THE TWINS, THE BRAVES, AND FLUID RETENTION

It's World Series time and two games have been played between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs.  October is one of my favorite months; the MLB playoffs take up the entire month with a game being televised every one to two days.

​And so it's every October that I fondly recall a good time that was once had some years ago up north.  I was en route on a flight from New Orleans to Rochester, Minnesota and as I settled in for the two-legged journey the topic of fluid retention was, initially, far from my mind.  Several months earlier the Mayo Clinic had advertised a four-day medical update seminar for the benefit of family physicians.  I'd always wondered what the medical Mecca of Mayo Clinic was like so I needed the hours and took the opportunity.

​After settling in for the flight I again reviewed the medical topics to be addressed and seeing "Fluid Retention" remember wondering why such a mundane, boring, and ordinary, and straight-forward medical condition would be considered for review by such a sophisticated and advanced institution like the Mayo Clinic.  One really only needs ten minutes to say all that needs to be said about fluid retention, at least in the scheme of things.  In the absence of any symptoms other than puffy ankles, and maybe puffy hands, the treatment, in most cases, consists of a diuretic, increased fluid intake, and increased activity.

​The fluid retention lecture though turned out to be rather interesting.  The guru expert began by rather confidently admitting that even though the Mayo Clinic was an advanced tertiary care and research center that they too, in their clinics, saw patients, mainly women, who had fluid retention syndrome.  And it turned out that they too treated fluid retention the same way as Mississippi's physician's did -- diuretics, increased fluid intake, and exercise.  This was comforting to learn.  But a diversion from the simple presentation to the complex was necessary to make the point I suppose that they were indeed advanced, pointing out that kidney and heart problems also produce fluid retention, but with additional signs and symptoms.

​In drafting this post I wondered if Mrs. Clinton, currently a presidential candidate, has a fluid retention problem.  Because as we all know, she's admitted she has a water drinking problem, which apparently got her into trouble recently.  But if she is retaining fluid we wouldn't know it as it's difficult to see her ankles.  She never wears a dress -- at least not on the campaign trail.  To make sure, I looked it up and images appeared of her wearing a long dress at a wedding reception and the recent Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York City.  The dress though happened to be a gown, which covered her ankles.  But then again, how often do we really look at other peoples' ankles?  But for Mrs. Clinton it's pantsuits all the way, none of which according to her campaign, are considered to be deplorable.

​But I think fondly every October, of this particular trip to Minnesota as it happened in 1991.  It was by coincidence that having several months earlier scheduled the air flight for this particular weekend that the seminar was scheduled during the opening of the World Series between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.  I managed to get tickets to the first two games (another story) which were played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, only an 80 minute drive (rented a car) from Rochester.  This satisfied one item on my bucket list long before I knew there was something called a bucket list.

​Not of any interest to the healthcare-minded, but the 1991 World Series turned out to be, by many sports analysts, an historic World Series with four games decided on the final pitch and three games going into extra innings, being played by two teams who the previous year finished last in their respective divisions.

​The two tickets I saved as a souvenir, and they proudly hung on the wall at home until Katrina washed them out to sea -- along with not just a few other items.

​The current World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs has been hyped to be a historic one since it's been 71 years since the Cubs played in a World Series.  It may very well turn out to be so.  It would be nice to be in Chicago this weekend.  But this Series will have to go a ways to beat the thrills the 91 Series provided.  And if it doesn't then at least it's a welcomed reprieve from the incessant onslaught of spin-politics spewing forth from our TVs this campaign season.

​Stay hydrated.  Stay active.  Stay relaxed.