Sleeping

Last night was a pretty good night for me. Up and back to teaching after a week off, Spring Break for the students. I have my MRI this weekend. I happen to see a program about three weeks ago on what an MRI does to the body. The report indicated that having some can be detrimental to the person. I have had quite a few in the last two years, including this one will be eight, so I may be a good specimen for their study. Good or bad, without the MRI I would not be here today. I will err on the side of having one.

Fashoinalbe Cane

It use to be CVS was my cane supplier. It worked out quite well as I would purchase the blue metal model for about $5. What was nice is it was low priced and when I visited Molly she would decorate it for me. She would put some Dora stickers on it which I supplied. It was fun and allowed me special memories and thoughts of little Molly. It was not the most fashionable canes but it was special.

Maybe I was breaking down but I thought I would explore canes. I found a website called Fashionable Canes, which Dr. House uses. I ordered one made of Irish black wood, being 2/3 Irish, and it looks nice. What was also nice is I ordered a 'winter' tip. The winter tip has a special metal fold down point to grip in ice and snow. That will be a lot nicer and safer this winter. Still when I go to visit Molly I will bring my CVS cane with stickers so she can do her creation again.

Things are going quite well. I have my next MRI on the 30th. I will keep you informed.

April 10

Well the weekend was fairly restful for me. That is something I am thankful for. I used the oxygen through the nights and it reduced my headaches so that they were totally manageable. Church was enjoyable and uplifting as I had hoped. I have my next MRI scheduled for two weeks from now.

update to update

Well now for some clarification. The neurologist asked me to do some exercises one which was to tap my fingers on the right hand one after another. I did so with great speed and dexterity. Then he asked me to do the same with my left. As I tired to do the test with my left hand my fingers both slowed and went out of order. We talked of my leg increasing in spasms also. He explained to us that there is a progressive (something) (something) which may be the case with me. Bottom line is that the point I arrived at about a year ago is slowly reversing. It may continue, most likely, as a process. The MRI will tell us if the tumor had anything to do with it. Good news is the new dosage for my medications seems to help me in my sleeping. One other thing that has made a come back is the left leg hurting at night.

Unexpected turn

Well I was able to see my neurologist this morning. I thought I might have breakfast with Beth before hand to start the day off nice. I love Crackle Barrel, as does she, so being near his office we were set. Well our waitress forgot to serve our food so we left hungry. Off to the doctors visit.

What was nice is we did not have to wait too long to see him. We talked, he talked and enlightened us both. Not all is what I, or Beth, had expected. I got a new referral for physical therapy, though it may do little to help me. Dr. Smith listened to my input as to my leg spasms and night time muscle pain. one of his suggestions were to up only one of my medications, which I will tonight and see how it works. He asked me about feeling in my left leg and how my arm on the left side has been doing. I did a few exercises or tests so he could evaluate my physical status I did not perform at 100%. He talked to us both a bit more explaining my possible future for my left leg and arm. I will leave it at saying it is very possible that the paralysis may increase. I will also have yet one more, in a future of many, to see what if any changes have taken place in the tumor area.

I shared only what I did because Beth and I are still taking in the session and sifting through the information, waiting to see what the medications do, what the MRI says and last what physical therapy will do.

Thank you for your prayers. . .

neurologist visit

well my sleeping is improving again which is a real Blessing. The oxygen at night is still keeping my headaches at bay. My leg is still having more spasms than it use to. I called my neurologist's office about the spasms and though Saturday is his day off he will make an exception. He knows with me teaching in the afternoon it will be difficult to see him so he will see me on Saturday and this Saturday to boot. It is things like this that PROVE to me God put him in my life.

Night time blues

Well my nights have been great for the most part. I actually can not remember the last time I had the leg problems regarding my sleep. Unfortunately they seem to be returning to me once again. My last two nights have been accompanied by my left leg aching before I fall asleep. I had been falling asleep on my back for months. I should also share that when my leg would hurt I would have to lay on my side to fall asleep. It did not make the pain go away, but it would lessen it. My buddy, Bambi, likes to lay between my knees at night so that is another reason I lay on my back. It is also restful to lay straight with my body flat and supported.

The second piece is that even when I fall asleep the last two nights I do not stay asleep. I wake up about five times each night. That is something that has not occurred for months either. I am not sure why I keep waking up, at least I am able to go right back to sleep. I am hoping that continues at least. It use to be I had to get up and move around before going back to sleep. I have a call into my neurologist so I will see what he has to say.

Teaching and therapy

Well picking up two additional courses took me a few weeks to get use to it but I am doing ok with it. I know Beth, and she is probably right. told me I was taking on a lot. It has challenged me to exercise my leg more due to use. At the Brighton Campus there is a bit more walking and sometimes a flight of stairs so it is demanding but do-able. I have noticed that my leg has more spams than it use to have, and it I know it is not a seizure at all. I am trying to remember to do my exercises at home to help it. Today I decided to call my benefits representative for some information on getting some physical therapy again. She told me if my doctor calls BC/BS and requests the proper code, and then calls it in I can get coverage. So I called my primary physician and as can be the case they played "pass the buck". So they told me to call one of my other doctors like my neurologist or surgeon. They actually suggested my surgeon but I chose to call my neurologist first as he is treating me and I have not seen the surgeon in over a year. One would think that the medical professionals would know better than I would as to who to call first. So now I wait on the phone call back which I know will come. Doctor Smith is fantastic as is his entire office staff. Well I watch the snow fall and remind myself to be careful of that 'evil' white stuff when I walk. I was spoiled by the nice weather we had for a few weeks.

Weekend Update

Well the weekend was fairly restful for me. I did find the strong winds a bit of an issue. Not having the control or strength in my left leg makes a difference as I try to walk. I just take my time and do the best I can at this time. I have and am still noticing how some people are oblivious to those of us who have challenges. I look at elevators and such in a completely different way now.

My teaching is going well for me. I am so enjoying the interaction and teaching. It helps to keep me challenged mentally which is great.

My oxygen is still doing a great job for my sleeping and keeping the headaches at bay. Life is great.

Sleepless night

Well the spasms went away but through the weekend I was waking up numerous times during the night. On Monday night I went to bed at 10 and watched Iron Man, then The Bourne Ultimatum followed by Transformers which I fell asleep on. Last night I went back to the old lower dosages and slept through the night. I will wait to see if the leg starts to spasm again or not. If it does start again I will defer to my neurologist for direction seeing how I only make it worse.

Night time

Well let me see, the last three nights have been nights of interrupted sleeping. I have not experienced that since last December, I got use to sleeping through the night. I am hoping it will be short lived and I will go back to my sleeping through the night. I can say that at least I am able to go back to sleep soon after waking up. So I am not having to get up and come down stairs. I also had to go back to using the roll a long luggage (like a carry on) for bringing my school stuff along. The over the shoulder bad was becoming a bit much for me. That being said I decided to make things easier for me, acceptance.

Meds and leg

Well I have been upping the dosage of my medications for my leg. I take two different kinds, one for the muscle spasms and the other for muscle aches. The spasms have been increasing even during the day, and though it has only been three days of increased dosage and the spasms are still there. I will continue my exercising and medications and prayerfully it will subside. Good news is with all the weather changes my headaches have been at a minimal which is a real BLESSING compared to what I just to endure.

I am also teaching a few more classes and it is so rewarding as the students are fantastic. I so enjoy teaching. :-)

Leg update

I have noticed in the last four or five days that my left leg seems to have more spasms than what were. I am planning on calling my neurologist to discuss this with him for input. I thought it might be overly tired but it happens during my day of teaching and it is making life a little difficult. Today I realized that I need to be more willing to take my time in my movements. I caught myself attempting to try and hurry so I was not impeding anyone else. I silently told myself to slow down and take my time. If someone has to wait or slow up so be it, that is life.

New day

Well today was my first day taking on some additional classes because a colleague had to step away. I added two classes to my Monday and Wednesday load and though it was tiring for my first day it was SO rewarding. I absolutely love teaching and interacting with students. Though tired I am thrilled, if that makes any sense.

Hello

Well I am doing my best to update. I am doing ok, teaching is so rewarding for me. I have students in both of my classes forming study and focus groups. They are doing what I always hope for, students allowing me to work with them to do well. I was also asked to step up and take on a couple more classes to help a colleague. I am not sure how long it will be for, if for the rest of the semester I will do that. I am helping in my practice too as I having validation on my being needed. Between personal referrals, court referrals and current clients I have a full load. I am doing ok, headaches are maintaining and I am exercising my leg the best I can. The muscles seem to possibly increasing in the spasms at night. I will exercise the leg and see if that off sets it, if not I will call my doctor and maybe up the medications.

Same old song

I apologize for not updating in quite a while. I have still been using the oxygen and it is still working on keeping my headaches at bay. Praise God! I am so happy to report that. I know when I have a client in front of me telling me they do not want to be put on a medication I understand and also try to avoid it. In my situation I was bugged that my neurologist did not want to just write a script because I thought that is what I needed. Tired of those severe headaches I just wanted them gone and thought how could the oxygen help and then of course the inconvenience of wearing the thin tubes like you wear in the hospital. It works and I trust my neurologist 100% as now my leg spasms seem to be returning when I try to go to sleep at night. I am trying to increase my exercises and use my stim device more. I had to avoid using it because I needed a new off and on switch for my foot. It came and I wore it yesterday and the spasms were reduced a lot last night. I will avoid using my restrictive brace and see if it helps.

Day after Day

A lot has happened and yet not much has changed, does that make sense? To date I have had my oxygen machine for about eight weeks and use it about 85 percent of the time and it actually IS helping with my headaches. I used it only about half of the time in the first four weeks because I did not believe that would help. My neurologist, Dr. Smith, has been accurate every time including this time. My last serious headache was back around December 5th time frame so this is fantastic. I do not know if it will help anyone else but wearing oxygen at night works.

I am back to teaching for the Spring semester and things are going well for me. I also am feeling a little more energy most of time, which I am attributing to the oxygen at night. Since on the oxygen I do not wake up during the night at all. I was waking up two to three times a night but able to go back to sleep once on my new medications from Dr. Smith. Since the oxygen though like I say I sleep through the night which is a real blessing.

Sunday football

Well before the games started I thought I would clear the driveway up a bit. We didn't get enough snow for the plow so I decided to clean it up myself. I shoveled some to the sides and then figured I would snow blow the rest of it. My son and daughter-in-law came over yesterday and filled up my gas can for me. They were very thoughtful to help. So after my shoveling I did some snow blowing and cleaned up my driveway.

Last night I had a little episode of adventure, which may be an over statement. My doorbell rang two times at about 8:30 in the evening. As I struggled to get up, go to the door and answer it I quickly learned it was a case of 'ding dong ditch'. I was reminded of my youth and friends who use to play it. Then I thought about how many people did they play their joke on who experienced difficulty to answer a door for no one. I sat looking out the front window in the dark for a few minuets after I closed and locked the door with the lights off. As I sat there I thought even if I were to see them what would I do, "chase them"? How funny I thought so I made my way back to the family room and figured if it rang again I just do not get up. In the end children will be children.

Snowy day

Well more of the same old stuff falling from the sky. I was actually hoping we would get a little bit of snow so my plow guy would show up. We did not get enough so now I need to decide if I will brave the cold and such tomorrow to shovel it. I went to church for our 5 o'clock service and I decided to go without my brace or stim unit. I was hoping it would be ok and all went fairly well until I went to leave. As I was walking down the aisle leaving I almost walked on the ankle again as my left foot turned sideways like it does. I forgot about the ankle I think because of my brace and stim unit being used constantly for so long. I should remember why I am wearing them, which is more than just the paralysis.

Snow

Well over the night we had our first dose of the snow to come. I hired someone to plow the driveway for me so I went out because I needed to run an errand. While I was trying to clean my car off I had what seemed like an impossible task. It seemed impossible because of the ten or twelve inches of snow that was around my car. I had not put my brace on because it was a quick errand. The snow was not the nice fluffy snow but the heavy type. With the amount of snow on my car and trying to maneuver around the car cleaning it off proved to be extremely difficult. When I came home with all the snow in the driveway I assumed my plower did not come so I would fix it. I fired up the snowblower and managed to clear the whole driveway going slow. It felt good to accomplish the goal. I also did my neighbor's apron where the plows had buried it to help her out (she has the same snow plow man). I called her to tell her and she informed me he had cleared our driveways about 4 a.m. . That being the case I had no idea we had gotten that much snow. I am glad I did not call him to ask where he was. As of now we have about a foot so far with more coming. I love it!

Play offs

While watching the football play offs I thought I would update. I had a dental visit this week and they told me one tooth has stress fractures so I asked what might cause it. The main thing I was told was grinding my teeth at night. I have never had that problem before so I guess there is a first time for everything. That being said I now have to wear a mouth guard or cover for my upper teeth. While I was at the dentist 's office they asked me if I needed to be on medication before they do work on my teeth. It was so serious that they had me call my doctor's office before going forward with a cleaning. My doctor was somewhat surprised and after a bit of thought said yes. The dentist explained to me that when there are foreign objects in the body (like my six plates and screws) the bacteria can find its way to them and cause infections. The agreement was reached that I will follow up with my primary care doctor next week. Worst case scenario is I will take a pill to prevent that from happening. As I was going to bed last night I took my night time medications (six pills), put my oxygen on and hooked my flow up for the night, and then put my mouth piece in. I think what I use to do in order to prep for bed, one pill. I just got into bed and thought to myself, Phil you are getting older. LOL!

New Year

I sat thinking as a new year has begun and realized that this will be my full second year after surgery from the tumor. I think it is mostly because I take each day as a new day to face, and have lost track time. I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing but it is what it is. I continue to use my oxygen machine at night, about eighty percent of the time. It is suppose to help alleviate my headaches. It seems to help however I still seem to get headaches, mostly when the weather is changing (like today). The Christmas decorations are still up and I plan on them coming down in the next few days. It is nice to have a break from teaching and a much needed one. I am seeing my clients still but on a down sized level.

I mentioned in my last posting that I did not want to sound repeating or boring in my blog and that is one reason why I did not up date as often. I was looking at the blog as one that had to only talk about my tumor and current medical issues. I am now planning on sharing more on some that my students tell I me I should.

Enjoy