Category Archives: Health

Health, Third Phase

Joints. No, Not That Kind.

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Mabon                                                                             Elk Rut Moon

As cancer season faded out in late September, so joint season took over in early October. Kate’s surgery for her painful thumb took place yesterday. Tom Crane had the same surgery last year. It’s a well practiced procedure with consistent results, after the swelling goes down and the three months of swaddling the hand is over. There are many things to learn how to do right handed: tie your shoes (not), hold a stair railing going up, take a shower without getting the bandage wet, dress yourself. And many more.

She also got a platelet injection in her right thumb, the one that has rheumatoid arthritis. This is a non-covered procedure that improves joint function in some people. The physician takes your own blood, puts in a centrifuge, separates out the platelets, then injects those platelets into the base of the thumb. My physical therapist’s mother got three years of back pain relief from platelets.

While Kate figures out how to engage life with one hand, the physical therapist has me doing an increasingly long series of exercises to exorcise (ooohh, exercises to exorcise) the referred pain from my arthritic cervical vertebrae. I like p.t. because it’s non-invasive and has worked well for me each time I’ve done it.

Here on Shadow Mountain we’re all about joints in October.

Aging, Family, Health

Surgery. Done Right.

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Mabon                                                                        Elk Rut Moon

The waning crescent Elk Rut moon stood off in the east this morning with Jupiter just above. Beautiful.

Kate had her thumb surgery and platelet injection, left and right respectively. The surgery went well according to the surgeon Janet Leo. Kate’s resting and preparing for her first night post-op. I’m headed to the grocery store to pick up pain meds and few supplies for the weekend.

Friends, Health, Woolly Mammoths

Arms Joined Hand to Elbow

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Mabon                                                                     Elk Rut Moon

In my cancer season I had significant conversations with Bill Schmidt (at the International Wolf Center) and Mark Odegard (at Camp Du Nord and by e-mail) and Charlie Haislet (Camp Du Nord). Each in their own way helped me place my cancer in perspective. Mark’s own experience with prostate cancer gave me the most practical help, what to expect from the surgery and its aftermath. Bill and I talked, as we often do, about matters cosmological and philosophical, putting cancer itself in the broader context of life as a terminal disease. Charlie recounted his knowledge of patient’s husbands and fellow docs, emphasizing as he did the effectiveness of current treatments.

This is the Woolly way.  All three of these conversations occurred while we were on retreat at the YMCA’s northern Minnesota Camp Du Nord. These conversations happened on the ancientrail of friendship, the strongest bond among humans outside the bounds of family.

At this remove from cancer season, which ended for now on September 25th, I can see the web of support that carried me on its strong threads. Though we are existentially and finally alone, we are also alone together. My image of the web is of arms joined hand to elbow in a network mesh, a bouncy but tough net, warm in its embrace and durable.

This goes by way of saying thank you. More gratitude.

 

Health, Weather +Climate

More Physical Therapy

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Mabon                                                                        Elk Rut Moon

The waning of the golden aspen leaves has begun. The weather has become wetter and gloomier, all presaging the onset of late fall. This is the first month of the snow season here and elevations above 10,000 feet are already seeing regular snow though not a lot. Nothing in the immediate forecast for Shadow, Black and Conifer mountains, our rocky neighborhood.

Had a second physical therapy appointment today. This is a very different approach than my last round two years ago. Dana has focused on postural, neck and spine issues rather than muscle strengthening around my shoulder. She mobilized my spine, dug her fingers in at my neck and around my left scapula and gave me two more exercises. That brings me up to five right now: neck tucks, shoulder blade dips, setting my head at neutral, now looking toward my pocket after turning left and right and a modified yoga stretch while lying on my side and extending my arms, together, as far as they will go away from my body horizontally.

Oddly, Dana did not demonstrate the latter exercise, which she said she would normally do. Why? She broke a rib last Thursday during a particularly delicate adjustment on a patient. I don’t think of P.T. as a dangerous occupation.

 

Aging, Health, Jefferson County, Shadow Mountain, Third Phase, Weather +Climate

Uh-oh. Gotta close the windows.

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Mabon                                                                     Elk Rut Moon

Started physical therapy for my arthritis, scoliosis, muscle tightness on Thursday. Dana, my therapist, is a very sharp woman, maybe early 40’s. She has me tucking my chin into my chest, folding my shoulder blades up, then down and paying attention to the tilt of my head in a mirror. The muscle relaxant I’ve been given is peculiar. It has a sedative effect and knocks me out when I take it. But, each night at 1:15-1:19, it wears off and I wake up. It’s half life goes on a bit longer so I get back to sleep pretty well.

Tonight though, it’s 2:00 a.m. right now, I woke up at 1:15 and noticed a flash of light. Then some thunder. Then the sound of rain drops. Ooops. I’d forgotten to shut the windows in the loft. No. I shut them. No. I didn’t. It’ll be ok. It won’t rain much. You don’t know that. Oh, alright. So up I came. Sure enough the windows were open. Not raining much, but hard to predict.

Kate and I went into Conifer last night for appetizers and every restaurant we tried had 25-30 minute wait times. Unusual. Tourists out for something. People drive away from their homes, even come to stay for a few days, to get to the place where Kate and I live. Sorta neat. Except when the restaurant wait times are 25-30 minutes. We turned around, drove past our house and on down Black Mountain Drive to Brook Forest Inn. Good choice. This old lodge is between Evergreen and Conifer, just like we are, out of the way for tourist traffic unless you’re staying there.

And, the food is good. It’s the local joint closest to our house. We’re semi-regulars there now and are beginning to get to know people. We may go over there on Sunday for the Vikings-Broncos game. Cutting cable means no local channels, so no football.

 

Aging, Health, Third Phase

Can I Hear You Now?

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Mabon                                                                                   Elk Rut Moon

More testing of the new hearing aid. We went out last night to Brook Forest Inn, the closest eating place to our house, about 2 miles toward Evergreen on Black Mountain Drive. TV’s were on and people chattered in the background. Doors opened and closed. After prompting by Kate I sat with my left ear to her and my right (good) ear to the noise.

She asked me how I was doing. I said, “Well, you can probably tell better than I can.” She had not had to repeat herself, even sitting on my left, to my deaf ear.

The technology, whatever it is, is pretty amazing. It seems to fade into the background, just doing its job helping me hear. OK. I just looked up the noise filtering tech and my eyes crossed. Whatever it is, it works pretty well in the environments where I’ve tried it so far.

A minor revelation, along the lines of seeing stars clearly with new glasses, is the clacking of my computer keyboard and the mouse. Too, eating is particularly noisy. All that chewing sound that comes with vegetables. Who knew? Well, everybody but me, apparently. The last and oddest revelation is the different version of my voice. A gravely, low pitched sound comes to me when I start talking. Weird.

I have not yet tried the new tech on the grandkids. Their voices are very difficult for me to hear and I’m hoping that will improve.

Final thought. Many people, when considering the question, say they would be lost without their sight. Can’t imagine it. But, those of us with hearing loss, especially profound deafness as I have in my left ear, know that hearing is the relationship sense. It’s how feelings, wishes, desires, the subtle cues of how we’re getting along with others transit from one singularity to another. Imagine life without being able to hear I love you. Imagine being unable to hold a nuanced conversation about some matter of intimate importance. Or, a nuanced conversation of any sort.

Even with sign language, in which a nuanced conversation  is possible, the number of people with whom you can hold one is severely limited. Not many people know sign.

I can’t imagine life without sight either, but I know that life without sound would be devastating.

 

Art and Culture, Health, Our Land and Home

Things Going On

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Mabon                                                                    Elk Rut Moon

Unboxed most of my art yesterday. So good to see the prints, paintings, maps and photographs again. Most have been boxed since about a year ago this time. That’s a long to time to go without seeing old friends. I’ve never been sure of the role art plays in my life, just that it’s a big one.

Over the next week or two we’ll get the garage in shape, moving the last things up into storage spots, making work tables, starting up the freezer. When that’s done, shelving from up here in the loft, no longer needed thanks to the wonderful shelving Jon has put up will have a second, really third, life. I’ll move many of the bankers boxes remaining up here down into the garage.

When they’re down and the wire shelving is up for the ones that will stay, the work up here will be close to done. Jon’s making a top for the art cart and walnut shelving for the lower units, the pull-up bar needs to get hung and I believe I need to put a thick rubber mat under the treadmill. Too much bounce when I hit the 10 second, fast as I can run mark in my workout.

Kate’s thumb surgery is Friday. That means a change in the cooking, grocery shopping detail. One I’m looking forward to. In true third phase fashion we’ll swap caretaking chores. Oddly, my recovery from prostate surgery will have been faster, by a lot, than her thumb procedure. It’s been a medical year so far.

 

Health

Returning to Ordinary Time?

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Mabon                                                                     Elk Rut Moon

Today may be the end of cancer season, at least for a while, if not permanently. I have my ultra-sensitive PSA back and it came in at .015. The standard after a prostatectomy is .2 PSA antigens to declare a patient cancer free. At my appointment today, the last scheduled one after the July 8th surgery, we’ll discuss this finding and any further steps.

There are still sequelae. I’m not done with returning my continence to normal. I mention this not to make you squeamish dear reader, but as a service to anyone reading this as they consider their options for prostate cancer. I’m mostly ok, but stress incontinence is still an issue.

Cancer season, if this is the day I’m declared cancer free, will have run from April 14th to September 25. Six and a half months. Still feels brief, almost unreal. Definitely surreal. The Roman Catholic liturgical calendar refers to the bulk of the year, that not occupied with religious holidays, as ordinary time. I want to return to ordinary time. Perhaps that will happen today.

Aging, Health, Literature, Our Land and Home, Third Phase

Books and Docs

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Lughnasa                                                        Elk Rut Moon

Have begun to shelve books. Will discover whether the crude tool of measuring book stacks has produced enough shelving.

A place to work, a place to be the person you want to and can be. Necessary. Kate’s sewing studio. Jon’s ski manufacturing space. The whole backyard for the dogs. And this place, this loft, for me.

Over the course of this week I’ll fill all the empty shelves, then begin to unload all the art now stored in plastic bins. Our art, up here, and in the house, is still packed away. The house will not feel like it’s ours until the art is hung.

We have yet more medical tasks this week, too. The crown that chipped when put on will be replaced today. Kate and I have separate appointments at Arapahoe Internal Medicine. Me for the elbow, shoulder pain and her for elevated potassium. On Friday is the last scheduled appointment following up on my surgery. The super sensitive PSA test for which I had the blood drawn last Tuesday will be done. Looking for a low number. If it is low, it suggest that none of the cancer cells escaped into the rest of the body.

We want to get past this constant medicalization of our lives, but…

 

Aging, Health, Third Phase

A Come to My Senses Day

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Lughnasa                                                              Elk Rut Moon

Into the booth yesterday, a come to my senses day. Brandi, a bright and cheerful doctor of audiology (a new degree to me), found significant hearing loss in the middle and high pitches. That was my right ear. She tested the left ear, as all audiologists feel obligated to do. The little boxes on the report which record results at the various frequencies all had a downward arrow from the left corner. That downward arrow connotes no response. I did hear the 115 decibel sound. Through bone conduction in my right ear.

So, a hearing aid. Many of you who read this made this decision long ago. But, I only need one! That cuts the cost in half. A sort of good thing.

An hour later I was over at Corneal Consultants playing space invaders. The ophthalmologists (boy is that a hard word to spell) insist on calling it a visual field test. It uses little points of light (think G. Bush I) to evaulate peripheral vision. Aced it. Pressures good, too. Got that glaucoma under control for now.

As long as I’m on this medical note, I’m also experiencing the return of a shoulder/elbow problem I had three or four years ago. A lot of pain, most right now focused on the elbow and the upper arm of my left arm. The shoulder has less pain this time around. I got rid of it with P.T. last time, choosing not to have an MRI to diagnose it. This time I’m going to find out what it is.