Category: Random Musings

After a day of rest, it will be back to the stadium for me today. At physical therapy on Tuesday, I completed 20 minutes on the exercise arm/leg machine (alternating every minute) plus walked a mile uphill at a 3 percent grade on the treadmill. I’m beginning to enjoy this life, perhaps because I’ve been starting to dream about the working life at night. My health was good, but life was stressful while I was the manager at Twisters, too. There were long hours and always problems coming up, and I didn’t have time to spend with friends. Certainly, I did not have time to enjoy the daylight hours and go on nature walks during the week. My friend Tanya is studying buddhist philosophy, and one of the ideas is to live in the present instead the future, on the premise if you live in the future you might miss BOTH the present and the future. So I am trying to enjoy where I’m at; there are some benefits to my situation. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Yesterday, Rene and I went to the Belmont gym to use the weights and fitness equipment. It was nice to be back after over two months away. In addition to the climbing walls, Planet Granite gym has state-of-the-art exercise equipment–including a treadmill that can measure time, distance, incline, and heart rate. I was told to keep my heart rate around 130, and at this rate I walked a mile in 20 min. 47 seconds, so my next immediate goal is to walk a mile in less than 20 minutes. I also like the assisted pull-up machine, and succeeded in doing a couple sets of lat pull-down exercises. Out of my own curiosity, I tried 50% of my weight, but I could only do one repetition at that level. Far from being able to do 75 pull ups in one day, (that record was set while I was using oxygen)yet I was pleased because I am recovering better than I expected too; since I was lying in bed for 7 weeks and only 3 weeks out of th hospital. The months ahead involve a lot of careful work to regaih my strength for daily life, climbing and other sports. I want to recapture that feeling of being able to move and enjoy fun activities with my friends again, which was my “normal” lifestyle. For now, I stay focused on rehab, nutrition, food preparation, and hospital appointments thrice daily. I also go to bed very early every night to get proper sleep for healing. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

I forgot to mention that on our walk on Saturday, the air was clear enough to see from San Jose to San Francisco from the top of the hill! This morning was the third day in a row I have not had “throwing up” problems…maybe it has gone away! That will be a relief. Yesterday, Dave and I went to the stadium to climb bleachers. We also met the Levin family (Carrie, Rich, Yuri and Josh) for an afternoon of fun. They mostly played football and soccer while we did bleachers.) First, Carrie and I walked 1/2 mile around the track to warm up. It took 12:27 minutes. I will try to go further next time. Next, I started on my workout, and was able to go five trips up and down the bleachers! Towards the top, the bleachers rise about 18″. By the end of each trip, I could only climb them one step at a time without stopping, but the amazing thing is that I could continue all the way to the top each time. It was very encouraging. Today, I am only a little bit sore. We spent the morning at the hospital, with an 8:30 blood draw appointment, 9:30 shot, and 10:30 clinic appointment. The shots are painful but the good thing is that they only last about one minute. At the clinic appointment, the doctors were cheerful about my progress and have a plan of action regarding the pleural effusion; they will see if the octreotide is having an effect, and also drain the fluid sometime soon. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

In between hospital appointments, Dave and I went to the Stanford dish trail today. It’s called the “dish” because there is a satellite dish at the top of the hill, a well-known landmark in the community. The trail, once a worn, narrow dirt trail is now a wide paved path with a security guard at the entrance. Nevertheless, the wildlife still abounds at the dish. Today, we saw a four-foot long snake cross the path. There have also been several mountain lion sightings but I haven’t seen any myself. Today, I walked much further than I did last week with Meredith. I was so pleased to get so far on the trail in half an hour…and then we turned back to head down the hill to Dave’s truck. Yes, I feel like I am getting stronger because the walking is easier. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Felix, thanks for dropping by the site. I hope you recover from the over-training. I have started upper-body training now. The head physical therapist, Milenna, is very good at encouraging people. She had me using 4 lb. dumbells and doing sets of 10 of various exercises, plus the pulley machine which exercises the lats. I was encouraged because even though I am very weak, I am stronger than I thought I was. We did the 6-minute walk, and I could walk 1/3 of a mile in that time. So that would be an 18 min/mile pace, which isn’t too bad if I can make it one mile. I will measure this weekend when I go to the track. I am now going to the hospital three times per day for the shots, so I’m trying to get exercise walking back and forth, which takes about 10 minutes one way. It is beautiful weather, and good to be out in the fresh air that often. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Yesterday was an excellent day. Isa brought over homemade Vietnamese spring rolls and hot and sour soup for lunch, and then we went to the stadium to exercise. It was almost like old times. I was able to climb from the bottom to top three times, the equivalent of 24 flights of stairs. It was a little difficult to do the top, steepest bleachers but I went very slowly and kept going. Today was not so cheerful. I had hospital appointments all day. First the PFT (Pulmonary Function Test) which showed slightly lower scores than last week. Then, it was off to the ATU for blood draws, then to Radiology for x-rays, and finally the clinic appointment with Dr. Faul. After the clinic appointment, Dave and I went home for lunch and came back for my CT scan. Dr. Faul said it’s now time to start solving the problem of my chylothorax, fluid leaking into my lungs. I start octreotide shots three times per day tomorrow, which will take place in the hospital. He said they have had good results with this medicine before. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

70 degrees, sunny, and perfect puffy clouds floating overhead…the ideal conditions for going for our nature walk today…but this one had an added twist…Rhona and I foraged for edible plants, which I used in dinner. After about 15 minutes, we came across some elderberry trees, and later found wild radishes and fennel. I was delighted to taste each one and gather a suppply for later. Not only did we find interesting plants, but we also saw a variety of wildlife. As we walked along the path, we came across caterpillars, a scrub jay, a heron, and a small gathering of sparrows who made their nests under a bridge by the bay. We walked slowly and foraged along the flat trail for an hour and a half, which made it my longest walk in this most recent recovery period. When I got home, I sauteed chicken in white wine (2 buck Chardonnay from Trader Joe’s) added garlic, basil, broccoli, wild radish flowers, and the wild fennel. Dave and I ate it served over rice. It was delicious. (I felt very clever and down-to-earth.) Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

70 degrees, sunny, and perfect puffy clouds floating overhead…the ideal conditions for going for our nature walk today…but this one had an added twist…Rhona and I foraged for edible plants, which I used in dinner. After about 15 minutes, we came across some elderberry trees, and later found wild radishes and fennel. I was delighted to taste each one and gather a suppply for later. Not only did we find interesting plants, but we also saw a variety of wildlife. As we walked along the path, we came across caterpillars, a scrub jay, a heron, and a small gathering of sparrows who made their nests under a bridge by the bay. We walked slowly and foraged along the flat trail for an hour and a half, which made it my longest walk in this most recent recovery period. When I got home, I sauteed chicken in white wine (2 buck Chardonnay from Trader Joe’s) added garlic, basil, broccoli, wild radish flowers, and the wild fennel. Dave and I ate it served over rice. It was delicious. (I felt very clever and down-to-earth.) Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Last night I planned a potluck birthday dinner for one of my best friends, Mark Fletcher. After cooking a steamed chicken dish with Myrna for the party, I had a wave of nausea and couldn’t even keep my pills down. So I sent the food up to Eva’s house with Dave, and stayed home to rest. I had been feeling tired all day so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. Later, I called them and they put me on the speaker phone. It was almost like being there. I got a good night’s rest and today was totally different. I woke up, took a shower and went to Belmont to pick up my car from the other apartment. Driving again is such a pleasure, except for the price of gas. It is now $2.61/gallon here in the Bay Area, about 40 cents more than when I went into the hospital 2 months ago. My other big news of the day is that Meredith and I went for a nature walk at the Stanford Dish trail. It is a paved walk up a fairly steep hill, and I was proud to be able to climb the hill without getting too out of breath. We didn’t go all the way to the satellite dish, but spent 35 minutes walking up the hill and did get pretty far–far enough to enjoy the beautiful view of the Bay Area, Stanford campus, and the surrounding community of Palo Alto. It only took us 25 minutes to walk down, and I felt satisfied because it was my hardest walk since I’ve been out of the hospital the second time. I hadn’t seen Meredith for months and we had a lot to catch up on…she is one of the many women in sheclimbs and we talked about the past trips and her plans for this climbing season. She carried my backpack and patiently stayed beside me as I inched my way up the path at a snail’s pace. The slow pace helped us notice tidbits of nature: the perfect 65 degree weather, the gentle breeze, two squirrels playing, and the sound of grasshoppers hiding in the brush. I also loved the way the sunlight hit different patches of trees in the forest to provide an interesting canvas decorated with several shades of green. This added to the panoramic view, with the water and bridge in the background, and the red clay roofs of the campus off on one side. On the way down, the path went through a dark canopy of trees, curving over the walkway and promising light at the end of the tunnel. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Denise, thanks for your messages. I will be looking forward to your call. You can also try reaching me on my cell phone. No, dog in the picture is not Rupie, Rupie is much cuter! Julie, great to hear that the kids are doing so well in climbing! They must be training hard with their new coach. Lab tests came back, and I am completely over all the CMV, flu, and pneumonia viruses. I am still battling fatigue, but have started climbing stairs again for exercise. I even knock on the doors of other transplant patients and get them to do the flights with me! The doctors recommend at least an hour of exercise per day. This is a lot of activity, for I am still in the stage that cooking, cleaning, and shopping for myself and Dave are major challenges. But it is a good idea to go out and get fresh air on walks anyway. Yesterday, I climbed over the equivalent of one trip up and down the stadium, so I will probably start going to the stadium with Ana, Isa, and Dave pretty soon. I hear that Isa’s dog, Rupie, has started training, too. She can do eight trips! I cannot let Rupie get the better of me for long. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments