My week, not in pictures!

Sadly, there is not going to be much photographic evidence of this week. The camera-thing is just not meant to be. I have started carrying one of my two no-longer-water-proof cameras in a dry bag designed for cell phones and cameras. As far as I can tell I have been able to shoot a couple of pics but the system is so clumsy I generally am not even pulling the camera out of my vest's belly pouch.

But I had a great week on the water and today's only Friday so that may say something. My week started out with an immensely cool pool session Sunday morning at Lee District Pool. As we are signed up for March as well we checked in with the roll coach but chose to practice the skills we already have and save the roll-coaching for the less-packed March classes.

I have discussed rolling at length with Brian, watched videos, and listened to other paddlers who have rolls. I also watched the successful rollers at the pool paying quite a bit of close attention. I came to the conclusion that the extended paddle roll looks the easiest. Brian told me he would use that same roll as a default in conditions. And I have watched a video featuring that roll as well. So that's likely to be my target during March class.

Another thing successful rollers have said to me in several different ways is "relax." Darrick said Dub-side advised him that the first step in the lay-up is to "relax and let your pfd pull you towards the surface." As I watch my strong, athletic husband struggle to complete a c-to-c roll I realize that he is trying to "muscle" it. Not relaxing at all, which is understandable as hanging upside down from your cockpit just doesn't seem too natural.

A lot to think about and prepare for.

Monday found me a bit sore from the many wet exits and self-rescues I practiced on Sunday. My chiropractor would love the set of bruises I gave myself. He would always ask why I was so bruised up from "just paddling," but it seems last year I have spent a significant amount of energy learning and practicing good self and assisted rescue techniques. This will serve me well in the coming club season.

Tuesday I left work at lunch to join some of the "usual suspects" in a paddle out of Occoquan Regional Park. I was hoping to see some of the Tundra Swans that had been spotted by another the day before but alas, I was denied. However I did spot a multitude a large gray/tan sea birds, really really large with hooked beaks like a bird of prey. They floated singly or in small groups on the water in the larger mixed groups of birds. In the air they looked like birds of prey as well. Got to identify them. I think they must be migrants just stopping over on their way north.

A nice military fellow stopped to ask us about area paddling and we got him to kindly snap our photo before we launched

Brian and Pete set a fast pace out of the launch and Becky, Dennis, and I were lagging just a bit. I had chosen my Sirocco as sometimes one can find big wakes at that locale where the Occoquan and the Potomac converge. I was hoping for some surf. Instead, I got served a big helping of "paddle-you-butt-off" as "Motorboat" and the "Faster Pastor" were in fit form. I don't think they were even trying hard. We did about 8.5 miles, and my gps said we only averaged a moving speed of 3.8 mph. Ok, that was a slow speed for a lot of work.

My left shoulder is becoming a problem. It is visibly swollen and hurts the worst it ever has. I am sure it's the same bursitis that has plagued me every winter for the last 20 years, but in a much more aggressive way. I really suffered Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and barely slept as every time I moved the arm I was jolted by grinding pain. In some kind of senseless sleepy state I wondered if I could tape the sucker down or wear some kind of body sling that would keep me from moving it overnight. Ugh.

Regardless, I left work again at noon of Thursday to paddle with the crew at Columbia Island. We headed out the Boundary Channel north to Fletchers for lunch and then returned via the big river past the monuments. It had turned dark and overcast, so even though I had the camera with me I knew it was pointless to try and shoot anything, on this one of my favorite parts of the Potomac.

courtesy Lisa

This day I brought my Dragon Boat, as I call my Solstice. She is my "big gun," my "sword of the sea," as she slices the water like butter and working hard means breaking 6 mph, not 4 as in the Sirocco. Dennis, who paddles a lovely Gulfstream, asked me about her. He noted that he was struggling to try and maintain an opening distance between "Motorboat" and himself when he looked over just as I slid past him, seemingly not working hard at all. His perception was correct. The Solstice is a race horse. She's made to run, and I love her for it. She's my once-in-a-lifetime boat.

I am hoping Dennis posts a pic of us to facebook and I'll grab it for here.

Returning to the shoulder issue; here's the odd part: the first few minutes I am paddling it hurts like I am stretching scarred muscle tissue but then the joint warms up, loosens up, and I don't feel any pain until the night time. So last night I skipped my evening Celebrex dose and applied Voltaren gel directly to the joint. I also applied some Arnica gel. I slept on my back with my arms propped on pillows like I do when I am having neurological problems stemming from my spine. I didn't sleep much anyway but the shoulder didn't hurt as much as the previous nights.  However, some nerve is definietly being affected as my pinky, ring, and middle fingers as well as the outside of my left arm from the shoulder down kept going completely numb and then I couldn't move the arm much.

Holy smokes!!

So now I am exhausted, haven't slept well since I left Florida. My left shoulder swells intermittently, and the rest of me feels healthy and ready to go, even in the face of not sleeping. Just this broken wing could be a problem. Hmm. Regardless, I am trying to arrange a lesson for myself and the Lorax for tomorrow, or a low-key paddle with Chuck's club, at the least.

Yeah. I guess I don't let my physical condition dictate my days. I refuse to be ruled by a busted shoulder.

I am awake and a bit afraid

I wrote this post during the night some time ago when I couldn't sleep. It's sat around in the queue for some few weeks. I am not sure if it sounds wimpy or whiny. But I finally decided I would post it. Yeah, I am engaged in a battle to be healthy. I do not want to be taking handfuls of pills for the rest of my life. Palliating my problems with medications only masks the symptoms, not cures the underlying problem.

So here it is, almost the "full Monty," the details of what haunts my nights:

I wake up in pain and having weird tremors and other symptoms fairly regularly. Sometimes I lay awake for hours with sheets of fire running down my arms.

Bad shit has been going down for years but I never really have had the opportunity to talk about it. The broken neck, hysterectomy, and hip surgeries were just incidental to a well-worn body of a woman, mother, and stick fighter. It's the creeping neurological symptoms that terrify me. I don't need sympathy, because I'm pretty tough, but finding myself accepted by the ladies in my old reenactment unit was heart-warming. Sometimes I need shelter.

My bad stuff, you don't have to read further but I feel the need to say it:

My original symptoms started with my colon and bladder. They were getting mixed signals, and eventually my colon just stopped doing its job. It doesn't receive signals from my nervous system anymore. I'll spare you the details. My bladder is still getting signals but they are crazy mixed up. These two issues resulted in a massive tear in the tissue between my colon and vagina. The side of my colon fell through my vagina and... I can draw you a diagram in person if you are that interested. Of course, my coworkers were so interested, right after the doctors diagnosed the rectocele, there I was in the treatment area drawing diagrams for them on the white board. Veterinary people are a funny breed.

Oh, and jokes on me: the mesh they used to repair the tear is the one that's been recalled. My surgeon still won't give me my records. I'm sure he is fearing a lawsuit but in his favor, I have other worries.

Sometimes, like right now, I am scared. My newest symptoms relate to my ability to talk. I will have trouble talking suddenly, episodes that last 30 minutes or so. These are typically preceded by distinct paresthesis in my tongue. Knowing I am waiting until December to see my neurologist is just ramping up my anxiety.

(Update: Amazing to me but the "wait list" paid off in my neurologist's office and I got a call one evening for a mid-day opening the next day. Great luck! Turns out my doctor thinks the "marble mouth" thing is caused by nerve entrapment, possibly scar tissue from either the broken neck or the surgery to fuse and plate the neck. Ah. Okay, now I have a forming plan to go back to Dr Chow, my sports chiropractor, and see if we can do Active Release Therapy on my shoulders and neck. Maybe I can get this one thing fixed. And so now I find myself less afraid, better armed against this new enemy.)

Hey, I can type and I can paddle, and paint. At least for now. I have already lost some ability to do fine detail on my paintings so my style is evolving to "Impressionism." No one needs to know it's because I can't do the detailing anymore. I have thought of drafting my son to do some detailing for me. It's worth revisiting if he ever recovers from his own problems. And I might regain some abilities that were lost. It seems nothing is certain and I have no firm diagnosis. Peripheral neuropathy, interstitial cystitis, dis-functional colon, foot dropsy (don't remember the correct term), degenerative disc disease... maybe there won't ever be one name or over all diagnosis. (Update, I got a new one to add to the list: Myofacial Pain Syndrome. In reading up on it I understand it is more of a symptom than a disease in and of itself. I think, in the end, that my body makes a lot of scar tissue anytime it is challenged with a physical assault. Unfortunately the scar tissue can be a problem in and of itself.)

And here I am today. Editing photos and blogging and wishing I was paddling instead. See, sh*t ain't so bad!

Canes as fashion accessories

I need a cane. I can't walk very well anymore. This is a tragedy. Ok, a personal tragedy, not like an-epic-tsunami-that-ate-Japan-tragedy, more like a well-this-sucks tragedy. It's no big deal to anyone except myself, maybe my family, and on a more limited basis, my co-workers and clients.

Luckily, I don't think it will affect my kayaking friends at all. They don't give a damn whether I can walk as long as I can paddle, and perform an adequate self-rescue. And of course, lift a beer at the end of the day. They won't help me with that. We are a self-sufficient crowd when it comes to consumables.

I can still get my boats out of the garage and on to my newly christened "handicapped accessible Thule Hullavator" installed on my Outback. I can still walk a few steps with my boat. So I can still paddle, which is of the most importance for my quality of life. Because, let's be honest, when I can't paddle anymore I am hanging this crap up.

Walking any distance early in the morning, is possible. I typically walk with my dogs a couple of miles near dawn. Towards the end of the second mile I begin to limp. By noon I can barely walk down the hall at the clinic to the staff area in the back of the facility. Both my hips are uncooperative. Lately both legs are just in knots, like cramps but less painful, really stiff.

I am seeing a chiropractor my orthopedic surgeon recommended. He is trying myofacial release from my knees through the hip areas. It's really painful, and I wasn't really seeing any improvement until this week. This week on Wednesday I felt great, before my appointment. After my appointment, maybe less so. And then I missed my Friday appointment. It's getting hard to drive an hour, get an hour long treatment and then drive an hour back, three times a week. I think I'm going to scale back to just Mondays and Fridays.

When I saw my surgeon on Monday, after another session with the "mangler," he said my hips had the best rotation they've had since he's been caring for me (over a year). Man, I have two different dudes regularly groping me in the hip area, and both are swell to look at, might I add. And then I get home and am too exhausted to function, aka: take care of the hubby. Sad.

So I ordered my first cane. Hopefully not one of a series. But if I do need more than one I am getting this one next: http://www.fashionablecanes.com/3456.html
Don't worry, it's work safe and all. Just a carbon fiber cane with FLAMES!!! Did I say that with enough emphasis? FLAMES MOFOS!! Because it's so hot it's on fire! Yeah. Plus, it folds so it will be easy to store on the deck of my boat. I think I'll make a little padded bag for it to protect it if I flip and have to slide the boat over my buddy's deck to dump the water before I slither back in. Also, I think it will be fun at work. I can accidentally crush coworkers' toes with it. Oops, did I say that out loud? Yeah.

Let me leave you with some recent photos:

Water lily on the Mattawoman

Cool little catamaran leaving the canal in Avon NC

My Kona Bee

Kat on the Mattawoman

Catching up

So I guess keeping up with a blog isn't as easy as I supposed it would be. I have less trouble keeping up with my tumblr blog as it contains mainly just photos and very few words. That blog is really dedicated to art and so I tend to only post stuff I have just made or good pictures I've taken.

Let's see, last time I was here I talked about a bike ride. Since then I have paddled a bunch. The water has warmed up nicely and I am able to sit in my boat comfortably for about two hours at a time. At about the two hour mark I start needing a stretch. After a little stretching and walking around I can paddle some more. But I'm afraid the days of sitting in my boat for hours on end might be drawing to a close. As I said in an email to a kayak instructor I have great respect for, "Sucks getting old. Youth is wasted on the young. And one last cliche, if only I'd known then what I know now I would have done it all differently". To which he replied, in kind with cliche, "fight the good fight, never surrender."

Words to live by sir.

Some pictures. Work, play, love:

Jojo Bob, our office mate, creating a work stoppage allowing me to stretch and laugh

gathering for a Full Moon Paddle 4-26-13

Pulling away from Bull Run Marina as dusk falls

Taking photos with available light from a moving kayak  isn't ever easy 

Just as the moon clears the tree line

Happy Hour Paddle 4-24-13

Sculls everywhere, river right river left...5-3-13

Becky's fabulous new (to her) boat 5-3-13

5-5-13 Paddlers at Jug Bay on the Patuxent

I always love wandering back into the log jams and strainers of the western branch of the Pax

Going just a little bit further

Our furry "love children." Such it is with empty-nesters in our country. Work, play, and love.

Dipping my paddle for "exercise."

I need to add some form of exercise to my daily routine, every day now, if I am going to shake off the unwanted pudge that accumulated while I was laid up with various injuries. As I have nearly ruined my desire to bike by making it into exercise, I don't want to mess up paddling as well.

When you look over the first set of photos and then the second notice the amazing green that has crept into every living plant.

Once again we found crew teams on the reservoir but this time we were turning around right as we came upon them. April 12, 2013

Red eared sliders aren't native this far north but they've adjusted very well to our Mid-Atlantic ecosystem. This fellow was about a foot across.

Great Blue Heron, looking a bit hungry and cold.

Kat as we floated back at the boat ramp.

Canadian Geese at the boat ramp, which can be bossy, probably looking for a handout.

Our second excursion in the same locale, only a week later but much earlier in the day, was run under the threat of thunderstorms.  While it did spritz on us a couple of times it didn't hold us back. Instead we just paddled all the quicker. We managed to cover 8.5 miles in just two hours. Not a bad speed.

The greening of northern Virginia as demonstrated in the contrast between the above set of photos and these. Shot April 19, 2013.

Ominous skies held off storming until we were on our way home.

Three double crested cormorants right before take off.

Oh yeah, the pleasurable feeling of nearly spring

Mid-February here and I have that spring feeling going on. Wild birds start screaming outside my window in the big cedar tree about 5 am. This leads to a last hour of uneasy sleep punctuated by odd wild life dreams. When I wake up my first thought is either "I need to get new rims" on my 'cross bike or "is it too cold to kayak?"

There are a few hardy souls paddling right now. Some claim to go out daily, or nearly. Hardy fellows. The husband and myself, we feel like it might be necessary to paddle this time of year if we had to leave our island of warmth for supplies or maybe if we were running from suburban zombies. But aside from those two instances, we really don't venture on to the water much this time of year.

We have wet suits, booties, hats, gloves... Not really a lack of equipment, more a lack of desire. Plus, the pros recommend you "swim" your equipment before each paddle. Now, if I bought a dry suit, and I might, then I wouldn't mind venturing into the water before paddling. But I have to say, NAY, I am not interested in soaking my wet suit etc, and then paddling on the windy river for a few hours. Utter lack of interest here.

Oh, and then the self rescue. Essentially, for my equipment to be valid I need to practice rescues in it, under the conditions I would be using it for. Mmmm, hypothermia here I come. Oh so sexy all that shivering. But that's the point. You want to figure out if your kit will prevent hypothermia or not. And whether you can get back into your boat with all that movement-stifling-gear on. I suspect the answer for me would be "NAY."

I'd hate to put the husband on the spot. You know, that place where he's doing the "Hand of God" rescue on me and then towing my unhappy self back to land because I am too shivery (or whatever) to take care of myself. So I will likely not see the water until April or so. Once the water hits 50 I have much more confidence in my wet suit etc. Also, I need less gear overall.

Don't get me wrong, I admire the guys that ARE paddling in the weather. I just know better than to place myself, and potentially others, in a place were I am less than confident.

So this is the place I find myself: I had the second hip surgery. I potentially pushed hip replacement back 10, 20, forever, years. BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE. One of the worst decisions, tearing the hip sockets in January 2012 and putting off seeing a surgeon until August because I didn't want to lose the whole season recovering. Stupid stupid stupid. I caused lingering damage waiting, now have arthritis in the right hip I didn't have before and created all this inflammatory tissue. Dumb.

I figured out as I rehabbed from the left hip, working the still-torn right hip in rehab, that I could be in a better place for the second surgery. And it worked. Now, the second surgery is 9 days post and I am walking normally, no limp no sh*t!!! Yeah, I still have some post-surgical pain and am banned from real biking for the next month at least. But I got my walk back. I am so stunningly happy with the outcome. This surgeon, his whole career is dedicated to hips, he must have amazing job satisfaction. Labral tears and their treatment is a fairly new in medicine. The smart guys think the tears were always there in patients who had hip pain and couldn't walk. But before, they couldn't see them and didn't even know they were there. If cortisone injections didn't help next potential step was hip replacement. Now the specialist goes in laproscopically and cleans up the place. Wow.

So cheers! Spring is around the corner. Rise and stretch, the time for movement and big things is almost here. And I'll be ready.

More surgery. Yay.

Talked to the surgeon, that's that, my right labrum has a full-thickness tear. It's as shredded as the other was before surgery. I also picked up a good case of bilateral bursitis as well, just to mix things up. No wonder nothing feels right down there. More surgery. Great. Can you hear the lack of enthusiasm just dripping?

As you might imagine, I am having a really tough time holding it together now. Things like paddling trips and bike rides are high points in an otherwise miserable pain-soaked existence. I am even having a hard time finding funny cat memes to post on my employer's facebook page, which I maintain as part of my job. I think my sense of humor crawled out back and died. It's rotting away in the mulch pile with the summer grass clippings as I type.

None the less, I am digging around for something funny to say. Oh, hey! The Lorax quit drinking around Christmas. He hasn't slept well in years and I swear a couple of drinks will give me insomnia. So he stopped and actually started sleeping better. Anyway, we were at our outdoor club's happy hour and he told the waitress not to bring him a beer. So she didn't. Later he ordered one and she said "oh, have you quit quitting already?" with a big smile. And it was funny. Yeah, okay, that was a stretch. Maybe I'll come up with something funny later.

I have surprised myself

I am actually glad that I had the labral tear fixed. I have had many days since the surgery where I can mostly walk well. It has been less than thirty days and the benefits of the surgery are obvious. For example: I can get out of my office chair and walk like the biped I am! Before it was an ordeal just to get out of my office chair and navigate the obstacles in my office.

People take this walking shit way too casually. Sure, it's something you do every day and you pay absolutely no mind to it. Until you can't walk, then the shit hits the proverbial fan I say! Yeah, I can see you are impressed. Try not being able to move because it felt like your butt tendons are tied too tight. Say, try that for about a year. Then, magically, some thing loosens said bun strings and voila! you can walk.

Now I am in physical therapy twice a week and the therapist I got this time was a lucky draw. He's great! Say that like Tony the Tiger! He stretches my hips and pelvis out (sounds dirty but it ain't) every visit and has begun adding balancing and strength exercises to my home practice.

At the same time as I was lame, my puppy went lame as well. She is only 14 months old but has barely been able to use her front leg now for 4 months. That's nearly 1/3 of her life. So my limp has nothing on hers. It's all very mysterious, this limp. We found a jagged hole in the third metatarsal of the lame leg. We have run every test possible on this dog, short of anesthetizing her and sending her into the MRI tube. During these four months the foot has occasionally developed an abscess between the affected and adjoining toes. Last week we sedated her, flushed out the abscess and x-rayed the leg again. No real improvement. In desperation, I finally asked my cats's homeopathic vet for a "Hail Mary" remedy. Can't hurt, might help.

The homeopath also asked me to re-evaluate what I am feeding my dogs. She suggested substituting 50% of their commercial diet with real home cooked food. First up, they started getting scrambled eggs and spinach for dinner. This weekend I will be making my first people-edible happy-dog stew. My husband loves beef stew. I myself don't care much for it. The husband says he will eat all of the stew himself before the dogs even get a bite. I am cooking a gallon or more, so he has his work cut out for him.

Soon I will be able to bike and hike again. Soon I will be able to paddle. Soon I hope my Kona Bean will be able to ramble on long walks with me (my favorite!) But for right now I will spend my time reading, crafting, researching, and cooking. It is really no surprise I have gained 15 pounds and she has gained 5. We will lose it together when we are healed. Finger crossed!

Fall is almost here

I love the fall, my favorite time of years. Sweaters and pashminas, mmm. I also like gearing up for cold water paddles. The trees from the water are so lovely, and the air so crisp. The water becomes more challenging. The choking water weeds die back too, allowing us to paddle back into the marshlands. Love, heart, fall paddling.

But then, we haven't paddled the last two weekends, we got caught up in real life.

I am not biking right now either. My hip is killing me. The orthopedic surgeon says I need surgery for a labral tear. It is certainly painful but I am not ready to go under the knife again. At this rate, if I let them keep cutting away the malfunctioning parts I will be missing a quarter of my body in 10 years.

So I am seeing a chiropractor instead. I was really dreading the first visit. When I see them on tv cracking and popping joints, I cringe. That stuff isn't good for your joints long term. Don't let anyone tell you different.

This fellow came highly recommended so I took the plunge and went. First visit he sounded like he didn't even want my case. This wasn't a surprise, I am a medical disaster, I get it. Second visit, and I was pleasantly surprised. So far so good. He wants me to change my diet, no problem. I'd cut anything out if it will help.

He said to give it a month. If he can't help me feel more comfortable in a month, then he can't help me. Sounds reasonable. I hate to be hopeful, but am.

The Lorax is tired...

He announced the other day that he "is done with Meetup." He says he will still paddle with me, hike with me, but he is tired of the newbies that show up on our paddles. During the winter he was tired of the young and out of shape hikers that showed up on our hikes. This is the "thing" about Meetup.

If you don't know about Meetup, go find out; especially if you are bored, bike or paddle alone, and wish you had some one to go with. Meetup isn't about dating, or at least it wasn't designed that way. It is about going out in the real world and doing "stuff" with others.

So I have a Meetup group, I am the Organizer, the website is paid for by me and I design most of the outings. This is my third year organizing. I don't mind the newbies at all. Generally, they pay attention and don't show up on tough stuff they shouldn't have gone on in the first place. But once every 3rd or 4th event, we will get someone who didn't read the description all the way, or who just didn't care.

I get that it is a pain in the neck to have to shepherd slow paddlers or hikers. I, myself, have been guilty of showing up on another group's bike ride and been over-matched by the hilly terrain; unprepared. The thing about that ride was there were a few other cyclists who were over baked as well so we were the "red lantern" at the tail end of 40 riders. While I shared my shame with several others, I lived, they lived, the Organizer didn't strangle us because there'd be too many bodies to hide.

My last two events went off great. My friend Kat came out and the three of us paddled the wildlife reserves off Leesylvania State Park two weekends ago. The water was a choppy and filled with big, slapping waves. We had gusts of wind as well. She is a very skilled paddler, and we had a wonderful paddle back in the fingers of marsh land edging the Potomac:

And then Kat, who owns the orange boat in the back ground tried out my boat, in the fore ground:

Mine and Kat's boats on the beach at Leesylvania

   
She didn't enjoy it. The cockpit fits her great but the boat is a tricksy little vixen. My last  sea           kayak, a Necky Eliza, I call my "dragon boat" because it always seemed like she was ready to bite me. It challenged me to rise to a new level as a paddler. I learned to control the boat with my hips and pay much more attention to my body language. I dearly love that boat but its tight cockpit puts pressure on my (old fart) legs, so sadly will part with it soon. I am having a really hard time letting it go. It handles nicely in chop and big water as well as paddling smoothly and tracking cleanly through calm quiet water as well.


  

credit: Kat 2012

Last weekend we paddled the Potomac above the city (WDC). We put in at Algonkian Regional Park. We had paddled past this park numerous times but never put in there before. The boat ramp is wide and shallow, although concrete, which can be tough on boat bottoms. The river is quite filled with non-native flora at this time of year.

We spotted bald eagles, great blue herons, and snowy egrets a plenty. It was a peaceful paddle and we stopped on a pebble beach on an island that has primitive camping spots on it. I snapped the above pic while leaving the island to show the trail through the "sea grass."

We had a brand new paddler show up on his "maiden voyage" with his new boat. This is a good location for a new paddler as the flora keeps the power boats to nearly none and the river is wide and flat here. We all enjoyed ourselves.

So the husband doesn't like Meetup. I still do. Now, if he would just make some outrageous proclamation about it, the whole thing will turn funny. Funny is where it's at!