February BP

 

Ski Day Number Three

 I am not a fan of texting. It's usually a waste of time. I could get my answer quicker with a fast one minute phone call. So it was uncharacteristic of me to text my old friends Rob and John to see if they wanted to go skiing. I had been talking about it with Don at work so it only seemed right to invite him too.

We all agreed to meet at Mt. Spokane's Lodge Two at 8:30AM this morning. I bummed a ride with Robba and we all met as planned.

It turned out to be one of the best skiing days I've had in recent memory. The snow was great. The company was great. The weather was a little foggy at the top but not too thick. The sun even came out a few times.

We were all pretty evenly matched as far as a our skill level, except for my woeful stamina issues. We managed to get in 13 runs. We did nine before 11:45ish and went in for lunch. John needed to leave us at that point but Rob, Don and I went out for four more.

I'm beat.

But in a good way.

Cadillac Surgery Post Op

 All is well with my vision. I have just returned from my post op appointment with Dr. Day. All is well and he is happy with my eye.

Vision in my left eye is a little crisper than my right. Colors are a little more vibrant too. Now I'm anxious to get the other eye done but that is probably a couple of years down the road.

So I have the day off from work and I'm just goofing around the house. I'm going out shortly to apply some letters to a truck where Susan works.

I'm also going to clean the shower in the upstairs bathroom and I'm going to play the piano.

Cadillac Surgery

I have a Cataract in my left eye. Today was finally the day to get it corrected. I showed up at the Spokane Eye Clinic at noon today and I was home by 2:30.

I can't believe how blurry my vision still is.

I will be able to remove the bandage at 5:30, which is coming up.

It really is quite an operation they have going at Spokane Eye Clinic. The nurse that was prepping me said they do about 70 surgeries a day.

I was still a little loopy from the sedative they gave me when we got home. I took a nice two hour nap. I'm refreshed and ready to get this bandage off.

Okay the bandages are off and my vision is no longer cloudy. I am having double vision but they said that was normal. The vision in my left eye is at a 30 degree tilt from my right eye. It's very disorienting.

I have an appointment to see the Doctor tomorrow at 11:00. Hopefully, the different views will come together by then.

7:52PM: My vision is returning to normal. My eye is a little sore and itchy. It's hard to resist scratching but I can work through it. There is still a little halo around lights and the TV, but it's coming back.

Right now, the worst part is the eye drops. I have to take them every two hours until I go to bed. They really sting.

I guess that is a small price to pay for getting my vision restored.  

Vacation Over

It's back to work today. I'm slowly getting into the groove.

This morning I started my third week of the Ice Shower Challenge. I have not missed a day, except for Saturday when I just stuck my head under the shower so I could comb it.

I kind of cheated yesterday by turning on the hot water at the sink and priming the pipes. As I stated before, it does not make the initial hit of cold water any warmer. It just warms up sooner.

So, I guess I'm still a pussy. Even though I woke up this morning and shoveled snow.

It snowed all night. There was about 3 inches out there this morning. I broke out the snow blower and went to work. I got the driveway done and the sidewalk up to Cleveland done. Then as I was starting on my sidewalk, the damn thing died. I pushed it back to the garage, plugged it in and tried to get it to start. It started once but ran really bad and then died. I'm thinking the gas I used to top off the tank might be bad. 

When I get home tonight, I'll drawn the tank. Then I'll go get my Premium can filled up and see if I can get it started. 

Details to follow, probably.

Vacation Day Fi5e

Today is the last day of my vacation. Of course, I still have the weekend to enjoy as well. 

I have to go out and get some flowers for Susan and Mom. Sunday is some sort of Love Holiday...probably created by Big Gift Card. I'll show them. I'm making my own gift card.

It is cold out there today.  It is currently 15 degrees. We get a good cold spell every winter and it looks like this is it for this year. I should have planned ahead to defrost the freezer downstairs but maybe there's still time. The forecast looks like it will be chilly for the next few days but today is the nadir for temperatures.

Okay I have purchased and delivered Flowers to Susan. Tomorrow, we'll take a vase to Mom, along with some dinner.

For the rest of the day, I did some little odd jobs, I built a fire and sat in the Living Room for a while. We don't do that often enough.

Ice Plunge Cheat & Heart Issues

I kind of cheated on the Ice Shower Plunge this morning, which I have been doing every morning since the start of the month. I ran the hot water in the sink until it was hot.

Having primed the pipes did not take away the bracing shock of getting hit with cold water when I turned on the faucet. It was just as cold as any other morning and the energizing feeling of standing in the cold onslaught was not diminished. 

It only took about 20 seconds for the water to start turning warm, which is much better than the nearly two minutes it takes normally.

This is Day Four of my vacation week and I have no definite plans or projects for today. I think I will break out the shop vac and work on the floor in the Carriage House. It's way past dirty.

Yesterday, I got a call from Nurse John at Dr. Byazrova's office. Apparently, I had an event on Tuesday night at about 10:30. My heart raced up and my defibrillator paced it back to a normal heart rate.

I have been feeling some dizzy spells the last few days. Pretty substantial dizzy spells that make me feel like I'm close to passing out. The first one I remember was Sunday morning when I was helping Mom with her TV.

I had another good one on Tuesday when I was skiing. I had walked up the hill from the parking lot to the lodge. That in itself is a major effort for me. I walked in and immediately sat down at an empty table to let the dizzy spell pass.

I had one yesterday at about 10:48 when I was walking into Home Depot. 

Fortunately, none of these spells has resulted in my passing out or my defibrillator going off on me.

But it feels like it's only a matter of time.

I'm going to start my day with a nice omelette. I'm trying to learn how to flip it properly and I am not having a lot of luck.

5:12PM: I have made it through the day and it's time to wind things down. I got a little accomplished in the Carriage House. I sort of vacuumed. It was needed. I'm a long way from finished. Even the parts of the floor I vacuumed need to be vacuumed again.

I also went over to Mom's to pay her bills, took an extremely cold walk around the park, and had a nice rare steak for lunch.

The Carriage House is becoming more and more welcoming.

Another Ski Day?

I may have miscalculated the proper day to ski. Although yesterday was fog free and good visibility, today the sun is out and the skies are blue...even if it is only 18 degrees.

Here is a screen capture off the Mt. Spokane website. That looks pretty inviting. If I was younger and more impetuous, I might be heading to the mountain. The thing that's holding me back is the temperature. I have become my father - a fair weather skier. 

Ski Day Number Two

I wanted to be at the mountain bright and early...9 o'clock sharp. Ended up getting on the chair at 9:30.

There had been a couple of inches of snow overnight so I could have skied some lovely two inch powder had I been there on time. It was about 20 degrees but it felt colder. My eyes are very sensitive to the cold wind and they water something fierce if I don't have good goggles to protect them. Some runs, I felt the onset of an ice cream headache while I skied.

They had plenty of snow. These guys spent quite a few hours getting this roof cleaned off.

The crowd was very light. Getting on the chair was always a breeze.

The lift ticket cost $39.00 and I got in ten runs so you can do the math on the cost per run equation.

I didn't hit my rhythm until half way down the Rainbow Ridge on the back. There was a short stretch of the run that perfectly fits the mechanics of my skiing. It was just the right angle, width and snow conditions that compliment my style. It felt great to head down the hill and effortless make turn after turn until I wore out and stopped. And that made the day worth it.

Being in my snow suit and ski boots and walking up to the lodge was a real chore. It's the most exhaustive part of the ski day. Even on the hill, I had to take things slow.

The good news is that I do not feel particularly tired or achy. I guess that says something about my level of fitness. But the ejection fraction is still around 38%...and that's not good.

Pretty Picture One

This is the first day of my week off. One could also say it is the third day of my nine days off. I'm one third through my time off and I need to accomplish something.

But first, let us review "The Week in Weight Loss". I finished the week last Friday at 220 pounds. As of this morning, I weigh 224. I blame the Super Bowl. 

Still, I'm down ten-ish pounds since the first of the year. I do not notice a difference other than my trousers fit a little better around the waist.

So I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of my weight loss with a little photo record.

So here it is as of fifteen minutes ago.

Not a pretty picture but an accurate one for reference. I shall do this again in a month and compare.

Vacation Time and Weight Loss

I am taking advantage of the many hours of vacation time I have built up at work. I have the week off and have many plans to accomplish.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, also known as the second day of my vacation. The Kansas City Chiefs played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady won. I only bring this up because it relates to my weight loss program...which I blew today. That's okay. I have decided that I can lose weight during the week and then try not to gain too much back over the weekend.

I got down to 220 on Friday and as of this morning, I gained two pounds back. I'm sure that will be worse in the morning.

One of my plans for the week is to go skiing on Tuesday. Hopefully, that will promote weight loss, although I will probably drink a beer.

Tomorrow I have a major project planned for the Paint Room in the basement. For more details on that project, you'll have to go to the home improvement blog, www.my-life-as-a-house.blogspot.com.

Milestone One

As of this morning, I am down 11.4 pounds from January First. That feels like a milestone.

Unfortunately, I don't really feel any different and I don't notice any difference in how I look. I still have a large belly. 

The one thing I have noticed is that I can button my pants around my waist a little better.

Still, it feels good to be past that milestone. It gives me resolve to continue this No Sugar, No Grains routine.

This weekend is the 55th Super Bowl so I am sure I'm going to loose some ground. I do not plan to eat a bunch of food that is yummy and delicious and therefore, not in my plan. But I do plan on drinking beer. I will abstain all weekend until 3:00PM on Sunday. Then I will enjoy two beers, savor them as I drink, and watch the game. And the commercials.

Doctor Search

I've been seeing my General Practitioner, Dr. O'Connor since May of 1982. That's when I had my appendix removed. He was the guy I saw. Probably because he came up in the rotation. He's probably the one constant I have had in my life...other than Mom.

I got a letter from his office yesterday saying they are closing the office due to the effects of the pandemic. I know he's been getting close to retirement but when I have asked him, he has said he plans to go a few more years.

So now I need to find a new Doctor. I called Kaiser, my health insurance provider to see if they have doctors on their staff. They sent me an e-mail of Doc's and Physician Assistants who are taking on new patients. I've scanned through the list and chosen one to try.

I don't have any good reason for picking him other than he's fairly young but he's been in the game for a while. I don't want to pick another doctor down the road. I want to die in this guys arms..I mean, care. 

Weight Loss and Cold Shower

This morning, I am almost back to my lowest weight since the first of the year. I weighed 224.6 pounds. 224.4 was the lowest number. I am doing a pretty good job of following this diet with an occasional slip. The positive weigh-ins help reinforce my resolve to keep the weight loss going.

I am continuing to step in the shower and start cold. I find that once I am up, I start thinking about the pain to come. It's not really that bad except for the first few seconds. The cold water pouring down on me really takes my breath away.

This morning I was given a gift. Susan must have run the hot water a lot prior to my getting in the shower. The bracing cold only lasted a short while.

It's quite relieving when the water warms up.

January BP