Wind Song Journal

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