MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
There must be someone to whom I can report my Physical Therapist! Vicious! Heartless! Unyielding! Without pity or remorse! I find it hard to believe that such workouts as I am forced to undergo can possibly be within the bound of proper medicine or even the law! When one of the little old blue-haired ladies with whom I share this therapist keep muttering "bastard" and "son-of-a-bitch" under their breath, you know something must be wrong!
Ah yes, but then, I am getting better and by the end of the week (next) should be crutchless. That's a good thing as I need to get down to start work on ABISHAG. I am acting on the assumption ( yes, I know all about not to "assume") but with only one, count 'em one(1), nibble, I dare say she won't be sold this year, which means that she will be sailed though exactly how I am going to swing this financially is still a bit of a mystery. But I love a good mystery.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Water! Water Everywhere!
SHIP'S LOG:
It is still raining! Most of southeastern Connecticut and seemingly all of Rhode Island are being washed away. I am wondering about ABISHAG as she is all but cut-off to access by car. Route 1 is your basic small(sometimes not so small) stream over-flowing its banks and of course is the demarcation line between the coast (and the marinas where be the boats) and the rest of the North American continent. And as they say all over New England, "You can't get there from here!"
One good thing: ABISHAG was stored in the water. This means that she rises and falls with the level of the water. Though I have seen no news with this regard, it is possible, and it has happened before, that boats stored ashore have had their blocks and support stands washed away causing the boats to fall over. It is also a very rare event for only one boat to fall. If one goes, packed as tightly together as they are, others usually follow. The downside of being in the water is the potential for damage from the flotsam and jetsam that gets washed into the river and down stream by the flooding. One thing in ABISHAG's favor is that she is moored on the downstream side of the dock so the dock, as well as those boats moored on the upstream side of the dock, provide her with considerable protection from damage by floating debris.
Of course, with fixed docks - that is docks that don't rise and fall with the tide or increased water levels - she is fixed by docklines that are set for the normal range of rise and fall. Hopefully, the yard people have been diligent about monitoring the conditions and have made the adjustments necessary. Of course, with the brokers who are trying to sell her having their office right in the same yard as ABISHAG is moored, and not 200 yards away, there are an extra set or two of eyes and helping hands. If, for whatever reason she or another craft breaks loose, she could suffer a lot of damage and cause a lot as well. And with no insurance . . . . . AH, the fun of boat ownership!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I can't begin to express how sick I am of the current weather. The gray skies and rain and cold and wind are incredibly depressing to me. And they make my new hip ache! Well, not necessarily the hip but all of the stuff around it that got cut and stitched. It is not real pain, just achiness which only adds to the nastiness of the present climatic situation. Crutching around on but one crutch is encouraging but it will still be a couple of weeks before the mobility is sufficient for me to really get out and moving. Then it will be down to the boatyard to do the spring work and get ABISHAG launched. If it is sunny, I won't care. As long as there is no rain and at least some sun, I won't care. It will probably seem enjoyable to get to work at last.
It is still raining! Most of southeastern Connecticut and seemingly all of Rhode Island are being washed away. I am wondering about ABISHAG as she is all but cut-off to access by car. Route 1 is your basic small(sometimes not so small) stream over-flowing its banks and of course is the demarcation line between the coast (and the marinas where be the boats) and the rest of the North American continent. And as they say all over New England, "You can't get there from here!"
One good thing: ABISHAG was stored in the water. This means that she rises and falls with the level of the water. Though I have seen no news with this regard, it is possible, and it has happened before, that boats stored ashore have had their blocks and support stands washed away causing the boats to fall over. It is also a very rare event for only one boat to fall. If one goes, packed as tightly together as they are, others usually follow. The downside of being in the water is the potential for damage from the flotsam and jetsam that gets washed into the river and down stream by the flooding. One thing in ABISHAG's favor is that she is moored on the downstream side of the dock so the dock, as well as those boats moored on the upstream side of the dock, provide her with considerable protection from damage by floating debris.
Of course, with fixed docks - that is docks that don't rise and fall with the tide or increased water levels - she is fixed by docklines that are set for the normal range of rise and fall. Hopefully, the yard people have been diligent about monitoring the conditions and have made the adjustments necessary. Of course, with the brokers who are trying to sell her having their office right in the same yard as ABISHAG is moored, and not 200 yards away, there are an extra set or two of eyes and helping hands. If, for whatever reason she or another craft breaks loose, she could suffer a lot of damage and cause a lot as well. And with no insurance . . . . . AH, the fun of boat ownership!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I can't begin to express how sick I am of the current weather. The gray skies and rain and cold and wind are incredibly depressing to me. And they make my new hip ache! Well, not necessarily the hip but all of the stuff around it that got cut and stitched. It is not real pain, just achiness which only adds to the nastiness of the present climatic situation. Crutching around on but one crutch is encouraging but it will still be a couple of weeks before the mobility is sufficient for me to really get out and moving. Then it will be down to the boatyard to do the spring work and get ABISHAG launched. If it is sunny, I won't care. As long as there is no rain and at least some sun, I won't care. It will probably seem enjoyable to get to work at last.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
So This IS Spring? ?? ? ??
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well I am back at the "Hermitage" and now I have to deal with stairs on a full time basis. Truth be told, they are not all that difficult, especially going up, though going down is still a little on the hinkey side. I have got to remind myself over and over again not to rush and to be careful of crutch placement as momentum and gravity are powerful forces, especially when working together!!!! I would really hate to take a tumble and ruin all young Doctor Sean's handiwork!
I am off of all of the pain medication now, except for the "as needed" meds which I haven't needed . . . as of yet. There was no pain whatever before but now there is! Nothing much, but I can tell where every cut, slash & stitch was and is. I am down to one crutch which is a 50% improvement. My new PT thinks I am ready for out patient Physical Therapy. Rather than her coming here, I will venture to the out-patient physical therapy facility at the local hospital. Perhaps I go back the the private PT facility where I re-habbed my wrist when I shattered it a couple of years ago.
One of the things I have to be careful of is how I move the right leg and hip. I can't cross my legs, I can't allow the knee to be higher than the hip. I can't inward or outward turn the high by more than 45 degrees and certainly I can't do all three at once. Doing so will result in a dislocation of the hip. With the intensity and sincerity and earnestness with which the medical people talk about not wanting this to happen, I get the rather distinct impression that it really is something to be avoided at all cost. The surgery was described as rather violent, with lots of pounding and sawing and leveraging and drilling and grinding, something akin to changing the rings on an engine. I gather from the description and the cautions, "re-locating" a dislocated hip prosthesis is something akin to replacing a transmission, lots of leveraging and pounding and the like. I have been cautioned again and again, ad nausem, not to do anything that would risk it. It should make for a fun post-Easter time as I get the boat ready for the season.
Poor ABISHAG! She has tickled no one's fancy this winter, except for that one guy, but nothing came of that. It looks like if she is not going to sell, she is going to sail. I am not sure just how that will work out, but I leave such things up to God these days. God will work it all out in some way and I am just going along for the ride. It makes it feel a whole lot better not having to carry that weight. But in any event, I have to get her ready so that she can be splashed come May or else it will be more money for the ever hungry boatyard. Anybody out there have any POWERBALL Winnings they would like to share? Just asking.
Well I am back at the "Hermitage" and now I have to deal with stairs on a full time basis. Truth be told, they are not all that difficult, especially going up, though going down is still a little on the hinkey side. I have got to remind myself over and over again not to rush and to be careful of crutch placement as momentum and gravity are powerful forces, especially when working together!!!! I would really hate to take a tumble and ruin all young Doctor Sean's handiwork!
I am off of all of the pain medication now, except for the "as needed" meds which I haven't needed . . . as of yet. There was no pain whatever before but now there is! Nothing much, but I can tell where every cut, slash & stitch was and is. I am down to one crutch which is a 50% improvement. My new PT thinks I am ready for out patient Physical Therapy. Rather than her coming here, I will venture to the out-patient physical therapy facility at the local hospital. Perhaps I go back the the private PT facility where I re-habbed my wrist when I shattered it a couple of years ago.
One of the things I have to be careful of is how I move the right leg and hip. I can't cross my legs, I can't allow the knee to be higher than the hip. I can't inward or outward turn the high by more than 45 degrees and certainly I can't do all three at once. Doing so will result in a dislocation of the hip. With the intensity and sincerity and earnestness with which the medical people talk about not wanting this to happen, I get the rather distinct impression that it really is something to be avoided at all cost. The surgery was described as rather violent, with lots of pounding and sawing and leveraging and drilling and grinding, something akin to changing the rings on an engine. I gather from the description and the cautions, "re-locating" a dislocated hip prosthesis is something akin to replacing a transmission, lots of leveraging and pounding and the like. I have been cautioned again and again, ad nausem, not to do anything that would risk it. It should make for a fun post-Easter time as I get the boat ready for the season.
Poor ABISHAG! She has tickled no one's fancy this winter, except for that one guy, but nothing came of that. It looks like if she is not going to sell, she is going to sail. I am not sure just how that will work out, but I leave such things up to God these days. God will work it all out in some way and I am just going along for the ride. It makes it feel a whole lot better not having to carry that weight. But in any event, I have to get her ready so that she can be splashed come May or else it will be more money for the ever hungry boatyard. Anybody out there have any POWERBALL Winnings they would like to share? Just asking.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
March Is Back! Damn! ! !
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am not a winter person, but if you have to have cold weather, let's have snow. Somehow, it seems appropriate and you can always curl up with a good book by the fire . . . . and you have to admit that a lot of times, snow storms are pretty to watch.
Early spring has no such redeeming quality . . . perhaps with the sole exception that eventually it gives way to actually "Spring" and then to Summer and then to sailing. Last week, when temperatures actually hit the 70's a couple of times and I could actually laze about on the patio and watch the clouds rolls by, has become a mere "cruel" dream. After two days of cold rain, i am beginning to wonder if it was all not just a illusion. I still need sunshine as my vitamin "D", or is it "A" supplies are low and I get mopey. Even with the Red Sox on TV, I can barely "survive."
Tomorrow the staples go away. Huzzah! For those of you who might have escaped "stapling" so far in your surgical history, you are out when they go in and very much with it when they get taken out. It is something akin to a "long root canal!" Perhaps there will be something to dull the pain?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!
No new inquiries about ABISHAG, which is both good and bad. Good because I don't want to sell her and bad because, unless something changes, I have to sell. Things are not much better on the condo front. I just had a meeting with my realtor to sign a renewal contract. In the past , there have been 21,000 hits specific to my condo. Evidently, the hold up is that because of the market, you need 20% down for a variable and that is the sticking point. We talked about seeing if we can do a deal with HSBC the current mortgage holder(fixed) to see if we can work something out. Perhaps something may come of it. Then again, pigs may fly . . . but not anytime soon!
I am not a winter person, but if you have to have cold weather, let's have snow. Somehow, it seems appropriate and you can always curl up with a good book by the fire . . . . and you have to admit that a lot of times, snow storms are pretty to watch.
Early spring has no such redeeming quality . . . perhaps with the sole exception that eventually it gives way to actually "Spring" and then to Summer and then to sailing. Last week, when temperatures actually hit the 70's a couple of times and I could actually laze about on the patio and watch the clouds rolls by, has become a mere "cruel" dream. After two days of cold rain, i am beginning to wonder if it was all not just a illusion. I still need sunshine as my vitamin "D", or is it "A" supplies are low and I get mopey. Even with the Red Sox on TV, I can barely "survive."
Tomorrow the staples go away. Huzzah! For those of you who might have escaped "stapling" so far in your surgical history, you are out when they go in and very much with it when they get taken out. It is something akin to a "long root canal!" Perhaps there will be something to dull the pain?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!
No new inquiries about ABISHAG, which is both good and bad. Good because I don't want to sell her and bad because, unless something changes, I have to sell. Things are not much better on the condo front. I just had a meeting with my realtor to sign a renewal contract. In the past , there have been 21,000 hits specific to my condo. Evidently, the hold up is that because of the market, you need 20% down for a variable and that is the sticking point. We talked about seeing if we can do a deal with HSBC the current mortgage holder(fixed) to see if we can work something out. Perhaps something may come of it. Then again, pigs may fly . . . but not anytime soon!
Monday, March 22, 2010
So Much For An Early Summer
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well it was too good to last. The weather that is. And now it is returning to where it "should be," the weather of March. It will be a good thing to have a spring in that we have not had one for several years now and a slow warming, to match a slow healing, would be appreciated. Ome good thing I just realized what that the shift in the weather was not presaged by a corresponding "ache" in the hip. I guess one of my "barometers" has been permanently removed adn now I am down to two knees, my lower back, my left wrist and several fingers with which to forceast the approaching weather. I would be more than happy to depend on the weather channel but a "slight" lessening to the forecasting "aches" is still aprreciated.
I did "too much" yesterday. My sisters took me out for lunch and a drive and by the time I got back I was exhausted. I hit the rack and slept for three hours straight. I am still amazed how tiring doing seemingly nothing can be!
My PT guy just showed up so I am off to go walking and exercising. O joy!
Well it was too good to last. The weather that is. And now it is returning to where it "should be," the weather of March. It will be a good thing to have a spring in that we have not had one for several years now and a slow warming, to match a slow healing, would be appreciated. Ome good thing I just realized what that the shift in the weather was not presaged by a corresponding "ache" in the hip. I guess one of my "barometers" has been permanently removed adn now I am down to two knees, my lower back, my left wrist and several fingers with which to forceast the approaching weather. I would be more than happy to depend on the weather channel but a "slight" lessening to the forecasting "aches" is still aprreciated.
I did "too much" yesterday. My sisters took me out for lunch and a drive and by the time I got back I was exhausted. I hit the rack and slept for three hours straight. I am still amazed how tiring doing seemingly nothing can be!
My PT guy just showed up so I am off to go walking and exercising. O joy!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
It's May In March! ! ! ! !
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
One of the toughest things about recovering from my operation is the planning involved in even the most simple and mundane activity. To get up out of a chair for instance, I have to have my crutches within ease reach. I have to make sure that the area around the chair is uncluttered. I have to position my crutches so that I am pushing up and out with my arms as I am lifting with my legs. I have to be conscious of my balance until I am "in balance" for one out of every 15 or so maneuvers is a little "off." This also means I have to plan on "returning to the landing site" each time I "take off."
I have to constantly remind myself not "to reach" but to move to whatever it is I want. I also have to remember to take everything I need to perform a "particular" function. I have developed an ability to have a mental check list and to run down it whenever I move between here and there to do this and that.
All of this sounds a bit complicated but for a sailor, it is almost second nature. Whenever I am sailing, I am forever mentally going over the lists of necessary things to do to say change course, drop anchor, raise or lower sails. If I think out and plan out each maneuver, it usually goes off without a hitch and if there is a hitch, it is most often anticipated and accounted for. Still, it doesn't mean that I have not during my recovery already left some "vital item" in at the farthest point away from where I need it to be at one particular moment.
The weather has been spectacular and I have been forced, forced mind you, to sit outside and soak-up lots of vitamins (A(?) and/or D (?)). I am still suffering the fatigue attacks but they seem to be getting few in number and are are spacing themselves farther and farther apart. Sleep at night is longer and deeper and less interrupted. Rather than awakening every 45 minutes or so, I am actually making it almost all the way through the night. What usually wakes me now is not so much a FLOMAX moment as it is sliding my arm across the rip saw blade made up of the staples on my hip. Thankfully they will be gone on Wednesday. Huzzah!
I am spending some small time figuring out how to do all of the maintenance on ABISHAG with the limitations of movement I will have. If I am told one more time that I can dislocate the hip by bending, squatting or twisting the wrong way, I think I will scream. Maintenance on a sailboat is all about bending and twisting and squatting, not to mention stretching and reaching. Perhaps, I will win Powerball and will be able to hire a limber soul to handle it all. Not likely, but you never know!
One of the toughest things about recovering from my operation is the planning involved in even the most simple and mundane activity. To get up out of a chair for instance, I have to have my crutches within ease reach. I have to make sure that the area around the chair is uncluttered. I have to position my crutches so that I am pushing up and out with my arms as I am lifting with my legs. I have to be conscious of my balance until I am "in balance" for one out of every 15 or so maneuvers is a little "off." This also means I have to plan on "returning to the landing site" each time I "take off."
I have to constantly remind myself not "to reach" but to move to whatever it is I want. I also have to remember to take everything I need to perform a "particular" function. I have developed an ability to have a mental check list and to run down it whenever I move between here and there to do this and that.
All of this sounds a bit complicated but for a sailor, it is almost second nature. Whenever I am sailing, I am forever mentally going over the lists of necessary things to do to say change course, drop anchor, raise or lower sails. If I think out and plan out each maneuver, it usually goes off without a hitch and if there is a hitch, it is most often anticipated and accounted for. Still, it doesn't mean that I have not during my recovery already left some "vital item" in at the farthest point away from where I need it to be at one particular moment.
The weather has been spectacular and I have been forced, forced mind you, to sit outside and soak-up lots of vitamins (A(?) and/or D (?)). I am still suffering the fatigue attacks but they seem to be getting few in number and are are spacing themselves farther and farther apart. Sleep at night is longer and deeper and less interrupted. Rather than awakening every 45 minutes or so, I am actually making it almost all the way through the night. What usually wakes me now is not so much a FLOMAX moment as it is sliding my arm across the rip saw blade made up of the staples on my hip. Thankfully they will be gone on Wednesday. Huzzah!
I am spending some small time figuring out how to do all of the maintenance on ABISHAG with the limitations of movement I will have. If I am told one more time that I can dislocate the hip by bending, squatting or twisting the wrong way, I think I will scream. Maintenance on a sailboat is all about bending and twisting and squatting, not to mention stretching and reaching. Perhaps, I will win Powerball and will be able to hire a limber soul to handle it all. Not likely, but you never know!
Friday, March 19, 2010
I've Got Weather Helm! ! ! ! !
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
"Weather Helm" is a sailing term that refers to the tendency of a boat to "turn into the wind." Due to the design of the boat, the type of rig she carries and the configuration/combination of sails she is carrying, a boat will, if the helm (steering wheel) is release,tend to sail along on course by itself. If any of the above mention characteristics is out of balance, the boat will turn up into the wind (weather helm . . . turning into the weather) - a good thing as she will slowly come to a stop, or she will turn away from the wind (lee helm . . . turning to the lee of the weather) - not always a good thing as she will keep right on sailing whether you are on board or not. A balanced helm - will just a slight weather helm - is always best.
I have developed a "personal weather helm" as with the hip replaced and the muscles not fully stretched out and realigned, the strive of my right leg is not as great as that of my left, so I find myself going in small circles to the right. This will undoubtedly correct itself as the healing continues and the crutches get dumped for a cane and eventually for nothing at all.
After a weekend of horrendous weather, this week has been progressively more wonderful, with temps in the 50's and even flirting with the 60's. There is even a possibility of one day in the 70's over the weekend . . . before the return of the snow. That last part is mere speculation, but it seems to fit seamlessly with the way things have been going so I just tossed it in.
Yesterday was a truly glorious day as I got to take my first shower. Please keep you snide comments to yourselves!!!!!!! After two weeks a sponge baths, to be able to stand in the shower and have the water beat down was glorious almost beyond the power of speech. As I said to my home health aide, "Boy, I could stand here for an hour!" He informed me that I had a 45 minute time limit as that was the length of his "assisting" and I couldn't stay in and get out of the shower all by myself. . . . without prior medical approval. I did 30 minutes! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The staples get pulled next Wednesday and I can't wait for that. My mobility is great and I can "scoot" quite well, and stairs are not the problem I anticipated. I am still ambushed by "fatigue." It is not surprising when, after doing 50 stairs or so, that I get the sudden urge to do a serious power nap, rather it is the "sneak attack" that comes when I am simply sitting and reading or working at the computer and I doze off in place. While they are probably getting less in duration and fewer in number, they are still annoying.
No bids or bites on anything up for sale. I can "appreciate" God's control of the situation but the "trusting" part at times is a real high wire act. I have to move from saying that "so far" God has always been there and just believe that such will always be the case. Easier some days than others, but I be working on it.
"Weather Helm" is a sailing term that refers to the tendency of a boat to "turn into the wind." Due to the design of the boat, the type of rig she carries and the configuration/combination of sails she is carrying, a boat will, if the helm (steering wheel) is release,tend to sail along on course by itself. If any of the above mention characteristics is out of balance, the boat will turn up into the wind (weather helm . . . turning into the weather) - a good thing as she will slowly come to a stop, or she will turn away from the wind (lee helm . . . turning to the lee of the weather) - not always a good thing as she will keep right on sailing whether you are on board or not. A balanced helm - will just a slight weather helm - is always best.
I have developed a "personal weather helm" as with the hip replaced and the muscles not fully stretched out and realigned, the strive of my right leg is not as great as that of my left, so I find myself going in small circles to the right. This will undoubtedly correct itself as the healing continues and the crutches get dumped for a cane and eventually for nothing at all.
After a weekend of horrendous weather, this week has been progressively more wonderful, with temps in the 50's and even flirting with the 60's. There is even a possibility of one day in the 70's over the weekend . . . before the return of the snow. That last part is mere speculation, but it seems to fit seamlessly with the way things have been going so I just tossed it in.
Yesterday was a truly glorious day as I got to take my first shower. Please keep you snide comments to yourselves!!!!!!! After two weeks a sponge baths, to be able to stand in the shower and have the water beat down was glorious almost beyond the power of speech. As I said to my home health aide, "Boy, I could stand here for an hour!" He informed me that I had a 45 minute time limit as that was the length of his "assisting" and I couldn't stay in and get out of the shower all by myself. . . . without prior medical approval. I did 30 minutes! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The staples get pulled next Wednesday and I can't wait for that. My mobility is great and I can "scoot" quite well, and stairs are not the problem I anticipated. I am still ambushed by "fatigue." It is not surprising when, after doing 50 stairs or so, that I get the sudden urge to do a serious power nap, rather it is the "sneak attack" that comes when I am simply sitting and reading or working at the computer and I doze off in place. While they are probably getting less in duration and fewer in number, they are still annoying.
No bids or bites on anything up for sale. I can "appreciate" God's control of the situation but the "trusting" part at times is a real high wire act. I have to move from saying that "so far" God has always been there and just believe that such will always be the case. Easier some days than others, but I be working on it.
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