Sorry about the four day outage. I was stuck in Linux Hell and things took a bit longer than I thought it would as far as moving over to the new variant of CentOS goes. I have migrated the site to the new server though completely and everything came through intact minus some configuration conflicts I had between security permissions and the CMS that runs the site. This migration should fix the capacity issues we had for the past six months. Now on to rebuilding the site itself.
Artwork as mysterious as my illness-- Mystery Valley in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona.
Last night I ended up in my local hospital’s emergency room. No, I’m not kidding– I spent an hour of New Year’s Day family dinner hanging out with brother in the ER.
It all started around 5 pm EST. I’d just finished dinner. My wife, youngest daughter, and I went over to Mom’s house to partake in my Mom’s annual New Year’s Day Polish style feast. Dinner was absolutely wonderful and I was having a great time. That’s when I all of sudden had trouble breathing. Shortly after that I went outside to get some air and then I started having trouble focusing. Dizziness then set in. I went back inside and sat down. I started feeling numb all over my body. I then went upstairs around 5:30 pm to lay down in my sister’s bed. I put my feet up, but things started getting worse. I felt “disconnected” from my body. Like I was standing behind myself looking through my head. I don’t know how else to describe. I then became very nauseous and threw up only a small amount though I’d eaten much more. Then diarrhea set in. At about 6 pm, my brother took me to ER after he offered to do so. He’s a cop and I asked him if he found me like this would he take me to the ER– when he answered yes I wasn’t going to argue. Off we went.
They checked my heart rate and it was a bit fast than normal (124 bpm) but not erratic. My blood pressure was a bit high (138/88) but not outrageous. They checked my eyes’ response to light and my ability to follow objects. They took blood and ran a battery of tests. My temperature was a perfect 98.8 degrees. I was determined to be 100% healthy by medical standards though clearly something had to be wrong. They gave me some Xanax at 6:30 pm and by 7 pm I felt fairly normal enough.
The doctor said it could have been some sort of virus or bacterial infection in my system. That my body probably experienced panic attack like symptoms because it couldn’t figure out what was going. The Xanax helped calm my brain’s auto-defenses down and let my immune system kick in. With that they discharged me at shortly after 7 pm and I went back to my Mom’s so my wife could drive me home.
My wife brought me back to our house. I changed into my PJs and dug out my drum machine. I watched the BET hip hop awards while drawing up some new beats in bed. I sipped about a liter of seltzer (the doctor said it may have been dehydration and to drink lots of clear liquids). I then fell asleep at around 10:00 pm.
I hadn’t been drinking any alcohol that whole day. I do not consume illegal narcotics at any time. The only thing I had that day was an Aleve in the morning and my acid reflux medicine. I had a grand total of five beers the night before on New Year’s Eve and had awoken that next morning with only a slight headache. Otherwise I felt great. I hadn’t done anything strenuous the whole day. I had no mental stress that whole day. I’m just not sure what to make of it.
I feel 100% normal today though maybe a bit tired and sore. Maybe it was some flu or bacterial infection. Maybe it was a Lyme’s Disease flair up (those are random like that). I don’t know– all I do know is it absolutely scared the crap out me.
It also screwed up me recording Pirate Radio as planned that night, but I guess that’s another story. I’ll have to give recording another shot tonight and see how it goes. Any night though where I don’t end up in the ER is a good one in my book. So ultimately that is my goal for tonight. To take it easy and not end up in the ER.
Shoulder Dislocation Anatomy - Source: eorthopod.com
As I do every week, I’m following up to last week’s post to document the recovery process as I heal from Open Bankart Shoulder Surgery on my right shoulder. This week has been one of great success and some minor set backs. First the success, by last Friday (11/13/09) I had finally broken through on overcoming my healing plateau. I was finally during my at home PT exercises able to raise my arm during the pendulum forward/back swing above my shoulder (90 degrees) without pain. Later that same day during my PT session my therapist was able to raise my arm in a forward position while laying down to 128 degrees (about what it takes to reach a box of cereal on top of a 6′ tall fridge). I was told this was both significant progress over my prior 120 degree limit and better than normal healing usually allows.
As such, the therapist introduced two new exercises to my at home PT regime: The side to side pendulum swing (5 minutes) and the shoulder shrug (10 reps). This was in addition to my existing 10 forward and backward shoulder rotations, 5 minute forward and backward pendulum swing, 10 forward and backward elbow circles, 10 bicep curls, and 3 repeated 15 second neck to the shoulder stretches on each shoulder. My total work out time climbed from 15 minutes to about 20 minutes per session and believe me– it sounds like a lot less physical work than it really is. Especially when you consider this routine is done three times per day (that’s an hour long work out when you add it up total per day!). Needless to say, the first few times were a bit tiring. I noticed though day over day my endurance and range of motion continued to build.
Then came Tuesday (11/17). The previous day I felt absolutely great. I did light chores around the house (washed dishes, swept, and cooked). I was able to do light routine tasks with my right arm like wash under my left armpit, brush my teeth, shave, and wipe my rear side all without issue. I was also surprised to find out I could with a shuffling motion drive with two hands (I have an automatic V6 Mustang). I was even able to use the mouse for brief periods. In short, I was about about 40% recovered and around where I was about two weeks before surgery. I felt great!
Inferior Dislocation - Source: eorthopod.com
I was doing my afternoon at home PT work out yesterday and was very hopeful about today’s PT visit where I could potentially accomplish some more movement forward in recovery. I was doing my 5 minute forward pendulum swing and my two year old daughter was running around getting into everything. I was busy watching her and not paying enough attention to the swing’s peak position. That’s when in one forward and upward motion I overreached with my swing limit. I ended up going well beyond 128 (I guess it was somewhere around 140). There was a brief sharp sting through my arm much like the kind you get when you get an electric shock from an outlet. I could continue on with the PT session, but my range of motion was noticeably reduced.
That entire evening I felt very sore, but not in any significant pain. I had no trouble sleeping, but this morning when I woke up I was more stiff on my right body than I had been for the past two plus weeks. I knew since I could raise my arm I hadn’t torn anything. This was discomfort and soreness like too hard a work out at the gym and waking up the next day to regret it. It was not shoulder dislocation grade pain though. It was clear I had over extended my arm and probably strained my bicep in the course of doing so. I spent the rest of the day icing myself and gave myself some heat before bed. I also lightened the work load on my afternoon and evening at home PT routine by reducing the pendulum swing range.
Open Bankart Surgery - Source: eorthopod.com
When I got to PT today they started by heating my arm. Then an elongated massage. There was noticeable reduction in swelling around my incision scar and bicep itself since my last PT visit. Clearly the inflammation (though bothersome) was not severe. In fact, but all observations the arm was near normal in size. Regardless, any motion above 90 degrees had to be done gingerly because of the lingering soreness. We did manage to get my right arm to 128 degrees so there was no reduction in range (which is good).
More concerning though was something else I hadn’t noticed until the major surgery swelling/pain was able to heal over the course of the last week. I had a bruised like feeling in my humerus’s frontal lobe (that’s the bone in the upper arm). I’d been noticing a lingering pain in the top part of my arm and had simply been treating it with both ice and heat (which helped it somewhat) thinking it was just part of the overall pain. That pain/bruise/whatever had been there since the major soreness of the surgery subsided some three weeks ago. The problem is that except for my pulled bicep; the rest of my arm was now painless except for that humerus lobe region.
The bigger problem is that is the very part of the bone in your arm that must pass through the collarbone/clavicle when going beyond 130 degrees as you reach forward and upward. There was no way that lobe would pass through the bone without a rubbing sensation that was indeed true pain (somewhere around a 6 plus). Therefore the therapist broke off therapy. It was clear that I needed to have that lobe heal before I could move any further. With that we ended the session with ice and therein my disappointment of:
I’m continuing, per my therapist, my at home PT exercises though in a slightly less strenuous manner during the pendulum swings. I’m also watching that I don’t go above 120 degrees. I’m continuing to ice the joint as well after each session. This Friday we’ll revisit my range of motion forward/upward from there and hopefully (if my healing pattern holds true) by the following Monday I should be able to get to 130 plus (or at least feel as well as I did yesterday before my accident).
I also had a minor side issue with my insurance provider. For whatever reason they only accepted eight visits to PT instead of the full 16 I need. Eight visits isn’t enough (I’m on visit five as of today’s visit) to let me recover properly. Apparently there is some paperwork the PT can do to show them I need additional treatment. I surely hope so– I cannot afford the non-insurance rates and there’s no way I can stop therapy after next week. I’m not even two weeks in on PT and by all medical professional estimates I’ll need a total of at least six weeks of PT to be able to work out on my own going forward.
Shoulder PT stretches - 180 degrees. Source: mattsmithpt.com
My second major post operation milestone is on Monday (11/23). Before my Monday PT, I visit my orthopedist for post op check up number two (week five). He’s going to review my PT results and decide from there if I can go back to work (12/7 was the six week post op target) full time, as well as, what’s best to move me along to final healing in PT. I’m hoping for good news. My FMLA and disability goes out into the first week of January 2010 (12 weeks total), but I really want to get back to work. Sitting around the house and doing nothing is driving me crazy. The flip side is that if I’m not physically in a place where I can return to work I’ll be of no value to them.
This is all the more frustrating with today our CEO announcing my promotion to Network Operation Manager. I really am itching to get back to work and get the ball rolling on some projects, but here at I am at home– sore as Hell. Label that frustration number three for the record.
I’ll update next week as per usual to let you know how it all goes. Clearly this is where things get tough and patience needs to become a virtue I learn to respect for my own good. In my heart of hearts, I know that if I don’t let my body heal and recover properly I’ll, in the long term, be physically of no value to anyone (my family, my employer, myself, etc…) and that is something I keep in my mind to balance things out.
Week six seemingly cannot come fast enough.
Dept. of Veterans' Affairs - Veterans Day 2009
As we do every year, on this Veterans’ Day we at digitalflood.com would like to extend our unending gratitude and appreciation to all our soldiers past and present who have unselfishly defended our liberty, freedom, and justice that we all too often take for granted. Your selfless acts pay tribute to the living legacy that is the United States of America and its people. You are not forgotten. Everyday, not just Veterans’ Day, your valiant acts cross our minds and capture our hearts. Thank you once again.
For those of you who would like to learn more about Veterans’ Day please see this article. Veterans’ Day originated in the USA as Armistice Day and was originally a holiday to honor those who fought in World War I, as well as, to mark the day (November 11th) in 1918 when a treaty was signed to end the war. It later, after World War II, was changed to Veterans’ Day and made to commemorate not only the efforts of both World Wars, but to honor all who have served in the US Military past and present; especially those who have served during times of war and in active combat. Traditionally the day is marked by living veterans parading to cemeteries where they mark the graves of their deceased comrades with American flags. This recalls the time honored US Military tradition of “leaving no soldier behind.” The tradition is about making sure those veterans alive today have the civilian public’s attention drawn to remember those who have died in honorable service of both our country and their freedom. It’s a solemn holiday, but an important one as a true democracy maintains its freedom through a standing military comprised of volunteers showing our commitment to the values of our nation and the defense of those values. Our volunteer military is a hallmark of that very concept in the USA and as such we must honor their commitment to us as a nation and a people.
If you know a living veteran be sure to say thank you to them today. This is their day.
I am indeed alive and getting better every day. Surgery ending up being more invasive than thought. I needed a rebuild of 25% of my right shoulder and ended up staying in the hospital overnight. Still very limited in my ability to move and still lots of pain/soreness now 6 days later. Going to be at least 5 more weeks until I’m back where I was before surgery. Expect updates to be sparse over next two weeks, but I am both alive and slowly but surely getting better everyday.