Mon Jan 13th: Felt kinda crappy. Body was
tight and I couldn’t do much all day.
Tues
Jan 14th: No BM last night so up with Darcy at
4:45 and on the can ‘til 5:45 with very
little to show for it. As you are aware the usual is I have diarrhea in the
morning put Depends on and nothing happens. Normally I wouldn’t go to Parkwood
but I took a chance and it was a good thing we did. Stephanie stretched me a
bit on the mat and we did some sit-to-stands and she did a lot of work on my
arms. When my arms are away from my body with my palms turned down on the bed
and my left arm away from my body she had me doing kicks. Funny, I can’t kick
both of my feet at the same time You know, sitting on a chair and kick you
right foot forward and your left backwards, I can’t do that. When I kick both
legs go in the same direction. Once all the
sitting was done it was time to
walk.
Got up with Stephanie holding the belt and me with
the walking stick. I try to pick up the left foot so I don’t stub my toe as
much. We did some work on the mat and did
some stuff to keep my arms away from my body which seems to lower my tone.
After that it was up walking. Walked I about 30 feet but since I am trying to
lift my foot we rest as soon as I trip on my toe. Then up and side walking tot
right for 20 feet then to the left. Another rest then up again only this time
walking sideways without the walking stick. Believe it or not I was walking
without a stick and with no one holding onto me. It was quite scary when I
found out that Stephanie was holding on. Seems I do better without the walking
stick as it takes my arm out of the equation.
EMGs can be used to detect abnormal electrical activity of muscle that can occur in nerve damage to nerves in the arms and legs.
As I am experiencing unexplained muscle weakness in my right arm, EMG helps to distinguish between muscle conditions in which the problem begins in the muscle and muscle weakness due to nerve disorders. The EMG can also be used to detect true weakness, as opposed to weakness from reduced use because of pain or lack of motivation. EMGs can also be used to isolate the level of nerve irritation or injury.
The Dr. had requested the test on my left arm when actually the right arm was where the problem was. It was nice of them to test the right arm even though it wasn’t on the requisition.
The results showed there were no problems with any of the muscles. This leads me to believe that the problem is occurring further up in the nerves coming from my neck. I will be seeing the surgeon next Tuesday and he will look at the MRI that I had in December that may shed some light on the problem.
Thurs
Jan 16th: Well I have a new problem. I had a
little red spot on the side of my thigh a week or so ago. It grew to about the
size of a quarter and opened up and was really quite ugly. The area turns red
and then opens up and there were a couple of other red areas and I was
concerned that it was spreading. Of course, Dr Steen starts thinking it is the
beginning of ‘Flesh Eating Disease’, woke up at 4 AM to worry about it. Tried
to get a Dr appointment but he wasn’t in today. Decided to go the emerg to make
sure they could stop it. I figured I’d get an emergency room Dr but they called
my Dr office and he showed up. Took one look at it and said it was a Staph
infection and I should put Fusidin on it and he gave me antibiotics, 4x500 mg a
day for 7 days. Now that much anti-b may mess up my tummy but we’ll see. Good
service at the hospital in by 2:45 out by 3:30.
Oh yes, therapy in the morning.
Stephanie did her thing loosening me up and doing sit to stands. She had me put
my good right foot on a 2 inch step and then stand up using mostly my left leg
doing the work. That was a bit of a struggle. Got up and walked about 50 feet
had a short rest and walked another 40 or so. A rest. Walked sideways to the
right and then to the left and all this without a walking pole...a rest then a
forward walk for
Fri
Jan 7th: Darcy is cleaning out the closets
and I have the double breasted suit that I was married in in 1973. In the
pocket was a yellow rattail comb, Darcy’s charm bracelet and a tampon. I have
no idea why the last item was there. As for the charm bracelet, Darcy thought
the girls had lost it years ago. We found a shirt made by the Arrow Shirt
company in Kitchener. I think they closed in the mid-seventies. Lots of neat
stuff, 5 suits, 62 ties. Let me explain about the ties. When I played rugby I
was the Captain of the Brantford Harlequins for 5 years, captain of the Niagara
Rugby Union Rep team and Captain of the Ontario Rugby team and when we played
touring teams or rep teams from other provinces we exchanged ties...I just kept
them all, ‘til now...some of them were very ugly.
Sat
Jan 18th: I was not feeling all that well. Think
the antibiotics and the infection were catching up with me. A lazy day, did some stretches and my normal
routine before bed.
Sun
Jan 19th: The usual Sunday but not feeling all
that energetic but went for a coffee at McD’s. Haven’t felt like riding the
bike for a while and that means I really am not feeling well. Haven’t been on
the bike since Friday, Jan 10th...grrrrrrr!
Mon
Jan 20th: Starting to feel better but not good
enough to get on the bike. The quads are all toned up which makes it hard to
walk. Went to the pool and did quite a bit of walking. If I could only take the
same size of steps on land that I take in the water, I’d be walking around the
crescent with the dog.
Tues
Jan 21st: Off to Parkwood for a swim in the
Parkwood pool. Stephanie was going to show us what to do in the pool or if what
we are doing is ok. Got there at 11 as usual and then I remembered I was
supposed to be there at 10. However, there had been a mix up and the pool was
double booked at 10 and we couldn’t go in at 11. Did the usual stretching and
did some walking. When I walk for a short distance, a knife gets stuck into the
lower left side of my back and that becomes the show stopper. Did 3 walks of 15
m and then on the fourth, Stephanie took my walking stick away. Walked about 15
m with no aid, that’s all by myself with Darcy hanging onto the belt....yeehaw.
Seems with no stick in my right hand it relaxes a bit, nothing to squeeze the life
out of.
Another problem is the left ankle. The ankle won’t
bend and it is difficult to pick up the toe. I can’t speed up the walk as I
must make sure I don’t trip on the toe. The weak left leg doesn’t help either.
When the leg gets tired it is very hard to pick up the foot to take the step.
Interesting situation at home with the hydro. We
have been connected to the neighbours for a month now and they finally started
to trench in the new line. Didn’t realize how deep they went with the trench.
They had a tough time digging through the frost. The furnace started making
funny noises and every time it came on the lights would go brighter for about
30 second and then flicker for a few minutes. I lost the internet connection as
the modem had gone dead. Darcy checked the surge protecting powerbar and it was
burned out. She replaced the bar and the
modem came back to life. The TV also started acting strange. Every time
the furnace came on the TV would go off and then come back on. We called The
PUC and they came out and checked it out but they said everything was ok. They
did mention that we had half our normal power which could explain why the
furnace fan had trouble getting started.
Wed
Jan 22nd: Woke up in the morning with severe
spasms. When I moved, my legs would seize up and feel like they were cramped
up. They would go straight and all the muscles would tighten up, very
uncomfortable. Felt a little nauseous but put that to the 500 mg of antibiotic
I took at 7 o’clock.
The PUC was working in the backyard again and the
furnace was still not working properly. We turned the thermostat down on the
furnace and turned up the one for the gas fireplace. That means the rest of the
house gets cold. They said the power would be back to normal in the afternoon.
Time to go swimming at 11. Got ready to go and the
lift in the garage wouldn’t work. I really wanted to go. Parked the chair and
with some assistance, I walked down the 3 steps and walked to the car. Had a
good session in the pool and Rosa once again worked my left hand.
Now how to get into the house. We parked the chair
at the top of the steps and with some assistance. Karen on one side and Darcy
on the other, I climbed the steps and got into the chair.
I haven’t been on the bike for over a week so I did
a short easy 15 minute spin. Remember all those spasms this morning. We found
out why. My Tuesday night pills were still on the table. I can’t imagine going
any length of time without the antispasmodic meds. It wouldn’t take long and
I’d be one big knot. Going to stay up and watch19 year old Canadian, Eugenie
Bouchard in the semifinals of the Australian open...go Genie go! Grrr...she
lost in straight sets to Li Na who went on to win the tournament. As the
announcer, Chris Everet, said as Genie walked off the court, “There goes the
futre of Women’s tennis!”
Thurs
Jan 23rd: A little tirued from watching tennis
but some of the tone seems to have gone away. I consulted Dr. Steen and he
figures I may have had a bladder or a prostate infection and the anti-b got rid
of it thus reduced tone.
Felt good when I got to Parkwood. Stephanie
stretched my legs and back. I don’t know how she does it but it feels great. I
asked her to come to Tillsonburg 3 times a week and I’d pay her mileage, but
she declined. After stretching, it was walking time. Did 4 walks of 15 m each
with one walking pole and Darcy hanging onto the belt, just in case. Had a
little rest between each. Did 2 walks sideways, left and right with no pole.
Stephanie didn’t give the pole back and I did 2x10 m without it. Since I did
the stairs at home Stephanie took me to the flight of 5 steps and I went up and
down 3 times, a physio in front and a physio behind holding on to the loops in
the belt. They don’t help unless I’m on the way down. A good day because the
legs were tired but not too tired to do a 10 minute and a 5 minute session on
the bike and only a couple of sit-to-stands before bed.
Fri
Jan 24th: Damn nobody to take me to the gym. I am not doing the things that got my legs
strong in the first place, that is, biking and the gym. Last January I was
doing 40 minute bike sessions regularly and even did an hour ride on the bike.
Now I’m only doing 15 minutes total. Better be a slow build up or I’ll set
myself back again.
Darcy took me to the pool and we did the normal work
out but added some arm exercises with the foam barbell and dumbbells. It is
quite interesting how hard it is to push them under water and it does give a
good workout. I’ve started standing with my back against the wall and my heels
as close to the wall as I can get and then arch my back as much as I can. I sit
a lot so I am in flexed position which causes my spine to be in a ‘C’ shape.
This means when I stand to walk I am in a bent forward position. I try to sit
up straight when sitting at the computer but it is difficult, as everyone knows
how hard it is not to slouch.
Sat
Jan 25th: Holy snow. One of the few times the
weatherman was right. Guess we are in for it for a couple of days. Must be bad,
Karate class was canceled. It’s very good that my neighbor does plough the
driveway. There was no way we were getting out of the house until it was
ploughed. Seems global warming is causing the extremes in weather and we’ll
have to put up with crazy conditions ‘til April.
Sun
Jan 26th: A very quiet day with pinnacle of
excitement being a coffee at McD’s with the Sarge. Had a call late Thursday
evening from Dr. Fehlings’ Office, the neurosurgeon that did my neck. I had an
MRI in December and perhaps that will shed some light on what is going on with
my right arm. Seems he is very busy as the nurse stated that we had to
guarantee that we would be there on Tuesday at 1:30. Darcy said ‘yes’,
dependent on the weather. She wouldn’t accept that. We had to say we’d be
there. Darcy spoke to the Sarge and he said he would drive us. Couldn’t ask for
a better driver as he taught driving at the Police College for 2 years.
Not doing much painting, just playing around with
practicing trees and clouds and other landscape stuff. Waiting for a couple of
instruction books from Amazon.
How
am I Feeling?
I am very concerned about my right arm, it is
getting worse. Have difficulty shaving now. Since I don’t have as much control
with it, I cut myself more often now. If I read the medicalese of the MRI,
there may be some narrowing of the channel where the cord passes through at C4
and C5. Note that is my interpretation of the report.
I am also getting a little down about being a
quadriplegic. I figured if I worked hard things would get better. That doesn’t
seem to be happening. If I walk too much or bike too much I really suffer the
next day or the next couple of days. Even if I sit too much there are problems.
I haven’t found that middle of the road yet. If I don’t do anything it’s even
worse as I start to lose everything. Perhaps some of this melancholy is the
January blahs that I’ll just have to get over.
I went and looked at these short video clips of me
when I was in Toronto
and I really have come a long way.
Thanks for listening...
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