Now movement is almost back to normal and is more a matter of fatigue, in that as I get more tired i will get a little more wobbly but only slightly and an increase in concentration will often improve the motion. Still waiting on results of MRA.
So a new year , and hopefully a better one than the last. Though its become apparent that this pandemic will take more effort to beat!
Personally i used to avoid new year resolutions as a set up for failure. I had attempted earlier in
A goodly amount of travelling reduced mu exercise program but still:-
Wed: Yoga joined by my wife.
Thu: Gym
Fri: drove tp Phoenix ate out.
Sat: event & drove home.
Sun. Day off.
Mon: Drove to Sedona and made presentation. Ate out.
Tues drove home got sick - feels like a flu.
The big challenge for the week was returning to public speaking. Especially as I still have trouble controlling speech. I was sufficiently concerned that I had a dream 2 day
This week its been harder to note specific improvement. Rather I seem to have realized that I may have to push beyond habits i've fallen into. I had started , and continue to run back from barn to the house every morning after feeding the horses. Yet I realized that I walk in a very steady and cautious way which has now served me for several months. One evening my wife was calling me to the bathroom to take meds and I realized I use to walk much faster in such circumstance. I increased stride an
My father was a master Marine on the Great Lakes run. At 7 he brought me a View Master 3d viewer and I remember most a cavern wonders of the world disc and image of Carlsbad Cavern. Well I finally got to see it. Deb and I took a 5 day road trip for valentines and our 19th anniversary, From a recovery point of view I probably did more walking than ever since my stroke. The caverns were a couple of hours of very up and down and uneven trails but the hand rails were a great help. The trip was fun a
So after years of trying to keep my blood pressure down and taking lisinopril my stoke doctor likes the Bp elevated some. My arteries in the base of my brain are very narrow so hes or with higher blood pressure is supposed to push though this restriction. I track it every morning and graph it. It all over the place and no trend is readily visible. Over time a drop would suggest improvement which is what my Dr hopes for.
Some improvement are so subtle that it may be several days before I rea
So it's 2020! I'm not usually into blogging or journals etc. But some times I loose track of my recovery and dip into depression. Every day seems such and effort and I try and keep an attitude of gratitude, for still being here if nothing else. Daily improvement is so slow that I loose sight of my baseline, which is I can out after the stoke paralyzed in both limbs on the left side and unable to speak. Yesterday was New Years Eve and my last physio therapy session in which I ran. My recovery has
Single digit temperature have restricted project I was attempting to get to but been driven inside changed the focus to a traditional activity which has been neglected for a few years: the making of xmas mince pies!
Stroke wise there's not much to tell measuring progress to date as short falls from normal. Which is itself a progress as this time last year i was still wearing an ankle brace for any extended walking and sleeping a great deal to recover from even moderate effort. Still
Those who may have read last weeks blog will know i'm pushing for normal. Generally its been working great! i'm estimating about an 85% rate and it feels good when I get it right as for a few minutes I fell no deficits. The slight down side it that occasionally on rougher ground i lose a little balance. and may stagger slightly for a stride or 2 it challenges my balance and may induce a little headiness. but I have not taken a fall yet, and believe that balance challenge is probably good neuro p
145/83 BP was a pleasant reading this morning, a bit lower than my average 152/88 ( Remember I have prescribed hypertension) my doctor likes higher BP to push thru my constricted veins. So a natural drop in BP suggest a possible clearing of veins.
The push for normal movement continues but I can't claim to have identified any specific improvements.
This weeks specific project is to harvest the marihuana plants. We are lucky that in AZ we have legal marihuana and I 'm far enough away f
Well this weeks 'big event' was our 20th anniversary. Usually we would go somewhere a bit special , like last year we took a road trip to Roswell and Carlsbad caverns but this year we had to make the best of it at home in isolation. As many here know we are vegan but we still managed to indulge in a couple of meals that were out of the usual. Deb made me a British breakfast with faux meat sausages.
This was a repeat of my birthday breakfast. For dinner we indulged in cheese burger w
So I'm so close to normal movement that identifying improvement is a challenge. I am moving normally unless fatigued but the easier movement leads me to imbalances quite often. However such are recovered quickly and instinctively. I'm steadily taking on more project work and my stamina is slowly increasing. I tend to work mostly in the mornings and still have a nap in the afternoons but not every day, which is a major improvement from 6 months ago when any exertion would need a nap after to rec
So actually had to go out this week! We get our income form a few rentals and we had a tenant leave so we had to go out to assess clean up needs, which included taking a traitor of junk to the dump. So some interaction with others hopefully at a safe distance, wearing masks and gloves. It felt good to be out and about but I was somewhat nervous in the interactions. Its good to be mobile enough again that I can do a lot of tasks required .,but I must admit I hired 2 guys to help with the heavy l
I find the level of turmoil in the USA rather disturbing and it tends to affect my mood. So there's little I can do about that so I try and remember to enjoy each fay and that I almost left the planet.
Things are growing rapidly now and we are already eating produce from the hoop house. Our first tomato was harvested this week , we ate it separate from any other food. The flavor was intense after a winter of shop bought ones. Many green ones will soon ripen and follow. Gardening still takes
Well this virus will definitely put a dent in routine. My wife and I have decided to self-isolate as much as possible. We have cancelled all appointments and the Gym is closed and Yoga cancelled for now. We only have 20 cases so far in Arizona and they are all in the valley. Were going out for animal food later today but are paying in advance by credit card and they will just dump the stuff in the back of the pickup when we arrive. Better safe than sorry!
On a more fun note the weather brok
A recent snow blizzard created some extra work for me. The roof of a horse barn ah to be well ventilated but that means there is space for snow to enter when blown by strong winds.
This resulted in stalls been filled with melting snow and making the horse bedding wet. So one evening we had to dig wet bedding out of two stalls and replace it.
I decided to do the heavy digging work myself and let Deb drive the tractor to dump the stuff onto out compost piles.
The situa
Well on Thursday last I was moving a bail of hay , which had fallen weirdly and jammed in position. I lifted with my legs but had my elbow bent slightly. Just as it started to move I felt my forearm muscles tear like breaking old sting. The felling was sickening , both mentally and physically! So that led to 3 days off nursing the arm. Its been getting better each day but is still to tender to risk riding. I did get back to the treadmill. On a better note I have been lengthening my walking str
So Wednesday around again so soon.! This week seems to be an odd job week. Which is in itself a good thing. These projects are quiet tiring as my stamina is far from what it used to me but I can balance, climb ladders (carefully ) and am dexterous enough again to handle power tools. Its also the anniversary of my stroke so its been a year. This time last year I was making a bucket list as I was not sure I would last much longer! I made Monument Valley & Carlsbad Caverns before the virus grou
Sill in isolation so tending to use my treadmill as I cant get out, Walking has suddenly become more balanced, only limping slightly when tired. So Im trying to build up the leg muscles and my stamina which is still far from my old levels. My headiness has reduced some and seems to be associate with balance in new or unusual motion. For example I had to go down om my knees while checking tire pressure this weekend, not a usual position and the headiness was induced. One of the community wells in
Well this week I can't identify any actual improvements. Of course they can be so subtle now I have to pay attention to spot one. I do catch my self slipping back to my safe walk and find myself having to coach myself , like "Come on a bit faster" as I continue to move more as I used to. This week I have been involved with installing a big drum composter. The screwing of nuts onto bolts was an exercise they used to have me do in rehab, and I found I was flashing back to that as i had to do it a
At 5500ft we can get freezes as late as May 28th. but it looks like we are clear now. 47F this morning and we will go to 80s lter in the day, Every thing is blooming and the nest built in our chicken coop is now home to newly hatched chics.
My stamina seams to be increasing slightly as I get thru more in the day with less breaks. Some lovely sunny mornings which are prefect for long rides. Recovery is small increments now and realizations. Like I went to mount the other morning and
Well another week where I thought i'd have no specific improvement to report. Then yesterday i was caught with my hands full in the tack room of the barn, Feed in one hand and a kitty in the other. I had managed to pen the door and go in but now needed to close it .( The cat is closed in the tack room at night due to coyote and owls) With out thinking I flipped my leg back and kicked it close. I then realised what I had done! I had transferred weight onto one leg, a balancing that I would have n
Here we are on the weekly blog, but little to tell. No identifiable improvements but I am to be getting to do more work than at the beginning of the year so I'm hoping that's a sign of increasing stamina. So we are down in the 30s some mornings lately though still 80S afternoon. That kind of highj dessert swing can let an early frost sneak in so we have been harvesting crops that would get damaged. This weeks main target the peppers.
The various wok loads make it hard to gauge but I
A quiet week. Its been very windy so have passed the time more indoors. Arizona is having a major relapse with the Corona virus so we aren't going anywhere for a while. Perhaps even a long while! I was entertaining my self with planning a trip to the UK and Paris which we have been intending to take with Deb's parents for their 50th Wedding Anniversary next June 2021. Then yesterday we heard the Americans won't be allowed to fly to Europe! At the rate we are going we could still have that proble
So this week I engaged in more work around the house and garden with some significant results. I offered to help with vacuuming the house. The to and thro motion of this induces a strange headiness as I transferred weight from one foot to the other. Later my walking changed to a longer stride and during my first walk of the day, which id from house to barn to feed horses, the walk felt vary natural and indistinguishable from my pre-stroke walk. It still gets a little wobbly as the day goes on an
Well last weeks record of 40mins at 3 mph was not exactly by intent. I walk watching cold West Wing episodes and loss track of time. Paid or it with some soreness next day so I kicked back. I returned to exercise Thursday for 20 mins. I should have waited longer! I strained the same muscle and ended up having to take 3 days to get out of pain. In fact I've decide to take the week off the treadmill. Even so the week wasn't all off as we cleaned out the chicken coop. We deep litter this so it o
