I have to make a list of all the medications (only 1!), vitamins, minerals, herbs and supplements that I take. This is to bring into the colonoscopy appointment on Tuesday. Diane, from Dr. Rowberry's office, called to remind me of the appointment and ask if I had any questions. She said that if I'm taking any unusual supplements like Chinese herbals, etc., to bring in a list because sometimes medications, herbs, etc., can cause changes in the colon. Just to cover all bases, I'm listing everything and let them figure it out. I'm typing the list on the computer and then I can also print out a copy for my yearly physical. Pain in the butt but once it's typed up, I can easily make revisions and it's easier than handwriting it each time a doctor wants a list of what I take!
I returned the Aircast XP Pneumatic to Dr. Miller's office. I told them that in the short time I wore it in the house, it was starting to hurt my knees and I felt that the large or extra large one wouldn't be any improvement for my knees. I asked if they had the Aircast SP Walker which is the short pneumatic. They didn't.
Joseph is not so bad after all. He called Carrie Tingley to see if the had the short pneumatic and they didn't either so he took the XP off my health insurance and gave me an order for the short pneumatic boot from Hanger nearby. We went over to Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics and they couldn't take a walk-in until the afternoon. They called their Santa Fe location and made an 3pm appointment for me in Santa Fe. Then I got to thinking that I'll wait to get any boot until I see the physical therapist so I cancelled the appointment, calling them on spouse's cell phone.
Walked downtown this evening. Asphalt and pavement is not the most comfortable for my foot but it was a real thrill to be out walking under the stars and the half moon and listening to the BeeGees greatest hits on my Walkman. I talked spouse into walking a mile with me. It was too beautiful a night for him to stay indoors, laying on the couch, watching political pundits.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Pleasant Stroll Up Los Alamos Canyon
I probably didn't get started until sometime after 2:30pm. I parked on the Reservoir Road entrance, just off West Road. I didn't see a single soul. There was some thin ice in some of the streamlets flowing on the Reservoir Road.
As I walked up-canyon, I kept wondering about the Cerro Grande fire behavior. The north facing side had obviously been badly burnt and was now a cascade of golden grass. There was a swath of unburnt conifers in the canyon proper that had not burnt probably because they were full of moisture. On the south facing side of the canyon, it reminds me in places of the west facing slopes of Valle Canyon. It has lots of bare stone cliff bulwarks that are unbelievably towering. I can see in places that the trees burnt but in others, live trees still march uphill.
The Reservoir itself looks like as much a wreck as ever. I went just to the western end of the dry gulch that was once the verdant Los Alamos Reservoir.
Think I'd like to do middle Los Alamos Canyon starting from NM-501 as an out and back since I already did the paved part from the ice rink to past the decommissioned Omega Reactor.
My foot behaved wonderfully again. I wonder if my stopping the supplemental Vitamin D, except 1 teaspoon a day of 400IU Vitamin D from Carlson Cod Liver Oil, has anything to do with my miraculous recovery?
I tried out the Vasque Synergist midcut hiking boot today. It's very basic - rubber not Vibram sole and no Gore-Tex lining. That makes it lighter and less likely to aggravate my right foot. On the REI reviews of this shoe, people talked about how it doesn't have much cushioning from rocks underfoot and I can testify to that. It didn't really hurt my foot but it's certainly not as comfortable as the Brooks Adrenaline GTS-8. I'll evaluate it some more in the next weeks.
Have an appointment next week to be evaluated for physical therapy in town. Still waiting to hear from orthotics guy in Albuquerque. Feel kind of stupid going to Albuquerque tomorrow to exchange the wrong size Aircast since I've made a miraculous recovery. I'll ask them about returning it and taking it off my health insurance.
As I walked up-canyon, I kept wondering about the Cerro Grande fire behavior. The north facing side had obviously been badly burnt and was now a cascade of golden grass. There was a swath of unburnt conifers in the canyon proper that had not burnt probably because they were full of moisture. On the south facing side of the canyon, it reminds me in places of the west facing slopes of Valle Canyon. It has lots of bare stone cliff bulwarks that are unbelievably towering. I can see in places that the trees burnt but in others, live trees still march uphill.
The Reservoir itself looks like as much a wreck as ever. I went just to the western end of the dry gulch that was once the verdant Los Alamos Reservoir.
Think I'd like to do middle Los Alamos Canyon starting from NM-501 as an out and back since I already did the paved part from the ice rink to past the decommissioned Omega Reactor.
My foot behaved wonderfully again. I wonder if my stopping the supplemental Vitamin D, except 1 teaspoon a day of 400IU Vitamin D from Carlson Cod Liver Oil, has anything to do with my miraculous recovery?
I tried out the Vasque Synergist midcut hiking boot today. It's very basic - rubber not Vibram sole and no Gore-Tex lining. That makes it lighter and less likely to aggravate my right foot. On the REI reviews of this shoe, people talked about how it doesn't have much cushioning from rocks underfoot and I can testify to that. It didn't really hurt my foot but it's certainly not as comfortable as the Brooks Adrenaline GTS-8. I'll evaluate it some more in the next weeks.
Have an appointment next week to be evaluated for physical therapy in town. Still waiting to hear from orthotics guy in Albuquerque. Feel kind of stupid going to Albuquerque tomorrow to exchange the wrong size Aircast since I've made a miraculous recovery. I'll ask them about returning it and taking it off my health insurance.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Vivifying Walk
I walked down Los Alamos Canyon about 4 miles RT, starting from the ice skating rink. The fall colors of red and yellow of the different shrubs and forbs were beautiful. I saw where Deadman's Trail comes down from Los Alamos Mesa and considered going up it on the way back but I had enough to do with walking uphill into the wind on the way back. I could see snow blowing around over Pajarito - bet it snows tonight. I saw a lab worker at the locked gate into Los Alamos Canyon and he said it snowed 3" last night in Gallina.
Every time I walk middle Los Alamos Canyon, I get the urge to walk it all the way to NM501. After you get past the decommissioned Omega Reactor and the paved road, the canyon is more natural. The cliffs on the north side of the canyon are astoundingly high!
Amazingly, my right foot did beautifully. I had two separate quick twinges of pain but it was like a miracle otherwise. I wore the Brooks Adrenaline GTS-8 (not a winter shoe with all the mesh) and a pair of orange Stupidfeet that I bought yesterday at REI. The box for the orange Superfeet says that it's for medium to high arched feet and has extra shock absorption in the forefoot. My feet are like pancakes, with a slight arch so I fail to see why these insoles worked so well for me. I normally use the green Superfeet. I wonder if it's the extra shock absorption in the forefoot which allowed me to move my toes more normally in my gait stride? Dunno but I hope the miracle reproduces itself tomorrow!
Every time I walk middle Los Alamos Canyon, I get the urge to walk it all the way to NM501. After you get past the decommissioned Omega Reactor and the paved road, the canyon is more natural. The cliffs on the north side of the canyon are astoundingly high!
Amazingly, my right foot did beautifully. I had two separate quick twinges of pain but it was like a miracle otherwise. I wore the Brooks Adrenaline GTS-8 (not a winter shoe with all the mesh) and a pair of orange Stupidfeet that I bought yesterday at REI. The box for the orange Superfeet says that it's for medium to high arched feet and has extra shock absorption in the forefoot. My feet are like pancakes, with a slight arch so I fail to see why these insoles worked so well for me. I normally use the green Superfeet. I wonder if it's the extra shock absorption in the forefoot which allowed me to move my toes more normally in my gait stride? Dunno but I hope the miracle reproduces itself tomorrow!
K-2 Article
I read an article yesterday about this year's climbing disaster on K-2, from Men's Journal magazine. One of the climbers who survived, Wilco Van Rooijen, a Dutch climber, walked away from his two partners after they had summited K-2 very late in the day and had been forced to bivouac at 27,000' overnight. In the morning, there was some confusion amongst the 3 climbers as to the way down and where the ropes were. Van Rooijen, who was badly dehydrated, said to his partners that he didn't want to discuss anything anymore and started down by himself. He got lost on the way down which, in a way, saved his life because it kept him out of the Bottleneck where people were getting killed by falling ice and being tangled up in shoddy ropes and left to dangle and die.
It disturbs me, though, that Van Rooijen abandoned his teammates. Just " See you later - I gotta go save my own butt!" One of his teammates, the first Irishman to summit K-2, Gerard McDonnell, was killed by ice fall on the way down. Since Van Rooijen had such an obviously well developed sense of self-survival, could he perhaps have somehow altered circumstances and prevented McDonnell's death if he had stuck with his teammates? The third teammate, Marco Confortola, an Italian, stuck with McDonnell on the way down.
It's true that I'm engaging in armchair mountain climbing and I don't know what I would have done in the same circumstances. The article has a photo of Van Rooijen, his frostbitten feet still healing from K-2, dandling his 9 month old son on his lap. He had a lot to live for but so did his teammate, McDonnell.
It disturbs me, though, that Van Rooijen abandoned his teammates. Just " See you later - I gotta go save my own butt!" One of his teammates, the first Irishman to summit K-2, Gerard McDonnell, was killed by ice fall on the way down. Since Van Rooijen had such an obviously well developed sense of self-survival, could he perhaps have somehow altered circumstances and prevented McDonnell's death if he had stuck with his teammates? The third teammate, Marco Confortola, an Italian, stuck with McDonnell on the way down.
It's true that I'm engaging in armchair mountain climbing and I don't know what I would have done in the same circumstances. The article has a photo of Van Rooijen, his frostbitten feet still healing from K-2, dandling his 9 month old son on his lap. He had a lot to live for but so did his teammate, McDonnell.
Don't Know About Continued Swimming
As the weather gets colder, I get less and less interested in jumping into an icy cold pool (temps kept in the LOW 80's - brrrr). I did figure out, though, that rinsing in a cool shower afterwards helps to stop the itching from the chlorine but that's a further brrrr! I just don't know if I want to continue with water aerobics.
Thoughts on yesterday's appointment with Dr. Miller: He was very busy and I was the last patient before his lunch and only saw him after waiting one hour beyond my appointment time (had a 10:30am appointment and saw him at 11:30am).
Also, when I did see Dr. Miller, he seemed "half there", probably as a result of exhaustion and hunger after seeing patients, one after another all morning. I told him several things about how my foot was doing and then, in the course of the visit, he asked me several questions that I had already told him, like where was the pain in the morning. I feel rather low on their list of priorities.
I checked the Aircast website and there are braces that would be more specifically appropriate for my condition, posterior tibial tendinitis and plantar fasciitis (both these terms are currently outmoded as the process in the tendon and the fascia has been proven to be more a degenerative one than inflammatory). I'll ask his office Friday if they have those braces. If they don't, I may reconsider the Aircast as it began to hurt my knee in the short time I wore it in the house yesterday (I'm not wearing it now per their instructions so they can re-use it.) I'm going to call Aircast, they have good customer service - that's how I found out Dr. Miller's office gave me the wrong size - and ask them about the knee pain.
I just now called Aircast about the knee pain. They said be sure to use normal gait when wearing the Aircast and that I'll be able to more easily use normal gait when I have the correctly sized one. She concurred with the doctor that the immobilization provided by the under the knee Aircast would be helpful for the posterior tibial tendon problem since my pain extends above my ankle. They have the best customer service!
Dr. Miller's office has a semi-ogre named Joseph. He looked annoyed because I dared to question them about how I could get my medical records. I can't get them directly from their office by signing a release and, in fact, can't even sign a release for their office to send to medical records so medical records can send me the records. I have to either take a shuttle to medical records or write them a letter (I'll choose that method) asking them to send me the records. I understand the system now and won't annoy him in the future. Then, when Joseph was giving me the physical therapy referral, he gave me this haughty, fake "I'm sorry!" when I asked about the fact the referral read Santa Fe and I may want to see someone in Los Alamos. I reassured him that I had merely misunderstood the form and thought that I was constrained to see someone in Santa Fe. I need to call some physical therapists to see who treats plantar fasciitis and posterior tibial tendinitis.
Thoughts on yesterday's appointment with Dr. Miller: He was very busy and I was the last patient before his lunch and only saw him after waiting one hour beyond my appointment time (had a 10:30am appointment and saw him at 11:30am).
Also, when I did see Dr. Miller, he seemed "half there", probably as a result of exhaustion and hunger after seeing patients, one after another all morning. I told him several things about how my foot was doing and then, in the course of the visit, he asked me several questions that I had already told him, like where was the pain in the morning. I feel rather low on their list of priorities.
I checked the Aircast website and there are braces that would be more specifically appropriate for my condition, posterior tibial tendinitis and plantar fasciitis (both these terms are currently outmoded as the process in the tendon and the fascia has been proven to be more a degenerative one than inflammatory). I'll ask his office Friday if they have those braces. If they don't, I may reconsider the Aircast as it began to hurt my knee in the short time I wore it in the house yesterday (I'm not wearing it now per their instructions so they can re-use it.) I'm going to call Aircast, they have good customer service - that's how I found out Dr. Miller's office gave me the wrong size - and ask them about the knee pain.
I just now called Aircast about the knee pain. They said be sure to use normal gait when wearing the Aircast and that I'll be able to more easily use normal gait when I have the correctly sized one. She concurred with the doctor that the immobilization provided by the under the knee Aircast would be helpful for the posterior tibial tendon problem since my pain extends above my ankle. They have the best customer service!
Dr. Miller's office has a semi-ogre named Joseph. He looked annoyed because I dared to question them about how I could get my medical records. I can't get them directly from their office by signing a release and, in fact, can't even sign a release for their office to send to medical records so medical records can send me the records. I have to either take a shuttle to medical records or write them a letter (I'll choose that method) asking them to send me the records. I understand the system now and won't annoy him in the future. Then, when Joseph was giving me the physical therapy referral, he gave me this haughty, fake "I'm sorry!" when I asked about the fact the referral read Santa Fe and I may want to see someone in Los Alamos. I reassured him that I had merely misunderstood the form and thought that I was constrained to see someone in Santa Fe. I need to call some physical therapists to see who treats plantar fasciitis and posterior tibial tendinitis.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Trip to Dr. Miller
Got up at 5:30am. Always have to tell myself when I have to get up early that no matter how little sleep I get, I will be OK and it will be enough. That helps me to get to sleep.
Dr. Miller gave me an Aircast boot to wear to relieve the foot pain. He said I could wear it as needed. Only one problem - the technician gave me the wrong size and my toes hang over the edge and hit the ground when I walk. I have to exchange it this Friday. Spouse has graciously agreed to go down with me.
Dr. Miller recommended Albuquerque physical therapist to make the orthotics. I said I wanted someone who could make orthotics for an active person. Even though he's a physical therapist, he makes orthotics on the side. Jemez Physical Therapy also recommended him. Dr. Miller also gave me a referral for 8 physical therapy visits. He could see that I still have some mild swelling in my ankle area. I have to figure out who to go to.
Not going to 5:30pm shallow water aerobics class anymore. Pool and unisex locker room are way too busy. Besides, I feel so much colder that time of day (it's dark now with the time change) and it coincides with dinner time. I did enjoy the teacher and the music. I'll go back to the noon water aerobics class.
Dr. Miller gave me an Aircast boot to wear to relieve the foot pain. He said I could wear it as needed. Only one problem - the technician gave me the wrong size and my toes hang over the edge and hit the ground when I walk. I have to exchange it this Friday. Spouse has graciously agreed to go down with me.
Dr. Miller recommended Albuquerque physical therapist to make the orthotics. I said I wanted someone who could make orthotics for an active person. Even though he's a physical therapist, he makes orthotics on the side. Jemez Physical Therapy also recommended him. Dr. Miller also gave me a referral for 8 physical therapy visits. He could see that I still have some mild swelling in my ankle area. I have to figure out who to go to.
Not going to 5:30pm shallow water aerobics class anymore. Pool and unisex locker room are way too busy. Besides, I feel so much colder that time of day (it's dark now with the time change) and it coincides with dinner time. I did enjoy the teacher and the music. I'll go back to the noon water aerobics class.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Last Gasp Autumn
I drove up Camp May Road and parked at Shotgun Shell because I wanted to take photos of some beautiful baby aspens that grow in a drainage there. Imagine my surprise to see a parked car and a middle-aged man in a white dress shirt sitting on a rock nearby and looking at pieces of white paper. I heard his car leave while I was in the drainage taking 21 photos of the aspens that were still in yellow, having their last gasp of autumn colors. I had planned to say hello when I was done taking photos. He had studiously ignored me as I walked toward the drainage. I wanted to tell him that he had picked a beautiful spot to park.
It looks like a system is coming in today because this morning, our turquoise blue skies looked milky blue like they do back east in Ohio and Pennsylvania and small, dark bottomed clouds were forming. This afternoon, we're all socked in with high clouds.
I drove to White Rock this afternoon and, on the way there around 1:30pm, I'm sure I saw a ghost going by...but, then again, today is Halloween so maybe it was just someone in costume! : )
I bought a pair of very long, fiberglass, canary yellow ski poles at the Jemez House Thrift Shop for $2. The lady at first wondered if she was supposed to charge me $15 because the poles still had their tag from the recent ski swap held in town. I'll use the poles for my balance practice on the Fitter wobble board. It gives me confidence to know that I can catch myself if I start to tumble off. It's also good to practice closed-eyes balance.
Saw my neighbor Irma at the thrift shop and talked with her for a while. She recommends glucosamine and chondroitin for my foot problem. I'm afraid to take it, though, because I know a woman in the Wednesday hiking group that took it but ended up having 2 knee operations anyway. Irma also suggested apple cider vinegar and increasing my brewer's yeast. She says she takes a zillion supplements. I don't know her age but she looks good. She was carrying her little dog, Chippie. He had an operation this week but is doing well.
I walked about 2 miles RT on the lower Water Canyon Trail. My right foot felt good enough on the way out, which is slightly downhill. On the way back, as I got within about 1/2 mile from the trailhead, I had to be very careful not to walk too fast or else it would have caused pain. I'm icing my foot now.
It looks like a system is coming in today because this morning, our turquoise blue skies looked milky blue like they do back east in Ohio and Pennsylvania and small, dark bottomed clouds were forming. This afternoon, we're all socked in with high clouds.
I drove to White Rock this afternoon and, on the way there around 1:30pm, I'm sure I saw a ghost going by...but, then again, today is Halloween so maybe it was just someone in costume! : )
I bought a pair of very long, fiberglass, canary yellow ski poles at the Jemez House Thrift Shop for $2. The lady at first wondered if she was supposed to charge me $15 because the poles still had their tag from the recent ski swap held in town. I'll use the poles for my balance practice on the Fitter wobble board. It gives me confidence to know that I can catch myself if I start to tumble off. It's also good to practice closed-eyes balance.
Saw my neighbor Irma at the thrift shop and talked with her for a while. She recommends glucosamine and chondroitin for my foot problem. I'm afraid to take it, though, because I know a woman in the Wednesday hiking group that took it but ended up having 2 knee operations anyway. Irma also suggested apple cider vinegar and increasing my brewer's yeast. She says she takes a zillion supplements. I don't know her age but she looks good. She was carrying her little dog, Chippie. He had an operation this week but is doing well.
I walked about 2 miles RT on the lower Water Canyon Trail. My right foot felt good enough on the way out, which is slightly downhill. On the way back, as I got within about 1/2 mile from the trailhead, I had to be very careful not to walk too fast or else it would have caused pain. I'm icing my foot now.
Monday, October 27, 2008
I Wasn't Fair
I wrongly doubted the intentions of the staff at Dr. Sauer's office. They called me back this afternoon and said that Dr. Sauer looked at the cd of my right foot x-ray and it was fine. I explained to them that I had just been concerned to make sure they got the cd after going to the effort of faxing a request for it. I thanked his office for calling me back. Anyway, all's well that ends well!
Self-Frazzled
The noon water aerobics had a substitute instructor. He was nice and tried hard but I didn't get as good a workout as from Stephanie. As one part of the workout, he had us do a very repetitive routine with dumbbells. That was good but the rest of the routine intense enough. In part, this is because there were so many people in the class that it's hard to maneuver around them. The other part is that he didn't include any intervals (but nobody's perfect)! It was nice of him to substitute for Stephanie.
Afterwards, I went to the shallow end and water walked 1/2 mile or 18 laps, across the short length of the pool. I think my style needs work as it was hard on my hips because I used too long a stride length and jutted my butt out. That took about 35 minutes. The idea of the water walking is to get my feet ready to exercise walk on land again.
Tomorrow I have an eye exam so I'll just do an exercise dvd in the morning before the appointment. Wednesday, I'll do the shallow water workout in the evening. Thursday and Friday, I'll be back to the noon class and hopefully Stephanie will be back.
I'm not at all sure about getting orthotics from Dr. Sauer's office. This afternoon, I had called the UNM Clinics Film Library to ask if the cd of my right foot x-ray had ever been sent to Dr. Sauer and was told it had been sent on October 16. I then called Dr. Sauer's office and they had no record of receiving it so I called the Film Library again and he tracked the package, giving me all the details regarding the delivery, including who in Dr. Sauer's office signed for it.
When I called Dr. Sauer's office back, suddenly they admitted they had received the x-ray but it was still in the envelope as Dr. Sauer hadn't had time to look at it yet. That wasn't why I was calling, just to check-up on if he looked at it, but what I was trying to do was to follow-up that they had actually received it since the last time I saw Dr. Sauer, they hadn't. This incident gives me a bad feeling like I've done something wrong and I get the distinct feeling that his office staff just considers me a bother. I feel like they told me they hadn't received it when they knew they did because they were afraid that I was going to ask if he had looked at it yet.
Afterwards, I went to the shallow end and water walked 1/2 mile or 18 laps, across the short length of the pool. I think my style needs work as it was hard on my hips because I used too long a stride length and jutted my butt out. That took about 35 minutes. The idea of the water walking is to get my feet ready to exercise walk on land again.
Tomorrow I have an eye exam so I'll just do an exercise dvd in the morning before the appointment. Wednesday, I'll do the shallow water workout in the evening. Thursday and Friday, I'll be back to the noon class and hopefully Stephanie will be back.
I'm not at all sure about getting orthotics from Dr. Sauer's office. This afternoon, I had called the UNM Clinics Film Library to ask if the cd of my right foot x-ray had ever been sent to Dr. Sauer and was told it had been sent on October 16. I then called Dr. Sauer's office and they had no record of receiving it so I called the Film Library again and he tracked the package, giving me all the details regarding the delivery, including who in Dr. Sauer's office signed for it.
When I called Dr. Sauer's office back, suddenly they admitted they had received the x-ray but it was still in the envelope as Dr. Sauer hadn't had time to look at it yet. That wasn't why I was calling, just to check-up on if he looked at it, but what I was trying to do was to follow-up that they had actually received it since the last time I saw Dr. Sauer, they hadn't. This incident gives me a bad feeling like I've done something wrong and I get the distinct feeling that his office staff just considers me a bother. I feel like they told me they hadn't received it when they knew they did because they were afraid that I was going to ask if he had looked at it yet.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
More Hopeful Today
Tonight I walked part way toward the Los Alamos Airport and back - almost one mile per the step counter but probably really did walk a whole mile all together if I count the walking up and down the block while monitoring the water hose that was running full blast under the spruce tree - watered the street anyway!
It would be good if, before the appointment with Dr. Miller next week, I could walk a full 2 miles. Six weeks ago, I could walk about 2 miles before the foot pain would begin.
I'm not entirely pain free and can't really give all this rehabilitation effort a fair evaluation until I can try a longer walk. Will work up to it by next Tuesday.
Daughter and son in law enjoyed trip to Durango, Colorado. Apparently it's a very liberal town and much support of Obama was in evidence during McCain's visit on Friday! Spouse joked that with all we've lost in the stock market crash, we could have bought a condo at Durango Mountain Resort!
It would be good if, before the appointment with Dr. Miller next week, I could walk a full 2 miles. Six weeks ago, I could walk about 2 miles before the foot pain would begin.
I'm not entirely pain free and can't really give all this rehabilitation effort a fair evaluation until I can try a longer walk. Will work up to it by next Tuesday.
Daughter and son in law enjoyed trip to Durango, Colorado. Apparently it's a very liberal town and much support of Obama was in evidence during McCain's visit on Friday! Spouse joked that with all we've lost in the stock market crash, we could have bought a condo at Durango Mountain Resort!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)