It's nearly Christmas

This is a short post to let you know that I have posted pictures and a slideshow of our Galapagos trip to Picasa, if you want to see more than I had on the last post.  Also to let you know that my rib is gradually feeling better.  It is 2 weeks out since the accident and I still can't sleep well since I can't move off my back due to the pain.  But I am getting around pretty well during the day.  I went to a doctor last week and had an x-ray.  The fracture is in the 6th rib on the right.  There is also a large pleural effusion (fluid surrounding the lung) on the right.  The doctor thinks it is probably blood from the injured lung when the rib fractured.  We decided to let nature heal the problem.  It may take a month or more for the x-ray to normalize, but there is no compelling reason to be more aggressive as long as my breathing is ok--which it is.  I hope to be nearly well when I next visit this site.

Finally Home

We got back from Florida and had a couple weeks that included a trip to Austin with Lorrie and John and Thanksgiving at both Val's family get-together and at Lorrie's.  Hard to watch the diet during the holidays, particularly with duplicated dinners and especially deserts.

On the Equator

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we took off for Quito, Ecuador via Miami.  We spent a day and two nights in Quito (altitude ~9300 feet) seeing the historic city, visiting the equator so we could stand in both hemispheres at one time and sampling the local food. We traveled with my brother Ken and Mo.

Val and Mo

Val with a Giant Tortoise

Val with a Nazca (masked) booby

Blue Footed Booby

             Tuesday we flew to Baltra Island in the Galapagos and boarded our home for the next week, the Galaven.  The group was 20 people, mostly from one town in Maryland.  Over the next week we visited about one island a day.  Each island is different with different flora and fauna. Everything that you have read about the Galapagos is true.  We were constantly amazed and stunned by the diversity of the wildlife. Animal and birds have no fear of man and so you can get up close and personal.  And there really are Blue Footed Boobies as well as Red Footed and Masked boobies.  

Red Footed Booby

 We never found out the advantage of the different colors of feet, but they were amazing to us.

Galapagos Penquine

There were sea lions and seals everywhere.  And Galapagos even has a species of penguin that swam with us when we were snorkeling.  Imagine a penguin on the equator!!  There were also hundreds of iguanas, both marine and land type and the giant tortoise that is several hundred pounds and lives to 150 years or so.  We even saw turtles mating as well as the tortoises mating.  This was exciting to those of us about the same age as the creatures.

I decided not to shave for a week so on our way back I took a selfie. (I had never heard that term until a couple of weeks ago and now it seems to be everywhere.)

Unfortunately, the trip was not entirely smooth.  On the next to last night on the boat we were cruising to another island and the seas were a little rough.  While in the bathroom, a big roll occurred and I fell into the shower skinning my arm and breaking a rib.  The trip the the hospital on San Cristobal was pretty interesting, though.  We went to the emergency room that was just a room with a chair.  The doctor spoke no English and my spanish is nil.  While she was examining me, a dog walked in to see what was happening--no one seemed to notice.  Apparently the rib had punctured the lung and there was air that had escaped into the subcutaneous tissue.  If you pressed on the skin, it was a little like popping bubble wrap.  Because of that we had an x-ray in another small room.  The film was not great quality, but it appeared that the lung had not collapsed and there was not a pneumothorax.  So after the arm was dressed and I got some pain pills, I went back to the boat.  I missed the next morning's hike where the group saw the Galapagos albatross doing their "goodbye dance".  They mate in the spring and say goodbye at this time of year.  For each they have a special dance that lasts about 20 minutes.  Oh well, maybe on my next trip to the Galapagos.

At home now about a week after the injury.  Ribs take about 6 weeks to heal and it still hurts a lot.  Just don't make me laugh.

In Panama City Beach

We got home from our Utah-Arizona trip to Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon (North Rim) and Lake Powell on the Teigen's houseboat.  It was all really great.  We loved being on the houseboat with the "Friends and Family" cruise.  It is beautiful on the lake and the boat can accommodate 14 people easily.  We made new friends and renewed old acquaintances. Three of us were classmates in the Orange High School class of 1955--seen here.

Gale & Don Sturdevant, Nancy and Cap'n Terry Teigen, Val Fogal and me

While we were on the lake, the government shut down, meaning that all the National Parks were closed.  They did allow us to stay until the end of the week but did not allow the next group that was to meet the Teigens to come into the park.  I particularly feel sorry for all the tourists from all over the world who had planned their year to visit the parks.  So unnecessary!!

After we got home, Jimmy and Teresa Goode visited us on their way to Florida and we followed them a few days later. We are now here in the rental condo I have in Sally's estate.  I think of it as Sally's condo.  There are always some chores to do when we visit and this year was no exception.  But the weather is great, the crowds are sparse this time of year, and the water is still pretty warm in mid 70's. We will return in about a week and get ready for our next adventure in the Galapagos Islands on December 1.  

Turned out to be a busy year after all.

Days are getting shorter

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall and we just had a harvest moon.  We took a trip to Carmel last weekend to meet up with a couple from my housestaff days in Seattle--Pate and Judy Thomson from Berkeley.  Pate is a cardiologist who is "retired" but is working as a volunteer in a free clinic.  We had a great few days seeing old haunts since I had come to Carmel almost every year for medical meetings when I was living in Denver. A few pics from this trip have been posted here. 

We leave Carlsbad next Tuesday to drive to Zion in Utah.  We will spend the rest of the week there and hope to see Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It has been a long time since I have been there and Val hasn't ever been there.  I'm hoping the government will remain functional so that the National Parks will be open when we get there, but the Republicans seem intent on shutting the government down. Typical.

From Zion we will go to meet the Teigen's friends and family for a week on their houseboat on Lake Powell.  We are really looking forward to this.  Neither Val nor I have ever been there. Also, Don and Gale Sturdevant will be on the boat and it has been a long time since I have spent any time with them and they have never met Val. 

After that week, we will drive back to Texas and hope to get there by October 8.  Sally's brother Jimmy and Teresa are planning to come by our Condo in Texas about a week later.  That should be really fun.

Summer's winding down

It's getting toward Labor Day again.  Val and I have had a pretty busy summer with the trip to New York and then being in Sugar Land for a while to see doctors etc.  Today we will be having lunch with some Orange HS buddies from the class of '55. Gosh.  

I put together a book on shutterfly since I had a promotion from somewhere.  It summarizes the summer and is on a separate post.  No idea if this will work.

The rest of the summer includes a trip to Carmel and then a week with the Teigens and friends on a houseboat on Lake Powell.  Hope to get some great shots there.

Summer Pics

Click here to view this photo book larger

Here is the book I put together for the summer of 2013.  These aren't the greatest photos--most of them from my iPhone.  But I had a coupon I had to use so I put together what I had and I think we will enjoy it.  Posting it here is mostly an experiment.

Traveling some

It has been a while since I last updated this blog.  I see that I was somewhat down at the last post, but that didn't last long. We had a very nice June with lots of sun and little "June Gloom". The July 4 fireworks at La Costa were terrific this year.  I guess the San Diego fireworks  went off well after last year's fiasco when all of them ignited at once and the tremendous fireball was over within a minute.  

Ray and Julie Woosley visited Carlsbad in mid month and we had a wonderful time seeing them.  It had been a while since Ray had come to see us in California.

On July 23, we flew to Princeton for a Lexicon board meeting and then on to New York for a few days.  Fortunately the weather was kind to us.  It had been record breaking hot on the east coast but that stopped when we arrived.  We had a great time exploring the big city and seeing a couple of shows and museums.  I have always loved to visit New York.  There is an excitement that I feel with the energy of the city.  While there we saw the most unusual show called "Here Lies Love" about Imelda Marcos.  It was a rock musical with the audience standing the whole time and the stage moving around.  The cast members also become part of the audience and vice versa.  I even danced with Imelda Marcos!! But I confess that Val and I were undoubtedly the oldest hippies there.

Currently we are back in Texas for a few days.  I had a couple of doctor and dentist appointments.  Six months has passed since my surgery and all seems to be well.  The x-rays are good and so I need to see him in another six months and that may be the last visit.  I have continued to walk as my major form of exercise and can go well without any of the limiting pain I had before surgery.  I do get tired and have some lower back pain if I am up for too long, but that may not be too unusual for someone who is 75.

We head back on Sunday or Monday.  We will be driving and hope to spend some time in Tucson on the way to see the Woosley's.  Will be hot on this trip across the southwest. 

Kinda bummed

Just a brief post.  Yesterday I felt lousy all day.  I finally figured out that it was Sally and my anniversary--would have been 52 years. I had not consciously thought about it, but somehow it was affecting me, I guess.

Settling in

Well, it has been a busy month.  Val and I went to my 50th medical school reunion in Boston. It was a good reunion--seeing a lot of my old classmates.  I had only been to one other reunion about 15 years ago and so it was interesting to see if I could remember anyone.  Turns out there were a lot of people I knew.  My old lab partner was there and it was the first time I had seen him in 50 years. We had a black tie gala at the Four Seasons and an evening at the Pops.  Both were really fun.  We also had a "clambake" at Legal Seafoods with a large lobster, clams, mussels and corn.  Yum.

Val explored Boston and poured some tea in the harbor where the real tea party was.  On Friday afternoon and Saturday we explored the historic parts of Boston on the Freedom Trail.  I had done this years ago, but this was Val's first time in Boston.

We got back just in time for me to fly to Nashville for the 50th anniversary of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Vanderbilt.  I was one of the first faculty members there.  It was very enjoyable seeing long lost friends and meeting the young Turks.  The medical school campus has changed so much that I couldn't find my way around. Val stayed home to get ready for our trip to California.

Back from Vanderbilt just in time for Andrew's graduation from Stephen F. Austin HS. Sugar Land, TX must be one of the most diverse areas in the country.  Andrew's class at the public high school is a great mix of colors from everywhere.  Many from India, other parts of Asia, as well as many African Americans and Hispanics.  Whites are a clear minority.  I think it is great.  Andrew will be attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.  It is very close to my brother Ken's house so that gives Andrew easy access to family.

On June 11, we flew to San Diego to spend the summer at our condo in Carlsbad.  Christopher's graduation from Carlsbad HS was on the 13th.  He will be attending Warren College at the University of California San Diego.  Craig went to UCSD so Christopher is following in his dad's footsteps.

We are getting settled in here.  We've been walking on the beach and starting to do a few of our favorite things.  We walked on the path at the Bataquitos reserve where we saw a lot of birds, including nesting Great Blue Heron and Great White Egret as well as some Red Shouldered Hawk fledglings. We are gradually getting the back patio organized with new plants.  

Great Blue Heron and 2 chicks

Two Red Shoulder Hawk Fledglings

Great White Egret

We will be here most of the summer with a brief trip to the East Coast where I have a meeting and a week in Sugar Land for followup visits to doctors and dentists.  My back has been good and I remain very pleased with the surgery.  I used to have to stop frequently and sit because of the back, buttock and leg pain.  That is gone.  I still have some low back pain, but who doesn't at age 75.

Getting Ready

It will be very busy beginning next week as mentioned in the last post.  Next week we go to Boston for my Medical School 50th reunion.  Hard to believe.  We will be in Boston from Wednesday 'til Sunday and hope to explore the city--particularly the Freedom trail and other historical sites.  We will go to the Boston Pops concert when we are there.

Then the week we get back I go to Nashville to a Vanderbilt reunion (without Val, who will be getting ready to go to CA). I get back just in time for Andrew's HS graduation on the 8th of June and then we go to California on the 11th.

Last week we had a Kayak race on the lake in front of the condo in Sugar Land.  It was the trials for the World Championships.  Information is here.  Sort of interesting, but I thought it might be more exciting than it really was.  But we had a party here and we could watch it from the deck on our fourth floor. I took a few pictures.

I probably won't get back to the blog for awhile--when I am in California.  My back is doing well and I am very pleased with the outcome of the surgery.  Still walking a lot and looking forward to walking on the beach!!

Three years

Today is the three year anniversary of Sally's death.  She is never far from my thoughts. But life goes on. 

I am doing well.  The three month visit to the surgeon on Monday confirmed that all is well.  The bone graft at the site of the fusion is still there, but it is too early to tell if it will be entirely successful.  That may take a year.  The hardware is looking good with no sign of loosening or anything bad.  I have finished with the physical therapy and have some exercises to keep up with at home.  I'm glad to be done with that. Still not supposed to lift much or do much bending but the other restrictions are done.  

This is a busy month for Val and me.  We will be going to Boston at the end of the month for my 50th medical school reunion!!! I've only been to one reunion before this about 15 years ago.  It should be interesting to see the class.  Looks like a good turnout is planned.  Val has never been to Boston so she is psyched. 

Then there will be a trip to Nashville for the 50th anniversary of the Clinical Pharmacology Division at Vanderbilt.  I will be going alone to this and only spending two days, but I am looking forward to seeing the place and the changes that have occurred.  Vanderbilt was my first faculty job in 1970 after my stint in the army.

Then there is Andrew's graduation on June 8 and Christopher's graduation on the 13th.  So we will be flying out to Carlsbad on the 11th.  We will have to come back to Sugar Land at least once this summer since I have a 6 month visit with the surgeon and Val has family commitments.  We hope to get to New York in July associated with a meeting I must attend in Princeton.  We will probably fly back from NY to TX in order to take care of our business here.  At that time I will also begin the process of getting a tooth made for the implant. The post looks good and the time involved is to make sure it is solid before the crown is made.

Still doing well!

No news is good news.  I have been doing physical therapy in the pool for the past 2 weeks.  Very easy stuff like walking, squatting, stepping all with the buoyancy of the water to help. I do this for an hour and I think it is helping with my strength in the core and the upper body, which has been neglected certainly since surgery and for some long time before.  I still cannot lift anything but the water exercises give resistance that must help.  I go back to the orthopedist in a couple of weeks for my 3 month post surgery visit.  I am very pleased.  The small amount of pain I had going into the leg post op is nearly gone.  I am able to walk for an hour without stopping.

My tooth implant seems to be doing well.  There is no pain and the implant seems solid.  Not sure when the crown will be made but I see the periodontist next week.  I'd like to get it done before we go the California in June.  June is a busy month.  I have a medical school class 50th reunion in Boston, a 50th anniversary for the Vanderbilt Clinical Pharmacology program in Nashville and two high school graduations: Andrew in Sugar Land and Christopher in Carlsbad.  Andrew will be going to Loyola Marymount for college in Los Angeles and Christopher will likely be going to UCSD in La Jolla. I am so proud of both of them.

A few days ago, Val took me to the site where Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836 (I think).  There is a large monument on the site in San Jacinto, taller than the Washington monument I'm told.  Also there is the battleship Texas.  It fought in both world wars and is an impressive piece of machinery with 14" guns (huge) and lots of smaller weapons.  It had a crew of 1800 and was originally coal fired and then converted to diesel fired boilers.  Here are a couple of pictures.

Starting Physical Therapy

Just a quick note.  I saw the doctor Monday and he wants me to start physical therapy--starting with aquatic therapy. I start that next week.  Still walking about 3 miles per day or so.  Not much pain.  I have a little sciatic pain into the heel region of the left leg.  This is probably from S1 nerve root.  The surgery did not affect that so it is probably something unrelated to the spondylolisthesis.  But it is not much and I hope that it will either be stable or reduce with physical therapy.  
Went for a walk with Val to Brazos Bend park last week.  It was a great day and saw lots of stuff.  If you want to see it, you can click here. I'm really pleased with how things have gone since surgery.

Still doing well

Wednesday will be six weeks from the surgery.  I am not pain free, but the lower back pain continues to get better and the left leg/buttock pain is still gone!! I walked 3 miles this morning without pain and when I got back I felt full of energy and vacuumed out the garage, which had accumulated a lot of leaves and spiders. Then, I felt tired.  I go to the doctor's next Monday and will see what he wants me to do.  He had said something about exercises to strengthen the core again.

Meanwhile, please remember back to late last year when I commented on my dental problems.  I had a tooth that had been giving me a problem for a couple of years that was finally discovered to have a chronic abcess that had destroyed the bone surrounding the roots and even penetrated into my sinus on the right.  Well the tooth was extracted and the periodontist put some "powdered bone" from a cadaver into the cavity to try and get my bone to grow back and provide a place for an implant.  Well, last Thursday I went back to see how things were progressing.  It had been 3 months from the extraction.  The x-ray looked ok, he said, and so he put in an implant, which looks kind of like a nail, into the gap where the extraction had been done.  But he said that there still needed to be more bone in there to support it before a crown is made.  In order to do that, he had to drill into the gum and use some sort of tool to raise the floor of the sinus so that he could shove in more powdered bone.  So that has all been done and now we wait for several more months.  Post-op I had some pain, but not too bad.  But I had a fair amount of swelling on the right side from the cheek bones to the lower jaw.  I looked a little like a lopsided chipmunk.  Today the swelling is much better and I no longer scare the children.  I go back next week to get the stitches out of my mouth.

After a lifetime of avoiding surgery, I am gradually becoming a bionic man.  

Slowly progressing

Not much change in past week.  The lower back pain persists but there still is no pain that is limiting to my walking.  Before surgery I could walk no more that a quarter of a mile without having to stop and sit to relieve the left sided pain.  Now I can walk a couple of miles or more.  All the stitches have been removed and the wound looks good, so they say (it's hard to see).  The doctor nixed our plans for the trip the Big Bend that had been scheduled in a couple of weeks.  He said the long drive with the vibration from the car might cause a problem with the healing process.  The x-rays are quite impressive with 4 titanium screws into the vertebrae and then rods connecting them together.  I go back to the doctor at 6 weeks post surgery and will probably be starting on some additional exercises and physical therapy at that time.  For now, though, only walking and lifting no more than a coffee cup.

Two weeks

Over the past week there has been continuing gradual lessening of the pain in the back.  There no longer appears to be any pain in the legs or buttocks.  The pain is pretty well localized to the area of the surgery.  I have been walking twice per day for a total of about 3 miles.  I could never have done that before the operation.  I go back to the doctor's tomorrow and will see what the future holds.  I hope to be able to take a trip that Val and I had planned to the Big Bend area in West Texas, but that is a lot of driving or riding in the car.  I'm pretty encouraged now that this is going to be possible.

One week after surgery

It's just a week after surgery and improvement is oh so gradual.  I have been walking daily, up to 1.5 miles and plan to continue this regimen. Pain initially improved pretty rapidly, but it seems to have stabilized for the last few days.  The pain is primarily in the lower back area where the surgery was done. The pain in the left buttock is gone, I think, but when the pain in the back gets bad, it is hard to be sure.  I do have a little referred pain into the left ankle area.  But overall the left sided pain I had before is better. I'm hoping with more healing, all this pain will resolve.  I am trying to take only acetaminophen for pain and this seems to be enough most of the time.

I go back to the doctor next week on Friday and hope that by then he can remove all the stitches.  I still have a dressing over the wound and a small amount of drainage that is improving over time.  There is no evidence of anything going wrong, like infection.

Home!!

Well they decided to send me home today. I think that is good news although the incision still hurts like hell. I am currently sitting in a chair and looking at the newspaper but not really comprehending much of anything because of the Vicodin. I hope that I can get weaned off that soon and that within a week or two I'll be doing much better. Thanks for following on the blog.

Recovering post-op

This will be short n messy from the iPhone. Had back surgery yesterday... A fusion of L4 and L5. I had become fed up with the increasing pain on left. I thought physical therapy was helping some and it made me stronger but still was quite limited. I had initially seen a neurologist and a neurosurgeon but eventually ended up choosing an orthopedic spine specialist. People who had used him were pleased and he was the one ranked by US News for Sugar Land. Surgery was 4 hours. I have done well with no nausea in spite of patient controlled morphine. Today they had me up walking some. There is a lot of pain at the incision site but I think the buttock and leg pain is nearly or entirely gone. Yea. Prob home Sat.

Happy New Year

It's been a while since the last post, but quite a bit has happened to our lives. We had a good Christmas.  On Christmas eve Val and I went over to Beaumont, TX where her children and grandchildren live.  We had dinner and visited and spent the night and returned to Sugar Land on Christmas morning.  Dinner was at Lorrie's with her family.  Stephen was home from Mines and looking a lot like more grown up with a bit of a beard. He seems to be doing well. A nice quiet Christmas.

Val has bought a house nearby. We plan to spend most of our time together, but this gives her a place to put her "stuff" from her old house. Furniture storage was as much as it will cost her in taxes and insurance on the new house. Also, we hope the house will appreciate since the housing market is heating up here, particularly in Sugar Land. The house will also be a good place for her family to stay when they come to Houston, which is fairly frequently. 

In regards to my back problem, I have decided to have surgery. The physical therapy was helpful in strengthening me to some extent, but the pain has persisted.  It is not present all the time, but if I am on my feet for any period of time it becomes pretty bad. Surgery will be on January 30 at Sugar Land Methodist Hospital and will be a fusion of L4, L5 and S1. They say surgery will be 4 hours, and I will be in the hospital for 3 days. I know it will be miserable for a while, but I'm hoping that the ultimate outcome will be good. I'll keep you posted.

Some of you have sent Christmas cards. I thank you. I have heard from a few that sent cards to the old address. Just for your records, my address is:

1356 Lake Pointe Pkwy
Sugar Land, TX 77478
Cell phone is 281-414-2426
Home phone is 281-491-7982
email is alannies@gmail.com