My Motorcycle Injuries

I had the annual CT scan required to check the stent in my chest a few weeks ago. They called me a week later to let me know that there are no leaks and no movements involved with my stent and that my aorta won't be killing me this year (well, I added that last part). Yup, I am the poster child for stability when it comes to internal chest bleeding. I'll be back to the endocrinologist in a few weeks for blood work, an office visit, and a sonogram. It becomes a little frustrating as I continue to pay one copayment and deductible after another with all of the medical people involved with my healthcare. I sometimes feel as though I'm being taken advantage of by going through procedures and visits that cost the providers very little, but affect my personal budget in a big way. To be truthful, I'd drop every one of them if it wasn't for my desire to make my wife happy. She would freak out if I didn't continue to deal with all of the medical things that I've been ...

I bashed one of my toes today on the metal flashing at the floor of my front door entrance. I was barefooted, so my toes were fully exposed. Today's mishap involved the leg that was injured in the accident. That leg sometimes doesn't lift as high as it should when I'm taking steps. The floor on the inside of my house is a couple of inches higher than the ground outside at the entrance, so it's a slight lift to get inside. This same problem with my leg sometimes causes me to stumble a little when I'm walking on flat ground. My one leg is weaker than the other and it sometimes causes me to experience hindrances with my moblity. When it first happened this morning I thought, "ouch", but then I began to notice that it hurt far more than usual. When I looked down I noticed that my toe was bleeding. It's all fine now, but the Bandaid and slight pain serve to remind me that I need to be more careful with each step that I take. Can you imagine? Walking is such...

This past week I had an appointment with my endochronologist. He has my blood tested every three months and then has me sit in his examination room while he stares at his computer and comments on the results of the bloodwork. I grow tired of the routine, but it makes my wife happy because she's always concerned about my health as it relates to the aftereffects of the accident injuries. I think that diabetes is the most annoying and unpleasent result that was created by the accident. It controls so many aspects of my life that it's hard to keep track.  The blood test involves about thirty different things that include glucose, kidney function, heart health, and a bunch of things that have to be Googled in order to know what they are. I always have to donate between 5-6 vials of blood along with a container of urine. Yeah, fun stuff. This time around my numbers were particularly good and he told me that it was going to be a quick appointment because I'm a good patient. It...

There was a period of time after the accident when I felt the need to prove things to the world around me. I sought to establish my victory over all of the adversity and physical setbacks that I was facing. I worked hard to conquer the injuries from my motorcycle accident and always measured each day according to my progress. Unfortunately, I thought that I had to prove to the people around me that I was someone who had overcome the beating that I took with the accident, so I would talk to them about how well I was doing and how fit I had become. Over time, I learned something. What I learned was that I didn't need to prove anything. Not to anyone, and not to myself. I know who I am, what I'm capable of doing, and what it takes to find a sense of satisfaction within my own heart. I once felt that I needed to prove something, but I was wrong. The only thing that I need to prove involves the ability to live life with or without physical progress. I have moved forward with my life...

I gave a member of our church some advice a while ago. He's several years older than me and he's had some issues with his health over the past couple of years. We were talking about exercising and he mentioned that he was trying to do some push ups but he could barely do one. I gave him a suggestion involving a technique that I learned in physical therapy eleven years ago. One of my therapists taught me to do push ups on a kitchen counter. She taught me to lean on the counter at an angle with my arms stretched out and to push up and down away from the counter. My arm and leg were not healed enough or fit enough to do real push ups on the floor at that time, and the counter method helped me greatly as I sought to strengthen my upper body. This friend of mine at church was really happy to hear my advice and determined to give it a try. This past Sunday he told me that the counter method helped him greatly and that he had now moved up to doing regular push ups on the floor. I thin...

I have sometimes written on this blog about my inability to sleep well. It's been going on for eleven years now, so no biggie. The latest thing, however, invloves discomfort. Yeah, physical inquietude of the body, that's what it is. I have always just laid there staring out, but now I just can't seem to get my body to rest in a comfortable, pain-free way. I have to change my position several times in order to find the proper physical arrangement that grants limited pain and maximum relaxation. It didn't used to be this way. In the past I couldn't sleep, but it was just because...I couldn't fall asleep. Now, I have to spend my time finding a good position in order to optimize the potential for sleep. A "no need to focus on your bod" orientation, if you will. When I wake up in the night, I have to shift things around again in order to stand a chance for further sleep. Tiring? You betcha! Frustrating? Uh-huh... The aftereffects of the motorcycle accident ...

I used to know someone who was in her 80's, and she would tell doctors that she had lived in her body for "x" amount of years, and that she knew her body. She would say this to various medical professionals whenever she felt that they were wrong in their assessement of her condition. This lady was almost always right. She always knew what she was feeling and was able to tell when there was something wrong.  I personally don't always understand the things that the medical community hands to me as a diagnosis when it comes to my health in relation to the various aftereffects of the motorcycle accident. Machines, equipment, and blood tests help doctors to tell me that everything is alright, but my body often tells me that something isn't right. I experience certain pains and noticeable weakness within my hip, knee, and arm that keep signaling to me that there's a problem within, but everyone keeps telling me that I'm fine. One day it all feels OK, and then on...