Saturday (5/27/2917)

Update: 

I got my results back from my heart monitor.  My heart is fine and looks normal.  Yeah!  Thank you, God!

I am still having episodes of dizziness and mental fogginess, so next Wednesday I’m having an ultrasound done of my carotid arteries to check for blockage there.

I am tired of having to wait a week or two after one test is done before the next one; but as a friend reminded me, that is a good thing.  It means that the doctors aren’t worried about a serious condition that requires immediate emergency treatment. That is so true!

I am looking forward to feeling 100% again and being able to fully resume my activities without concern.

Unique Encounter:

I went to Walgreen’s today and as I got back to the Pharmacy, another customer got very excited and starting talking to me.  The lady was very personable and pleasant.  Everything she said should be in ALL CAPS and Italics because that is the way she talked.  “Oh my!  I love your prosthesis!  I’ve never seen one like it before!  Why does it look like that?”  (I was wearing shorts). I patiently explained how flexible the foot was and how well it worked on uneven ground, etc., etc. etc. 

It was all a bit strange.  I’ve never had an encounter quite like that before.  She seemed genuinely happy and pleased for me.  My wife asked me later if it made feel uncomfortable.  I told her that surprisingly it did not.  Some people would have freaked me out coming on so strong; although she was a stranger, she made me feel very comfortable to talk with her.  The Pharmacist witnessed it all and she gave me a big smile afterwards as if to say, “You handled that very well”. 

Sunday (5/21/2017)

Update:

For the last couple of weeks, I've been getting dizzy, light headed, tired, and nearly feinted a couple of times. I just finished wearing a Holter monitor for 48 hours. I turn it in on Monday and have a follow-up appointment with my doctor on Friday. It's probably going to take some time, having more tests, and being referred to a specialist or two, to get this figured out.

It seems like every time I start making some improvement in one area, something else goes haywire. Sort of like doing repair work on an older car. You fix one thing and you uncover something else that needs to be repaired.

I like to think of myself as a '57 Chevy. Well worth the time and energy to repair and restore it!!! I'm a classic!!! Not ready to be towed to the junk yard yet!

Thursday (5/4/2017)

Update:

A month ago I had an MRI done on my left knee trying to determine why I had developed severe knee pain while I was wearing my prosthesis.  The MRI showed that I had several small issues but nothing that the doctors felt could produce the level of pain I was having.  They feel that my left leg isn’t strong enough, thus allowing the patella to move around too much and causing the pain (that’s my understanding of what they said).   It’s rather obvious that my left leg has atrophied over the last 3 ½ years, especially since I spent 1 ½ years in a wheelchair full-time and was very limited in my walking for most of the time that I did have a prosthesis.  So the plan is for me to regain some of the muscle and strength that I’ve lost and see if that helps.`

For the last month I’ve been going to the gym six days a week.  On three days I swim laps for 45 minutes.  On the other three days, I work out with weights and use some of the cardio machines.  In the last month I’ve worked up to 225 steps on a stair stepper, 8 minutes on an elliptical, and another 10 minutes on a “pedal car” style bike (I don’t have the range of motion with the prosthesis to do a regular bicycle). 

I also work daily on standing on one leg (both right and left) as well as several other exercises using bands given to me by my physical therapist.  Standing on one leg on my left side (on the prosthesis) is very difficult; but I’m making slow progress.  So much of the ability to stand on one leg is done with the lower leg and ankle (as well as getting sensory feedback) that an amputee is missing.  Other muscles have to be strengthened and some retraining has to take place to make it work after an amputation.  I’d also like to say that my prosthesis has a very flexible foot (ankle) which makes it more challenging.  Not to mention my weak muscles and overall lack of balance and grace even before I became an amputee.  Ha! Ha! 

The picture is how my leg looks after one month’s labor and there is already a noticeable increase in my muscle mass and leg strength (I never thought of taking a picture before I started this a month ago).  Let me say that the cardio and swimming is very tiring work; but I am stronger than I was a month ago.  I’m still wiped out each day afterwards; however, I am not taking as long to recover as I did at the beginning.

As far as whether all of this is making a difference with the knee pain, I don’t know yet.  I’ve purposefully not pushed myself in ways that caused the pain in the past.  I want to give my leg and knee time to strengthen before putting it to the test.   And I know that I’m better off if I’m stronger and in better shape.  I’ve got a L-O-N-G way to go; but I’m working at it, one step at a time.

Monday (5/1/2017):

Update: 

For the last couple of months, I’ve had a lot pain in my wrists, numbness in my hands, and a loss of strength in the hands.  I had an EMG done last month that indicated that I have carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists.  My right side is much worse and more painful.

I had my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon today.  After examination (with a number of interesting test gadgets I’ve never seen before), he confirmed that I have carpal tunnel syndrome.  He also said I have cubital tunnel syndrome (ulnar nerve running through the elbow) and a bit of diabetic neuropathy in the hands as well.  As is my habit medically, I just don't do anything simply.  Ha! Ha!

Today he injected lidocaine and steroids into my carpal tunnel of my right hand.  That should give us an idea of how much relief I will gain from surgery.  Steroids take 3-4 days to kick in.  Right now the lidocaine is making everything feel better.  Tomorrow, the doctor said my wrist would probably hurt after the lidocaine wears off and before the steroid kicks in.

He did say that from my exam he fully expects that I will end up having surgery, but sometimes the steroid injections relieve the symptoms, so it is worth a try.  

I have a follow-up appointment with him on June 1st.

So besides wearing the wrist splints to bed every night, I now also have to wear elbow pads that don't allow me to fully bend my arms while I sleep.  That should help relieve some of the pressure on the ulnar nerve in the elbow.  I've gotten used to sleeping with the wrist braces; but now I'm adding the elbow pads.  I don't know how that will go.  I ALWAYS sleep with my arms sort of bent and tucked up near my head.  That's not happening tonight with the elbow pads...I suppose if I get tired enough I will sleep even if it isn't in my normal "nighty night" position.  Sigh!  At least I don’t have to wear all that during the daytime.

Photo: Both arms are like that. What a hoot! I don’t know if I’ll be able to even get a drink in the middle of the night without stripping everything off of one arm.

My doctor said that when we do the surgery, he'll do both the wrist and the elbow at the same time.  Sounds like a two-for-one deal!  But I suppose that they'll still charge full price for both and I won't get a BOGO deal from billing.

On the positive note, the doctor wants me to continue doing any activity I feel comfortable doing during the day time, so I don’t have to give anything up right now.

I do know that I would like the pain and numbness to go away. There are a number of things that I cannot do right now that I’d really like to do.  I guess that is just a part of life isn’t it?  You cannot always do everything that you would like.  Whether it is time, money, health, work, family obligations, etc. sometimes we are just limited.  That’s probably not a bad thing and it’s something each of us must learn to deal with.