RedWhiteandRed

Hey Peter - sounds like progress.

My personal motivator is that I ride to a comfortable coffee shop - and as fitness improves pick a new coffee shop another kilometer or so farther away. My first coffee shop was about a block and a half.

Neil_B

+1!

Peter_C

Where to start? Hmmm... I know, today first. then yesterday, and finish with tomorrow! That sounds like just the ticket

TODAY - later this after noon - Thursday :
A wonderful day that I got to sleep in. Temp ended up in the high 60s. so got to go for a 45 minute ride on Maggie - no mishaps or anything! If fact, I actually rode her long enough to be glad I had filled the water bottle even!

It only took 3 calls to the Pain MGNT People today to finally get a responce back from them - actual turn-around is normally 2-3 business days -9f that! But, enough of that, I am sorta getting ahead of myself here...

Wednesday is when the Ka Ka hit the fan at work. A few people (at work) actually know about my knee, issues, and the other crap. For the most part, you leave home stuff at home, and work stuff everywhere...

The days starts off as normal til a point when the big Boss decided he's going to dictate a letter over the phone - these are always fun at thier best - I can't type fast enough for him, or remember far enough in front so he alsways has to slow down and repeat hisself!! He finally yells for me to get Mr. Baker on the line.

... ... ....

Fast forward about 10-15 minutes (I had go down to the rest room and back) to find out that Mr. Baker is still at my deskt. I am told to hold on a moment please and don't go anywhere... Mr. Baker gets off the phone and tells me that I'm to take the rest of the day off. And that I am obviously in no condition to drive, and they want me to wait for my wife to arrive to give me a ride home.

So rather than burn any bridges - I waiting, and Cin comes to get me...

Nothing was ever said about today. Mr. Baker states that I am obviously exhausted, and that I shoud just go home and sleep.


TODAY - Thursday 10-22

SInce no direction was given to me, I got up showered, dressed,etc and went to work. On my way in I call Robin "ASST MGR" - to see if she knew anything, which, she did not. We agreed the best thing for me to do was simply to stay in the parking lot until Mr. Baker got to work.

Mr. Baker arrived, parked next to me and we chated through car windows. He asked how was I feeling, and I said OK, considering all the sleep I got last night. Mr. Baker stressed again that I was not being termiated, or fired, or anything of that nature, it was simply to give me some "much needed" rest time off.

Mr. Baker asked if I had reached out to my pain mgnt people or not, and I explained that I was continuing to work on that. I would let him know as soon as I learned more.



Friday 10-23

This is a big day! Now for multiple reasons!

At 10AM I have the APPT to see the Orthoo. If all goes well as planned, he will then set the date for the Surgery! "The Total Knee Replacement" I hope to also start gathering data for the different types of rehab that - and find which will focus more cycling as that is an area of great interest to me


I must also go to the Pain Mgnt Clinc today and P/U the new scripts, take them to the pharmacy, and wait the 2-3hrs for them to be filled.

txvintage

Well, this is technically my Friday and my first full day (night?) off of the crutches, although they are out in the car incase I need them. So, here's to Friday being good steps towards recovery.

LarDasse74

Best of luck to you, Peter!

If the only thing you do today to make the world a better place is go for a bike ride, you've done allright!

Regards,
Kris

txvintage

So, any update on the date for the new knee?

mseebs

Hope everything worked out man! Need to get you to come down here to cbus and I'll take ya on the trails.

Neil_B

Yes, it's time for an update, Peter C.

Peter_C

Well, Let's see...

First, the important stuff! --- Re-reading my lat update, I did not complete it all.

My job (fairly)wanted me to see my DRs as they felt that I was getting too "un-focused" (is that a word?) at work.

So on the 22nd I went t the Pain DR, who dropped one of my pills from 30mg at a time to 15mg at a time - less spacy, but more ouch (but I need the job too!) - went to the knee DR and he set the surgery for 11-09-09!

I then went to see my primary DR to see what he thought about my less that steller work perfemance, and what can we do about it? Looking over my meds, and realising the weight I had lost recently he felt that some changes were due and wrote a letter to my employer stating such.

Then, bout 5PM on the 23rd (and the reason for no updates until now) I get a call telling me that I had fluncked ablood test, and needed to go to the ER ASAP! My kidneys were failing! So to the hospital I went.

Here I am 4 days later, many pills are changed, I have new APPTs to see different DRs, but as of right now, the 11-09 date for the knee surgery is still on!

It appears that the 'contrast' used during the Heart Cath set off some issues, that started my kidneys to fail - which is the cause for my somewhat confused behaivor at work for the last week or so.

At this point, I do not yet know if I have a job or not. But, I do know I am still losing weight, am still quitting smoking, and hopefully will be getting the knee replacement on the 9th. While my kidneys took a big hit, the thinking is they will come back from it well.

10 Wheels

Thanks for the report.
You are in my prayers.

txvintage

Well, gotta look at it like no job is very useful if you are on a slab. Kidney failure ranks up there on the serious scale.

Good luck Peter and keep us posted.

Peter_C

Just a hello to let everyone know I am thinking bout you guys, and reading all the fun (riding in the snow??) that you're all having.

I got to pet my bike for bout 10 minutes today as I wiped her down with a nice clean dish-towel that my better-half will never miss (good thing she doesn't bother reading this huh?).

Saw my main DR yesterday, more blood taken, for those of you into this kind of stuff:
Creatine 10-29-09 2.4 |10-23-09 9.4 <--- really bad I am told
BUN 10-29-09 30.60 |10-23-09 91

So am slowly getting my numbers back to the normal range. Am sorry this seems to be about a lot more than just Bicycles and Cycling - but as I get through this stuff and out the other end, I expect most posts to be more in line with the forum norm. (Note to Moderator, please kill this thread if at any point you feel it has no use here - but the writing helps)

Just weighed myself at 339lbs just now... go figure, NOW the DR is mad cuz I am losing too fast. I am NOT trying to not eat, I am just not hungry...

I've been in the hospital many times in my life, and many of those times either caused and led to great pain, but I dunno, after this last bump - am sorta worried bout the TKR now - go figure, I finally get all the stars aligned in the heavens, and get everybody and their mother to OK it, and NOW *I* am worried bout it This really sucks

I tell myself that it's just because of the unplanned visit to the ER, and the scary numbers (which, I bounced back very fast from) - I guess I'm not feeling very lucky bout now...

Oh - it's for sure, I no longer have a job. After 19yrs working for the same family, I had one strange day at work - but very explained by doctors, and combined with my desire to take 3-4 weeks off unpaid for my TKR, I was told to give the Boss a call if/when I'm off all the drugs and have my medical life under control...bleh. Yes, I have been in Pain MGNT for the last 7 odd months, following their rules completely - and yes, I have been tested many times, and come up fine (I have enough in my life without adding other types of drugs to it) - but because I want to have my knee replaced so I can get OFF the drugs - I am canned. I know, I know - I was looking for a job when I got this one, but at this point in my life, I was basically thinking this was my life til retirement - not job hunting at age 47 - err...make that age 48 by the time my new kneee will let me work...

SO - this thread is turing into a soap opera right now, but it really can't get much worse, so I do expect posts to start being of a better/more focused type soonish!

FYI - the $30 bucks I spent for the upgraded tires Going from 26 X 1.5 @ 60 PSI to Marathons 26 X 2.0 @ 100PSI... turns out they only got to 65 PSI - so was it still worth the upgrade? Sam at the shop said they used to be 100PSI, and he can not get them now. He is willing to put the OEM tires back on and refund the $30 bucks, or, if I find a tire I like better, bring him the tires, and he'll mount them for free and refund by $30 bucks - my choice (with an apology too) - thoughts on this point anyone? Am I simply being too paranoid about "pinch-type" flats? Or with my lower weight, and these tires ???

For those keeping score - pre-op testing at the hospital is 11-03 @ 0700, surgery 11-09 at NOON at a small hospital I have never been to before - but, they have a "rehab" floor that they are planning to put me on 3 days after surgery...they think? "Wadsworth Rittman" Hospital in Wadsworth, OH - YAY going to drive over there tomorrow and see how tiny it is...

txvintage

Is it possible you are more worried about expectations after the surgery than the surgery itself? These things seem daunting to us, but the surgery is really nuts an bolts to the guys doing them. The technology in the hardware is leaps and bounds over what it was even 5 years ago, and they seldom don't take.

It sounds like your boss may be just starting your unpaid leave a bit early to let you get things sorted out. After all, he did say call him when you are ready to come back. I know it's a cold world, but 19 years is a lot of loyalty to a family owned business.

Peter_C

Heh - that is very much the case I am sure - like going to the dentist (another personal favorite) - would rather have a tooth pulled than have a cavity filled. And, this will be a new type of surgery for me. My *fear* is, god forbid this does_not_work...there is nothing left to try...this has been my 'holy grail' for 25+yrs now - so yes, I am totally scared $hitless - and there is nothing I can do but wait and keep losing weight, and make that last smoke tomorrow...

Neil_B

Peter, are you smoking again?!? NO! Please! Ditch the coffin nails!

Neil_B

Peter, while the C/A Forum is "officially" about riding while a larger cyclist, there's an awful lot of people here who have made major changes to their lives through weight loss. Major change isn't just a increase in riding or a decrease in weight. So please, keep posting. A lot of us want you to succeed, and we enjoy reading about your success.

And yes, you HAVE been successful. Look at everything you've accomplished in such a short period of time.

BigPolishJimmy

Soap Opera or not, I come here for motivation and I expect many others do so for the same, so you may as well write and be with friends. I've got no experience to share for the medical situation, other than hang in there. I also hate the dentist, even though I've got a very good one. As for the tires, this is what I would do... you have enough complex things going on. The bike shouldn't add to that, so I would make it easy on yourself and keep em. Ride the heck out of them and when it comes time to replace them, evaluate if they seemed like a good value to you. Don't worry about flats, get a patch kit and an extra tube and carry it with you so you won't need it. Everyone will get a flat sometime. I got a bunch of flats on my road bikes, but have yet to get one on my schwinn that's running mtn/atb fat tires @ 65-psi. You've only got about 50-lbs on me and I'd ride that 65-psi tire without hesitation. In fact it'd be a real step up from what I'm riding. On the other hand I wouldn't bunny hop curbs and try to avoid potholes, but that's because I ride cheap rims. Your milage may vary.

billyymc

Peter -

1 - if your boss can't support you through your health problems, it was time to find a new job anyway. A good employer would put employee welfare first in a situation like that, and find a way to get through the person's absence at work. Don't go back there.

2 - As others have said - this forum is about so much more than biking. I'm pretty sure there are others who've been through health problems similar to yours.

3 - This sounds like you are all set up for a major life change!! Look at this as an incredible opportunity. Embrace change, enjoy the adventure. You're taking the steps to get your health under control. Now figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life -- your work, your recreation, your entire lifestyle. It's corny, but make a "bucket list".

After working 85 hours a week for the past two weeks, I've come to the realization that at 43, I need a major change in my life's direction. Now I need to do some hard work to figure out what that is, and even harder work to make it happen.

Peter_C

As always, thank you all for the support! But, a 'bucket list'??? Wasn't that about two old guys that were terminally ill that decided to do everything they ever wanted to do, but hadn't yet? Hopefully - I don't quite fit that description

And yuppers, I am pretty amazed and ticked that after 19 + yrs that is all that I get - I guess I need to do a better job of chosing those I work for huh?

I just find it rather daunting at 47 to find so many 'life changes' coming at me all at once. I need to be done with the whining, and figure out where to go from here - but am still on this damn waiting game! So I am busy doing all my winter change-over work (getting it done before the TKR), then while rehabbing I will start trying to figure out what to do again for an income.

And, no, the smoking is done - they taste bad now (one benefit if welbutrin), plus with no job, the boss would kill me if I spent any $$$ on them (LOL), and the icing on the cake for those of you that do not smoke, they assed some new law that mandated a change to all cigerrettes - they now must go out if left un-touched within XX seconds - and THAT change has all the smokers up in arms as it changed the taste to the worse - so my timing could not be any better there - I have not had the displeasure of trying one of those.

Just think - 30 more pounds, and I will be smaller than my wife has ever seen me before! That IS one thing from all this weirdness!! While I have lost weight and gained weight, I have not been this low since my mid-30s, so this is a BIG mile-stone to me - the only sad part is that I do not seem to feel any better yet.

Mr Danw

The issue with finding a "better" job in Peter's area is the area in which he lives. It seems to be live with it or live without it in Northeast Ohio.

Peter, keep the news coming. You have our full support. Maybe this spring I'll see you out on the Towpath.

Neil_B

No maybe about it. Peter is one tough guy. He'll be there!

Neil_B

Hey Pete, it's not like flipping a light switch. You often don't notice the changes until after they've taken place. The perfect example is the child's tale, "See Neil Run."

********

See Neil.

See Neil get in his Neilmobile and drive to work.

See Neil fume as construction crews and tree trimmers cause traffic jams.

See Neil fret about getting to work late.

See Neil park the Neilmobile at his work.

See Neil hurry to get into work.

See Neil break into a run to get to his office.

See Neil reach his office.

See Neil realize that for the first time in a decade, he can RUN!

See Neil running in the hallways to show his coworkers that he can run.

See Neil's coworkers ask him to stop running in the hallways.....

*********

Just think, soon enough you'll be the subject of your own kid's story. See Peter Run, See Peter Ride, See Peter Hike and Swim and Stroll and Dance and Fit Into a Diner Booth and Wear Clothes With Only One "X" and..... well, it's up to you. You are writing the story, Peter.

Peter_C

Hey! Massillon! To be exact, I live in Green (or North Canton, or Union Town) - pick your flavor! Just across in Summit county! I live bout one mile from the JCT of Massillon RD and I-77. So yes, as I actually get good enough on my Bike (to leave my safe training area), and I get some sort of bike rack, I want very much to start riding the "tow path" - I have only seen bits and pieces of it (by RT 21 - Ernie's Bike shop) and on one of the back roads out west of Massillon I cross the path - how many miles is it, and is it paved or gravel or what? Please tell me more about it?

There are no 'bike paths' proper that I have spotted yet out here - you'd think with all the rich people around Green and union Town there would be (I live in the slums of Green) - not the new 500K houses, but rather one of the 70yr old places with land and no sidewalks...

I wonder how many more of us are in this area? I used to work in a dispatch office at Gullivar's Truckstop (exit 101 I-77) and have been in trucking for 20 odd years - so you're right, I can't move, and there aren't many jobs around about now - so we shall see! I have a good six weeks or longer til I can even think about a job, so am going to stick my head in the sand on that one for a while - simply focus on weight loss, knee stuff, and my beautiful new Bicycle that only has 6.2 miles on it so far...

Peter_C

That is a nice way to think of it. I am just tired of all the bad stuff (I know, more complaining) - let's just say that I am ready to see some of those storys for myself! Like - click my heels - and 9 weeks later...

Neil_B

It only happens when you don't look for it, Peter.