Medical Issues/Recovery – Page 8

Gun Law Weekend

First, my thanks to all for the good wishes. I’ve been less-than-happy at the slow pace, but also got reminded today that I’m still not three weeks out from the latest surgery. I could have sworn it was four-plus. Given that, it’s going amazingly well. Trying an experiment in ditching the sling for a bit to write, will see how it goes. Nice not having to be archy or ee for a bit.

Second, thanks to a very nice person I got the chance to attend Guy Relford‘s Indiana Gun Law Class at Indy Arms this last Saturday. For those not in Indiana, Guy Relford is not only the founder of the 2A Project, but a practicing Constitutional Law attorney specializing in the Second Amendment, and has also helped write a fair bit of current Indiana gun law. Still a few changes he would like to see made, and I hope he gets the chance to make them.

Those who know me, know I push for people — especially first time gun buyers — to take such a course. Ignorance of the law never works out in your favor, and there is a LOT of bad info out there. You need a law course as much or more (esp. if you live in an ‘interesting’ state) as you need good firearm/tactical training.

When I first moved to Indiana, a small-town police chief I got to know gave me a decent quick overview as he helped me apply for my carry permit. It is more than just a concealed permit, more on that in a minute. The laws have changed a LOT since then, and I’ve been wanting to take the class for a while now. It’s the first step to getting back to where I need to be after the lightning strike and shoulder replacements.

So, Saturday was five-plus hours of high-quality instruction on Indiana gun law, as well as use-of-force and other related topics. This included getting into the actual laws (and regulations) and going through same. There were a lot of good questions, good discussions, and citation of actual events and cases to make points.

Yes, Indiana is now (thanks in part to Mr. Relford) a Constitutional Carry state. That said, it is still a very good idea to go ahead and get that carry permit as doing so helps you via exemptions (such as within 1,000 feet of a school) as well as being honored in a number of other states. Take the course to learn how and why.

I’m not going to go into details, but we went over everything from who is a prohibited possessor and what convictions can be expunged after various periods of time — and what can’t ever be expunged — to transfers. The course covers when and where you can carry (and how) to the differences between use of force and use of deadly force.

I’ve got multiple pages of notes on those topics and even on things like curtilage as it applies to Castle Doctrine. In short, it was an amazing class where I learned a lot. I also learned a phrase to use if I am ever involved in a shooting or deadly force situation, and some other tips on same.

Glad to learn that phrase and some other suggestions on interactions. The last time I had formal use-of-force training was during Air Force Security Police Augmenter training several (cough) decades ago. Since policy at the time was shoot for extremities, I learned then ‘Sir, in the stress of the moment I reverted to training and fired for center of target.’ The phrases I learned Saturday are a huge improvement and will do a lot more to help keep me out of trouble.

Seriously, if you are a gun owner in Indiana, regardless of if you carry or not, you need to take this or a similar course. I can highly recommend this one, and do so unreservedly. This is time and money extremely well spent.

As I noted above, I’m using this as the start of re-learning to shoot. Between the lightning hit and getting new shoulders, I want to drop back and effectively start over. It’s a chance to re-learn, discard any bad habits, and build up better than before. Funny, I’ve done it a couple of times in terms of shooting and photography, and each time I came out the richer for it. For photography, both at Playboy and then again a few years ago, the concept of ‘forget what you know and relearn from the ground up’ resulted in huge improvements. For firearms, some training around the AFSPA program and some later tactical and related training vastly improved my shooting and response capabilities. Any help so doing now is very much appreciated.

So, an amazing and educational Saturday! It was good to meet Mr. Relford in person, as previously we had only engaged on social media. Give him a follow on X/Twitter if you are on there. Seems like a good man to sit down and smoke a cigar with and get to know.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

getting better

met with the surgeon yesterday, and even better i finally got to meet ali in person. truly made my day as she has been my phone and email contact with the practice, occasional champion, and all around great person. got her fooled though as she thinks i’m ‘sweet.’

bandage removed, and incision looks great. get to wear the sling another couple of weeks, but on the mend. no lifting, etc., but headed towards such. need to push on, avoid doing anything too stupid.

funny, haven’t heard a single thing from the hospital since i gave them my feedback. quelle surprise

lot to say about what is going on in the world, hopefully back to more regular posting soon.

progress

typing one fingered i decided to emulate archy/ee cummings for now. things not being done like last time, but that may be for the best.

just got back from my first outpatient pt session with the good folks at ati. meant stopping pain pills early and changing other schedules, but worth it. pretty much what i was doing per hospital pt but a couple of extra thrown in.

hospital/system pushed hard for me to review and tell them what i thought. not sure they will ever ask me for an honest opinion again. praised day shift people, not so much nancy and company on friday night. pointed out that unless big steps taken, would not use that hospital ever again; and, would use another er even if risk posed to my life to do so. that risking coming under the ‘care’ of nancy again was an even larger threat to my life.

now to push on with pt and recovery. thanks to all who have helped me build the home pt setup. it has and is paying off big time. stay alert and keep your things where you can find them in the dark. more to come as i have no plans on earning a military funeral off the fire escape anytime soon. would cheerfully trade landlord and housemates cats for mehitabel though.

I Live

Sorta. The surgery went well and if all the care had matched, I think I would be well ahead of last time. That said, the Friday night shift had issues and I can’t say too much yet but will say I went several hours “off protocol” in regards pain or icing. Still trying to recover and get going. Glad to be discharged as I was prepared to leave AMA rather than deal with that night shift again as am not sure I would have survived.

Countdown

Things are moving along, and in some ways I’m ahead of schedule. Just finished bagging almost three weeks worth of supplements and regular prescriptions (morning and night) and may try to get it to three or four weeks if I can pick up a supplement or two tomorrow. Bagging the pills was one of the things that worked really well last time, and I really am tempted to try for four weeks worth.

I’m also having to deal with a special form of bursitis that popped up late last week. Literally. It looks like someone shoved a ping pong ball into my right elbow, or at least half of one. Not fun and have had to cut back on what I’m doing to try to get it to go down and/or away. The doc recommended a compression bandage so I got two different types from a pharmacy. Neither fit or worked well for me, and in fact one of the two tore up my arm a bit. Got a crazy idea and cut the foot off a compression sock. Fit well, compressed without damage, and therefore was not crazy as it worked.

Tomorrow will be errands and haircut day. Need to pick up a few more things, including some snackage and a bit of food to round things out. If I get the supplement I ran out of, should be able to get a few more bags done. Also, am going to be starting laundry as I have to wash and sterilize blankets, comforters, etc. so I can change out all linens and such on Thursday.

Thursday is the day to figure out what I’ve missed, get it taken care of, and try to relax a bit. If all goes well, I should be home this weekend. Will try to post proof of life when I can. 🙂

Take care, be safe, and be prepared! Keep your things where you can find them in the dark. More soon I hope.

Happier Post, And Why I Was AFK

My apologies for the lack of posting and response to comments since the middle of last week. Thursday was my pre-op appointment for the next shoulder surgery, and it turned into a longer (and somewhat annoying) experience.

The actual appointment wasn’t that long, but it was a different nurse and different doc, and a reminder of why I don’t take portions of that provider too seriously. Yes, I paid attention to the instructions, but could have done without the smarmy attitude and with a bit more paying attention to my answers. Not to mention having all the test results reported back piecemeal (one at 0230 hours no less) which got me separate e-mails and texts (and alerts). Also loved the ‘oh my gosh your urine was dark yellow’ freakout, given that no it wasn’t but it was an odd shade because I took B vitamins as noted. If you’re not going to reference the notes… This is something that went on for three days. Like the surgeon and his office, but this group (not the same office) is something else. Only thing I will give them is they did get the blood first stick — this time.

Then came a truly wonderful thing: I had the house and kitchen to myself for several days, and was in shape to take advantage of it. I’ve had FUN! Let’s start with having a large chunk o beef from the restaurant supply store.

I really need to get with a chef or butcher to relearn how to break down some of these cuts, but managed to do a fair job with this one even with a thick and tough fat cap. Almost enough to make me wish I could render it down into tallow… But, it all worked out.

Got five good steaks out of it, bunch of cube meat for both a savory pie and at some point some chili, some scraps for stock later, and some of what I am calling pseudo-carne. The latter were from various pieces and I cut them small, for later cooking.

Two of the nice thick steaks got frozen as is, the other three got marinated in olive oil, garlic, and pepper. Two of them were grilled and pulled just before done, the other was supper and inhaled. Sorry, too busy eating to get photos but here’s what they looked like just before going on the grill.

One of the prime goals of the weekend was to make a steak and mushroom pie. I had wanted it to be a beef and oyster pie, but there were problems getting acceptable oysters, so… Half the cubes went into this project, and were coated with flour, salt, and pepper then browned with the onions and garlic.

Add in some Taxman Quadrupel in place of stout, add in the mushrooms, throw in the oven at 250 for three or so hours, and you get this after adding some arrowroot for thickening.

I let it cool overnight, and the next day I made my pie crusts using a lard recipe that was roughly two cups of flour, 1t salt, 2/3 cup of lard, and about 5T of ice water. I used smoked salt for part of my salt, and worked the dough by hand. Next time I do a savory pie, am thinking of substituting bacon drippings for part of the lard, using a bit more smoked salt, and turning some dried rosemary, basil, and garlic into powder and adding it. Here’s the start:

Snarksalot on Twitter was a huge help in getting this going, and in referring me to the King Arthur website which has a massive help section. Highly recommended! Here’s the bottom crust getting pre-baked using my fancy and expensive (snort) pie weights:

Filled, top crust in place, and coated with egg wash:

Baked and resting:

Finally, the pie being cut up and frozen:

The pseudo-carne asada got marinated overnight, then cooked and frozen for later use:

The housemate gave me permission to raid his basil patch, so I did up a small batch of pesto. I left the cheese out as it does not always take well to freezing. So, filled the ice tray and froze it overnight.

Next day, popped them out, bagged, and put them back in the freezer. Over the winter, I can pull out a cube or cubes, thaw, add cheese, and make what I want with it. Great way to make it last and have it all winter.

I also cooked up some chicken to replace what was lost in the Wilton incident, and made up a pan of enchiladas that are now portioned and frozen.

Finally, I cooked up a package of bacon, and most of it made it to be individually frozen then bagged for later use. Most of it. It is bacon and I am weak.

My goal is to have as close to a month’s worth of meals frozen before the surgery. Wednesday, even though all will be home, hope to make up a batch of puttanesca sauce and freeze it in individual containers. Then, cook up a dozen or so hamburgers at some point and freeze them as well. I’m going to cheat and buy burritos and other frozen breakfasts once my monthly stipend arrives.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to the last few days. Think I left something out, but those are the high points at least. It also kept my mind off the horror I was seeing online starting Saturday, and that did hit hard. More soon.

Thank You Again!

I thought I should share a photo of part of what your amazing generosity has done. This is part of the items I’ve been buying (or making) thanks to you.

On the new folding massage/therapy table are some of the moist heat packs, professional-grade cold packs, the over-the-door pulley system, various foam rollers (two medical and two made from pool noodles), weights, and balls.

Before the next surgery, I would love to get one more of the professional-grade cold packs, which will run about $35 with shipping. I also want to get another cover/holder for the moist heat packs so I can do both arms at once, which is about another $35 (the covers are roughly twice the cost of the heat packs!). I’m also looking to get some more weights, so that I can continue to ramp up. I’m also wanting to start putting food away for the weeks after surgery, as well as bagging up the meds and supplements as that worked very well last time. Few other minor comfort items that would be nice to haves are on the list too.

Not shown are some of the PVC constructs and the thera-band set-up. Forgot to add any of the former, and the latter not that photogenic as it’s mostly bands on a locking D-Ring.

Thank you all for making this all possible. It is really helping with the recovery and ensures I continue to move forward while waiting on the insurance company and paperwork to continue at least some professional PT. Again, thank you!

New Status/Plans

Funny how fast things can happen to alter plans. Nothing life changing, I hope, but changing some plans and priorities.

This morning, I had a telecon with my orthopedic surgeon in regards my left shoulder. This entailed discussions of my right and where we are now with it. One of the threads that came out is that recovery is a process (duh), particularly when we are looking at damage done prior to surgery. Over several years, as the joints lost range of motion and strength, various muscles and tendons have contracted and/or atrophied. We are at a point where PT is not only to dealing with the surgery, but also is having to stretch those muscles and tendons back out again, and rebuild as needed. While there are a number of words that apply to the effort to stretch muscles and tendons out that have been shortened for years, interesting is the one I will settle on for now. It is definitely the politest and most family-friendly descriptor and it beats %#$@#$%%@!#$!!!!.

The doc is very supportive of continuing PT and will continue to recommend continuation to insurance. Yep, tried to find one more place to work continue into that first sentence. The PT place is also supportive and thinks we can do a lot more. That leaves it up to the non-medical bureaucrats with insurance. Crapshoot to be polite. So, more on that in a moment.

While I’m not precisely where I would like to be, the right shoulder and arm are at a point where I can deal with having the left joint replaced. I’m hoping we can get even further along on the right arm and shoulder before the surgery, and as such I’m looking at mid- to late October. The real decider on the date will be the surgery scheduler, and I hope to hear from them soon.

As discussed with the doc this morning, the left has gotten even more problematic. For the most part, I experience discomfort on the right side rather than pain (except when doing the stretching exercises). I still have pain, sometimes large amounts of pain, from the left. The loss of range of motion, strength, and pain are such that it is impacting (to some degree) some of the PT on the right. It’s impacting sleep and life.

Given how well replacing the right shoulder has gone so far, and it is far better than I expected, it’s time to do the left. If we do it soon, by the first of the year we could be in a position to be doing combined PT on both joints and working on some serious strengthening and even some muscle building. We may also be able to schedule a number of PT sessions without having to get prior approval from insurance given the new year.

With an eye towards stacking the deck, my therapist and I have started doing appropriate PT on the left side to try to get it as ready as we can for the surgery. The idea is to have a head start on the PT and recovery. No matter what, we are looking at a year or more from the last surgery for full recovery. It is indeed a process. Long one, but worth it.

Thanks to an anonymous donor to the fundraiser, I ordered some additional PT items this morning. They are needed for some of the stretching. From just the other day, my priority list has shifted. I really need a therapy table for some of the work, but they are expensive (even building it myself) and take up room I don’t have. However, if I get a folding massage table (roughly same size), I can set it up, do the stretches and exercises that require it, then take it down. Sadly, about the same as the cost of a ticket to Loreena McKinnett, so know what I will buy (first). I’m also looking at one more professional cold pack (right now we are often having to ice both shoulders after PT), and want to get good heat therapy to go with it. Using heat on the bicep/tricep and/or upper arm and shoulder before and after stretches helps with results before and relieves after. I may also be looking at a percussive massager to augment a regular unit I already have. Getting the bodyblade comes in after those items.

So, the right is better than I expected but not near where I would like it to be. I still can’t do a full knife kata, and drawing is neither fast nor smooth. Picking up items, particularly heavy items, at or above eye level is interesting. One of the best things I did last time was to get critical living items down at waist level for the most part. So, while not ideal, doing it now gives me what I think may be the best shot at a full recovery as well as being able to move out of Indy to a better location as soon as possible. Given how things are going in the world, that is a not insignificant consideration.

I really wanted to be moved a year ago, but that was not to be. While there are a couple of things to check on, the left shoulder should be the last major medical issue that needs immediate intervention. Once it is taken care of and I’m into the recovery process, well, we will see. I’ve got a plan. I’ve got a GOTH plan. Need a few more in between but working on them.

Thank you all for your support, help, and prayers. With your help and encouragement, I’m making progress.

Slightly Scattered Update

Yesterday got away from me. It was a doctor day, it was a rough day, an age of accomplishment and an age of foolishness. 9/11 is still a bit rough, and on top of the personal news from last week with the loss of my niece A’s eldest son, it hit a bit. For those new, this is a small bit about that day.

Several years ago, my niece A and her two sons got to spend some time in NYC, and I was able to recommend a number of fun things to do and tasty places to eat. I also recommended they go to the memorial, and they did so. They sent me a photo of themselves with Rick Rescorla’s name as they had read up on him as I recommended.

Which leads to a point to make for today: Get comfortable with disobedience. Had Rick Rescorla not disobeyed orders, and encouraged colleagues to do the same, the death toll that day would have been far worse.

Yesterday was the six-month checkup with the GP, and it went well. Have to do some bloodwork next Monday morning, but hopefully that will go well too. It was also a PT day, though much later than normal, and I was beat afterwards. Good news is yet more significant improvement in range of motion. Here’s hoping the stretches and an odd thing help regain yet more.

The odd thing is the use of something called The Bodyblade. I sorta remember seeing it advertised on TV at some point, and thought it was just another one of those wonder workout ripoffs. While I won’t swear to just regular exercise, I will attest to its effectiveness in PT. Doesn’t take long, but boy howdy(! even) do you feel it. Would love to get one to add to the PT gear. I continue to add to my collection, and pleased that the last two purchases were $5 or less. Few more things to pick up, hopefully in the same range, that will help with stretching out the locked-up muscles and tendons. If it makes my back feel better as well, I’m all for it.

We are already starting the process to get some more PT sessions authorized. Have the feeling it may well be a fight.

I did get a new batch of chili-lime mayo made, though there were some issues. The first batch didn’t set when blended, and suspect I may have accidentally put in too much oil. At any rate, the second try went perfect and I’m very happy with the flavor. Used sweet smoked paprika instead of hot, and it seemed to hit the spot. So, for the record, added 1T Tajin, 3T key lime juice, 1t chipotle, 1t smoked paprika, .5t cumin, .5t garlic, .5t mustard, and a couple of dashes of Cholula tequilla lime hot sauce. Add olive oil and egg, and it’s good.

Continuing to watch the fascist Grisham, and am quite surprised at some of the domestic push back she’s getting. Remember, this is the governor who shut down grocery stores during the lockdowns with pretty much no pushback. So far, the local sheriff and the local DA (both Dems!) have said that her actions are unconstitutional and will not be enforced. No sign of anyone in the democratic supermajority legislature growing a brain or a spine, but two Republicans are moving for impeachment. This needs to be stomped hard, fast, and with consequences beyond a slap on the wrist. Otherwise, how soon will others follow suit? I think High Tax Holcomb would do it in a heartbeat if he thought he could get away with it.

Continuing to watch the decline of the demented meat puppet and the flailing of the Biden Regency. They had tried their best to contain him my having him in Alaska (esp. after the fiasco that was Vietnam), but he still managed among other things to make up a story about being in NYC on 9/12. Oh, and if you think the Iran and other announcements yesterday were the Biden Regency being tone deaf, you are mistaken: those were very deliberate thumbs in the eye. If you didn’t know before, you have yet more proof of how they feel about the Republic and about you.

There’s more deserving comment out there, but for now I leave you with this and this as good reads for the day.

Meantime, be good Scouts and Be Prepared! Keep your friends close and your things where you can find them in the dark. More soon.

Working Through

Sorry for the lite posting, need to get something up about Liberty Safe and privacy/security in the digital age. Meantime, part of the reason for the dearth resides in the interesting goings on with PT.

After a couple of snafus, the right paperwork finally got into the insurance company. Who did agree to six more sessions for now, and promptly backdated the process for about two weeks and said we had to have all six sessions done by the 16th of this month. Aren’t non-medical bureaucrats making medical decisions wonderful? No way those dates were set by anyone with any medical or therapeutic knowledge.

Basically, the time constraint came up Tuesday with the notice of the approval, and to get things done in a semi-sane manner overall, I had a session yesterday, late, and another this morning, early. The remaining sessions are spaced out a bit more sanely/competently. We are hoping yet more may be approved, but you never know.

One reason for more is that we are not just hitting issues from the surgery, but issues caused by the loss of mobility in the years prior to surgery. The lack of mobility caused muscles, particularly in the biceps/triceps to “pull up” or shrink, and the fun is now trying to get them stretched back out again. Same may apply to tendons and other things. For all that I’ve gotten back some of the long-lost mobility, there have been some interesting limits to pop up.

One is standing against a wall and not being able to get my arms back to the wall. There are other positions and movements where the muscles in the biceps and triceps scream and make life fun. So, adding in stretches and such to try to get things back to where they should be. It’s going to take a good bit more physical therapy. Hoping we can convince the insurance company to realize that.

Meantime, I’m exhausted as we are no longer doing what I have been doing. Instead, there is a lot of new stuff aimed at fixing the problems from the older issues, continuing the recovery from the replacement, and in trying to prepare the left shoulder to be replaced. The latter ends up hurting a lot more than the right, which mostly experiences discomfort these days.

I have a telecon with the surgeon next week to discuss when to do the left shoulder. Right now, looking at the end of October or the first week of November. That may change based on decisions by the insurance company or others who have a say. Also, I really do want to go see Loreena McKinnett in concert if at all possible. I will go still in a sling and on pain meds if needed, and if I can come up with the funds.

For now, we are going to continue to work on restoring full range of motion and strength in the right shoulder and arm. For as long as insurance allows. Once it doesn’t, well, we will see what happens but I’m not stopping because of some bureaucrat. We will also do what we can to prepare the left for replacement.

I’m also starting to look ahead towards moving. I had really wanted to do so this year, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Provided no other medical issues pop up (and the GI issues of the last two weeks is subsiding), I may be able to start taking steps as soon as February. Again, wait and see.

Hopefully I will be able to pick up some more physical therapy items here soon. Need a different ball, some foam rollers and such, and am going to look into a specialty item as well. It is amazing how much of the therapy gear you can get or improvise for about $20 an item (or less). Need to find some pool noodles on sale soon as they can be modified… Also, want to buy at least one more professional cold pack.

This may be the only post today. I’m exhausted as we pushed hard yesterday and today. More soon, promise.