October Leftovers

 

I felt obligated to cheer for the local team,
but my heart wasn't really in it.

I still love my job. We loved watching this huge truck in our residential neighborhood. It was driving onto the playground for a school event.

Someone once called the crows janitors. I am sure there is plenty for them to eat by the tables in the school courtyard.

October was a tough month.

No Turkey Trot this year.

The bright spot was the outpouring of support from friends and family. Thank you.

Not a vacation

If all goes well I will be able to spend a significant amount of time with a baby starting in the fall. Given my birth year and the measles outbreaks it seemed wise to confirm whether I was immune.

Nope!

I went back and received my vaccination. It takes a week or so to kick in and I can't donate blood or platelets for a four weeks, but I am relieved.

I touched the television when I turned it off. I am not sorry.

Rite of passage?

This was an effective way to remember. 

The circles mark the spots where the third molars are.

The operating room

The upper molars came out in three pieces so we were allowed to keep them,
but the lower ones came out in many, many pieces.

And now it is pudding, yogurt, and soft foods. Except for a donut after playing a soccer game this morning, during which he blocked two penalty kicks. I guess recovery is going ok!

Variations on a theme

At least I can get a blog post out of it.  Sounds familiar.

If parents of the high school mountain bike team members want to go through the training and screening they can become Class I coaches, which allows them to ride with the team but not actually give any coaching advice. A lot of parents do this because they enjoy riding with their kids. D. was one of those parents.

It is sometimes a challenge for a cautious adult to ride with fearless teens, especially going downhill. Zipping down a gravelly path and trying not to hit pedestrians led to a fall close to the end of a training ride. One of the other parents took a picture of the injury (available upon request) because D. couldn't see the extent of it and was going to head home. Instead he accepted the medical advice to go to the emergency room to have the the wound cleaned and stitched up.

The wait in the emergency room was long enough to make me glad I had time to grab a book, water, and a snack.  I felt a bit bad about not showering, but a friend pointed out that it was better to be stinky than to be contagious.

We spent a lot of time near the Laceration Cart in #3 PIT (physician in triage?) Area.
The people were all friendly, just trying to deal with multiple situations at the same time.

Yippee, no broken bones.

Eleven stitches. 

All cleaned and having vitals checked one more time.

The day was not what we had planned, but it turned out fine in the end. D. was able to sleep some last night and go to work today. Onto the next thing.

Turning back time

I don't know how often I have wished I could turn back the clock and take back some words or actions.  It happened yet again.  I wanted to take a look at something in the rain.  My rainboots, which I had been wearing just a short time ago, were right there, but they take two moments to put on so I slipped on a pair of D.'s shoes that take just one moment to put on.  I opened the door and did not step on the wonderful mat, stepping just to the side.  I don't know why.  As soon as I stepped on the wet step I slipped and fell both slowly and quickly.  Besides being wet and embarrassed I seemed to be okay.

When I woke up the next day my ring finger was swollen, but not alarming so.  I ignored it all day until the evening when I had not seen any improvement. D. was willing to try the dental floss trick, which definitely made things worse.

The good advice I received the next day was to be patient and not to hike or run.  Unhappily I followed directions, and finally three+ days after falling I got them off with some oil.

I haven't put the rings back on yet, but maybe today.

He who hesitates is lost?  Haste makes waste?  I am definitely a believer in the latter!

Back to the start

My first pint of blood was donated in my high school gym (which I think still exists, but I can't quite remember, even after watching this video clip of the remodeling project).  Today I donated blood in the high school gym where everyone else in the family went or will go to high school.

I thought this was the old gym but the principal thought it was the same age as the other.
Maybe it was built as a practice gym or for j.v. games.

Only one more pint and I will have reached nine gallons.

Family weekend

About a month ago I met up with a friend who was on her way to the theater box office.  She was going to get free tickets, although she couldn't remember what they were for and was hoping that being there would jog her memory.  Later she wrote that she had extra tickets to hear Michael J. Fox speak and invited me to join her.  I had no idea what to expect but I loved watching him on tv when I was a kid.

Nicole Weekes, an award-winning professor of neuroscience, was the host.

Sometimes I am distracted by the screens but since I had a hard time understanding him it helped to be able to look at the screen and attempt to read lips or body language.

All pictures are from Pomona College.
No photos, video, or audio recordings were allowed.
You can learn more about his foundation here and read an article about the talk here.

I did enjoy hearing his thoughts about pharmaceutical companies and about his career, but I enjoyed hearing about his family the most.  He is a dad and I could imagine seeing him at some parents' reception and having a nice chat.  At one point he even said he was sorry for embarrassing his daughter, who was in the audience.  Even if you are sick or even if you are famous some things don't change!

After the talk I crashed the parents' reception (maybe I used to be able to pass as a student but now I can definitely pass as a parent).  Faculty were invited and since D. would be giving building tours in the evening I wanted to have a chance to see him.  It was fun to pretend to be the parent of a college student and schmooze a bit, learn about weekend activities, and hear the president speak.

Not-quite bionic woman

Not really the million-dollar man, either.  Maybe the $5K woman?

Wednesday was spent modifying my body a bit.

Up first was a temporary crown.  I think since it is so far back they used the copper cap.
The permanent one will match my teeth.
I am not sure which is worse, the anticipation or the sounds of the drill.

Later I picked up my hearing aids!  The top one has a microphone and transmits what it picks up the right one, which is only a receiver and does not amplify sound.  The feeling in my ear is mildly uncomfortable (a little itchy and a little feeling of stuffy ears) and the results are mixed.  I still have no directional sound (D. thinks my brain will learn which sounds are coming from the left and adapt).  I was able to hear my friend as we walked together and she was on my right, but I can not hear anything when I hold the phone up to my hearing aid.  Or maybe I am hearing a faint something?  Nothing useful.  I will continue to experiment with them for a few weeks and at that point I have to decide whether I want to purchase them or return them at no cost.

Even though I wear glasses I don't think I qualify as a cyborg.

Great News!

This has been my routine for the last few weeks:

Morning

• use the pulley in two different directions
• use the stretch bands three different ways
• push my arm back using a yard stick
• ice my shoulder

Noon

• use the pulley in two different directions
• use the stretch bands three different ways
• stretch my shoulder manually
• ice my shoulder

Night

• use the pulley in two different directions
• use the stretch bands three different ways
• do the I, T, and Y stretches
• ice my shoulder

Today I checked in with the physical therapist and showed off my progress.  It changed everything so now I have a new set of exercises and am required to do them only twice a day!  They include modified push-ups and using the weight room!  The big news is that I have permission to swim!  He asked me to take is slowly and liked the idea of sprinkling in a length here and there.  

Now that I may swim I hope I can!

And we have a winner!

I went to the benefits fair (do you hear a childhood song about big baboon?), entered the raffle, and won this!

This afternoon I set it up and it says I have walked zero steps but I know I walked into the kitchen to get the camera and back to the dining room.  I just did it again and it is 21 steps round trip so it should read at least 42 steps.  Plus when I looked initially it gave me a sad face.  : P  Time to ask the kids for tech support!

Silver lining

I didn't mean to imply that I am in pain all the time.  I am doing well and often forget to take the pain medication that was recommended.

The good news is that I still go to the pool three or four times a week.  Since I am only kicking I am on my back a lot and I have been watching the morning sky.  I had no idea there were so many stars and planets visible to the naked eye (to the goggle-covered eye).

Today was even better since I got to swim (kick) in the lane with the wire that supports the backstroke flags (the flags that let a backstroker know that the wall is five yards away).  It was like a personal Skyspace (the James Turrell light piece at Pomona College).

This isn't my pool but it looks a lot like it.
The wire I swam under supported the blue and white flags and was parallel to the lane line.

The sky was dark when I started and the wire appeared to be white.  With the early light the wire seemed to disappear into the sky and by the time I was done the wire appeared dark against the sky. It was better to think about that instead of my tired legs.

My legs have been getting some rest.  I am trying to train myself to sleep on my back and it was suggested I get a bolster for my legs.  I have something like this.

Here's to a good night's rest for everyone!

Human body

Post-surgery was hard for many reasons, but a big part was not swimming, which I have done in the morning for over thirty years.  When I finally got back to the pool it took a while to feel strong, but I did.  Then came summer and swimming in the sun was a treat.

One week I swam early on Friday with my regular group and then early on Saturday with a friend who couldn't make it on Friday.  I got a text from a friend who had been out of town so we swam together on Sunday.  Monday was back to swimming with the group, but afterward I decided I needed to lift weights (something I started doing when I couldn't swim) since I had missed it on Saturday.  I followed that with some push ups and sit ups.

Tweak.  Aaagh.  What was that?  That pain in the shoulder came by itself so if I ignored it I figured it would go away by itself.  Maybe swim only three times a week.  Only with fins.  No fly.

Finally I went to the doctor, who ordered x-rays.  They showed a bit of early arthritis, but mainly just wear and tear.  Off to the physical therapist.

I ice my shoulder three times a day for ten minutes.

I have two sets of pulley exercises that I do ten reps of three times a day.

I graduated from the orange to the green band and do three different exercises three times a day.

Yesterday was my third visit and the physical therapist pushed and pulled and tried to get my shoulder to move more.  Oof.  And he assigned one more set of exercises that I am grateful to do only once a day.  I lie face down do three sets of arm lifts in three different positions.  When I am in the letter t position I am in so much pain I cannot even lift my arms!  I have to be in that position for only a few seconds five times.  Whew.

There are some signs of progress, like being able to put on a running bra without tears coming to my eyes.  Will I ever be back to where I was?  I have hope.  In the mean time I go to the pool and kick with my arm at my side with the occasional length of one-armed swimming.  Keep on truckin'!

Little vent

I don't usually complain, but yesterday was too much.

A. is scheduled to start volunteering next week but proof of a negative tb test is required and so I thought I would go online and see when his most recent test was.  Because of HIPPA requirements I can longer see his immunization records.  Annoying, but I understand that it is federal law and I am not about to change that.  I figured he could set up his own account and learn to download his own information, make his own appointments, etc.  Good life skills.  But he is not allowed to have an account because he is too young.  So a whole year in limbo of no one being able to do anything online.

I called to ask about this and was told I could just going into the office.  Yes, I could, but it would certainly be easier if I could download and print it at home.  The person took an official complaint and was talking as she typed, asking if I were unhappy about the fact that I did not have access to his information.  I explained again that I understood HIPPA, but was unhappy that since I did not have access to his information that HE should have access to HIS information.  Oh, he is too young, I was told.  Just go into the office.  Aaagh.

But I did find a copy of his immunizations that I had downloaded for camp and it showed that his last negative test was to enter kindergarten many years ago.  I called to schedule an appointment and since it is a holiday weekend I was told that if it were administered on Friday he would have to go to urgent care on Monday.  I made an appointment for Tuesday, figuring that it was inconvenient but we could make it work.  When A. came home he pointed out that he if went on Tuesday he would be late for his after-school class.  FIne we would go in and get one today, which I had been told we could do without an appointment if we were willing to wait.  Plus urgent care isn't so close to our house but it is close to our friends' house and they just got a puppy.  It would all work out.

So we get there and wait and wait.  After one hour we were seen and the nurse said she had just been informed that she was not allowed to administer the test because the urgent care people didn't want to deal with it.  Any urgent care.  If we had only been seen earlier.  Aaagh.  I asked about several options.  No luck.

An hour lost and no volunteering this week.  I guess if that is worst thing I can handle it.

But isn't there always a silver lining?  Of course.  I hate that they have annoying tv shows on in the waiting room, but they were showing Jeopardy!  Wishing you some joy in your day, too.

Breathe in, breathe out

I am trying to be happy with what I have.  I filled out a post-surgery survey that asked about headaches, dizziness, pain, and ringing in the ear and was grateful to check the not-applicable box.  Things like that help me remember that things are not ideal (and they weren't pre-surgery, either), but they could be a lot worse.

Last month I wrote that I signed up for a 5K, which was great since it was not long ago that I was working my way up to walking around the block.

I had great friends who agreed to run with me and lots of people who supported me in my fundraising efforts.  The weather was not too hot, which was important since I had returned from a week of wet and cold weather.

It was not the most beautiful course, but I was happy to be able to run the whole thing.  I hadn't been doing any track work but I could tell I was working hard based on the way I had to focus on my breathing.  I had set a few goals (finish with a smile, run faster than a 12-minute/mile pace, and a dream goal of running faster than an 11-minute/mile pace) and was pleasantly surprised to complete them all.  Unfortunately, immediately upon seeing my time (10:16/mile pace) I wanted to have run faster.

I guess I still need to work on accepting where I am and being happy with my progress!  Or I could turn that competitive drive into training for the next event.

The Return

six o'clock this morning

This morning I rode my bike to the pool and swam 2350 yards, surpassing my goal of 1000 yards.  The water felt great, but my stroke felt off.  Breathing was the hardest part, harder than flip turns.  The dizziness did force me to focus on the black line instead of looking around at my teammates.  It also encouraged me to sometimes breathe every fifth stroke instead of every third.  I didn't throw up and it did feel better by the end.  Maybe if I have been out for a month then in a month I'll feel back to normal?

Yesterday I started a couch-to-5K program, which I have used when recovering from an injury and when preparing R. for her phys. ed. test.  The very first minute of running was awkward, but after that it felt great.  The amazing thing was that I felt very clear-headed afterward, maybe the best I had felt in ages.  Here's hoping it lasts!

Big Step

I can ride a bike!  All the things I couldn't do last time I can do now.  I can take my hand off the handlebar and signal.  I can turn my head and look at traffic without being overcome by a wave of dizziness.  Freedom!  Joy!

Therapeutic gardening

I am tired of the doing the Cawthorne head exercises and am looking for new ways to teach my body to adjust to changes in the vestibular nerve system.  One suggestion was to change from sitting to standing and turning around in between.  That was an effective way to make me dizzy.  Another suggestion was to look around a lot while walking, which I also tried.  It felt like good practice for riding a bike.  Any movement that involves stooping, stretching, and aiming, like bowling and basketball, would be good.

 I decided weeding would be a good activity.

Most of the weeds were the type in the middle, but there was a little variety.

Just as the rain is good for the weeds, it is also good for the garden.

I don't know if that was enough stooping and stretching, but it was good to be outside, the yard looks better, and I was happy to chat with some neighbors.

Whew!

Being elected to a committee is not always an honor if it meets monthly at 6:30 a.m., but I like being volunteering with students, other parents, teachers, and administrators.  I decided I was healthy enough to attend and got a ride with a friend.  My vision was bothering me a bit, but I was still glad I had gone since we got to try out the iPads, which the students will use for the common core testing.  (Aargh - testing!  A great topic for a post since it is still in the news, like today's NY Times article about the current administration's support.  Not nearly as fun as listening to Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.)

I wanted to walk home, which is only 0.7 miles away.  No problem!  No problem until I tried to run to make the light and realized that was a bad idea.  I waited.  It didn't make me dizzy, but I felt like things were shaking around too much.

I had breakfast, did my exercises (getting easier, even tossing the beanbag under one leg), and started the laundry.  I decided I was energetic enough to visit three grocery stores (and still did not find everything I wanted) and Target, although I cut my list short.  I often hear the cashiers at Trader Joe's ask if someone wants help to the car and today I asked for help.  Good idea.

I got everything home and used the wagon to get things from the garage to the house (30 steps) and to get the laundry from the house to the line.  Another good idea.  After putting things away and hanging up the laundry I decided I was done!  Whew.

Not really since I had to take down the laundry and attend a meeting at 6pm, but those were small things, especially with the kids home and able to bring in the laundry.

It is hard to find a balance between sitting and doing nothing and doing too much.  I figure the way to find the middle ground may involve overshooting sometimes.  I'll try a different schedule tomorrow.

Not much

It is hard to find blogging material when one is at home most of the day.  I could tell you about watching Hoosiers, which was so-so, reading Keith Knight's book (The Complete K Chronicles), or cleaning the mail bowl (no surprises).  I am doing my exercises and taking my medications.  Not so interesting.

Two new things have happened.  I drove both yesterday and today and it was fine.  I haven't tried the freeway yet, but I think I could.  I wouldn't go in the fastest lanes but I could go with the flow and change lanes.

July 2014

I was able to go for a longer walk and today I spent 30+ minutes on the stationary bike.  I am not supposed to do any lifting or anything strenuous so I just gently pedaled as if cycling along the South Hill Rec Way in Ithaca, minus the beauty.

I still have fuzzy times and my eyes are still adapting to the different drops, but there is hope!

Post-op appointment

 I had my staples removed today and they didn't let me keep even one for my baby book.  

It didn't hurt at all.

It doesn't look quite like a shark bite. 

I had been quite excited that even though I had lost my hearing I did have my facial nerve preserved.  On Sunday my lip started to feel funny.  I blew lopsided bubbles and using a spoon made me feel like I was drooling.

Then I woke up at about four this morning and it felt like my eyelid was swollen and I couldn't quite close it.  I didn't panic because I knew I was seeing the doctor today.  They weren't impressed since I still had significant movement and the face was not completely frozen.  They put me on some steroids (and recommended something for an upset stomach, which is a common side effect) and some drops for my eyes (every hour for the liquid kind and a sort of lotion for overnight).  Whew!  They said it should get better in a couple weeks and if not then it will most likely be back to normal within a year.  Whew again!

I was also assigned a series of exercises called Crawthorne Head Exercises.  They will make me dizzy initially, but the goal is to improve my balance.  I especially like the one about throwing a ball from hand to hand under one knee.  I wonder if I could have done that pre-op!

Exercises are to be repeated twice a day increasing to 30 minutes. 

Eye Exercises: Looking up, then down, at first slowly, then quickly 20 times. Focus on one finger at arm's length, moving finger one foot closer and back again 20 times.
Head Exercises: Bend head forward then backward with the eyes open - slowly, later quickly, 20 times. Turn head from one side to the other side - slowly, then quickly 20 times. As dizziness decreases, these exercises should be done with the eyes closed.
Sitting: While sitting, shrug shoulders 20 times. Turn shoulders to the right, then to the left 20 times. Bend forward and pick up an object from the ground and sit up 20 times.
Standing: Change from sitting to standing and back again 20 times with they eyes open. Repeat with the eyes closed. Throw a small ball from hand to hand above eye level. Throw a ball from hand to hand under one knee.
Moving About: Walk across the room with the eyes open, then closed 10 times. Walk up and down a slope with eyes open. Any game involving stooping or turning is good.

The good news today was the pathology report came back clean, meaning the tumor was not malignant!