My Last Session In The Pool

Oh, Glorious Day
I am finally done with PT all together. I did my last pool session and it was great. A really good work out. I am not nearly as tired today as I expected especially since I ran and walked yesterday. I may run and walk again tomorrow. We will have to see.

About This Pool
The pool used by the Physical therapy place I go to is called a Hydroworx. Have you heard of swim in place pools? Well this is essentially one of those, plus it has a treadmill in the floor. Plus there is a jet and hose that actually will give you a really good underwater message. I only mention this because they have more features adn are cheeper than other swim in place pools I have seen. Great for rehab or athletes. check them out at www.hydroworx.com.

The Challenge
I was actually pretty good during Thanksgiving and did not eat too much. Now I need to keep it up and be good during christmas and New Years. New Years may be easy since my wife is do on New Years eve and I will be in a hospital. Not much free fatty food floating arround there. But I really need to make sure to get my fat butt in shape. I will tel you when I think I'm ready for my first 5k.

My First Real Run On A Real Road

Let's Do Some Running!
Okay so it was walk and then run and then walk some more. There is a loop near my house which is close to a mile all the way arround. At my last PT session, I walked and ran on a treadmill and did 1 mile. So today I got out on the road. I walked 3 minutes and ran 2 1/2 minutes alternatively for 1 mile and a quarter and it took about 15 minutes. It felt good. I was a little sore after but I felt good.

Stretch
Yes, I stretched before and after. It made a lot of difference and the movement in my right ankle seems to be improving a lot.

Small Incramental Steps
Now I will increase next week by 3 minutes. I will probably add it to the Wednesday walk. So monday will be 15 minutes and Wednesday will be 18 minutes. I will then figure out how I should be increasing the amount of time I run and shorten the amount of time I walk. Then I can get my fat butt in shape.

LAST PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION

Final Evaluation?
Well, I had PT today and we did the last evaluation for PT. Anthony took measurements, discussed how much has improved, what problems are still present, and what to do next. As I have mentioned before PT has become more of a Work Out than therapy. That is a good sign I need to start doing things on my own. Mostly I need to get out on the road and run, bike, and get back in the pool and swim. So I have one more scheduled pool PT Friday and one follow-up and I am off.

The Problem
First I still have tremendous ankle problems in my right ankle and much of it is permanent. If I were a professional athlete, my career would be over. But since I'm not, all is good for the most part. Running will get that back into decent shape.

Plan Of Action
I actually ran on a treadmill! Whoo-hoo! a wamping 4.8mph (yes, I know. While in the Marines I could almost walk that fast in full gear.) So I walk for 3 minutes and run for 2 1/2 minutes for a total of 15 minutes, twice a week. The next week I increase this by 10%. Since I am more concerned about time than distance right now, I will increase the next week by 3 minutes, then by 3.3 minutes, then by 4 minutes, and so on until I am at a half an hour for each work out. Then I will reevaluate what I am doing. I will also be decreasing my walking time and increasing my running time. I will keep you posted on how I decide to do that.

What Else?
I need to get back on my bike. I can bike to work, to the store, and other places close by. I still have my gym membership so I will get back in the pool. Last, I still have my Core Performance Book and I will start the basic (highly reduced to start with) workouts.

When Will I Race?
We have our President's Day Freedom Run coming up on February 14th, 2009. I am not sure how much work I am going to have to be doing, but I would like to run it this year. My PT suggested on January first, even if all I did was run walk it, so My goal of February doesn't sound to bad. Now all I have to do is get my fat butt in shape.

Dr. Appointment, PT, and Surgery Picutres

Pictures First
These are two picture from CT scans before and after surgery. So the first picture is before surgery. The picture is color enhanced by the computer. You are not actually looking at the blood vessels, but the blood inside. Green indicates abnormal blood flow. The second picture is after surgery. The stint may appear to be on the out side, but in fact it is inside. It appears that way because you don't actually see the blood vessels, but what is inside.

Doctor's Appointment
I finally had my appointment with my regular doctor. I still have blood work and labs to do, but everything went well. Nothing out of the ordinary. He is updated on my situation with my accident and I have a follow-up in January. I like my doctor and I feel confident about working with him.

Physical Therapy
Okay, PT has now changed from rehab to a 45 minute work out. I was so tired when I was done, but I sure need it. I will be back in the pool next week so I will be able to start running soon. As for my knee, the problem is not my knee, but inflexibility of my right leg. the more I stretch it, the less problems I have. So STRETCH!

What Next?
The holidays are coming up, so I want to make sure I don't eat too much. I will weigh myself after Thanksgiving and I will start aggressively tyring to loose weight from there. PT has cleared me to pull out my bike, so I will be doing that. I will keep you posted. PT has also cleared me to try and start running again. Now that doesn't mean I will be running miles at a time. I will probably run for 1 minute and walk for 4 minutes. do that for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how I feel.

A Poll
In the next couple of weeks, I will be posting a Poll and I will ask questions about walking for excesses. If you have any ideas for questions let me know and keep watching for the poll. I want as many people to answer as possible, so spread the link to everyone! Keep watching the blog while I get my fat butt in shape.

Today Is A New Day

The Doctors Appointment
I have been waiting for this for some time. A Day when the Doctor would say "Everything looks great, you CT Scan and x-rays look fine, you can't get back to exercising and stop taking that medication." Well, today was that day! I spent most of the day at the hospital. They took 4 x-rays and 4 CT scans. The doctor actually saw me quickly with little wait. He is even going to give me copies of all my CT scans and when I get them, I will post them.

Walking
I have started walking again. I have only been doing about 1/2 a mile to a mile. Last week I did 4 miles and so far this week I have done only 1. I hope to do 5.

Physical Therapy
I start back up on physical Therapy Thursday. I should be clear to do everything (ie walk, run, bike, and get in the pool) in three more weeks. I am still concerned about my right knee, but they are going to check it out at PT.

I Am So Ready
Without needing to take the medication anymore, I won't be so tired and will actually be able to work out and start getting my fat butt back in shape. I will keep you posted. Especially about my knee.

Start Running From Scratch

A Great Article Runner's World has a great article about how to start running. It is for people who are new to running or someone who is starting back to running after a long lay off or injury. The Title is "A Fresh Start". Check it out. I will as I get my fat butt in shape.

Just Another Walk

Well, I slapped on the pedometer and off I went. I walked just over a half a mile. According to my pedometer most of it was done at an aerobic pace. Yeah! However it said I only burned 47 calories. Booo! That is like one corn flake! It only took 11 minutes, so we are making progress. I will feel better when I am back to running. I so need to get my butt back in shape!

How Far I Walk

I need to get my fat butt in shape, but I do not feel like I am making Progress. The Appointment I had my Vascular (having to do with my Aneurysm) appointment this past Tuesday. Well, in spite of Medication my blood pressure is not where they want it 131/60. The top number needs to be bellow 130. In spite of increased walking, I now way 200.0 lbs. New Information My aneurysm hasn't changed in size or length, but I had a CT scan with a special dye called contrast. What they saw were two holes in the wall of the Aorta wall. One at the bottom of the aneurysm and one at the top. As they watched the dye they saw it enter the bottom hole and move up to the top hole and out. That is right, the blood was flowing the wrong way through the wall of my Aorta. Now they want to do surgery to fix it. We decided to talk about it (We as in my wife and I, and talk to other medical professionals who are our friends.) My biggest concern is that surgery was originally ruled out because in 25 years the hardware would go bad and need to be replaced. That would make me 66. Not a good age for surgery. Doctors said it would be better to wait a few years because medicine was advancing and new technology may be available. Well, now they want me to have surgery, which mean I am looking at surgery again at about 66. One thing is for sure though, it is not getting better and it is not changing fast. But it ca only get worse. Once it gets a centimeter bigger, the odds are 90% chance of this thing blowing with in six months of that change. My Weight Well, the medication I am on to keep my blood pressure down make me tired. So tired that as soon as I finish walking I need to take a nap. The problem is I am gaining weight fast, because I really am quite inactive. I might be up to 3 miles a week, but that isn't crap. And then I get tired and can't do anymore. So I am gaining weight and it is causing my blood presure to go up! We are trying to find a new medication. I will keep you posted.

My Vital Data, Measurements, and Weight

All right here they are. All the vital health data that I can think of. If I need another, please let me know and I will se what I can do.

1. Weight = 199.2 lbs
2. BFP = 23%
3. BP = 120/60
4. RHR = 70 bps
5. SHR = 81 bps

Measurements

1. Neck = 17.5 in
2. Chest (relaxed) = 43 in
3. Chest Expanded = 46.5 in
4. Expansion = 3.5 in
5. Waist = 44 in
6. Bicept = 13 in
7. Forearm = 11 in
8. Hips = 40 in
9. Thigh = 22 in
10. Calves = 14

Damaged Joints vs. Okay Joints Right Wrist = 7.5 in and Left Wrist = 7 (.5 inches in swelling) Right Ankle = 10 and Left Ankle = 9 (1 inch in swelling) I so need to get my fat butt in shape.

My Current Workouts to Recovery

I so need to get my fat butt in shape. So far for workouts all I have been able to do is walk. The first week I walked a 1/4 of a mile twice. Total = .5 miles The next week I walked a 1/2 mile 4 times. Total = 2 miles This passed week I walked a 1/2 mile twice and over a mile today. Total = 2.25 Miles I will keep you posted to my progress.

The Car Accident

Thank You
First I want to thank every for their support and assistance to my family during this passed couple of months. I would also like those who don't know to hear from me what happened.

Saturday, June 14th
I woke up at 6 am, dressed and drove my oldest daughter to South Carolina. I was going to start filming a pioneer trek reenactment, for the youth of my church, on Tuesday. My sister-in-law and her husband have just had twins. My oldest daughter was going to spend the week of the trek with them to help them out. I arrived in Rowland NC. At 8:am. My brother-in-law met us there at the BP. By 8:30 AM, everyone was back on the road. My daughter was on her way to Charleston and I was heading home. Around 10:00 am, I stopped at a McDonald's to go to the bathroom and get a drink. I felt good. I remember entering Aberdeen were Highway 1/15/501 merge together. I remember making the right hand turn and heading down the road. That is the last thing I remember.

What Happened?
According to witnesses, I made a sudden left turn, into on coming traffic. The speed limit in that area is 35 mph. I am also aware of speed traps along the road and would ave been doing the speed limit. A gentleman traveling in the opposite direction was also doing the speed limit. At 10:30 am we hit head on. I do not remember any of this. It now appear that my left front tire blew and I lost control turning into oncoming traffic.

EMT, Lights, and Sirens
The next thing I remember is hearing a man's voice. He said he was a military EMT and to hold still and not move in case I had a neck or back injury. He then told me to close my eyes because they were going to break the window to get me out of the car. I heard sirens, police, fireman. I was finally cut out of the car. They put me in a neck brace and on a backboard. I was taken to Moore regional hospital and my wife was notified. I had a CAT scan done of my head, abdomen, and back; x-rays of all my limbs; and placed on oxygen.

Help From My Church Leaders
Bishop Houseman, the Bishop of the Pinehurst congregation of my church was contacted by my wife and two Elders came and gave me a blessing. I do remember talking with the briefly, but I do not remember who they were. I listened very carefully to their prayer and I do remember them saying that the doctors would find all the injuries.

Unexpected Surprise
Well, come to find out that during the CAT scan, the doctors found an Aorta Aneurysms in the lower abdomen. It was discovered that I had broken my left leg, severely sprained my left ankle, jammed several fingers, and broke my right wrist in several places.

Resetting My Arm
The Doctors put my left hand in traction. It was kind of like putting my fingers in a metal Chinese finger trap, lifted my hand into the air and placed a weight on my elbow to pull it down. I was given a shot for pain then the Doctors re-set my hand. Even though it was very painful, I have to thank them for doing a great job. It was very painful!

The Flight
Because of the aneurysm, it was decided that I needed to go to UNC Memorial Hospital. They flew me out few minutes later. I spent 3 days in ICU.

Surgery, 1 or 2?
The day they moved me to a regular room they scheduled surgery to put pins in my arm and leg. Then to repair the aorta. More X-rays were taken and one more CAT scan of my aorta and one of my wrist.

Divine Intervention
My wife wanted me to have another blessing before surgery so she called a friend of ours. He came with one of the Elders from his ward (congregation). In their blessing, I was told that I would recover quickly and people would be surprised at how quickly I recovered.

No More Surgery
Not more than 30 minutes after I left, the doctors in charge of my arm and leg surgery came to tell me that they were canceling it. The CAT scan revealed that my hand and wrist were set so well, that the bones were healing exactly were they needed to be, the same with the leg. Then the doctors in charge of my aorta decided that the the aneurysm was stable and could be treated with medication for now.

So This Is How It Went Down
Currently I am home. Both legs were in special support boots and my right hand was in a splint. All cuts have healed well. I've got my glasses back, and the small burns on my face and nose from the air bag are healed. I was supposed to be in a wheel chair for a month, but it only lasted a week and a half, then I started walking.I had a walker for another couple of weeks. I was supposed to be in a walker for another month and be up and going by about August. Then with the help of the boots I was able to get up and start walking with out the walker quickly.

Appointments
I had a follow-up on my wrist and aneurysm. The doctor put my arm in a cast. I chose blue. White would be too dirty, black would be to hot, and I just don't do pink.

The Ticking Time Bomb
My aneurysm is unchanged and I will have a follow-up in a month.

It's Off
After 3 weeks the doctor took my cast off and gave me a brace. As long as I was comfortable I could start walking with out the aircast boots and I didn't have to wear the brace all the time. I took the boots off and put them on twice more. They have been off for several weeks now. I wore the brace a couple of time, but it irritated my arm. So I took it off and never wore it again.

I Am So Glad I Have A Great Wife
My wife was on vacation while I was in the Hospital and was off the next week. After that my parents flew in and stayed for just over a month.

No Cooking!
I have a freezer full of frozen prepared meals, that my girls can reheat. Several members of my church have stayed with me while my wife left to do shopping and thanks to all the families that have watched my girls.

Thanks to everyone for all the help and support. Now I need to get my butt in shape.

See you soon!