Non-biking exercise, and working from home
I've been better than I expected at accepting that I can't bike yet, and I've been trying to get out walking 2 to 3 times a day for 20 to 30 minutes each time. I was hoping to swim too, but 2 things are still stopping me - some swelling on my forehead that will prevent me from comfortably wearing goggles, and the remainder of my post traumatic benign vertigo. I believe it is improving, but going from a vertical to a horizontal position (or from a horizontal to vertical position), while easier than it was, still causes the room to spin.
On Saturday I actually walked into Andover to go to the drug store. A car? Yes, it's easier to drive, but I figured it would be a good walk. Probably 3 1/2 to 4 miles in total since I don't seem to follow a straight route. The walk in was fine, but I was definitely tired and slowing down on the way home. What a change an accident makes! I wasn't at my full summer cycling mileage (per week) at the time of the accident, but I was close. At this point I believe that it's going to take me a while to work up to my normal level of activity - and I have to believe that the bulk of my slowness has to do with the brain injury and not the broken bones. Yes, sometimes the area of the broken pelvic bone whines at me about being sore, but it's typically not sore enough to stop me - and I'm hoping that it either gets better or I get used to it - and I have to have something to think is causing this. Hmmm... I really did get hurt, didn't I?
I asked a colleague to load up our latest software on my work computer - luckily a laptop - and bring it to me. It was good to see him, and it's good to be able to work from home for a while. Not full days yet, but whatever my body will accept...
I'm still having good days and bad days. Yesterday was a bad day, in spite of my managing to get in 2 walks and about 5 hours worth of work. For some reason I had passing nausea on a regular basis. I never actually vomited, but I have to tell you that I didn't feel very good.
Today I felt better - what a difference! I woke up too early, which unfortunately is pretty normal for me right now. The docs say I need a lot of sleep, and I think they mean more than I'm getting. I woke at 5am after falling asleep last night about 11. I stayed in bed in the hopes of falling asleep again, but I think I only managed about another 45 minutes. I finally gave up, retrieved the newspaper from the front walk, and had some breakfast. I then headed to the office for a visit. I was good - I left my work laptop computer at home because I figured if I took it in with me that I'd end up staying too long and then I wouldn't be capable of driving home. (I know, I know, not the kind of problem you're used to hearing about.) It was good to see people again. I was probably there about an hour and a half, then it was time to head home. I still managed to get two walks in today, plus a bit of real work. That is, in between fixing a strange all-of-a-sudden problem with my cable modem. Many thanks to Rob from work for helping me through that one!
I feel like I need to push myself to work at recovering, but I wonder if my body is telling me I'm overdoing it?
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Friday, June 25, 2004
The orthopedic doc says biking is OK
But he also said to check with the neurologist!
Ah, the first followup appointment at Mass General Hospital was this morning...
Today was my scheduled appointment with orthopedics. I had to ask the doc if we'd met before since my hospital memories aren't too clear. He apparently saw me for all of three minutes when I first entered MGH after my crash. We talked a bit about the crash - I told him that although I have no memories of the crash, based on the state of my bike and my head my assumption is that I flipped forward, taking the bike with me and landing on my head. He agreed based on the injuries that I had. He told me he knew someone who took what apparently was the same type of crash as I did - but the person he knew hit his head in such a way that he died within a couple of hours - even though he was wearing a helmet. I've thought that I was lucky all along. Yes, I had some pretty bad injuries - including broken bones around my right eye, a fractured skull, bleeding in my brain (the side opposite all of the broken bones), a broken rib, and a broken pelvis, but luckily for me they were surviveable. I still believe that if I hadn't been wearing a helmet I would definitely be dead. It could have happened anyway.
He took the opportunity while we were talking about biking accidents to warn me that depression is often a side effect of accidents like mine, telling me not to hesitate to seek the help if depression came my way. I'll keep that in mind, but for now I think I'm OK.
The doc asked if I wanted to see the cat scan of my pelvis, and of course I did. He showed me the broken bone, which no longer has any semblance of being straight. But when I asked him if that would cause a problem he said no. Pain, maybe, but a long-term problem no - even though he told me to expect some level of annoyance from the bone, maybe forever. I asked him if I had any remaining restrictions because of the fracture, and he asked me what I'd been doing. I've only been walking - and more slowly than normal for me - but I've been getting out 2 to 3 times a day for 20 to 30 minutes each time. He laughed, said no restrictions, and told me that as far as he's concerned I can get back on the bike now - even though he warned me that I would likely notice the pelvic injury - but that I should wait and check with the neurologist first. I have a head CT today, and an appointment with the neurosurgeon next Thursday - hopefully I can start riding soon.
But even I'm not crazy enough to think I can start at the same distance I was riding pre-accident!
Wow - if you don't look too closely I'm getting closer to a normal look. But then again, those red areas are apparently still going to be with me for a while...
Ah, the first followup appointment at Mass General Hospital was this morning...
Today was my scheduled appointment with orthopedics. I had to ask the doc if we'd met before since my hospital memories aren't too clear. He apparently saw me for all of three minutes when I first entered MGH after my crash. We talked a bit about the crash - I told him that although I have no memories of the crash, based on the state of my bike and my head my assumption is that I flipped forward, taking the bike with me and landing on my head. He agreed based on the injuries that I had. He told me he knew someone who took what apparently was the same type of crash as I did - but the person he knew hit his head in such a way that he died within a couple of hours - even though he was wearing a helmet. I've thought that I was lucky all along. Yes, I had some pretty bad injuries - including broken bones around my right eye, a fractured skull, bleeding in my brain (the side opposite all of the broken bones), a broken rib, and a broken pelvis, but luckily for me they were surviveable. I still believe that if I hadn't been wearing a helmet I would definitely be dead. It could have happened anyway.
He took the opportunity while we were talking about biking accidents to warn me that depression is often a side effect of accidents like mine, telling me not to hesitate to seek the help if depression came my way. I'll keep that in mind, but for now I think I'm OK.
The doc asked if I wanted to see the cat scan of my pelvis, and of course I did. He showed me the broken bone, which no longer has any semblance of being straight. But when I asked him if that would cause a problem he said no. Pain, maybe, but a long-term problem no - even though he told me to expect some level of annoyance from the bone, maybe forever. I asked him if I had any remaining restrictions because of the fracture, and he asked me what I'd been doing. I've only been walking - and more slowly than normal for me - but I've been getting out 2 to 3 times a day for 20 to 30 minutes each time. He laughed, said no restrictions, and told me that as far as he's concerned I can get back on the bike now - even though he warned me that I would likely notice the pelvic injury - but that I should wait and check with the neurologist first. I have a head CT today, and an appointment with the neurosurgeon next Thursday - hopefully I can start riding soon.
But even I'm not crazy enough to think I can start at the same distance I was riding pre-accident!
Wow - if you don't look too closely I'm getting closer to a normal look. But then again, those red areas are apparently still going to be with me for a while...
Thursday, June 24, 2004
The apparent state of my bike, and...
What else is missing or not in reasonable shape? Helmet, shorts, shirt...
The bike definitely needs some fixing, but to be honest I suspect it's in better shape than I am...
It has a flat front tire, the front wheel is no longer really round, and the brake/shift levers are not where they belong and have some pieces missing.
When I first examined the bike I couldn't really bend down at all. Not smart, since I was also trying to clean it in preparation for taking it to the shop. You might think that's crazy, but I know it is appreciated, and I always make sure that my bike is clean when I take it in... Anyway, I really had to put the bike back as it was and go back to it another day to clean it up!
Hmmm... It took me several days at home before I realized that I hadn't seen everything I was wearing on the day of the crash.
I have my helmet, with two cracks in the lining material, a dent on the outside, straps that were cut to remove it, and blood coating the right side.
I have my shoes, my gloves, and my sunglasses - and all seem to be none the worse for wear. I honestly can't figure out the sunglasses being in one piece and having lenses that are not scratched since I clearly struck my head on the ground. And there's a mark on my nose (still, 5 weeks after the accident) that had to come from my glasses getting pushed into my face.
My shorts and knee warmers were cut off, and were given to me in pieces. My jersey, sports bra, wind vest, and arm warmers are all missing in action. That's a bit of a mystery to me - why was some of my stuff given to me and some thrown out? I have two guesses - either there were two different people (with different habits) cutting off my clothing, or there was blood on the stuff that wasn't given to me, and everything that was given to me was clean. But wait - there was blood all over my helmet, and they did return that to me. Oh well, it doesn't really matter since any clothing that was removed by cutting it off needs to be replaced anyway!
It's time to visit the bike shop, but I need to wait a bit until I can drive that distance without being too tired to drive home. And over course there's another danger too - getting all of the missing pieces will make me want to get back on my bike. I suppose I'd better wait until closer to when I will be allowed and able to ride again!
The bike definitely needs some fixing, but to be honest I suspect it's in better shape than I am...
It has a flat front tire, the front wheel is no longer really round, and the brake/shift levers are not where they belong and have some pieces missing.
When I first examined the bike I couldn't really bend down at all. Not smart, since I was also trying to clean it in preparation for taking it to the shop. You might think that's crazy, but I know it is appreciated, and I always make sure that my bike is clean when I take it in... Anyway, I really had to put the bike back as it was and go back to it another day to clean it up!
Hmmm... It took me several days at home before I realized that I hadn't seen everything I was wearing on the day of the crash.
I have my helmet, with two cracks in the lining material, a dent on the outside, straps that were cut to remove it, and blood coating the right side.
I have my shoes, my gloves, and my sunglasses - and all seem to be none the worse for wear. I honestly can't figure out the sunglasses being in one piece and having lenses that are not scratched since I clearly struck my head on the ground. And there's a mark on my nose (still, 5 weeks after the accident) that had to come from my glasses getting pushed into my face.
My shorts and knee warmers were cut off, and were given to me in pieces. My jersey, sports bra, wind vest, and arm warmers are all missing in action. That's a bit of a mystery to me - why was some of my stuff given to me and some thrown out? I have two guesses - either there were two different people (with different habits) cutting off my clothing, or there was blood on the stuff that wasn't given to me, and everything that was given to me was clean. But wait - there was blood all over my helmet, and they did return that to me. Oh well, it doesn't really matter since any clothing that was removed by cutting it off needs to be replaced anyway!
It's time to visit the bike shop, but I need to wait a bit until I can drive that distance without being too tired to drive home. And over course there's another danger too - getting all of the missing pieces will make me want to get back on my bike. I suppose I'd better wait until closer to when I will be allowed and able to ride again!
Saturday, June 5, 2004
Biker chick says it's time to ride
...but I know better
A new stuffed animal joined my small menagerie when I was in the hospital. Since I carry a small red dog called Rover with me on my tours, my friend Steve thought I needed a bigger version of Rover to help me deal with the hospital. Well, this bigger dog decided that she didn't want to be called Rover, and she told me her name is Biker Chick. She also has been telling me since the beginning that she wants to go biking. I've given her free rein of the bikes and told her that she can't ride my Pocket Rocket right now because it still needs to be fixed - but she can choose either of my touring bikes as her first ride.
And no, it's not time to ride yet. I'm home from the hospital and I'm walking as much as I can. While there are times that I think I could ride a bike (and it's frustrating not to be riding in this beautiful weather), I also know that it's too early. My heart says to ride, but my head tells me not to do anything that could set my progress back.
A new stuffed animal joined my small menagerie when I was in the hospital. Since I carry a small red dog called Rover with me on my tours, my friend Steve thought I needed a bigger version of Rover to help me deal with the hospital. Well, this bigger dog decided that she didn't want to be called Rover, and she told me her name is Biker Chick. She also has been telling me since the beginning that she wants to go biking. I've given her free rein of the bikes and told her that she can't ride my Pocket Rocket right now because it still needs to be fixed - but she can choose either of my touring bikes as her first ride.
And no, it's not time to ride yet. I'm home from the hospital and I'm walking as much as I can. While there are times that I think I could ride a bike (and it's frustrating not to be riding in this beautiful weather), I also know that it's too early. My heart says to ride, but my head tells me not to do anything that could set my progress back.
Thursday, June 3, 2004
Coming back: walking before riding
Ah, finally - home again...
My friend Lorah - who was in the midst of selling her house and packing for her upcoming move to Virginia - took a day to provide me with transportation home from the hospital, and to take my mom out to make a drug store and grocery run. In fact, they picked up fresh bagels, retrieved my prescription and stopped by the house to deliver both and to check up on me before they headed out again to the grocery store. Good friends are wonderful to have!
I'm the independent type - to put it mildly. I usually live alone, but I clearly needed help, and I suspect that that I would not have been released from the rehab hospital to come home alone. My mom stayed with me for two and a half weeks after I was released, which was definitely a good security blanket. She did the initial grocery shopping and driving (in a car lent to us by a good friend, since my car has a stick shift and although that's what she learned on, Mom hasn't driven one of those for years!), then came along with me as I graduated to driving again. Of course I insisted on doing as much as I physically could figuring that instead of assuming that I had limitations that I would trip on them when I attempted something that my body wasn't ready to do. It was probably somewhat of a challenge to stay with me over those couple of weeks!
There's really not much to say about my first days home other than it was definitely good to be home. I didn't really have the energy for much activity at this stage of my recovery, and most of the time was spent sitting around the house, reading, wandering over to the computer (to check email, to share other's cycling experiences, check the news, etc.), and walking a couple of times a day. The walks were very, very short to start with, graduating to (relatively) longer walks. In addition to enjoying being outside, an added plus to my walks was getting a chance to say hello and chat with some of my neighbors.
Home again, with access to a kitchen, fresh fruit, anything I want. Somehow small meals seemed to make me happiest as I was trying to undertand what type of food my body wanted. It's funny, you'd think after an accident like mine that just getting back to what I normally eat would make my body happy. But somehow I've found that food that used to work for me doesn't always hit the spot. Things are improving though... For now, yogurt and fruit shakes rule the day. And of course frozen yogurt and ice cream have a part in my recovery too!
I made an appointment to see my own doctor within the first week of being home since I wanted her to know what had happened in case I needed her help. It turned out that she had already been filled in by the neurologist from Spaulding, but I was glad that I went in to see her. Maybe that was my own version of insanity, but it was a good security blanket for me.
Before my mom returned home, she started counting the number of times I walked up and down the stairs each day. I kind of got the impression from the OT & PT at Spaulding that they figured I'd come downstairs in the morning, stay on one floor, and go back upstairs to sleep. That didn't work too well for me - maybe it was a repeat of the fiasco with the walker in the hospital. By the last weekend my mom was here, she counted my expeditions up and down the stairs at more than 20 a day. OK, OK, it's only one flight of stairs - but it's certainly better than doing nothing!
Keep walking, keep eating... and add in cycling as soon as possible!
Somehow I got into the habit of taking pictures of myself each day to try to document my healing progress. I have to say that I think the pictures actually look better than I did at the time I took them - ah, the magic of digital cameras! This picture was taken on June 4th, which is two days after I was released from the hospital. It's hard to believe, but if you look at what appears to be black & blue & swollen above my right eye - well, on August 12th, twelve weeks after the accident, it is still swollen (although just red, no longer black & blue)!
My friend Lorah - who was in the midst of selling her house and packing for her upcoming move to Virginia - took a day to provide me with transportation home from the hospital, and to take my mom out to make a drug store and grocery run. In fact, they picked up fresh bagels, retrieved my prescription and stopped by the house to deliver both and to check up on me before they headed out again to the grocery store. Good friends are wonderful to have!
I'm the independent type - to put it mildly. I usually live alone, but I clearly needed help, and I suspect that that I would not have been released from the rehab hospital to come home alone. My mom stayed with me for two and a half weeks after I was released, which was definitely a good security blanket. She did the initial grocery shopping and driving (in a car lent to us by a good friend, since my car has a stick shift and although that's what she learned on, Mom hasn't driven one of those for years!), then came along with me as I graduated to driving again. Of course I insisted on doing as much as I physically could figuring that instead of assuming that I had limitations that I would trip on them when I attempted something that my body wasn't ready to do. It was probably somewhat of a challenge to stay with me over those couple of weeks!
There's really not much to say about my first days home other than it was definitely good to be home. I didn't really have the energy for much activity at this stage of my recovery, and most of the time was spent sitting around the house, reading, wandering over to the computer (to check email, to share other's cycling experiences, check the news, etc.), and walking a couple of times a day. The walks were very, very short to start with, graduating to (relatively) longer walks. In addition to enjoying being outside, an added plus to my walks was getting a chance to say hello and chat with some of my neighbors.
Home again, with access to a kitchen, fresh fruit, anything I want. Somehow small meals seemed to make me happiest as I was trying to undertand what type of food my body wanted. It's funny, you'd think after an accident like mine that just getting back to what I normally eat would make my body happy. But somehow I've found that food that used to work for me doesn't always hit the spot. Things are improving though... For now, yogurt and fruit shakes rule the day. And of course frozen yogurt and ice cream have a part in my recovery too!
I made an appointment to see my own doctor within the first week of being home since I wanted her to know what had happened in case I needed her help. It turned out that she had already been filled in by the neurologist from Spaulding, but I was glad that I went in to see her. Maybe that was my own version of insanity, but it was a good security blanket for me.
Before my mom returned home, she started counting the number of times I walked up and down the stairs each day. I kind of got the impression from the OT & PT at Spaulding that they figured I'd come downstairs in the morning, stay on one floor, and go back upstairs to sleep. That didn't work too well for me - maybe it was a repeat of the fiasco with the walker in the hospital. By the last weekend my mom was here, she counted my expeditions up and down the stairs at more than 20 a day. OK, OK, it's only one flight of stairs - but it's certainly better than doing nothing!
Keep walking, keep eating... and add in cycling as soon as possible!
Somehow I got into the habit of taking pictures of myself each day to try to document my healing progress. I have to say that I think the pictures actually look better than I did at the time I took them - ah, the magic of digital cameras! This picture was taken on June 4th, which is two days after I was released from the hospital. It's hard to believe, but if you look at what appears to be black & blue & swollen above my right eye - well, on August 12th, twelve weeks after the accident, it is still swollen (although just red, no longer black & blue)!
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