recovery 10 4-5 16

I stopped using a pillow as a bolster under my knees when sleeping, Saturday night was the first time with out it since I've been home. Woke up early with back aches on Sunday. Also Monday, and my low back was so stiff it was hard to walk....couldn't walk normally, would have been funny to watch me waddle more than normal across the lot. Today wasn't as bad. 

I know what you are thinking...."if sleep is better with it, why remove it?" Good question. Immediate answer is that it's not practical, as it's a King sized pillow, and I can't get them in most hotels, and that's really where I need them. A hard bed is not good sleeping for me. 

Top pic is a month ago tomorrow, 9/7. Middle pic is when I tore open the scar while at work. Bottom pic is kind of interesting, how the scar changes colour when I work hard. (In the bottom pic, I'd been working and the scar is much more purple than normal)

So I was twisting to do something and then enjoyed some pain in my back. In the affected rib area, so I thought I'd be trendy and take some pain meds. Great idea. :) Got a lot done...and have not suffered for it. Yet. I'm sure my next trip to the bathroom......

It's a challenge to type with the cat on the arm, and he keeps moving around. Also purring, so that's nice.  

Workshop is coming along, sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. LOL

10 3 16 recovery + recap

I don't have much recovery to write about lately, seems like every day is a little better, but nothing much stands out....other than yesterday I only took the gabapentin and advil when I got up and another set of advil shortly before bed. AND I sleep pretty much thru the night again.

Recap: Sept 9, near Madison, I crashed my motorcycle, and flew in a helicopter to UW Madison, where I spent 5 fun filled and action packed days, coming home on Thursday, Sept 8. The crash fractured ribs 3-9 in back, an inch or so from my spine, (I'm guessing) and also 3-7 in front, kind of in line with my right nipple. Also fractured were 2 toe bones, in the main part of the foot, (tarsals?). I hit my head hard enough to cause a slight concussion, brain bleed, too. I also have enjoyed "road rash" on both hands, my right elbow, and both ankles.

Fun times, but I don't recommend it. I do recommend anyone that rides a motorcycle to wear a helmet....without mine, I suspect I'd still be in the hospital, probably drooling.  My helmet was a Vega Summit II, about 6 years old.  Not an expensive helmet at all....but really worked well.

I wear size XXL, in case anyone wants an idea for Christmas. :) The visor was intact before the crash, as was that foamy thing that is hanging down. NONE of those scratches were present before 9/4.....I'd have ground off my chin, ear, nose, glasses (probably embedded them into my eye sockets) ground off the rest of my hair too.....since there's scuffs on the back and one on the other side. I guess the hat preserved what looks I have.

That white tape stuff....I added that a long time ago, to add some visibility to my head while riding at night. They call it retrosomethingreflectiveorother. MSF passes it out at the class, and at the motorcycle expo. 

Improvements. Hmmmmmm. Yesterday I only took the pain pill when I got up and right before I went to bed I took another set of advil. Today kinda the same thing, but the advil was about 3. Seems as if working makes me achey. 

I bought a new pair of slippers, and tried on the new one on my affected foot....and it went on, with a minimum of discomfort. The insole of the old pair is pretty bad.....but....they are a few years old.

Dad wanted to see the bike, maybe he's already seen one of these pics. I've got a bunch of crashed bike pics, in a damn pdf....I don't know if I can put them on here.

Shows the majority of the damage. Broken engine, mirror, etc. None of the pics are of a good angle...all are goofy. Oh well......

9 30 16 recovery and giveaway

Elbow: Yesterday afternoon I realized that there was a bubble, like a blister forming on my elbow. Looked just like a blister from a burn or sunburn, which is just like a burn, only different. But. My elbow is very careful to not get burned....so it was puzzling. 

I took the needle that I used to sew the buttons on my ugly brown shirt, you constant readers must remember that!

Poor old shirt has had a rough life....but it is so comfortable and warm....my favorite shirt....great 3 bucks. That top pic shows how it saved a good polo or work shirt from a stain spill.

So I popped the blister, and squeezed out the liquid, which was clear and reddish brownish, I guess. It didn't fill up again, because it had a hole in it? But it didn't continue leaking either, so like I commented, no big deal.

And then I remembered that my ankle briefly felt like it was getting stung, and then a laser beam of pain shot into my toes, and thankfully it went away. I noticed this morning that my toes are less swollen and have more motion.

Chest pain went away, and didn't come back when I trimmed the shelf and put it in. Only took me 22 years, but I got that done.  Well, maybe the chest pain didn't go away totally. Advil was 5 hours ago.....

Views of this are way down from a week ago, so I'll probably lessen the interval, eventually switching it over to all wood or at least general stuff.

How about a giveaway? I made those chicks errrr started the chicks maybe 15 years ago for Grandma, but never got them finished. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want them now. OR you can have the hummingbird/oriole feeders.  Really. I don't want them. 

recovery 9 29 16

Overdone it episode. Been home 3 weeks now...and celebrated by going to the grocery store....Pineapple looked really good, and pork N beans were on sale for .49  That is a bargain for me. LOL 3.8 cents per ounce.

So yeah, overdone it, I think. I've been reshelving my laundry area and built a basket shelf/table between the washer and dryer. I don't know why they put the drain and supply for the washer on one end of the room but the dryer hookups on the other. Lucky there's only about 2 feet between, right? Anyway....the understairs area is open and accessible and makes decent storage....except there's not decent shelving.  Earlier today I was able to remedy part of that, and was working on the rest of it tonight.  

Simple enough, just measure the height of an existing board on one side and put one on the stairs at about the same height. Measure how big the shelf needs to be, and make it so. HAHA. Measure twice and cut 3 times. Or something like that. 

For the shelf, I found I had a half sheet of 1/2" plywood that was rescued from a dumpster, and I was pretty sure that 34 x 36 would work. Nope. I turned it a couple ways, measured it a couple more times and gave up, errrrrr. Quit for the night since it's past 9.....besides, my chest is hurting. The right side, starting about rib 3 and going to about rib 7.

Apparently a half sheet of plywood is heavy. The table I put it on was kinda high and not exactly sturdy, which is why it's on the dissassemble list. Took a gabapentina and a pair of advil, might be only my 2nd pair of advil today.

I'll try again on the shelf tomorrow, unless my chest still hurts, and then I'll leave it for Sunday, since still no one has volunteered for a massage. Oh well.....be that way.

Uncle Google says a half sheet weighs about 33 pounds. Hmmmmmm. Time for more recovery. 

recovery 9 28 16

I guess it's final, I mailed the title of my crashed GoldWing to the junkyard in Madison today. I plan to not buy another bike until spring, so all of that money can sit in the bank and earn another 65 cents. Then, when I pick up about 45 aluminum cans, and sell them, I'll have enough money to buy a spare key.  But I will have some space in the garage.

Anyone want to buy a Yamaha?

Let's see. Recovery news. Uh. hmmmmm. Well, I took one gabapentin, one set of tylenol and 2 sets of advil, and I feel pretty good. But then, I spent 90 minutes sorting thru paper looking for that title, then took about a 2 hour nap. (on my mid day break) 

Every now and then I think to use the sucky thing, that' supposed to prevent pneumonia. For a long time I couldn't get it past "2000". Today my first suck was 2500. I have no idea what the numbers mean.  Oh, ml. Whatever that means.

2750 ml isn't quite 3 liters. 3 quarts. Hard to imagine my lungs having much more capacity than that, isn't it?? They say to do it 10 times every hour. Hmmmmmm. maybe 10 times a day. some days. Maybe

I wish I could have my regular bus back...it has a more comfortable seat....I know that would help me be comfortable all shift. 

I have a confession to make. I turned on my space heater today. If the sunshine doesn't cooperate, I might have to turn on the furnace WAY early this year. Yes, I was wearing an extra layer, a flannel shirt.  Of course.....I did have a cold supper too. Correlation? 

I don't have much to tell you today. No one volunteered to come for a massage on Sunday....but there's still time. :D  no charge..... 

recovery 9 27 16

Some of you know and some of you are about to know something about me. I know that recovery is occurring because I am starting to dream about giving massages. It might be fun to give one on Sunday afternoon....who is willing to be a "guinea pig"? (crash test dummy?) 

bit O background....This time of year in 2002, I was in massage school, 500 hour course, to become certified. It was very interesting...anatomy and physiology, palpation, hands on learning, internship, etc. All of my classmates were fresh from high school, and skinny. I wasn't. LOL At least one other guy was hairy....

So anyway. I tried fairly hard to succeed at the business, stayed with it until 2009, when I gave up and went back to driving bus so we could quit accumulating debt that my wife was hiding from me, and so that we could start going on cruises.  I see just enough clients now to not forget how to do massage.....I'd like to have a few more.....

Sleeping thru the night is better and better....I'm sure the cooler weather helps...I love piling on the blankets. I still wake up a few times, but for shorter times, and not as often. 

My toes are still swollen, the nails have the purple spots on them like when you hit your thumb with a hammer, so they'll likely fall off. BTW, my shoe has some damage on it, the sole is slightly pulled off...so my toes must have grabbed the ground to act as a brake or pole vault.  I don't limp, so that's good.

Road rash on hands, elbow and ankles is healing. I have not picked the scabs off my ankles, pain has diminished, all are doing fine. 

The bruise on my belly from the table saw kickback is better. I can't believe none of you took the opportunity to ridicule me. Cause I'm home alone doing dangerous things. LOL Not being careful or safety first.

My ex motherinlaw brought over some food.....some of my favorites.....and I appreciate it a LOT. It's never too late to bring over something...and I'll think good thoughts about you forever, or at least until I forget. ;)

Recovery 9 26 16

Working in my basement, I've had the "opportunity" to get down on the floor to do some stuff. Shelves, mostly, in between the studs of my little room which is rather multi purpose.....wood storage, finishing, tornado hiding. My brother and father used to come visit occasionally and they'd get to sleep down there, they'd call it the "dungeon". There's no bed in there any more, such as it was. 

Getting down onto the floor isn't too hard. Getting back up is slightly more of a challenge, due to gravity.

I started the day with a gabapentin, and I don't think I will repeat the experiment of going without for another week or maybe even a third of a month. Just one pill a day does make a difference. 

Stamina is improving, I'm able to work longer with less discomfort. Hard to tell day by day, but.....that's my story.

Jeez, sorting thru some electrical supplies....you'd think I was afraid of needing or wanting lamp cords and not being able to find some. I save too much stuff, so I'm tossing a bunch of wire and those cords; if they are less than 4' or there was one that was all wound up...it'd never relax and be smooth. I'm thinking about consolidating those supplies between the house and garage...because I've got a bunch of stuff both places. What a great idea, just haul it all out to the garage and forget about it until the day before the first ice storm.  

Tossing a bunch of other stuff too. Like BUBBLEWRAP! LOL 
I had pulled out a jump box thing from a dumpster, but it never would work right, surprise, huh? I wonder why it was thrown in the dumpster? duh. Hopefully the battery will still be good, and some of the other components are....the light, the clamps, a switch.

My intention is to put the electronic/electric stuff at a bench so that it's easy to use. My basement has a low hanging cold air return that runs the length of half the basement, and I'm tired of hitting my head on it. I hope to be able to set it up so the sit down bench will be under it.  I'll be able to solder, sew, do some leatherwork, calculate soap, etc. I'll wrap christmas gifts, ebay and amazon sales, lamp repair, maybe knife sharpening, carving, and much much more. 

Recovery? Yes, it's happening. I'm able to concentrate on stuff that is much more interesting than how miserable I feel. And today I realized that I really made a mistake 3 weeks ago.....I should have asked for a vasectomy. LMAO

9 25 16 recovery 3 weeks

Recovery plus revelation. Perhaps 2 of them.

My Subaru is a little sick. I noticed it when I went to Menard's a week ago...turning short into a parking place or in general....there's a problem with the axle or ??? Dunno what the problem could be. I don't feel up to tearing it apart yet, either.

My main revelation? I did something in this blog that I have secretly made fun of people about. I started off telling you about how I was doing all of this exercise and how I intended to continue to exercise, maybe build some muscle tone and lose some weight. HAHA. I was just like everyone else, and as soon as it was convenient, like 2 days, I quit the walking. 

I could rationalize it, say that I'm more active at work and in the shop. And that is true....I do walk a couple blocks at work. 6 or 8, depending on how often I have to visit a restroom. I stand in the basement, I walk forth and back, I take the stairs to get there and out again. Big deal, right? Right. 

Since the Subaru is sick and I'm working every day again, I'll have to drive the old sick pickup to work....and I can't remember the last time I drove it...perhaps whenever it was that Kelly borrowed the trailer....May??? It started right up...amazing. (2nd revelation, and not much of one, at that)

I didn't take the gabapentin this morning, and have only taken 2 dose of advil, no tylenol yet. (as of noonish)(plans are to spend some time in the basement, and actually do some work.) I took the last aspirin today, too.

I really get dizzy when I lay down in bed....the room spins. Kind of fun at first...but I think it'll get old soon.  I recall a few other times in my life when the bedroom would spin when I got in. Usually beer related, but 2x tequila caused the problem. 

2:15. Some time in the basement tells me that I need some more pain killer, so gabapentin on board, along with some tylenol. And that's all I took today...I got a lot of work done downstairs, lots of stuff moved, lots of stuff thrown away. 

3 weeks since my crash. Everything happens for a reason, right? Not sure what that reason is yet...I've asked a few people....they suggest it's to teach me patience, tolerance, how to enjoy pain, who my friends are, etc. Feel free to make a suggestion. 

And now for a couple pics of workshop work. 

9 24 16 recovery

I know what you are going to say. But I'm going to tell you anyway. I guess that's part of being an adult, a guy with a little integrity. And besides, I know you are not going to spank me. 

LOL

So I mentioned that I've been working in the woodshop a little, and I was making a spice rack looking thing to put the essential oils on, right?

So far so good. Then I decide I should put doors on it, since the oils are supposed to be stored in the dark....So my luck holds and I find a piece of plywood that is just the right size, only needs a little cut off....

Table saw kickback. Just an inch or so above my navel, a little to the right. It happened after 9pm, which is past the time I normally quit for the night. I think I'll institute that plan again....work down there, quitting at 9 so I can be in bed at 10ish on a school night.

Saw a recipe for a bourbon cocktail. Called the Godfather, I tried it. 2 oz bourbon and 1/2 ounce of Amaretto. I added an ice cube, and I don't feel drunk. Next time I'll use a better bourbon, I used a bottom shelf, which is better mixed with lots of stuff.

There it is. I used 2 pair of hinges that I got from Big Lots, 59 cents per pkg. Some of the screws (slotted) didn't fit my drivers, so I used other screws that didn't match at all. Big deal. LOL.  I have not yet decided if I'll fasten the top shelf on to it or not. Kinda looking like not, where it is going.

Trendy alert: big shout out to my little sister, she dropped off a lot of food almost 2 weeks ago. I cooked and enjoyed a chicken zucchini stuffing casserole hot dish....took forever to bake, but maybe I have unrealistic expectations for my oven. She brought so much stuff, I'm just now getting to the frozen items, 2 of them. Forecast says bake one on Monday. LOL. It's awesome, Susie, thanks again.

BTW, I mentioned that Val brought one?? It was great too.

Other recovery stuff? I took the one pill when I got up and a set of advil later. Around noon another set of advils, and so far that's it for the day. A coworker said he crashed his minivan last winter....broke a bunch of his wife's ribs...and she's still having problems, probably because they had to fix them with steel plates. Did I mention I was lucky? 

I gashed open my healing hand when fueling the bus today...damn propane screw on caps. People think they need to screw them on tight....but they don't. I'll spare you the bloody pic.

One reason I plan to rework the shop is so I can make the table saw table bigger so I don't have such problems when I try to cut larger pieces. 

9 23 16 recovery

Sometimes I put the date first and sometimes I put recovery first. Wonder why?

Sneezing doesn't hurt as much, anymore. Still hurts, of course.....coughing doesn't hurt as much, either. YAY

CPAP humidifier was set on high, it's irritating how that gets changed. I may just let it shut itself off....since the on/off/humidifier/change everything else is on the same knob.

Worked morning and afternoon today, took a 2 hour nap before the free lunch friday. Probably about the same otc pain killers as yesterday. 

Ask questions if you've got some....make up some....I'll make up answers....Thanks for reading along on this recovery journey, makes it seem less lonely, somehow. 

It's funny how some passengers know that I was out due to injury, some realized I was gone and assumed vacation, some didn't know I was gone at all. I guess it's all in if they asked and who they asked....

A coworker or 2 said there was some rather wild gossip going around the place. Conservative estimates indicate that a solid 10% of coworkers are glad I'm back. LMAO

recovery 9 22 16

I've been home 2 weeks now, and what a difference 2 weeks makes. Today I took one gabapentin, 3 dose of advil and 2 dose of tylenol.  I worked in the woodshop a couple hours, cleaned the toilet, did some laundry, and worked about 5 hours.

I did notice this morning that I felt like there was some stuff in my lungs, that went away....and I hope it stays away. I will check my cpap humidifier thingy before bed and will turn it down if possible. 

Dr Jim left a mssg saying to stop taking the aspirin on Sunday, 3 weeks after the crash. Thanks, Jim. ;) 

As I gradually work more in the basement and in my bus, I'll put in less time on the puter...and will prob make more bloggy posts that are wood related instead of whining about broken ribs. I'll post the links on my King'swoodshop FB page. https://www.facebook.com/KingsWoodshop/

I'm going to reorganize the whole shop, build some things to make it better. Kinda doubt that I'll remember to take pics very often....making a spice rack like thing for my essential oils, to move them into a different room. Then a laundry area improvement. and then and then and then. It'll all prob be boring as hell to you. 

OH, yes. Still occasionally dizzy. Usually when I tilt my head to one side, left side. Initially I blamed it on the pain pills, but.....

And I still have some hearing issue. 

There, got my whining done.....hope you enjoyed.

recovery 9 21 16

I could make up some recovery. But like I told the crippled old nurse that occasionally rides my bus.....he asked: do you feel any better today?  UHHHHHH. How fast do broken bones heal? Can you tell the difference?? NO. Today I feel the same as yesterday. 

Yes, it's a reminder to be patient. I got better so fast those first 2 weeks that I could get frustrated that I don't see improvement every day.

But then I think about how I'd feel about being dead and I ponder it....no pain, no tiredness, no hunger, no thirst, no medical bills. No beer, no bourbon, no boobs. No bbq, no cats, no dogs, no music, no sunrises.  Well, I'm not getting any boobs so I can't decide right now. 

But that nurse. His wife rides, too, both near 70. Strange people. Nice people. but strange.....I cannot imagine him being an active full time nurse....he can barely walk.  Nice of him to ask, I guess....

Speaking of BBQ, Owen sent a trendy texty this afternoon, so we went to dinner. Nice to see him. Working 3 pt jobs to pay for health insurance. Hmmmmmm. Thanks oBama!

Let's see. Recovery. This morning I took one pain pill (gabapenten) and a set of tylenol, then later a set of advil. Or did I??  Hour before work I took a set of advil, for sure and another 3 hours later. I know for sure I took those. Maybe I will have to write it all down....It's confusing. It's hard to remember. Point is that I'm not taking much for pain medication. I stopped taking the oxycodone, I only noticed that it put my intestines to sleep....Which is not helpful. Not helpful at all. 

The doctors said I should take a 375 mg aspirin to prevent clots. I think I mentioned that I still had the jar of 500 from Val's surgeries, and that I'd take one of them. I suppose that helps with the morning pain and discomfort....and I wonder how long I should take it for the blood thinning anti clotting? I was going to ask the doctor yesterday, but it didn't show up at the appointment.

OH god damn, it hurts to sneeze.

KingsWoodshop

Been looking around my shop for a long time, and I'm not happy with how it's laid out, not happy with several things.

I changed a few things last winter and got started on dust collection, too. Changes....minor, swapped the drill press and lathe positions, moved a bench a little. I built another bench for the wood storage room, built some racks on top of my waterbed frame/drawers. 

Hung my dust collector up, started running pipe, built some blast gates.

The problems as I see them are many: table saw is too close to the walls, limits my length of cut. Miter saw is too close to the wall, limits my cut. 

Bench is too large and too short. I wind up covering half of the surface with stuff I should put away. The vise is too low for most work, yet it works for when I sit down. The bench is an unusual shape, if I recall, it's 7' long, yet 4'wide on one end and 2' wide on the other.

basement has another challenge to it: there's a low hanging cold air return duct running lengthwise down the east end, about 4-5' out from the wall. I hit my head on it a lot...which is why I almost always wear a hat in there....

I need to build a base/table or figure out where to put my sanders. Need to figure out where to put my band saws and get the one working. (free is great, but comes as a cost. LOL) Need to figure out how to connect the planer to the dust collection. 

Thinking about building a dedicated electronics/woodburning/leatherwork/ sit down bench. and could add sewing to that too. 

It's overwhelming, so I've got to break it down somehow....

recovery 9 20 16

Of course, there's mental recovery and physical recovery. That may have been what I was getting at the other day, but I can't really remember what I was just thinking.

Sleeping through the night in my bed would be a huge leap for recovery...and while I slept in the bed instead of the chair last night, I didn't sleep well, and George kept trying to comfort me. Or kill me, I'm not sure which. That one time he climbed on my chest and laid there a while....in one sense it was awesome....he is so soft and warm and the purrs are amazing. But the pain from my damn ribs.....I had to move him off me. 

I took both of the pain meds before bed, didn't think of it the hour we sat in the chair watching youtube videos....must have briefly woke up about every hour. Maybe not. Don't know. Doesn't matter. 

Mental recovery took a hit today, while I was working in my woodshop, thinking about how my back hurt today even though it didn't so much yesterday, the phone rang. Luckily I had it with me, unlike last night, when I missed a call from my mom. 

Insurance adjuster. Bike total loss. Based on some pictures, I think. I'd been remaining positive, thinking: it's a goldwing, solid and durable. Is the adjuster lazy? Does he know someone that wants a goldwing cheap? 

See where my thoughts go? Must be a sign of a weak mind...

I didn't think I had much for sentiment for that bike, had some good times with it, but also had some bad memories associated with it. Maybe it's just that I have absolutely no control over it.  How much damage? How much to repair? How much will they pay me? Don't know.

Just don't know.

BTW, sneezing hurts. I dropped something behind the seat of my bus today. OH yeah, I'm back to work half time, did I mention that? Anyway, I was able to get down on the floor and retrieve the dumb thing I dropped.  

Basement therapy awaits....

recovery (whining) 9 19 16

Whining. Or call it complaining. I do too much of it, that's for sure.  Today's whine? Here I am, thinking of how irritating it is to not sleep through the night....when I should remember what it was like 2 weeks ago....

Some doctor thought the best thing for me was to install an insulin drip, and then send in the nurses every hour to poke my finger every hour to test my glucose level. Remember the pics of my hands? Sure, it was superficial injuries. So superficial it was never bandaged. But that didn't mean I thought it felt good for the nurses to grab that damaged area every time they needed to reposition my hand to aid in the stabbing. 

Got so towards the "mid morning" (4-6am) I wasn't very nice to them. And towards Wednesday not nice at all, all night. That one was shouting at me....

Anyway.....after sleeping thru several nights, now I worry....why am I not sleeping? I was pretty active yesterday...I mowed about half of my lawn. I worked in the basement for a while. I put away some laundry, washed some dishes. I prob spent a couple more hours sitting on my swing and in my old lawn chair, too....thinking more time out of my recliner would help. I know....that's not a lot of activity, not really. I felt tired, at 9pm, so I did what I do to get ready, turned off the light, and slept till about 12. :(

I'm trying to figure out if I'm rested enough, and need to do more? It's hard to do a lot when the mid back aches as if there's broken ribs in there. :D Am I not sleeping (this is the 3rd night) (I think) due to guilty conscience? Am I worried about the bills? is it the irritation of the healing in my ankles that keeps me awake? 

It's probably nothing. 
Tonight I'll try the bed again.  

In my workshop I've been working on a jenga like game set...bigger than jenga sized, but smaller than the giant sized, this is portable. I have been working on a wooden carrying case, where half of the case can be used to square up the stack, like the plastic piece that comes with the regular game. Anyway, I cut the 2nd piece too short, it's to be the other half of the case, so I have to remake that whole thing. No big deal, just takes some time with glue and screws or nails...that whole measure 6 times to make sure the 1 cut is the right length.....I should not have made that cut yesterday.

Live and learn, huh? 

recovery 9 18 16

2 weeks. September has always been one my favorite months, the weather is better than other months, the farm harvest is more fun than some of the others, got married, etc. 

Oh, sure, there's that whole school thing too. Well, just part of life, I reckon.

Of course when I say "farm harvest" I mean chopping silage. And I did see a fair amount of that when riding around WI. Amazing, the one operation....self propelled chopper, not sure how many rows wide it was, but they used box trucks pulled up right behind the chopper. I still love the smell of the corn. Love the smell of diesel exhaust.....it made for a very enjoyable time. 

I'll tell you what else is enjoyable....yep. Being "regular" on a regular basis. I dunno if I'm back to normal yet, but it's gotta be getting close. 

I think I've always tried to enjoy the little things in life, and I'll list some things that I enjoy: nap, sunrise, sunset, kitty snuggles, shower, hot coffee, hug, sunshine on my back, blue sky, tiny flowers, and a lot more.

I know you're beyond caring, but I was able to wash some dishes and put away some laundry. I.e. fold queen sized sheets.

recovery 9 17 16

I was feeling bold and brave last night, so I went upstairs to bed. About 1030, or just before. Had not stayed up so late for a long time....so I got in and laid there for a long long time. I had a very hard time getting comfortable, Seems like there was an uncomfortable feeling in my chest, almost as if some ribs were broken. 

Imagine that. 

I did eventually drop off to sleep. But woke even more uncomfortable around 2. :( Moved to the chair but only slept til about 715.....and now when I write that, common sense says that's plenty of sleep and to not bitch about it. 

I really do hope to get out to do something today, I fear the day will be awfully boring if I don't. 

FB events shows I am interested in a HyVee cooking class, or something. Fairgrounds has a dog event that I've meant to go to for about 10 years. Agility and obedience, etc. There's the farmer's market. And there's 100 different places a guy could go to look around....Oxbow, Eagle Bluff, Eagle center, other overlooks, etc.

May have to forget that I took an oxycodone or contin whatever it is and get in the lesbian and go for a drive....being reliant on other people is hard....really hard.


Feel free to make suggestions on how to get comfortable in bed. Or make suggestions on what to do....

recovery 9 16 16

Days sure go fast, huh? 

I've been home more than a week now, and I think my recovery has gone pretty fast. I've got nothing to compare it to so I'll just brag on what I've done, I guess. 

Although, I feel like saying what my last hospitalization was, just in case I forgot that. March 6, I went roller skating with the 4H or some weird group. I really only that it was Jim Meikle and maybe a Haidsaik or 2? Went to Creston, and finally got up the courage to skate when they had the black lights on, all that stuff showed up on the floor. I don't know if I tripped, or stumbled, or what happened exactly. Fell down, I know that, and to make a long story short, we went finally to the emergency room in Clarinda sometime on the 7th, probably after lunch. Mom was in Omaha, Susie tried to cook some eggs for breakfast. 

Broken ankle. Cast went from toes to mid thigh, I didn't go to school the rest of the year. I'd alternately use a wheelchair and a walker, was able to get in the pickup  and car, we'd go to town for dinner occasionally or to Peve's for stuff. Got the cast off May 2, same weekend as a boy scout campout. I took a bath, first since March. Holy hell, the amount of dead skin on my foot and knee. Yuck. HOLY HELL the pain when that knee bent for the first time. 

I think I don't camp because I had terrible times camping. Not sure I had a single experience.....but I got to go on to 7th grade, and the ankle has been pretty good since then. But it was a terrible 2 months....it was really awful. And Mom and Dad split in August, same year. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

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Today's recuperation. Where did the morning go? I don't know....amazing. Anyway, I enjoyed free lunch Friday, chatted with a good friend. She made the offer to mow my lawn, cause I'm still waiting for Gordon. Probably I'll do it my self.

After lunch, I walked to Kwik Trip, it's .4mile each way. I saw a barky dog. I saw some cucumbers. I saw some aluminum cans, and found a credit card next to the pump. Got that returned to the owner, 3 or 4 of them were busy looking inside instead of looking near the pump, but whatever. One of them actually was able to say the words: "thank you". 

I went to KT to get bananas, is really the only reason...and also to get the walk. Took 15 minutes to walk there, and my chest really hurt/ached. I sat on some sacks of salt for a few minutes, nearly lost my own card, then walked home, picking up 3 aluminum cans, and not the same cans. I will get them, next time I walk down. Total trip was 40 minutes. 

I took some extra pillows up to my bedroom, in case I needed them for propping. I've been sleeping in my LaZBoy recliner....wanted to test my bed. It was good. Very good. I set my alarm for hourtwenty. I turned it off and slept another hour. LOL I'll confess it was hard to sit up, some of it was a pillow under my knees, part of it was I was tangled in my sheet. And part of it is it's very difficult to sit up when ribs don't cooperate.

Been showering in the basement, which is great in case I want to do laundry or tend the litter box. George did kick a lot of litter out, so had to tend that. Shaved today. Then cleaned the toilet. I don't know if the girl I hired to come on Tuesday is coming to take care of that or not. I know she's busy.  Then I trimmed my toenails.....and I'm pretty sure that's the extent of it.

Well, I'm supposed to have a ride to listen to a band this evening, dunno if that's going to happen or not....which is why I took such a long late nap.....

9 15 16 recovery

Well, friends, I knew I'd be more amused by that revelation than you'd be. 

Unless you're being amused at home, privately, secretly. 

That's how I look at it. Those of you with a sexual partner enjoyed some rumpy pumpy after reading my blog. And those of you w/o one put BOB to work, didn't you. I can see you now, saying "this one is for you, thanks for the inspiration" either tipping your imaginary hat,  a shy high 5, maybe a little wink. Whatever works. 

I fear (or celebrate) that there's not going to be much more actual recovery to share with you. It'll be another week or more for my hands to heal. (and elbow) (and ankles, but I don't look at them, and they feel ok) I just kinda need to get the big red bloody scab off my hands, actually where it is is gone, it is pink and looks pretty good. 

I'll go for walks...rebuild whatever stamina I had. I'll join a pool, maybe when the hands are healed up. I don't want any public pool nasty getting into me.....and maybe i'll go back to work half time. I'm tempted to look at it for next week, actually. Maybe I'll call the boss later today. 

It's just broken ribs and a toe....big deal, right? No sense in being a wimp.....

I almost wrote "no sense in being a pussy". Um. It makes more sense to say "no sense in being a pair of balls"....because all women know that a tiny whack to to the balls causes the owner/wearer of balls to collapse and cry for a week. Whereas the pussy.....well. Suffice to say the pussy can take a beating and want more. Amazing.

There is something else that we all say that is totally inaccurate...but I can't remember what it is right now. When I remember, rest assured that I'll blah blah blah about it.

9 14 16 recovery part 2

Today has been an interesting day. Conversations with people. people guessing what I have not disclosed. People thinking that they want to know what I'm going to disclose. LOL

I'll tell you what I need, I need someone to come by and rub her boobs on my head. Not too fussy who it is, either. So long is there's no charge for it. Maybe it'd work better for the boob donor to sit on a stool and (toplesss) and twitch a little every now and then. I could throw a quarter or nickel (depending on her eyesight)......

Ok, sorry. today was pretty good. But I'm going to tell you in kind of reverse order. Dinner was good, left over brats from before my trip, so they were 2 weeks old, no mold. Fresh buns. I had some "Over oniony potato salad" the quotes were from some fussy bicycle dude with some of recovery issues of his own....nice enough guy, and I'm not sure why we're not FB friends, actually. I've known him for 6 or 8 years at least.

Had a walk prior to that, saw those awesome panties again, and also a sock. Probably half a mile....slight reminisce of neighbors. Makes me wonder if Jason reads this. I doubt that John does, or Steve and Amy....they moved away years ago. 

I showered in my basement, I built the shower unit with some water valves and an old 5 gallon per minute shower head. This means, of course, that I can have it as hot or cold as I want it. I can have as much pressure as I want, and it's awesome. My luxury bath shower system thingy is ok.....but such a pia to clean. And the handle seems loose. Someone remind me once I'm back to semi normal.

I was able to recognize the stomach rumblings for what they meant, a dump with no milk o magnesia or torpedo help.....was wonderful. And my right arm reached wonderfully well. I challenge you to wipe with your non dominant arm. 

Do it.

Report back....no pics, tho.

But the main thing I'm excited about. And some of you I don't want to read this. Like Frank. But anyway....for the last however many years, like 35, since the summer of 81....holy hell that's a long time....probably 5 out of 7 nights/mornings, I've awakened with an erection. Except for the last week and a half, where there was absolutely nothing at all going on. NOTHING. 

NOTHING AT ALL. 

Ok, so I was on a lot of pain killers and other crappy drugs. There's no pain down there, no visible bruises. Well, I'm assuming that, because it's kind of hard to see down there. Being exposed to various nurses and nurse assistants didn't do anything, either. Watching the nurses bend over, seeing the panty lines seeing the shirts pull up exposing a slice of skin....nothing. 

Not sure of the dream or the cause of today's rise to attention, but I'm grateful for it. 

Aren't you glad you waited all day for this?? :)