The weekend before surgery

I go in tomorrow for another procedure on my hand.

It has been on my mind since it was scheduled last month not just because they will be cutting into my hand (again), but because it means I will have to give up every bit of independence that I have struggled to recover..

I will not be able to workout
I will not be able to drive
I will not be able to type
I will not be able to shower by myself
I will not be able to dress myself
I will not be able hold a glass
I will not be able to feed myself
I will not be able to use  the bathroom by myself
I will not be able to...

What would you do if someone told you that you'd lose the ability to do any of these for
A month?
Three weeks?
Two weeks?
A single day?

I doubt I could even imagine it year ago, but I've already gone through the loss and recovery cycle a few times in the last 12 months so I decided to take advantage of my first two weeks without restrictions since April to try to do all the things I used to consider normal and also

- By a car (a Honda Fit) with big knobs and a tiny steering wheel.
- Officially restart my membership at the club (College of San Mateo) and
- Start working out again (stationary bike and pool swimming).

And most importantly set a goal that I could achieve in such a small window of time.
Luckily I did not have to look very hard because the Board Short Mile was conveniently set for Sept 15th.

Sure there were a few obstacles -
I had not been able to work out in months, had put on a bunch of weight, had not been in the pool since February or the ocean in over a year, but that just meant I had to keep my plan quiet in case I had to cut the swim short.

Luckily yesterdays conditions were perfect with +70 degree water, no wind or surf and a hot cloudless day.
Even with all that going for me it felt a lot more like a 5 mi swim than a 1 mi swim and I had to tune out that my escorts were struggling to go slow enough for me.

Thanks Joel, Mike and Jane, Ken and Kathleen and everyone that showed up to swim and help raise money for CAF.

with Joel

with Mike

Kathleen and my uncle Ken

With the ladies waiting for our board shorts

the ladies rockin' the shorts

I'd also like to congratulate George and Tom for putting together a great event; I will wear my board shorts with fond memories.

Who says that no one likes a show off?

I stopped by Chris' house while driving back from SoCal for a quick visit and was glad to let 3 yr old Kaitlin show me all the new toys in her room. 

That's when she asked me if I'd read her a story.
Before I could answer she added:

"I can turn the pages.  I have LOTS of fingers!!!"

AND TO RUB IT IN

A year gone by

It was a year ago today, I:
     1.) swam the Maui Channel solo alongside my good friend Mike.
     2.) had my arm taken from me.

 I'd like to say that I have been focusing on number 1, but it is pretty hard to ignore number 2 for very long.

I have been thinking about all of the people that worked so hard to save my life,  to make me as comfortable as possible, started to teach me how to use what was left, and who showed me that I was loved.

At the risk of missing someone:

Thanks to my crew:
Captain Killer and his deckhand Pablo
Support crew: Nell, Jane, Kai, Laurel, Scot and (my in the water support) Mike.

 Capt Killer
(For keeping me safe and on course for as long as you could).

Mike and Jane

Laurel 

 Kai

Nell

(For being at my side on the beach, chasing the ambulance and everything else)

(I cant find pics of the rest, but hope to add them later)

Grant and his crew.

Grant 

(Especially Grant for being more stubborn than me... on that day).

The guy who held me onto Grants sled (This must have been a cruddy job).
Those enlisted to carry me out to the parking lot and wait for the ambulance.
The EMT (I know that both of us wished she could have given me morphine more quickly).

Dr Galpin and the other surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologist and other medical staff for working so hard (and long) to save my life.

To all of the nurses and nurse assistants at Maui Memorial that made my the first two weeks a little less painful (and not just with a handful of opiates).

I have to single out a few of the superstars:

 "Jersey"
(Thanks for keeping me sane)

Karen
(Still my favorite nurse of all-time, but don't tell Stanford)

My "shower ninja" Edwina
(I can't believe I don't have a photo of her in her yellow suit).

Sarah
(I'm still working on my balance)

Thanks to all of my friends and family that made the trek to Maui only to spend each day in a hospital room.

Billy

(Who can transition so well from great friend to Dr Casey and back)

 

BL  

(You always seem to be able to calm me down or at least help me laugh at myself)

 Gabor and Joel

(The two of you brightened my room, brought me all the love from HMB and from everyone at CSM,)

Nicole

(She came as a favor then returned as a friend)

 

 Mike

(I wish I had met you before, but glad to know you now)

 

Chris (Who has always come to my aid)

Scot and Matt (For sticking by me for over 27 years)

My mom (Who held it together and is still holding it together)

(On the left is Marilyn who came to my moms aid and supplied my room with the tastiest baked goods)

My sister Jen
(For becoming my wound care nurse, advocate, assistant, therapist...
I'm looking forward to going back to being just your brother)

I also want to thank everyone that visited, sent cards and gifts, called, sent emails and all those that took a few minutes to think about me and to send some positive energy my way.

And this was just in the 1st two weeks!!!

 

The list gets too long for a blog post, but I want to thank you all.

I needed all of you this last year and continue to need you.

Sport doesn't care

Not much to report, but I am excited to see some of the Paralympics.

Check out this video from Samsung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5whWXxGHUA&feature=plcp

The flip pool entry is amazing, but I loved the coaches:
"You look like a poodle, not a rottweiler".
"You strong.  You fast.  You beautiful.."

Oh DMV...

How could I have thought that the DMV would have a problem renewing my drivers license? 

After about an hour of waiting, the man at the counter barely paused before asking me -
"Which finger CAN I use?" (in place of a thumb print)

Then I was sent me to another line where I waited with three smiling teenagers (and their moms) to get our pictures taken.  Not sure who was happier.

Official license will be in the mail in the next couple of weeks.

The next step is to pick a car.
Although I'm getting pretty good at starting a normal car, I think I want one with a push button start. 
Chris sent me this list of affordable cars (no ferraris for me) with keyless systems:

ford fiesta

ford focus

kia rio

mazda3

nissan versa hatch

nissan sentra

nissan altima

toyota camry

toyota prius

hyundai veloster

hyundai elantra

Any suggestions?

Busy week

Normally I'd say that a week begins on Monday, but I've been busy since Friday.

It started with 3 days at the Pacific Masters Long Course (50m) Championships.
I didn't swim (due to having the line in my chest) but the meet was held at my club (San Mateo Marlins/Masters) so I timed...Actually I could only do half of the job so I dragged my parents up to help and spent the time chatting with friends.  The meet was great, but we were at the pool for almost 12hrs each day.

On Monday I had my neuroma (and a second one that I didn't know about) buried.  The doc was happy with the surgery, but she had me drugged up (neurotin, a nerve block and a pain pump installed) to the point that even after crashing for 4 hours I was loopy the entire night.

Tuesday I met with my hand surgeon and set a date for some work on my middle finger.

Wednesday I reclaimed some chest space by having my iv line removed.

And today I ditched the pain pump...

and lots of chest hair.

Progress?

I found out that I can stop taking iv antibiotics at yesterdays appointment. 
[Hooray!!!]

Then she told me I need to be on oral antibiotics for 4 more weeks...
[Boo!!!]

And that I need to keep flushing the tunnel catheter daily until it is removed
(Another surgical procedure that will most likely require a pre-op appointment too).
[Ugh!]

I am looking forward to having my neuroma (the nerve mass in my right arm) moved on Monday...
even if it's another surgery and they will put in a portable pain pump (continuously add drug for 2-3 days).

Oh well, at least I'm moving forward.