March BP

 

Ski Day

Today was Day #13 for the ski season. Rob and I went to Mt. Spokane for another stellar day of skiing. While it was cloudy in town, the mountain was clear and sunny. There was a semi constant light cloud cover that kept the snow from getting too soft and sloppy. It was a really great day and we got in sixteen runs. I kept thinking this is my last run, but then we went again. 

We plan to ski next week which will be our last day of the season. Mt Spokane is closing for the season on April 9th.

Zeus Day One

I began being a Guinea Pig today with my first injection of the drug they are testing in this Zeus Trial in am participating in. I don’t know if I got the drug or a placebo. I guess I’ll find out in four years.

In other health news, my weight finally dropped below 220. I weighed 219.8 this morning. There’s two weeks to go in Lent. I’m hoping to get lower but I have very low will power.

We’ll see how I do.

Okay, I went ahead and published this post and then looked at the Blog and realized I haven’t said diddly squat about this drug trial I’m in.

About a month ago, I had a routine appointment with Dr. Mooney, my cardiologist. In the course of the appointment, she mentioned that I might qualify for a research study about a new drug in development.  

She asked if I was interested and I decided I was.

I’ve been going through several tests involving blood draws and echo cardio grams and the like.

One of the benefits of participating in this study is the increased level of care I will be getting. For example, the afore mentioned echo told me that my ejection fraction is at 30%. It’s actually slightly improved since my last echo. This echo cost me nothing.

In fact, I am paid a small stipend to participate and they pay for my parking every time I visit the office.

From here on out, I will be getting an injection once a month. Nurse Nicole gave me the injection today but next month, I will give it to myself under her watchful eye. After that, I will give it to myself at home.

The name of the drug is Zeptimab and it is supposed to control inflammation in the body. 

So that’s the update. You’re all caught up.

Ski Day #12

Today was one of the best days of Spring skiing I've ever had.

The sky was blue, the snow was white, it was warm and everything fell into place except my stamina.

Rob and I skied ten runs and I was exhausted. I really wanted to ski more but I know that was probably not smart, considering how tired I was.

An absolutely GREAT day!

Ship Your Pants

I just suffered through the worst episode of shitting myself in years, if not my entire lifetime.

I went to breakfast with Mark and I felt an ever so slight urge to visit the bathroom before we left Ferguson's. But I ignored it. Dumbass! I had two errands I wanted to run and I thought I was okay. Stupid, stupid Man!!!

I drove to a local ski shop and bought some all purpose ski wax. Then I went to Staples to get some file folders so I can be more organized.

I collected my pack of file folders and felt a little burp in the butt region as I walked to the check out.

I made it to the truck and realized I was in distress. I drove home as quick as I could and felt a couple more burps that had me crowning.

The thing I hate most about this is that the closer you get to the toilet, the less sphincter control you have.

As I put the key in the door, I lost all control.

The bathroom was a mess. The sink, the bathtub and the shower were disaster areas. I managed to get undressed and get into the shower. I got my pants and my undies rinsed out enough to be acceptable to the washer.

What a nightmare!    

Ski Day #11

The update on my arm injury is that I skied today. No issues! Didn't even notice any pains or problems.

It was a nice mostly sunny day. The wind was light and Rob and I skied 15 runs. That's my most runs for a day this season. I really felt good. My stamina was in pretty good shape. I stopped fewer times on each run.

I did have one incident where we were skiing over to the B-29 and I tried a different way which ended up in a sea of trees in untracked snow. I eventually fell trying to navigate the trees and totally wore myself out getting back up.

I also renewed my Season Pass for next year.

After a brief stop at the Hub, I came home and enjoyed a nice dip in the hot tub.

Damaged Arm Update

I went to the Doctor yesterday and he confirmed my thoughts that there was nothing broken, just some muscle damage. He gave me some Prednisone and told me to come back in a week.

I took my third one this morning and I am starting to feel improvement. I had a much better nights sleep and my range of motion this morning is much better.

Now I have to go and scrape some window trim.

Ski Day #10

Susan and I skied at Lookout Pass today. It turned out to be a great day with one little exception.

It was clear blue skies when we arrived and even though we had access to the handicap parking right up front, there were not a lot of people on the mountain and we would have had good parking anyway.

I was excited for this day because Lookout has opened a new chairlift on a completely separate mountain. The picture above is a view of the new mountain from the top of Rainbow Ridge.

After a few runs together, Susan and I broke off and I headed for the new chair, Chair #5.

After a couple of enjoyable runs, we connected back at the bottom of Chair #2. We decided to take a few more runs and then meet at the lodge.

I skied nine runs. Susan skied seven. On my eighth run, I was planning to take two more, giving me a even 10 runs. I was skiing along when I got an edge. I went over on my left side, trapping my left arm between my torso and the ground. I hit hard! I got up slowly and realized that my arm was hurting. It wasn't in the joints, more a dull pain in my upper arm, in the muscle.

I decided against going for ten runs and took Chair #2 to the top and skied towards the lodge.

Susan said she had a fall on her last run as well.

We bought some beer and had lunch and limped down to the car.

It was a great day but man, my arm is sore. I cannot lift it in front of me. If I use my right hand, I can lift it without too much pain. I think I'll call my doctor tomorrow.  

Ski Day #9

Mt. Spokane has shifted to its Spring schedule which means they are closed on Monday and Tuesday.

This week, Mt. Spokane got nine inches of snow between Sunday night and late Tuesday.

When Rob and I got up to the mountain at 10:00, it was already packed. We managed to score the last available handicap space at Lodge One.

The climb to the lift at Lodge One is quite an arduous one, due to it's length and it's elevation. So I was pretty wiped out when we reached the 10 minute chairlift line.

Fortunately, that was the only line we stood in all day. The rest of the day, the crowd spread out and there were no long lines. Half the people in this city must have taken the day off the attack the powder.

We got in ten runs and I am feeling every one of them.