Off to the flowers

I haven't heard any more about my health issues. I still have trouble getting up from wherever I am. I have been trying to always use both feet to go up and down stairs. My right leg is stronger so sometimes I make it do the lion's share.

We are thinking of what to do this day. While the weather is threatening, it still seems like we could do something outside. We are thinking of going to the Iris festival near Salem.

Generally we look forward to these excursions.

I will keep you posted....

You fell out of what!!

I fell out of bed.

I sleep mostly on my side and usually change sides several times during the night. So the other night while I was doing one of these changes, I rolled over to a place where there was no bed. Gravity being what it is, I went down to the floor. I landed on the carpet mostly O.K. but while I was safely down on the floor, my feet were doing everything they could to catch up. My foot dove toe first into the heating grate. Not wanting to make any more of an already embarrassing situation, I climbed into bed and went to sleep. When I got up the next morning and had a throbbing toe. The next evening I took a more complete look and found that I had two really red toes.

I am over the embarrassment, but am still limping.

More to come….

Full day on Friday

I am a member of Toastmasters and as such, I rise at 5am, get ready, stop off for a breakfast at the local restaurant and show up at Toastmasters at 6:45am. After that, I went to mass in Sherwood, then headed over to see my neurologist. That was some experience. We talked for about a half hour and then he invited me over to lay down on his bed. His equipment included a measuring tape, a few electrodes and a small tazer. He didn't ask if the tazer was working because each jolt was enough to jump start a pickup truck.

The result of his exam is that he doesn't know if the Predazone worked or whether there was some other reason I had been feeling better. He doesn’t think I have any Myositis but may have a Myopathy. I guess there are several to choose from. I took some blood tests to see if he can figure it out.

More to come….

Mother's Day

We had the most beautiful weather for Mother's day. My bride and two of my mother daughters went to a wonderful brunch. Linda had to work but I wished her happy mother's day.

I got the carving done so my little guy has a head.

About IBM

I am in the 5th day of taking Predazone which was given me to see if I respond. If I do, it rules out Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) but does not necessarily assure a proper diagnosis. I will see a nerve doc to see what other things that might be wrong with me. I often wonder if there are some things that one ought not to know.

I have a stress test on Wednesday. I hope that goes well. I think they run me on a treadmill until I drop or show me how much it costs and that the insurance won’t cover it. That would be a lot of stress.

We will see…

A very nice day

When I first moved to Oregon, the locals told me that you can always know what the weather will be like today. "Just look to Mount Hood, " They said. "If you can see mount hood, it is going to rain today." "It you can't see mount hood, it means it is already raining."

There is also a question asked, "What are two rainy days in a row in Oregon?" The answer is "a Weekend."

It is odd, I suppose, that I would tell rain stories on a day that is absolutely beautiful. It is warm and not much wind with puffy clouds and great visibility. I can see mount St. Helens which is about 85 miles away. Mount hood is closer but trees and houses prevent me from seeing it.

A few years ago, I carved a little cowboy. I carved the head separately so I could turn the head in various directions. Eventually, the head got lost. My little grand daughter who is 5 years old found the body and she said she did not like to see a body without a head. I tend to agree with her, so I think I will carve a head today.

God Bless you all

IBM

I sort of always felt I wanted some IBM but be careful for what you wish for. I have been losing some of the use of my legs lately. It seemed like little things like it being a little harder to get up when I got down on the floor to reach something. I was little slow going up and down stairs. I became aware of this while I was taking Physical Therapy for a weak knee. In fact, the leg I was having trouble with when I started PT is now my strongest leg. I had a doctor appointment last week so I waited until them to bring it up. I told the doctor "You know when you are going to do 10 reps of an exercise and you have done nine and are not sure if you can make the next one? Well, that's how I start out." Her first diagnosis was to have me do a stress test to see if my heart was O.K. Then she had me take another blood test to see if I might have her first guess. Got a call in the afternoon and said I was negative for malady she was looking for so I should drop my cholesterol meds, drink plenty of water over the weekend and go in for fasting blood work on Monday morning. Monday afternoon, she called and said she was going to treat me for Poly myositis. If that is what I have, the steroid treatment should correct it. If not, then I may have Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM). My dosage is 3 pills a day for three days, 2 pills a day for three days and then a pill a day for three days. So I should see some result by the end of 9 days or It might be IBM for which they currently don’t have medication for.

The good news is that it is not fatal. You don’t die from it but you might lose your balance and fall down and when you are 69 years old, that may not be pretty.

I will keep you posted.

JoAnn's Surgery

JoAnn is being operated on her knee (fourth since Knee replacement) as I write this. She was hopeful and upbeat when I talked to her on Tuesday. She said she would be mostly out of it the rest of today so I will go see her at the hospital on Thursday. Keep her in your prayes.