"Aaaaaaayyyyy......"

So when I was a kid... let's say, around the age of 5 or 6, I had a lot of things I was interested in. There were friends, and sports, and bikes, and pool (as in billiards), and getting into trouble... serious trouble.

I had one speed: FAST! From the time I woke up, to when I was forced to finally go to bed, I was "runnin' and gunnin'" and causing my parents fits!

But when I was in the house, I had one show I always wanted to watch: Happy Days. I remember that show always being on... whether it was the new episodes on Tuesday nights, or the reruns that were shown throughout the day... if it was on, I was watching it.

And of course, I had a hero on that show: The Fonz.

Not only did I want to be like him, I wanted to dress like him! I actually had "The Fonz" leather jacket. And it was real because it said "The Fonz" inside the lining! I have no idea who gave that to me (probably my Mom) or what store carried such an item, but I loved that jacket.

Now I also had an annoying habit to anyone (and everyone) who came into contact with me. If they'd ask me a question, I'd whip around and stick up my thumbs and say, "Aaaaaaaayyyy." Then I'd run off... I was "too cool" to stay in one place too long. Yes, I drove everyone nuts!

The reason I remember all of this is because my family likes to remind me of this from time to time. "Remember when you'd act like The Fonz all of the time?" Of course, they like to say whimsical facts like this (as well as many others) in front of my newest lady friends... Ah... good times.

Now why in the world am I bringing all of this up on a running blog? Well, today I received the results from my latest visit to the doctor on Friday. And my doctor's name just so happens to be A. Fonzarelli.

Ok... just kidding. (Sometimes I like to make sure we're all paying attention)

Just to catch everyone up to speed, I've had some rather poor health numbers that I've been working on lowering. A few years ago, I wasn't feeling particularly up-to-snuff. I knew something was a bit "off," so I finally decided to go see the doctor. And for me to do that was a great effort - I really really REALLY do not like going to the doctor. I'm more of a dentist kind of guy... not sure why, but there you go.

So the quick and the short of it all was a pretty pathetic report card back then. Cholesterol was 382 (should be less than 200), Blood Pressure was 170/110 (should be 120/80), and Triglycerides were 743 (should be less than 150)... have I scared you yet? You can just raise one thumb if you want...

Well, with diet/drugs/exercise, I worked those numbers down. However, as of last November, they still weren't totally normal. While my blood pressure was still slightly elevated, my Cholesterol and Triglycerides were still way-higher than they should be.

When the doctor saw me on Friday she was amazed at how much weight I've dropped since my last visit. My blood pressure was unusually low, too... 90/50. She thought my weight loss and medication were really causing that number to go too low, so I may be coming off these pills. Whoo Hoo!

But today I received some incredible news. My cholesterol has dropped 45 points since my last visit and is now 180. Even though the Triglycerides are still a bit high, we're going to try a different medication to see if that'll lower them. Going back to that cholesterol number, I've never had less than 200 in my entire adult life. Seriously! When I was a senior in high school it was in the 270s! (That's some good genes...)

So as I was driving home today, I was thinking of all of the people who have been inquiring about how the visit to the doctor went.... and what would I tell them? It then flashed across my brain... "Aaaaaaaaayyyyy!" and two thumbs WAY up!

These days really are...