Vamos a Ver...

Just Puppies

I'm taking care of Mr. Baby tomorrow so I'm staying overnight in MA. On the drive up I listened to a podcast of "This American Life." I think the title of the episode was "Starting from Scratch." My favorite segment of the episode was about a guy who came up with the idea of creating, from the ground up, a cable network entirely devoted to puppies as a change of pace from the usual TV fare- no words, no people, just puppies.

Sounds good to me. 

 

In Which I Answer the Eternal Question: What's for Dinner?

If you've noticed an overall pattern of randomness in this sudden burst of posting I've done, you're on to something. I'm just trying to show up and post every day. Vamos a ver... we'll see what comes of it.

I'm excited about dinner (partly because Jim is cooking it!) so I thought I'd post about that.

We're having:

• "Smokey Grilled Tempeh " from Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero's Veganomicon.

• Chilled-Curried-Carrot Soup, (substituting vegetable broth for chicken broth and probably warm rather than cold).

• Bread that Jim is baking-- I'm pretty lucky! He's asked me to make it clear that it will be a handmade, crusty loaf- not a bread machine loaf.

• Frozen broccoli from Trader Joe's that we need to eat before it gets freezer burned. 

The tempeh won't actually be smokey because we leave out the 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke that the recipe calls for. I don't like foods that taste smokey--probably for the best.

I discovered Veganomicon in our local library and we have loved every recipe we've tried so far. This "we" includes Anna (daughter) and Ray (son-in-law), neither of whom are vegan--although they do like tempeh. Anna is the one who first introduced me to it.

I've also been enjoying recipes from Vegan with a Vengeance which Anna bought me last week as a present. I'm interested to hear what she thinks of the Tempeh Reuben recipe she's planning to try. Just FYI there are plenty of recipes for things other than tempeh in both cookbooks-- it's just a coincidence that the two recipes I mention here are tempeh based.

Here's Jim cooking as Patches looks on, and yes, that "counter" he is cooking on is a clothes dryer--how annoying it that! We live in an old house that needs lots and lots of work. Eventually we plan for our kitchen to be more kitchen-like.

Pretty soon, for our birthdays....

We don't know these people but we know this place.

La vida es dulce! Si!

Introducing Mr. Baby

Blogging slacker that I am I have some catching up to do.

Procrastinator that I am I haven't been doing it because there is so much catching up to do that it's been hard to figure out where to start.

It seems only fitting that I start here, with the biggest distraction in my life right now- the amazing and ever entertaining Mr. Baby- Elliot- born August 21st at home to my daughter and son-in-law.

Life has not been the same since.

Please disregard the soother sticking out of the side of his face. He's a little high maintenance and needs his sources of comfort close at hand. 

Baker's Cyst Update

I haven't really thought too much about the Baker's Cyst issue recently but I have noticed from the blog stats that a lot of people search the topic and end up reading my blog. I occurred to me that since my posts dropped off right after the knee issues that this might give people a negative impression of what might happen to them- death, paralysis, etc. This isn't the case so I decided that I should give a little knee update for you Baker's Cyst Google Searchers out there.

The knee is...okay... which is an improvement. The fluid from the ruptured cyst reabsorbed as it was supposed to, although for several months my left shoe(s) were always too tight- a little bit of swelling really affects shoe fit. I got some blisters because of this and also couldn't wear certain shoes at all. Now all my shoes fit fine. At this point the cyst is still there but in the last month it's finally gotten smaller, from golf ball size to not much of anything, just a slight bump behind the knee.

There is still room for improvement as far as knee function. The swelling is finally down, again, just recently. I can walk without pain and am starting (very slowly!) to do a little bit of strength training and recumbent bike. I've tried jogging but that has led to immediate increases in pain and a return of some swelling.

These results/problems are not typical from what I've heard. There's not a lot of data out there on this topic but it may well be that the aromatase inhibitor I take, Femara, and also the Zometa I've received once and will be getting again in December, have had an impact on my joint health and healing. Again, there's not a lot of info out there on the impact of some of these breast cancer treatments and orthopedic issues, but these drugs do affect the bones and joints so it seems plausible.

It's been good to get back to regular exercise, even if it's just walking. I don't know at this point if there will be anymore running in my future. Biking I'm more optimistic about It's not really a big deal since I'm not exactly an elite athlete. As long as I can get a decent amount of exercise in some form and as long as I'm not in pain all the time I'm happy.

Oh...I have a blog?!

For those who may have wondered I'm still alive (which is excellent, if I do say so myself!). Here it is October aka month of dreaded pink marketing crapola (again!) and it seems that I left off saying something about triathlon training (which ended up not happening because my knee just wasn't having it).

Still lots of other things have happened. Awesome grandson was born in August. We had a good growing season at the office/pool garden, including tomatoes that didn't get the blight. I've adopted a vegan diet and don't see myself ever going back to animal foods. It's snowed TWICE in the past week. I've started knitting again. The dogs are well, including Gus, who at thirteen seems to have gotten some of the youthful spring back in his step now that the weather is cool. I am also feeling more energetic, with a little more time to spare than I had over the spring and summer and therefore picking up where I left off.

Let the Triathlon Training Begin!

As you might guess from this post title the knee is doing much better. I saw the orthopedist yesterday and had the stitches out. He was pretty satisfied with how the knee is coming along, although he does think that at least a couple of physical therapy sessions would be helpful. I'm having a little more difficulty, compared to what most people experience after this type of surgery, straightening the leg. He said I can do a couple of sessions and then evaluate whether to just do whatever exercises/program they give me on my own or whether it would be better to keep going for a full course of 10-12 sessions.

The most satisfying part of the visit was having him go over what he'd done and getting his opinion that going back to running (slowly after building up with a walking, then jogging program, plus the rehab) at any level I choose to should be no problem. Crystal and I are signed up for our second Danskin Triathlon (end of July). I'm confident that I'll be able to do it.

Patches and I celebrated this good news and kicked off triathlon training yesterday with two 15 minute walks up and down our closest dirt road. This morning we were really ambitious and walked a full two mile loop. Now we're reaping the benefits- Patches is asleep on the couch and I just feel BETTER. Gus and Wendy had a walk too, but a shorter one, kicking off the start of their canine weight loss and fitness program- sorely needed after this past winter of not getting nearly enough walks, between the weather and my knee problems. It was so great to get out in the sun and enjoy the signs of spring that are suddenly showing themselves everywhere- sprouts of green coming up on the roadsides, budding trees, ducks on the ponds. Today we saw mergansers- can't remember if they were the hooded or common. Yesterday on one of our walks we saw two piliated woodpeckers. For more on our local birds see Crystal's blog.

*I just checked Crystal's bird photos. It was the hooded mergansers we saw- on Rebecca and Michele's pond.

Surviving a ruptured Baker's cyst

From my new home on the couch, I found this blog post "Surviving a Ruptured Baker's Cyst", and its associated comments, to be both helpful and illuminating.

I notice that first thing in the morning seems to be the worst as far as the pain and stiffness are concerned. This may be due to a few things- probably a combination of all of them. First of all I don't take Vicodin at night because despite its depressant qualities it tends to keep me awake. Michele from across the beaver pond described it well yesterday when she and Rebecca brought over our groceries- that narcotics seem to do this weird thing where you just skim the surface of sleep. The Vicodin makes me feel dreamy and racey at the same time. This can be pleasant during the day, especially since I'd otherwise be in a lot of pain, but at night when I want to sleep, no. I've also, for the last two nights, taken off the compression wrap out of fear of developing blood clots.This may be irrational- or not- I'm not sure. I do know that I did not enjoy the DVT scare last week. During the day, compression and elevation make a big difference. I can't stand for any length of time even with the wrap, and without the wrap forget it. Stretching and moving seem to help, but only when done from a horizontal, not vertical, position. 

A couple of key pieces of information in the various things I've read are that it usually takes a couple of weeks for the body to reabsorb the fluid from the ruptured cyst. Once this happens you usually feel better, except that the cyst tends to recur- unless whatever caused it has been eliminated. Since one of the common causes of these cysts is tears to the meniscus, and since I've had the torn cartilage removed, maybe this will be the end of the cyst. Let's hope so. Vamos a ver... I don't know if the fact that this is a "complex" cyst is of any significance as far as what to do about it. "Complex" in the context of Baker's cysts seems to mean that there is some calcification involved. This explains the grindy sensation I was having at the back of my knee where there's not supposed to be anything hard or crunchy.

The knee itself is definitely improving and better than it was before the surgery. If it weren't for the ruptured cyst situation I might even be up for a walk. Still, today has been better overall. I've been up and about a couple of times and have finally started working on the mid-term I need to have ready for Tuesday night. I have a pretty normal work week scheduled which is a little scary. Monday and Tuesday are pretty light so maybe it won't be so bad.

Meniscus Surgery Recovery Update Day 5

Today marks the 5th day since the meniscus and tibia cartilage trimming and I am finally turning the corner. The shower prohibition ended this morning so in addition to feeling a little better (more on that in a minute) I am also clean. Showers are so taken for granted and under-appreciated for the luxury (both as a pleasure and as a major indulgence in terms of the resources they use) that they really are. I saved a lot of water this week with my washcloth baths and the one hair washing I did at the kitchen sink. It dawned on me, during this at the sink shampooing, that when I was growing up people used to often wash their hair at the kitchen sink. I don't think people do this anymore. I wonder why?

For the most part I've spent the day lying down with my leg up with the calf well wrapped. The wrap makes a huge difference in cutting down on the pain. The rest and elevation seems to have worked its magic. Suddenly this afternoon, for the first time since even before the surgery, I found that I was able to walk without a limp. This was pretty exciting since the whole point of doing all this was to have a functional knee again. Although I'm still not up to spending a lot of time on my feet, I finally feel like I'm headed in the right direction. My plan is to keep doing what I'm doing, with more walking added in as I can tolerate it. I'm still tired- like really wiped out tired- from the systemic impact of being put to sleep and having power tools used inside a major joint. Although the holes they make are really little this stuff takes its toll. Hopefully the recovery process will start to speed up over the next couple of days. I have to teach Tuesday night and it will be little tough doing it if I don't feel a lot better than I do now.

Jim is making dinner again, another soup, this time with potatoes from the Brookfield Farm. This weekend is the last winter share pick-up. We'll have to go tomorrow or we'll be out of luck. It won't be long until the Foodbank Farm opens for the season and we'll start seeing all those greens again.

The dogs continue to get along. Patches is a joy and a nuisance- smart, sweet, and fun, but also good at finding trouble and finding it fast. She's so big and so agile that she can overcome almost any barrier. Put up a gate and she just leaps over it. If she wants something on a counter, say a stick of butter, she can just help herself. Just now while Jim was cooking she got one of my sweaters, luckily an old one, and chewed part of the collar off. Once I'm back on my feet there's going to be some serious dog proofing around here. Good thing she's crate trained or we'd really be in trouble.

Pseudo-Deep Vein Thrombosis (much better than the real thing!)

Friday, March 20th

Today got off to a bad start when I woke up at 6am with REALLY BAD CALF PAIN- like miserable, snap at Jim, hurts even after taking Vicodin kind of pain. It was the most pain I've had since having the surgery. This was finally enough to get me to cave and go to the ER, to not worry about Jim having to reschedule some things at work, and to not worry about canceling the two clients I was going to see today even though I wasn't up to it.

It ended up being a good experience. First of all the place was empty- like they were all just sitting around waiting for a customer. No one rolled their eyes when I said why I was there. On the contrary they were really concerned. The ER doctor was extremely validating of the appropriateness of my decision to come in and was even more validating when he examined my leg. Within a few minutes they'd drawn blood, done an EKG, put in an IV, and sent me down for an ultrasound. The ultrasound technician took a LONG time going over my leg, more than twice as long as they'd told Jim I'd be gone. I could tell she was taking pictures of something she'd found. Although she was very nice and knew I was worried, she wasn't allowed to tell me what. By the end I was pretty much resigning myself to the idea that I did have a blood clot and that they were probably going to admit me.

It was a pleasant surprise when it didn't happen that way. Rather than having the real thing, it turns out that I have a "complex-cyst" (probably caused by my initial knee injury) that has caused pseudo-DVT by leaking fluid into my calf muscles. The symptoms are pretty much impossible to distinguish without ultrasound.  Maybe I'll need to have something done to it or maybe not, but it's no big deal

It's been very pleasant to lie around on the couch this afternoon, reading and snuggling with dogs, without wondering if there's a blood clot waiting to go to my lung.

I enjoyed reading this guy's account of a similar knee injury adventure, as well as his blog in general- makes dreams of bike adventures dance in my head.