BasicMed

Over the past several years AOPA has been attempting to pass a new process where pilots receive their medical certification.  Normally, a pilot would go to an FAA designated physician and would take their medical exam. AOPA has proposed a change that would allow an individual to self-certify, that is if they are already in receipt of medical certification, and would have to do this every several years. I have been an opponent to this because I feel that many pilots may abuse the system when they really should see a physician to be certified. 

My medical expired at the end of December 2016. I did not take the medical exam because I was at the tail end of the suspected kidney failure, and as many pilots have found out, the FAA can be real sticklers on issues like this. In the past my dealings with the FAA in my medical certification has been fairly easy. Even with my transplant surgery the process was fairly easy. So now that I have stood firmly against pilots receiving their renewal under BasicMed what did I do? I renewed my medical under BasicMed. What a hypocrite, huh? 

While the process is a little confusing it was fairly easy. My liver physician completed the paperwork with me instead of me going to my primary care physician (who I don’t know who the hell it is). My liver physician completed the paperwork because I had already scheduled an appointment with him six months prior for my annual liver review.

Many pilots are complaining because their primary care physicians are not wanting to be a part of this process with BasicMed.  With me it was easy. I’ve known my physician for over 21 years and if anyone was qualified to fill out my paperwork, he was the one.

BasicMed is a little confusing because the protocol is not completely laid out, or I was just to confused or closed minded to the process.

I am not sure if BasicMed is going to work. I wonder what are we going to do when the first pilot takes advantage of BasicMed and continues to fly when he or she should not, and causes a fatality?

Once Again Long Overdue Updates

Yes, I have been derelict in my duty. I have not given updates to my blog. So, I am trying to give an overview will what has been happening since my last postings.

Today is July 26, 2017, and my last entry in my logbook is November 2017. There is a reason why I have not had any luck the entries. It’s because I have not been flying at all.

Back in October in November I suspected some issues that were cardiac related. Therefore, I self-grounded myself and went to see a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. The end result was me having a device inserted under my skin over my heart. This device is called a Loop Monitor. This device will monitor my heart rate in any anomalies that occur. While the doctor did see some issues, these were consistent with what was reported to the FAA previously. My condition is known as tachycardia, which is primarily a rapid heart rate. I have been on beta a blocker for about two years now, and it is the lowest dosage available.  The end result is that this is nothing new in that I am probably more aware of it then I should be, and it is probably an issue that needs to be occasionally looked into but at this time there is nothing to worry about.

Going into November 2016, my kidney issues were mounting. What I mean is that the regular monthly blood work indicated an increase in the my creatinine level. When my levels were approaching more than double my normal levels my physician asked me to go to the hospital to be admitted. For a few days they could not find what the problem was. And even though they did not mention it in the back of my mind I was fearing kidney failure. The end result was that my CMV was active and also my ulcerative colitis was flaring up for the first time. The combination of the two gave the appearance of kidney failure, after being treated with several antibiotics and also an antifungal my numbers started to come back into the normal range. While I still have several issues, primarily bowel issues, overall everything is returning back to normal. The staff at the Cleveland Clinic is stressing that I need to maintain hydration. Therefore at this time I am constantly drinking water and also tea. Through this process that began somewhere around August or September 2016, I have been losing weight steadily. At this time my weight is almost completely come back. At present I am about 5 pounds below my normal weight. One thing I’ve not been doing is maintaining my habit of walking several miles several times a week. Since a friend of mine likes to walk a lot I meet up with her and we tend to put on a few miles together. Now, if I could only get back my muscle mass.