

On that happy note, I hope you have a warm and healthy week. Take care.