back update...

Tuesday I had my follow up appointment from my hospital stay. I thought at the time of booking that it was odd that I had to go to back to the hospital for it. Got there at 8:30 am, was admitted given a wrist band and sent down the halls of City Hospital. The last time I was there I couldn’t find anyone who knew what the colored shapes hanging from the hallway ceilings were there for. The blue triangles mean follow these to the place they put casts on, that is assuming you are going from the front lobby. If you are starting anywhere else I’m pretty sure they will take you to the lobby. Not sure where the red squares or yellow circles take you. The place where they put casts on, in addition to putting casts on and removing them, is also the place you go when you’ve been in the hospital for 10 days 1 month ago and they didn’t know what was wrong with you. On my arrival there I was quickly told to follow the red squares to go get X-rays. I know you’re thinking, “Hey now we know where the red squares go too!” Not so fast. I got to the X-ray place by following the red squares alright, but they didn’t stop there, they kept going, and in more than one direction. So, yeah, I guess you could say they go to X-ray. Anyway, after a short wait at the X-ray desk, then one more outside the X-ray room, then some X-ray taking, I was sent back to the place they put casts on. They did give me some comfy pants to wear, the exact kind they told me they didn’t have when I was in there before. After a little wait outside the cast room, and another longer wait inside the cast room I saw Dr. W. He seemed a little confused as to why I was there when I wasn’t his patient. Sweet. These banana-heads not only couldn’t figure out what the heck was wrong, but they couldn’t agree on who the Doctor was. I was having doubts myself. We looked at the X-rays and asked and answered all the same questions. What I know for sure is I didn’t and don’t have discitis. Maybe I’m younger than I thought.
So it is keep up with the exercises and stretches and hopefully I won’t be going back again…

hey Sue Ellen...

Some one sent me this video of your hubby!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnSoLoNzWh4

the more i read...

the more ticked off I'm getting about these "Regina 16" knuckleheads. Check out this link to Tammy Roberts blog (producer of John Gormley Live). Look for future rant in this space soon.

that's amazing...

I actually pulled out a free roll win on Party Poker!!! Took my only 3-4 tries and a lot of luck. Beat 2387 other donkeys to win $18.75 USD. (click to see image better)

past due...

Well a new post is past due. What's new with the back?
I'm back at work 8 hours a day (more like 10...ugh) which makes it kind of tricky to get to physio 3 times a week, actually haven't been there this week at all yet. Not that anything I was doing there couldn't be done at home. It is a little easier to get all the way through all the excercises there.
Generally everything is going well, walk a little straighter and longer everyday. It is getting less stiff, but still not very flexible yet. Pain is much better, still ge tthe odd twinge when I make the odd twist or turn.
Early next week I have my follow up with Dr.W - maybe I'll get some answers out of him.

psychology...

Here’s the problem I have with psychologists: they are failed scientists. I don’t think we should be putting a whole bunch of faith in people who, as a group, are only what they are because they were not good enough at something else. Psychology should be treated as a science. However, people with keen scientific minds end up mastering fields like physics, statistics and astronomy. People who study psychology are obsessed with human behavior – they are bewildered with it. A scientist asks a lot of questions, like how and why, that’s okay. What’s not okay is asking “Huh?” that’s for psychologists. They are often less capable of formulating a successful life strategy than average everyday people. I believe that if you were to propose this theory to a psychologist friend of yours you would find that they agree with you. Likely because they are interested in you holding them in higher regard than their peers.

mint, orange, soy, chicken...

Recipe Post!
Below is one of my favorite grilled chicken recipes. I'm not too sure Ive ever made exactly as written though - I usually add or skip various ingredients. Use toasted almonds instead of pine nuts in the couscous, add ginger and garlic to the glaze and minty peas. I often make double the glaze and add a little corn starch slurry at the end to make more sauce to dress right before serving or have as a dipping sauce - which is also great for chicken wings and dry ribs. Sometimes I just grill the chicken, chop it in to bite-sized chunks and toss in cooked rice or rice noodles, makes a great lunch the next day.
Let me know how you like it and what you do different.

Orange Soy Glaze Chicken
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons orange zest
4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil
In a saucepan add the orange juice, soy sauce, sugar and orange zest. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook until liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove the glaze from the heat, reserve 1/4 cup separately, let cool and then pour the remaining glaze over the chicken breasts, seal and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling. Discard the marinade. Season the chicken on both sides with the salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Place the chicken, smooth side down, on the grill and cook for 4 minutes, rotate 45 degrees and cook an additional 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over, brush each breast with 1 tablespoon of the reserved glaze, and cook for another 4 minutes on the second side, or until just cooked through.

Orange, Currant and Pine Nut Couscous
1 ½ cups water
½ cup small diced red onion or shallots
½ cup small diced carrot
½ cup currants
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 (10-ounce) package couscous
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
In a saucepan add the water, red onions, carrots, currants and orange zest. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. While the water boils, combine the remaining ingredients except the mint in a medium heat-proof bowl. Pour the water over the couscous in the bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to steam for 5 minutes, remove the plastic, add the mint and fluff with a fork. Serve while hot.

Minty Peas
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup minced yellow onion
1 pound frozen green peas, (do not thaw)
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan, and simmer until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the salt and mint and stir. Serve while hot.

Enjoy!

earthlings...

I found this...er...interesting. I'm not sure if I'll post on this or not, but thought some of you might be interested in it as well. Warning: graphic images and subject matter - it is about our relationship with the other earthlings we share this planet with.

first day back...

Made it to my first day back to work this morning without too much trouble. Didn't really do much actual work, just caught up on what's been going on. I'm only doing 4 hours a day this week. It didn't take long for the stiffness to get into my back though and by 11 I was ready to get out of there. I made it home no problem and stretched out a bit, had a quick nap in my chair, and got ready for the physio gym. I had a pretty good session there. It didn't hurt much and had a whole bunch of new stretches and exercises mostly working my core. I was surprised that I could get them done at all without much back pain at all. They think I'm going to be pretty sore from them tomorrow, but I don't know, didn't seem like they were very hard. We'll see if they were sneaky or not...

pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice...

Right off the hop - I installed a site tracker, I really have no idea how it works, or even if. It seems to be able to tell me that the blog has been viewed, it will even tell me from where within a few hundred kilometers. (insert picture of guy with tongue sticking out and outstretched arm measuring something in the distance with his thumb).
So tomorrow I will try going back to work. It might be tough to wake up instead of trying to sleep in! I'm only going back for 4 hours a day all week then physio in the afternoons. I went into work on Saturday, just to boot up my computer and check things out. I had over 700 emails - good thing I had that out of office on, sheesh. Didn't have too much trouble sitting and moving around there for a couple hours, so hopefully there will be no trouble tomorrow. Supposedly they'll be getting me some ergonomic consultant in to get my office furniture fixed up, hopefully sooner than later. I'm giving 4-1 odds on later.
My back pain has reduced considerably in the last week. I've been working through my stretches regularily and they seem to be helping. My damn pulled muscle in upper back is still ticking me off, but that's getting better too. I even managed to get out of the house for a bit this weekend. Went to a pub, had lunch with some friends and drove around, not in that order. I thas been so nice out lately I feel pretty lucky to have been able to get out and enjoy it a little. It sure is a lot easer to have a positive outlook when the snow is melting.
There is nothing I can really do about my back hurting. I can do the stretches, rest properly, keep active properly, but nothing's going to make it better lickety-split. The pain is going to be there and there is always going to be pain of some kind. After my back gets better some other pain will come along. There is no reason for the suffering to contiue though, I know, I have done enough of that useless stuff lately. It doesn't get you anywhere, sometimes you have to suffer through things a little, its all part of the healing process, but at some point you got to kick it and get going. So that's what I'm going to do, we'll see how it works out. I'm going to try to get a good rest tonight and we'll see...

2 week update...

Well it's been 4 days since I got out of the hospital. I went in on Feb 17th and spent 10 days there. Thanks to some very good family and friends who helped me get there and visited, the stay wasn't that bad. The first few days were not a lot of fun as I was moved around from one stretcher to another for all sorts of scans. It would take me a half hour of very slow and careful movement to get out of bed into a stretcher, or from the stretcher into a scanning machine. These transfers were the most painful experiences I've ever had, but they did get better. After the first switcheroo they decided to increase my med dosage.
On the first day I went into Emergency at City Hospital at 4:00 pm to meet with Dr.S. It didn't take him long to decide I would be staying there and he ordered a bunch of tests. After a couple hours in the ER I was admitted and in my room by 8:30 pm. The next morning they told me I would be going for a bone scan. I had the first half of the scan done at noon and the second a few hours later. I was supposed to have my next scan, an MRI, the next day. Unfortunately the next day was a "hospital holiday" so I had to wait until Monday for the test. They were suspicious of infection however the 1st scan and blood tests came back negative and they hoped the MRI would show them something. In the meantime they ordered a Gallium scan and brought in another orthopedic doctor, this one with a specialization in backs, Dr W. He was pretty sure they would find an infection as well. In the end I got an ambulance ride for the MRI, several scans, and blood tests and they found no infection and ended up with no conclusive reason or the pain. By about day 5 my pain had reduced quite a bit and I was able to go for little walks down the hall with my walker going further and more often every day. Last Saturday, after a quick visit with a physiotherapist, I was released and sent home with directions to get physiotherapy.
I had a few additional adventures in getting into physiotherapy and have my second session tomorrow morning. I have been improving daily and even drove my car for the first time in a month today. I still don't know what caused my spasms or pain but Physio is pretty sure that I tore some of the scar tissue around my surgery. So things are going pretty good now, I'm shooting for a return to work on Monday, but have to see what physio says tomorrow morning...