Blog Entries With Tag: out

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Yesterday I had the car (yes – my diesel Smart has new engine and is working 100% - major test run will be done this weekend on trip to Ottawa).  I try to only use the car once a week plus  it’s a break from working at home where I have no human contact, except for my cats Mia (the black Burmese lioness now has a name) and Zorro (who got bashed up this week – I am vowing that he no longer go outside!).

My first stop off was a well deserved hair cut since I’d not had one since November.  I was beginning to look and feel like a cave woman.   When I was paying for it, I chatted with the receptionist who was cooking away with a bag on her head to restore the blonde to her hair.  She was telling me how her hair went prematurely grey at a young age, and how easy it was to be a blonde when you went that way (she had black hair originally).  I was commenting to her how grey only seemed to be coming out on the sides of my hair and that I was looking forward to one day going platinum.  She said “You’re too young to be thinking that way!”  I told her of my upcoming half a century birthday and she was taken aback by that.  She actually thought I was in my 30’s and she made me laugh.  I told her that I was a diabetic for most of those years and that I had a feeling that insulin was perhaps what preserved my youthfulness.  Low and behold, she told me that one of their hairdressers is also a diabetic, and had the “youthfulness” that I did (they all think she looked 12 years old).  Well, they weren’t far off; this cute little petite woman with a pixie cut came out of the back of the salon with such a glow to her.  I’d seen her (Celine) over the past 15 years and never knew she was a diabetic of 40 years!  The conversation went onto insulin being a youth rejuvenator, and then we got talking about my insulin pump (she’d seen one much bigger many years ago and was amazed at the size of my Animas 2020).  I showed her how I was connected to the pump with my infusion set and even better, I’ll be keeping her informed of when the Omnipod finally makes it grand entrance into Canada.  She is more interested in that type of tubeless pump then the one I was wearing.

So, after a brief chat, I walked back to my car to start another journey to my next destination with a smile on my face, thinking life is good (and this is coming from a gal that is fighting depression for the past month – I’m getting better – just taking time to work through life’s little ups/downs).

Blog: Daily Running Good/Bad for Knees?

From: cvwarner

Recently I developed the habit of running daily, and began to wonder whether my constant running would help or hurt my knees and joints in the long run (no pun intended). However, after researching and comparing the benefits of running to the detriments, I found that avid runners are less likely to develop arthritis and perhaps even live longer. Similarly, from reading the current knee1.com feature article, I learned that running and regular exercise create stronger bones and joints.

I also picked up a simple running tip to decrease the chances of knee damage and shin splints while increasing the lifetime of my running shoes. If you own more than one pair of running shoes, just rotate them every other time you run. This provides better support for joints by preserving the shoes’ cushioning.

Any other insights or helpful tips?

Blog: It's all about the Bee's Knees

From: spark

Having never undergone any major surgery since I was little, wherein I had been hit by a motorcycle and thereby needed stitches, I was rather curious as to what life would be like post-being cut open.  In my search, I found two rather interesting (and somewhat relevant) articles..

The first is a news article released about an hour ago.  It details a man in Idaho who suffered 10 weeks of pain/stiffness because doctors had left a broken device in his knee during surgery.  Though the event occurred in 2007 and the device was eventually found and removed in 2008, it made news today because a lawsuit was just filed by the patient, naming the two doctors responsible for the mistake (Buoncristiani and Pletcher), the Sawtooth Orthopedics and Sports Medicine (where the two doctors practice), and St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center (where the surgery was initially performed). 

Eep. This article makes you realize that something to think about before undergoing surgery is checking up on your surgeon.  Getting recommendations might be the best way.... Just saying.

Anyways, the second article is much more interesting.  It was a humorous, personal account of life after surgery. The author, Michael Gibbons (managing editor at Aiken Standard) recounts the haze and daze that follows surgery. I found it rather well written and gives you a pretty good idea of what it would be like to come out of surgery.  I can only imagine that "drug-filled haze" would be the best way to describe it.  Anyone else have any thoughts on what it would be like (mentally) to come out of surgery?