Last summer, I decided to branch out on my exercise. I'd pushed myself into regularly doing 10 km walks and conquering Wellington's hills - I was climbing Mt Victoria three or four times a week, sometimes before going to work. So I borrowed a mountain bike from my uncle, the biking fanatic, and started biking. Towards the end of the summer, I'd worked myself up to 50 km road trips on the weekends (taking the train out to Paraparaumu and biking/walking back).
At the end of it, I tackled the Rimutaka Rail Trail, including biking to it from Upper Hutt and biking into Featherston. Took me hours, I got lost near the end (they could signpost the Cross Creek area better) and had to climb a fence and cut over a farm, and I was cramping up that night badly. But I did it. I'm proud of that.
This summer, I had intended to do it again - starting with reborrowing the bike and getting back into the road work. Additionally I had joined up with a gym to work on the rest of my body. My eventual goal was, in two or three years time, to work myself up into tackling the 150km Otago Rail Trail over three or four days.
I never got to use that gym membership. In between the initial payment and my intoductory session, my back suddenly went into agony, and you know the rest.
Now I get tired stumping around on crutches for 10 minutes. I'm looking at Mt Victoria now and cringing - it took me a long painful time to get my fitness up to the point where it was a pleasure to climb it and now I'll have to do it all again. Starting from learning to walk on my own two feet again.
*sigh*
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Thursday, 17 December 2009
First you save yourself...
I've been away.
To be exact I've been away in hospital. On a Wednesday, I was sent home from work with my back problem flaring up. Over the next few days, it got worse and I only got through with the help of a friend. On Monday, I staggered to the GP to get a blood test, and was whipped into an office for an examination. And then an ambulance was called. At the ER, I was stuck quickly in an assessment bed, had saline inserted and was considered stable. Being a busy day, the ER then bumped me down the priority list and I was admitted to a ward in the wee small hours of Tuesday.
It was pretty obvious that it was a bit more than the initial diagnosis of "musculo-skeletal pain". A fair bit was dehydration - saline was pumped into me for three days. I had had a MRI scheduled for later that week; I was bumped up in priority along with the trauma victims and other serious problems, and scanned after hours.
I hate MRIs. As a test it is apallingly stressful; they have to sedate the claustrophobic.
I have an infected spinal disk, pouring pus into abscesses in my back and into my spinal canal. They monitored me for symptoms of nerve damage (past the continual pins and needles in my feet), ready to whip me into major surgery, while pouring huge amounts of antibiotics into me continously, inserting a PICC line after a while. The doctor pointed out the problem was both life and limb threatening. A CAT scan and biopsy got a sample of the bug to see to what it was vulnerable, while ultrasounds and punch biopsies looked at other problems.
I was in hospital for 23 days, most of it confined to bed. I played several long games of Civ 4 and Medieval Total Wat, and got a black belt in sudoku. Some nurses are very good at patient care and some are just petty dictators or mere jobsworths - and so it goes for any profession.
I am now at home, watching DVDs of "Outrageous Fortune" while lying on a couch and very painfully getting around on a walker frame. I have community nurses coming in every day tro check up on me and push antibiotics through the PICC line careful to maintain sterility. I also have clinics and therapists scheduled, contact numbers, and instructions for going straight back if things go wrong. It looks like I'll keep the use of my legs, and wind up with a fused disk.
Being in New Zealand, the stay cost me nothing. In fact, being confined to bed for most of this period helped my bank balance significantly. I had to purchase six drugs from a pharmacy afterwards - 5 of these were subsidised and cost me a nominal $14 (including slow release morphine); one painkiller was not, I chose to keep getting it, and I paid $80 for the privilege of a 2 week supply. I'm on sick leave while I need it, the medical services cost me nothing while things like Meals on Wheels are cheap.
I dunno how much I'd be facing in the US either with or without insurance, especially since some of the other problems were "pre-existing conditions". My worries involve pain and keeping this line into my veins sterile; they do not involve a huge debt, keeping my job despite being off for two months or more, or choices about paying for necessary care to support me at home.
Keep telling us socialised medicine is no good.
BTW, the title comes from a favourite Greg Johnson song.
To be exact I've been away in hospital. On a Wednesday, I was sent home from work with my back problem flaring up. Over the next few days, it got worse and I only got through with the help of a friend. On Monday, I staggered to the GP to get a blood test, and was whipped into an office for an examination. And then an ambulance was called. At the ER, I was stuck quickly in an assessment bed, had saline inserted and was considered stable. Being a busy day, the ER then bumped me down the priority list and I was admitted to a ward in the wee small hours of Tuesday.
It was pretty obvious that it was a bit more than the initial diagnosis of "musculo-skeletal pain". A fair bit was dehydration - saline was pumped into me for three days. I had had a MRI scheduled for later that week; I was bumped up in priority along with the trauma victims and other serious problems, and scanned after hours.
I hate MRIs. As a test it is apallingly stressful; they have to sedate the claustrophobic.
I have an infected spinal disk, pouring pus into abscesses in my back and into my spinal canal. They monitored me for symptoms of nerve damage (past the continual pins and needles in my feet), ready to whip me into major surgery, while pouring huge amounts of antibiotics into me continously, inserting a PICC line after a while. The doctor pointed out the problem was both life and limb threatening. A CAT scan and biopsy got a sample of the bug to see to what it was vulnerable, while ultrasounds and punch biopsies looked at other problems.
I was in hospital for 23 days, most of it confined to bed. I played several long games of Civ 4 and Medieval Total Wat, and got a black belt in sudoku. Some nurses are very good at patient care and some are just petty dictators or mere jobsworths - and so it goes for any profession.
I am now at home, watching DVDs of "Outrageous Fortune" while lying on a couch and very painfully getting around on a walker frame. I have community nurses coming in every day tro check up on me and push antibiotics through the PICC line careful to maintain sterility. I also have clinics and therapists scheduled, contact numbers, and instructions for going straight back if things go wrong. It looks like I'll keep the use of my legs, and wind up with a fused disk.
Being in New Zealand, the stay cost me nothing. In fact, being confined to bed for most of this period helped my bank balance significantly. I had to purchase six drugs from a pharmacy afterwards - 5 of these were subsidised and cost me a nominal $14 (including slow release morphine); one painkiller was not, I chose to keep getting it, and I paid $80 for the privilege of a 2 week supply. I'm on sick leave while I need it, the medical services cost me nothing while things like Meals on Wheels are cheap.
I dunno how much I'd be facing in the US either with or without insurance, especially since some of the other problems were "pre-existing conditions". My worries involve pain and keeping this line into my veins sterile; they do not involve a huge debt, keeping my job despite being off for two months or more, or choices about paying for necessary care to support me at home.
Keep telling us socialised medicine is no good.
BTW, the title comes from a favourite Greg Johnson song.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
On matters embarrasing
In case anyone who might be sending stuff to my real name is wondering why I might not be answering email, it's because I haven't been at work for nearly a week.
After being in a great deal of pain, I am now hobbling around like an old man, but recovering fast. It's just muscular, which is much better than my original fear that the massive and sudden back pain had to do with my kidneys. My blood pressure is fine, and my pee is free from excess glucose, nitrates or blood, lo, pure as the driven sn- well, pure anyway.
To note:
i, Diclofenac sodium (aka Voltaren) is the bomb. Weeee. I thoroughly recommend this cheeky little painkiller. However, be sure to follow the instructions about food and a good quantity of water. I especially emphasise that for those of you who may have no appetite due to pain; the last thing you need is to be reintroduced to what little you've eaten over the last few days.
ii, It is possible to lose 6.2 kg in a week without exercise. It is not recommended. I suspect that as I start sucking down more liquids and stop sweating them out this may correct itself.
iii, A good time to join the gym would have been a week before I actually did - it would have been nice to be aching pleasently from an upper body workout rather than whimpering in agony from my flabby body stuffing itself sitting down. Oh well - should be able to get into the first session next week accoring to my doctor. And I'm still on track to tackle the Rimutaka Rail Trail again at the end of summer.
iv, In US$, costs were as follows:
a) One walk-in (hobble-in) consultation with emergency physician on a Sunday evening, 40 minute wait after initial assessment by nurse, $61.
b) One inspection by the GP I choose four years ago, with an appointment within 24 hours of phoning up, $41.
c) Drugs - 20 x d. sodium 75mg slow release, and 100 generic paracetamol 500mg, $5
d) Sick leave - around 5.5 to 7.5 days fully paid sick leave, depending on how I feel next week, no cost. I have a contract with an "unlimited sick leave" provision, on the assumption that I'm an adult, and the point is to get well first.
Of course, if I had been poor ("community needs"), all but the first would have been free to me. And if I *had* had kidney problems, I'd probably be in a free hospital bed right now.
Oh, the oppression of socialised medicine. Well, single payer medicine.
Embarrassing things to find for the NZ male:
i, Having relative strangers compliment you regarding weight loss over the last couple of years.
ii, Having your more distant friends expressing so much worry about you being sick in your Facebook status reports.
iii, Having your close friends txt you about it.
iv, Having family cite you as an inspiration to them personally.
v, And finding that "I'm a librarian" while reading graphic novels is a great way to sneer down ridicule after hobbling to the local branch library.
After being in a great deal of pain, I am now hobbling around like an old man, but recovering fast. It's just muscular, which is much better than my original fear that the massive and sudden back pain had to do with my kidneys. My blood pressure is fine, and my pee is free from excess glucose, nitrates or blood, lo, pure as the driven sn- well, pure anyway.
To note:
i, Diclofenac sodium (aka Voltaren) is the bomb. Weeee. I thoroughly recommend this cheeky little painkiller. However, be sure to follow the instructions about food and a good quantity of water. I especially emphasise that for those of you who may have no appetite due to pain; the last thing you need is to be reintroduced to what little you've eaten over the last few days.
ii, It is possible to lose 6.2 kg in a week without exercise. It is not recommended. I suspect that as I start sucking down more liquids and stop sweating them out this may correct itself.
iii, A good time to join the gym would have been a week before I actually did - it would have been nice to be aching pleasently from an upper body workout rather than whimpering in agony from my flabby body stuffing itself sitting down. Oh well - should be able to get into the first session next week accoring to my doctor. And I'm still on track to tackle the Rimutaka Rail Trail again at the end of summer.
iv, In US$, costs were as follows:
a) One walk-in (hobble-in) consultation with emergency physician on a Sunday evening, 40 minute wait after initial assessment by nurse, $61.
b) One inspection by the GP I choose four years ago, with an appointment within 24 hours of phoning up, $41.
c) Drugs - 20 x d. sodium 75mg slow release, and 100 generic paracetamol 500mg, $5
d) Sick leave - around 5.5 to 7.5 days fully paid sick leave, depending on how I feel next week, no cost. I have a contract with an "unlimited sick leave" provision, on the assumption that I'm an adult, and the point is to get well first.
Of course, if I had been poor ("community needs"), all but the first would have been free to me. And if I *had* had kidney problems, I'd probably be in a free hospital bed right now.
Oh, the oppression of socialised medicine. Well, single payer medicine.
Embarrassing things to find for the NZ male:
i, Having relative strangers compliment you regarding weight loss over the last couple of years.
ii, Having your more distant friends expressing so much worry about you being sick in your Facebook status reports.
iii, Having your close friends txt you about it.
iv, Having family cite you as an inspiration to them personally.
v, And finding that "I'm a librarian" while reading graphic novels is a great way to sneer down ridicule after hobbling to the local branch library.
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
In remembrance - September 11th
On September 11th 1973, a military coup toppled the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende.
By 7 AM, the Navy had seized Chile's major port, and shut down radio and television stations. The Army closed down most of these in the capital, with the Air Force bombing the rest.
By 9 AM, the armed forces controlled all of Chile but the area around the presidential palace. Allende refused to negotiate and gave a final speech telling the nation about the coup d'etat, and his refusal to resign.
The palace was bombed, and then assaulted by infantry and armour. Allende died, probably by suicide, possibly shot. Around sixty people died on the day.
The military then arrested and imprisoned 40,000 in the National Stadium. It lost 160 and killed thousands in the next few months, and another few thousand were killed by the subsequent Pinochet regime during the next seventeen years. Pinochet tortured tens of thousands during this period.
The population of Chile was under 10 million at the time of the coup.
Two days after the coup, 13th September 1973, the military junta dissolved Congress and banned all political activity. Democratic rule was not restored until 1990.
Also on this day, 11th September 1982, the Multinational Force in Lebanon (consisting of French, Americans and Italians) guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees was withdrawn from Beirut.
Four days later, the Israeli Defense Force surrounded the Sabra-Shatila camps, and started shelling them. The Israelis let 1500 Lebanese Phalangist militia enter the camps. Over the next 48 hours, between 16th and 18th September, the militia murdered hundreds of civilians, including deliberate killings of women and children. The IDF were ordered not to interfere.
The IDF estimates 700-800 civilians were killed, the Red Crescent and journalists estimate over 2000, possibly up to 3500.
By 7 AM, the Navy had seized Chile's major port, and shut down radio and television stations. The Army closed down most of these in the capital, with the Air Force bombing the rest.
By 9 AM, the armed forces controlled all of Chile but the area around the presidential palace. Allende refused to negotiate and gave a final speech telling the nation about the coup d'etat, and his refusal to resign.
The palace was bombed, and then assaulted by infantry and armour. Allende died, probably by suicide, possibly shot. Around sixty people died on the day.
The military then arrested and imprisoned 40,000 in the National Stadium. It lost 160 and killed thousands in the next few months, and another few thousand were killed by the subsequent Pinochet regime during the next seventeen years. Pinochet tortured tens of thousands during this period.
The population of Chile was under 10 million at the time of the coup.
Two days after the coup, 13th September 1973, the military junta dissolved Congress and banned all political activity. Democratic rule was not restored until 1990.
Also on this day, 11th September 1982, the Multinational Force in Lebanon (consisting of French, Americans and Italians) guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees was withdrawn from Beirut.
Four days later, the Israeli Defense Force surrounded the Sabra-Shatila camps, and started shelling them. The Israelis let 1500 Lebanese Phalangist militia enter the camps. Over the next 48 hours, between 16th and 18th September, the militia murdered hundreds of civilians, including deliberate killings of women and children. The IDF were ordered not to interfere.
The IDF estimates 700-800 civilians were killed, the Red Crescent and journalists estimate over 2000, possibly up to 3500.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Aussie drivers...
From Stuff:
I tell you, letting teenagers have the keys to ANY vehicle is a bad idea...
Australian schoolgirl skipper Jessica Watson, 16, has crashed her yacht on the first leg of her solo around-the-world voyage.
Watson's sloop, Ella's Pink Lady, hit a merchant ship near Stradbroke Island about 2.30am, less than 24 hours after leaving the Sunshine Coast for Sydney.
The Buderim schoolgirl contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which was monitoring her journey, and was told to turn her motor on and head back to Southport on the Gold Coast.
The teenager was not injured in the collision, but her yacht's mast and bow were substantially damaged.
I tell you, letting teenagers have the keys to ANY vehicle is a bad idea...
Saturday, 5 September 2009
On conspiracy theories...
I've noticed an interesting trend here.
When the biannual film festival starts up, as it usually does with a bang, I've usually got a paper due.
When the Downtown Ministry holds their bookfair, as they are this weekend, I've usually got a paper due.
And when this puppy rolls around again and I start eyeing it to see if I still have the stamina of my long distant youth - you guessed it, there's a paper due that Monday.
Of course, the rational person might say that this has something to do with the numerous extensions and procrastination - BUT THE RATIONAL PERSON WOULD BE IN ON THE EDUCATIONIST CONSPIRACY!!!
It all makes sense. I wonder if it would still make sense if I ever manage to catch up on my sleep?
When the biannual film festival starts up, as it usually does with a bang, I've usually got a paper due.
When the Downtown Ministry holds their bookfair, as they are this weekend, I've usually got a paper due.
And when this puppy rolls around again and I start eyeing it to see if I still have the stamina of my long distant youth - you guessed it, there's a paper due that Monday.
Of course, the rational person might say that this has something to do with the numerous extensions and procrastination - BUT THE RATIONAL PERSON WOULD BE IN ON THE EDUCATIONIST CONSPIRACY!!!
It all makes sense. I wonder if it would still make sense if I ever manage to catch up on my sleep?
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