SHIP'S LOG:
The appointment Tuesday past went well, everything was fine. The next 4 weeks will see all the bones healed, hopefully correctly, and then, as of December 15th, I will enter the next phase which mean PT! There is a little wiggle room for the healing, but the heel is key. If it isn't back where it should be, it will have to be broken again and I will have to wait for it to heal properly. You would thin, "How hard can it be not to walk on the heel of one foot?" Well, try it. Even with the walker, it can be more than a bit of a challenge. I spend a lot of time sitting and laying down, but there are times when you just have to get up and move around. Using the bathroom for a shower and all the other ablutions often require both hands and sometimes both feet. Trying to balance on one foot and the ball of the other takes a fair amount of practice and skill. I am trying my best but I get the impression it would be best if I never got out of bed at all. Right, tell that to my prostate!
All the staples were removed on Tuesday, all 47 of them though they left several stitches in place. They will just let them dissolve. The foot looks fine though it is a little swollen which means I have to keep it raised and ice it down a couple of times a day. I hope my best effort will be sufficient as I would not like to have to go through this all over again.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Cut & Slash
SHIP'S LOG:
So glad you all made past Friday the 13th.
I had a little accident taking a shower on Thursday, not a slip and
fall but a drip and leak. To take a shower without wetting the wrapping,
I wrap my cast.splint in a garbage bag and then seal it with plastic
packing tape, once around the top edge adhering it to the skin of my leg
and once below that just as precaution.It sound pretty good and you
would think "fool proof," but Thursday I managed somehow to leave an
entry way for the way.
After the shower, having removed the bag, I was drying off when I
noticed that I was leaving maroon marks on the formerly white bath mats I
got from my sister for my bathroom. Feeling along the bottom of the
wrappings, I could tell that they were damp and that what I was trailing
around was dried blood just recently liquefied by the water from the
shower. One of my sisters had a nasty infection experience from getting
a dressing on a surgical wound wet, so I contacted the doctor's office
and, even though I have an appointment on Tuesday next, the instructed
me to come up tho their clinic post hast.
I was able to impose upon a friend to rive me up and got seen right
away. The surgeon who did the cutting was, "surprise,"in surgery but his
PA was there and he took off the dressing. Yes, no wonder I was leaving
a bloody trail. There were four incisions on one ankle: 1.) one running
from the ball of the foot along the inner edge of the ankle all the way
to the pad under the ankle; 2.) one inscribing the bottom of the heel;
3.) one under the outer ankle bone; 4.) and the last mid-way up th e
inside of the calf which either was the sight of tendon harvest or
where a screw was set to hold the tendons in place. Both staples and
stitches were use and it is safe to say that it looked as though I had
been tap-dancing on a running chainsaw.
The good news, according to the PA was that there was no sign of any
type of infection whatsoever and everything was looking as it should,
everything in its proper place. The PA cleaned the foot, painted it with
Bedadine, put a special tape loaded with antibiotics over each of the
incisions and re-wrapped it. Rather than another splint/cast, I was
given a boot to wear and sent on my merry way, to appear Tuesday next
for the doctor to do a full inspection and assessment. If all goes well,
I should start physical therapy so after.
It is annoying clomping around the "Hermitage" in a boot and a walker though it is undoubtedly much better than being on a boat. How did they do it with peg legs? I am hoping that I will be able to ditch the walker but then that surely means PT has begun and no matter what the injury, that is never fun.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Bit And Pieces
SHIP'S LOG:
Truth be told there is nothing really new to report. I have one more week until my doctor's appointment and the removal of the splint/cast and the removal of the stitches and a determination of just how good a job the surgeon did on the ankle. it is difficult to say as I am not supposed to walk on it and that's fine as even with the walker it is not a "pleasant" experience. So I stay off it as much as possible and try to keep it elevated and all the other things the "papers" recommended. I know what the surgeon did but not what he actually did so all speculation on how it went is up in the air. All I can say is that there is no real pain, my toes are pink and I can wiggle them and there are no red streaks going up my leg. All good things I suppose but not a lot to hang your hat on. But at least there is no itching where I can't scratch it.
Big highlight of this day is that I took another shower! I have to go through a laborious process to wrap the leg securely against any chance of the dressings getting wet which is a no-no. Once they get wet they never dry out and it can lead to infection which is a major no-no. I have to wrap the leg up in a garbage bag and seal it shut with plastic packing tape to keep the water out. to minimize the chances of an accidental leakage, I take a Caribbean shower, developed over the years by sailors in the Caribbean who have to pay sometimes serious bucks for fresh water. You hose yourself down and turn the water off. You soap up all over and then turn the water on and wash off. Simple. And while it gets the job done I do miss a long soaking shower. Then the bag must be taken off and removing the packing tape is like getting a Brazilian. I have developed a rather strange looking "bald spot" on the upper part of my left leg.
One thing that i have noticed is that with the pain from the ankle significantly reduced the pain from the knees has increased. The brace takes care of the left knee and really it is the last step before replacement, so that will have to wait. However, the right knee is a cartilage issue and I am going to have to pester my other ortho cutter. I can both hear and feel the cartilage in the right knee and it won't get better on its own. However, he is not sure at this point whether or not removing or repairing it will eliminated the pain problem. I'll go see him after New Years and see what's what.
Truth be told there is nothing really new to report. I have one more week until my doctor's appointment and the removal of the splint/cast and the removal of the stitches and a determination of just how good a job the surgeon did on the ankle. it is difficult to say as I am not supposed to walk on it and that's fine as even with the walker it is not a "pleasant" experience. So I stay off it as much as possible and try to keep it elevated and all the other things the "papers" recommended. I know what the surgeon did but not what he actually did so all speculation on how it went is up in the air. All I can say is that there is no real pain, my toes are pink and I can wiggle them and there are no red streaks going up my leg. All good things I suppose but not a lot to hang your hat on. But at least there is no itching where I can't scratch it.
Big highlight of this day is that I took another shower! I have to go through a laborious process to wrap the leg securely against any chance of the dressings getting wet which is a no-no. Once they get wet they never dry out and it can lead to infection which is a major no-no. I have to wrap the leg up in a garbage bag and seal it shut with plastic packing tape to keep the water out. to minimize the chances of an accidental leakage, I take a Caribbean shower, developed over the years by sailors in the Caribbean who have to pay sometimes serious bucks for fresh water. You hose yourself down and turn the water off. You soap up all over and then turn the water on and wash off. Simple. And while it gets the job done I do miss a long soaking shower. Then the bag must be taken off and removing the packing tape is like getting a Brazilian. I have developed a rather strange looking "bald spot" on the upper part of my left leg.
One thing that i have noticed is that with the pain from the ankle significantly reduced the pain from the knees has increased. The brace takes care of the left knee and really it is the last step before replacement, so that will have to wait. However, the right knee is a cartilage issue and I am going to have to pester my other ortho cutter. I can both hear and feel the cartilage in the right knee and it won't get better on its own. However, he is not sure at this point whether or not removing or repairing it will eliminated the pain problem. I'll go see him after New Years and see what's what.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
CLOMP! CLOMP!! CLOMP!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Any nostalgic glamour that anyone might feel toward having a peg-leg, disburse yourself of it! Since Tuesday, I have sort of had a "peg-leg," a split-cast on my lower left leg and have been clomping around "the Hermitage." I have to use a walker so along with the clomp of the cast on the floor and the muffled thud of my other foot, there aluminum clinking of the walker. I have been lucky in that there has not been much in the way of pain. The down side of that is that it is easy to try and do too much and it gets exhausting and when I do too much, I end up having to nap for several hours. It's not easy to do so and keep your leg elevated.
And then there's the shower. I can't get the leg and the dressing wet. Do so and you run the risk of an infection developing in the wound. It happen to my sister. So for a few days, I made do with baby wipes and while they work OK, sometimes you just need the shower. I waited until I began to smell like a Yak, then wrapped a garbage bag around my cast, double taped it is place and took the shower. Not as easy as it sounds as the bag made it seem that I was standing on ice and doing so with the bad leg. it was a bit of job getting the shower do without falling, but all the effort was worth it to smell human again.
It will be a little more than a week until the cast gets unwrapped and hopefully removed. It will undoubtedly be replaced by some sort of walking boot/cast/splint. And hopefully I will find that the the surgery was a success.
Any nostalgic glamour that anyone might feel toward having a peg-leg, disburse yourself of it! Since Tuesday, I have sort of had a "peg-leg," a split-cast on my lower left leg and have been clomping around "the Hermitage." I have to use a walker so along with the clomp of the cast on the floor and the muffled thud of my other foot, there aluminum clinking of the walker. I have been lucky in that there has not been much in the way of pain. The down side of that is that it is easy to try and do too much and it gets exhausting and when I do too much, I end up having to nap for several hours. It's not easy to do so and keep your leg elevated.
And then there's the shower. I can't get the leg and the dressing wet. Do so and you run the risk of an infection developing in the wound. It happen to my sister. So for a few days, I made do with baby wipes and while they work OK, sometimes you just need the shower. I waited until I began to smell like a Yak, then wrapped a garbage bag around my cast, double taped it is place and took the shower. Not as easy as it sounds as the bag made it seem that I was standing on ice and doing so with the bad leg. it was a bit of job getting the shower do without falling, but all the effort was worth it to smell human again.
It will be a little more than a week until the cast gets unwrapped and hopefully removed. It will undoubtedly be replaced by some sort of walking boot/cast/splint. And hopefully I will find that the the surgery was a success.
Monday, November 2, 2015
It Be Winter . . Officially! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Yes, despite what the calendar says or what the temperature is reading, it is officially winter. It is so because I spent the morning wrapping ABISHAG up nice and tight for the coming blizzards. It seemed rather strange taking out all the stuff I just put aboard a few months ago, stuff I never got use. it is more than a slight bit depressing but it also means that we are one day closer to launching in the spring! And I will be in before Memorial Day!
When friend Fred and I were dismantling the furling gear last week, I found a fitting that is used attached the forestay to the stemhead (the wire on the front of of the mast which holds it up to a fitting on the pointy end of the boat) cut almost all the way through. There are two possibilities. #1, the yard workers did it when the were getting the tree and the boom from the other boat off of the bow of my boat; or #2 some low-life, mouth-breathing, cousin-marrying son-of-a-bitch had climbed up on ABISHAG and was trying to make off with the furling gear and got interrupted. Not a pleasant though in either case.
Tomorrow I will be headed off for surgery on my left ankle. I am not looking forward to it as everything I have heard indicates that it is a painful procedure and that the therapy is no piece of cake either. Everyone I have talked to who has had a similar procedure has indicate most vociferously that they would opt for multiple root canals done anally sans anesthetic. Thank goodness the "hermitage" is not much larger than my boat. It will make getting around easier.
Yes, despite what the calendar says or what the temperature is reading, it is officially winter. It is so because I spent the morning wrapping ABISHAG up nice and tight for the coming blizzards. It seemed rather strange taking out all the stuff I just put aboard a few months ago, stuff I never got use. it is more than a slight bit depressing but it also means that we are one day closer to launching in the spring! And I will be in before Memorial Day!
When friend Fred and I were dismantling the furling gear last week, I found a fitting that is used attached the forestay to the stemhead (the wire on the front of of the mast which holds it up to a fitting on the pointy end of the boat) cut almost all the way through. There are two possibilities. #1, the yard workers did it when the were getting the tree and the boom from the other boat off of the bow of my boat; or #2 some low-life, mouth-breathing, cousin-marrying son-of-a-bitch had climbed up on ABISHAG and was trying to make off with the furling gear and got interrupted. Not a pleasant though in either case.
Tomorrow I will be headed off for surgery on my left ankle. I am not looking forward to it as everything I have heard indicates that it is a painful procedure and that the therapy is no piece of cake either. Everyone I have talked to who has had a similar procedure has indicate most vociferously that they would opt for multiple root canals done anally sans anesthetic. Thank goodness the "hermitage" is not much larger than my boat. It will make getting around easier.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Boat And Other Work
SHIP'S LOG:
Wow, that was a fast two months! Then again, summer always passes quickly while winter drags on and on. O well, such is life.
I did have the chance to get out sailing every week, usually several times but it was always missing something. My boat for instance. As nice as it is to go out sailing on any boat, when it's not yours it just isn't the same. Every boat owner likes things a certain way, does things a certain way and I always find that I am deferring and it gets old after a while. then again it is better than not going sailing at all.
Did a lot of hours on the launch as over the summer most of the launch drivers begged off or took only a shift or two. It meant that the Fair Ivy and I ran the launch most if the time. running the launch isn't a bad way to make a buck . One is out in the sunshine (and the rain), in the summer breezes (and storms and gales) and one gets lots of practice in small boat handling. Most people have no idea what a skill it is to bring a 26foot launch up to their boat, which in the club range from 18 to 45 feet, stop it right along side without making serious contact with it ,then hold it in place while they get on or off, with or without "cargo" - coolers, sails and other assorted nautical items. Lots of times,they don't appreciate the fact that they aren't the only boat calling for service. This is especially true on race nights/days and on weekends. people tend to get a bit testy when they call and have to wait. it seems invariable that one will get a call from two boats at opposite ends of the mooring field which is 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile wide. It simply takes time to get from one boat to another and then back to the dock. We must also pick up all who call so they may also have to wait while the launch fills up before they get to where they are going. Another aspect of driving the launch, especially on week days when the number of users is smaller, is that one goes and picks up the grew off one boat and takes them back to the dock. You then tie up the launch and walk all the way back to the club hose only to get a call to go out to a boat way out on the edge of the field, or are greeted in the club house by someone who wants to go out. And of course, you render them the service with a smile because that's the job.
When it is really busy, I might not leave the launch for an entire 6 - 8 hour shift and that can be very tiring. When the launch is in motion, you are constantly shifting you weight to keep your balance because you run the launch standing up. At the end of the shift your ankles and knees are screaming. When it is really choppy it is even worse. And when it is hazy, hot and humid, you get dehydrated and have to constantly slug water or Gatorade. I have grown to really hate all kinds of Sports drinks.
But like I said, it is not a bad way to make a buck and that was a good thing this year as the Federal government shafted me. Due to my financial situation, I had to start taking Social Security Retirement early. What they don't tell you is that if you do, you are financially penalized if you make over a certain amount. So earlier this summer, I got a letter from Social Security saying that they had overpaid me and they wanted their money back. you would think that since they had the information and set the level and schedule of the payments they would have been on top of this from the beginning of the payments. nope! And rather than take a little out each month, they stopped paying me for the summer. The money I made from driving the launch went for regular living expenses rather than to cover the bills incurred from the Great Tree Incident and for the winter storage. And still Publisher's Clearing House has been unable to find me!
Friend Fred and I have gotten work done on ABISHAG.The damage bow pulpit and stanchions have been removed and the holes in the deck they left have been filed. The jib furling system has been dismantled completely and is intact. It does not appear that they is any damage that would require it be replaced totally, though perhaps some bearings and fittings may need/will need to be replaced. The forestay itself may have to be replaced. There is no visible damage readily apparent, but it has been stressed and that might render it unsafe. Sound Rigging will have to make the call on that in the spring. Pretty much all that can be done before spring has been done and over the weekend, I will close up and the boat and cover her. One heck of a sailing season!
Speaking of repairs, I am getting some done myself. My left ankle is a mess. All that balancing and rocking on the launch didn't help it at all. Neither did walking on it for that matter. Next week on the 3rd of November I am having an operation to correct the problem. My doctor will break the arch and the heel and re-build them. Then the tendons on the inside of the ankle, which are shredding and almost to the point of breaking, will be re-stitched and re-enforced. It will mean that I will be off my feet for 6-8weeks though other patients I encountered in the office waiting-room say that that is an over optimistic outlook and that the pain is nasty. We shall see what we shall see!
My left knee now has an expensive custom-made brace that cost between 1 and 2 Marine Units. You have to got back several years in the blog to find out how much a "Marine Unit" actually is but it is more than I could afford without help from my medical plan. Still I had a co-pay of $160 for the brace so that will give you some idea. It works every well and hopefully will continue to do so and so forestall the need for a knee replacement. My right knee, not so much. The cartilage is on both sides of the knee and while the doctor is considering the possibility of going in and cleaning it out, he is not sure that doing so will absolute solve the pain problem. Another brace would not help the situation until after. if then.
There you have it. I will try to be better with updates though heading into winter and surgery it might not always work out. The again, it is one day closer to launching ABISHAG!
Wow, that was a fast two months! Then again, summer always passes quickly while winter drags on and on. O well, such is life.
I did have the chance to get out sailing every week, usually several times but it was always missing something. My boat for instance. As nice as it is to go out sailing on any boat, when it's not yours it just isn't the same. Every boat owner likes things a certain way, does things a certain way and I always find that I am deferring and it gets old after a while. then again it is better than not going sailing at all.
Did a lot of hours on the launch as over the summer most of the launch drivers begged off or took only a shift or two. It meant that the Fair Ivy and I ran the launch most if the time. running the launch isn't a bad way to make a buck . One is out in the sunshine (and the rain), in the summer breezes (and storms and gales) and one gets lots of practice in small boat handling. Most people have no idea what a skill it is to bring a 26foot launch up to their boat, which in the club range from 18 to 45 feet, stop it right along side without making serious contact with it ,then hold it in place while they get on or off, with or without "cargo" - coolers, sails and other assorted nautical items. Lots of times,they don't appreciate the fact that they aren't the only boat calling for service. This is especially true on race nights/days and on weekends. people tend to get a bit testy when they call and have to wait. it seems invariable that one will get a call from two boats at opposite ends of the mooring field which is 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile wide. It simply takes time to get from one boat to another and then back to the dock. We must also pick up all who call so they may also have to wait while the launch fills up before they get to where they are going. Another aspect of driving the launch, especially on week days when the number of users is smaller, is that one goes and picks up the grew off one boat and takes them back to the dock. You then tie up the launch and walk all the way back to the club hose only to get a call to go out to a boat way out on the edge of the field, or are greeted in the club house by someone who wants to go out. And of course, you render them the service with a smile because that's the job.
When it is really busy, I might not leave the launch for an entire 6 - 8 hour shift and that can be very tiring. When the launch is in motion, you are constantly shifting you weight to keep your balance because you run the launch standing up. At the end of the shift your ankles and knees are screaming. When it is really choppy it is even worse. And when it is hazy, hot and humid, you get dehydrated and have to constantly slug water or Gatorade. I have grown to really hate all kinds of Sports drinks.
But like I said, it is not a bad way to make a buck and that was a good thing this year as the Federal government shafted me. Due to my financial situation, I had to start taking Social Security Retirement early. What they don't tell you is that if you do, you are financially penalized if you make over a certain amount. So earlier this summer, I got a letter from Social Security saying that they had overpaid me and they wanted their money back. you would think that since they had the information and set the level and schedule of the payments they would have been on top of this from the beginning of the payments. nope! And rather than take a little out each month, they stopped paying me for the summer. The money I made from driving the launch went for regular living expenses rather than to cover the bills incurred from the Great Tree Incident and for the winter storage. And still Publisher's Clearing House has been unable to find me!
Friend Fred and I have gotten work done on ABISHAG.The damage bow pulpit and stanchions have been removed and the holes in the deck they left have been filed. The jib furling system has been dismantled completely and is intact. It does not appear that they is any damage that would require it be replaced totally, though perhaps some bearings and fittings may need/will need to be replaced. The forestay itself may have to be replaced. There is no visible damage readily apparent, but it has been stressed and that might render it unsafe. Sound Rigging will have to make the call on that in the spring. Pretty much all that can be done before spring has been done and over the weekend, I will close up and the boat and cover her. One heck of a sailing season!
Speaking of repairs, I am getting some done myself. My left ankle is a mess. All that balancing and rocking on the launch didn't help it at all. Neither did walking on it for that matter. Next week on the 3rd of November I am having an operation to correct the problem. My doctor will break the arch and the heel and re-build them. Then the tendons on the inside of the ankle, which are shredding and almost to the point of breaking, will be re-stitched and re-enforced. It will mean that I will be off my feet for 6-8weeks though other patients I encountered in the office waiting-room say that that is an over optimistic outlook and that the pain is nasty. We shall see what we shall see!
My left knee now has an expensive custom-made brace that cost between 1 and 2 Marine Units. You have to got back several years in the blog to find out how much a "Marine Unit" actually is but it is more than I could afford without help from my medical plan. Still I had a co-pay of $160 for the brace so that will give you some idea. It works every well and hopefully will continue to do so and so forestall the need for a knee replacement. My right knee, not so much. The cartilage is on both sides of the knee and while the doctor is considering the possibility of going in and cleaning it out, he is not sure that doing so will absolute solve the pain problem. Another brace would not help the situation until after. if then.
There you have it. I will try to be better with updates though heading into winter and surgery it might not always work out. The again, it is one day closer to launching ABISHAG!
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Publisher's Clearing House, Here I Am ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Tuesday was not a particularly good day.
First of all, I learned that cousin Bobby died. Bob was part of the crew when I took ABISHAG south back in 2010. He and I and friend Fred weathered a nasty storm off New Jersey, bounced up the Delaware Bay and made it into the Chesapeake. With the passing of a few years the less than stellar parts of the trip have faded and we all remembered it as a great time that we enjoyed re-living again and again. Bob had been failing for the last few years and had experienced series of strokes over the last 6 months and I guess he decided that he had had enough. God bless him. Fred and I and a lot of friends will miss him greatly.
And secondly, I got a letter, a certified letter from BOAT/US' insurance division saying that since the other guy's boat was properly block and that there was violent storm that could not have been predicted, and that the other owner had done everything necessary to see that his boat was properly secured, they accepted no liability for the damage to ABISHAG. Have a nice rest of the summer. So I've got to see what sort of deal I might be able to work out with the boatyard. Obviously I can't pay the $12,000+ it would take to get her up to snuff. It looks like I've got tons of DYI coming up, though some stuff, like the rigging I am going to have to pay for to be sure it gets done right.
And thirdly, I showed up for work only to find I wrote the wrong day .on my schedule. Such is life!
Tuesday was not a particularly good day.
First of all, I learned that cousin Bobby died. Bob was part of the crew when I took ABISHAG south back in 2010. He and I and friend Fred weathered a nasty storm off New Jersey, bounced up the Delaware Bay and made it into the Chesapeake. With the passing of a few years the less than stellar parts of the trip have faded and we all remembered it as a great time that we enjoyed re-living again and again. Bob had been failing for the last few years and had experienced series of strokes over the last 6 months and I guess he decided that he had had enough. God bless him. Fred and I and a lot of friends will miss him greatly.
And secondly, I got a letter, a certified letter from BOAT/US' insurance division saying that since the other guy's boat was properly block and that there was violent storm that could not have been predicted, and that the other owner had done everything necessary to see that his boat was properly secured, they accepted no liability for the damage to ABISHAG. Have a nice rest of the summer. So I've got to see what sort of deal I might be able to work out with the boatyard. Obviously I can't pay the $12,000+ it would take to get her up to snuff. It looks like I've got tons of DYI coming up, though some stuff, like the rigging I am going to have to pay for to be sure it gets done right.
And thirdly, I showed up for work only to find I wrote the wrong day .on my schedule. Such is life!
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