Late road enthusiasts

[bugo]

What road enthusiasts have passed away in the last 15 years?  A guy from Atlanta died, I think his name was Stan Cline.  Also, Randy Hersh died a while back.  He was notorious and everybody hated him but deep inside he had a heart of gold.  He was very concerned about me when I told him about some of my illnesses.  The whole "svartzie" racist persona was a troll. 

[roadman65]

My dad, even though not here on this site, nor a real whole hearted enthusiasts like we are, but he passed away last year.  He was one man that I miss, especially on Thanksgiving today, but one with a heart as well.

[FLRoads]

Its been just over three years now since we lost Larry (Larbearfl). Though not as avid a road enthusiast as some of us, his passion for county collecting and maps were endless. I still remember some of those tales of his cross-country county collecting excursions. He had a great personality and was liked and loved by all he encountered. Larry was a great listener and had an answer for just about any problem you might have. He unfortunately left us way to early and is still missed on a daily basis. And ironically today would have been his birthday. Thinking of you on your birthday and your favorite holiday, Larry! We miss you... 

[hbelkins]

Patrick Humphrey (a native Kentuckian).
Post Merge: November 30, 2013, 09:24:38 AM
I met Stanley Cline at a Nashville meet. Never did meet Patrick Humphrey, although we corresponded just about every time he made a trip back home to Kentucky from Texas because he would ask about road conditions, construction, anything new he should be on the lookout for.

I'm thinking there was another MTR regular who has died, but the name escapes me.

[US71]

There was a fellow named Earl Ma who was a frequent contributor to some of the oil/gas forums.

[hbelkins]

There was a fellow named Earl Ma who was a frequent contributor to some of the oil/gas forums.

Oh, wow, I forgot about Earl. I think he lived in Hawaii. He was also a big NASCAR fan and a good photographer. He had a great picture of "Synchronized Spinning," three cars that spun simultaneously at the last turn at Sears Point. All three cars were perfectly parallel in his photo. I can't remember if he ever posted on MTR but he was a regular on RASN (rec.autos.sport.nascar).

[hbelkins]

My name almost got added to this list last week.

Those who had been following along in the New River Gorge meet thread know that I was unable to make that meet. I had developed some sort of terrible hip and inner thigh pain that felt much like sciatica and it made it so painful for me to walk that I was hardly able to get up and perform basic functions around the house.

I went to the doctor a couple of times but things seemed to be getting worse, not better. On top of that, I started genuinely feeling terrible. By last Monday (April 17) I was out of it. I was disoriented, confused, very sensitive to bright light, lethargic, had no appetite. My wife took me to the local physician's office. My blood pressure was somewhere in the neighborhood of 80/40, my heart rate and blood sugar levels were bottoming out, and I was just generally a mess. They made the decision to transport me by ambulance to Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital in Irvine, Ky.

From there, things got worse. Blood work came back that showed I was in renal failure. Respiratory failure was coming next. Irvine's about an hour's drive from normal conditions from Lexington, but they decided to fly me to the University of Kentucky. It's a 15-minute flight from Irvine to UK, but they told my wife not to expect me to live. All I knew was that I felt awful. The look on my wife's face when they were taking me out of the ER to put me on the helicopter to fly me to Lexington is something I'll always remember.

Well, I lived. After spending Monday and Tuesday nights in UK's emergency department, they moved me to a regular room on Wednesday and I got to come home Friday afternoon. Only yesterday, when they were taking out the temporary dialysis port they'd installed in the ER, did I find out what had caused my issues. One of the pain medications I was prescribed at my second of three visits to the doctor for the hip pain was ibuprofen 800. I take (or used to take) metformin, which causes me to have increased creatinine levels. Ibuprofen, I found out, is hard on the kidneys. The combination of the prescription-strength ibuprofen and the metformin had caused my creatinine levels to go from a baseline of around 2 (which is on the high side of normal) to around 17. In addition, my potassium levels had skyrocketed. That's probably due to the fact that I take (or used to take) lisinopril for my blood pressure, which causes elevated potassium. And I had been taking OTC potassium because I'm prone to leg cramps. So, all that caused my kidneys to fail and from what my wife was told, it came within a very short time of killing me.

If any of you take metformin, don't take ibuprofen. I asked the doctor and he said to take acetaminophen instead if necessary for pain. I'd heard it's hard on the liver, but only if taken in massive doses.

I didn't know I was that close to death, and I can joke a little about it now. I can see the thread -- "roadgeek meets that were canceled because the host nearly died."

[Roadgeekteen]

My name almost got added to this list last week.

Those who had been following along in the New River Gorge meet thread know that I was unable to make that meet. I had developed some sort of terrible hip and inner thigh pain that felt much like sciatica and it made it so painful for me to walk that I was hardly able to get up and perform basic functions around the house.

I went to the doctor a couple of times but things seemed to be getting worse, not better. On top of that, I started genuinely feeling terrible. By last Monday (April 17) I was out of it. I was disoriented, confused, very sensitive to bright light, lethargic, had no appetite. My wife took me to the local physician's office. My blood pressure was somewhere in the neighborhood of 80/40, my heart rate and blood sugar levels were bottoming out, and I was just generally a mess. They made the decision to transport me by ambulance to Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital in Irvine, Ky.

From there, things got worse. Blood work came back that showed I was in renal failure. Respiratory failure was coming next. Irvine's about an hour's drive from normal conditions from Lexington, but they decided to fly me to the University of Kentucky. It's a 15-minute flight from Irvine to UK, but they told my wife not to expect me to live. All I knew was that I felt awful. The look on my wife's face when they were taking me out of the ER to put me on the helicopter to fly me to Lexington is something I'll always remember.

Well, I lived. After spending Monday and Tuesday nights in UK's emergency department, they moved me to a regular room on Wednesday and I got to come home Friday afternoon. Only yesterday, when they were taking out the temporary dialysis port they'd installed in the ER, did I find out what had caused my issues. One of the pain medications I was prescribed at my second of three visits to the doctor for the hip pain was ibuprofen 800. I take (or used to take) metformin, which causes me to have increased creatinine levels. Ibuprofen, I found out, is hard on the kidneys. The combination of the prescription-strength ibuprofen and the metformin had caused my creatinine levels to go from a baseline of around 2 (which is on the high side of normal) to around 17. In addition, my potassium levels had skyrocketed. That's probably due to the fact that I take (or used to take) lisinopril for my blood pressure, which causes elevated potassium. And I had been taking OTC potassium because I'm prone to leg cramps. So, all that caused my kidneys to fail and from what my wife was told, it came within a very short time of killing me.

If any of you take metformin, don't take ibuprofen. I asked the doctor and he said to take acetaminophen instead if necessary for pain. I'd heard it's hard on the liver, but only if taken in massive doses.

I didn't know I was that close to death, and I can joke a little about it now. I can see the thread -- "roadgeek meets that were canceled because the host nearly died."

omg that sounds terrible. I am glad you are ok.

[US71]

My name almost got added to this list last week.

Those who had been following along in the New River Gorge meet thread know that I was unable to make that meet. I had developed some sort of terrible hip and inner thigh pain that felt much like sciatica and it made it so painful for me to walk that I was hardly able to get up and perform basic functions around the house.

I went to the doctor a couple of times but things seemed to be getting worse, not better. On top of that, I started genuinely feeling terrible. By last Monday (April 17) I was out of it. I was disoriented, confused, very sensitive to bright light, lethargic, had no appetite. My wife took me to the local physician's office. My blood pressure was somewhere in the neighborhood of 80/40, my heart rate and blood sugar levels were bottoming out, and I was just generally a mess. They made the decision to transport me by ambulance to Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital in Irvine, Ky.

From there, things got worse. Blood work came back that showed I was in renal failure. Respiratory failure was coming next. Irvine's about an hour's drive from normal conditions from Lexington, but they decided to fly me to the University of Kentucky. It's a 15-minute flight from Irvine to UK, but they told my wife not to expect me to live. All I knew was that I felt awful. The look on my wife's face when they were taking me out of the ER to put me on the helicopter to fly me to Lexington is something I'll always remember.

Well, I lived. After spending Monday and Tuesday nights in UK's emergency department, they moved me to a regular room on Wednesday and I got to come home Friday afternoon. Only yesterday, when they were taking out the temporary dialysis port they'd installed in the ER, did I find out what had caused my issues. One of the pain medications I was prescribed at my second of three visits to the doctor for the hip pain was ibuprofen 800. I take (or used to take) metformin, which causes me to have increased creatinine levels. Ibuprofen, I found out, is hard on the kidneys. The combination of the prescription-strength ibuprofen and the metformin had caused my creatinine levels to go from a baseline of around 2 (which is on the high side of normal) to around 17. In addition, my potassium levels had skyrocketed. That's probably due to the fact that I take (or used to take) lisinopril for my blood pressure, which causes elevated potassium. And I had been taking OTC potassium because I'm prone to leg cramps. So, all that caused my kidneys to fail and from what my wife was told, it came within a very short time of killing me.

If any of you take metformin, don't take ibuprofen. I asked the doctor and he said to take acetaminophen instead if necessary for pain. I'd heard it's hard on the liver, but only if taken in massive doses.

I didn't know I was that close to death, and I can joke a little about it now. I can see the thread -- "roadgeek meets that were canceled because the host nearly died."

You're a tough ol' bird, HB. I don't think you'd go down without a fight. 

[ColossalBlocks]

My co-worker was a roadgeek, he was about to register to AARoads when I told him about it. Then he was hit by a train and died on impact.

[LM117]

In addition, my potassium levels had skyrocketed. That's probably due to the fact that I take (or used to take) lisinopril for my blood pressure, which causes elevated potassium.

That's news to me. My mother takes 5mg Lisinopril once a day and 3.125mg Carvedilol twice a day for high blood pressure and her potassium barely stays within the normal range, as in borderline low.

Glad you pulled through.

[kphoger]

I can joke a little about it now. I can see the thread -- "roadgeek meets that were canceled because the host nearly died."

Threads you'll never see...

[jeffandnicole]

I can joke a little about it now. I can see the thread -- "roadgeek meets that were canceled because the host nearly died."

Threads you hope you'll never see...

[kphoger]

I can joke a little about it now. I can see the thread -- "roadgeek meets that were canceled because the host nearly died."

Threads you hope you'll never see...

Isn't that what that thread actually is?   

[noelbotevera]

I almost was added to this list. Long story short, I nearly fell into the New River because of some algae. Right next to Sandstone Falls.