Went out for my first ride today. It's been since July 22nd that I've been on the bike on the road. I needed just a bit more than five miles to get over 1,000 for the year. This ride was a gentle flat ride that was done at an easy spin. It was 5.7 miles and put me at 1,001 miles for the year. Not the 4,000+ I was planning on at the beginning of the year but considering how the crash interrupted riding this year it's just good to be back out on the road.
Just five miles but it did wear me out more than I would have anticipated. Starting the ride seemed easy enough. Balance was fine, steering was a bit shaky. Needed to focus on where I wanted to go or would go off course a bit, couldn't look left/right much more than briefly or that would steer the bike unintentionally. Steering was fine once I recognized that. In the early part of the ride I was thinking I might get at least 100 miles in December if the roads stay clear. By the time I was back I was thinking it will take time to build up to a 20 mile ride and I'll be doing well to get in 50 miles more before the end of the year.
In any case I'm riding again. All I have to do now is keep doing it.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
A new souvenier and progress
Went back to the crash site a while ago and found some debris from the crash. This is the right lens from my riding glasses. From the marks on the lens I'm guessing two impacts, at least, to the lens. The first would be the scratches going more top to bottom. The second would be those going more right to left. How do I know? I don't, still don't remember anything. However the left to right scratches seem to go over the top to bottom scratches so they must have come second.
Considering how gouged it is I have no idea how my face didn't get scratched up. Nose, brow, cheek, chin, not a mark on them. A little bit on the right of the head where the temple from the glasses would have been but nothing else.
I've been back to work for three weeks now. Very limited duty. Two hours a day the first week. Three a day the second and it was supposed to be four a day the third. Wasn't quite up to it so did the third week at three hours a day. Next week will be four a day. Feel much better at the end of this week than felt at the end of last week. I'm pretty sure I'll make it through next week okay. May be wanting Friday to come a little early. But that'll be okay. That happened sometimes before I crashed.
Have been spending some time on my new trainer. Feels okay. Have done two twenty minute spins on it now. I'm thinking I'll be able to get out for a short ride before the end of November.
I'm thinking with the spinning on the trainer and exercises from therapy the ride will be, relatively, easy. The part that will really need some testing is balance. Will need to ride in the yard a bit to see how that goes. Between now and the end of the year I only need five miles to be over 1,000 miles. About a quarter of what I was anticipating around the time of the crash but at least it's four digits.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
One week in the bag
Been back at work a week now. Just two hours a day. Start three hours a day next week. It was more effort than I anticipated. Physically, by the end of the week, I was a bit worn down. Mentally it was challenging to be alert the whole time. I'm hoping that the extra hour a day next week won't be more taxing.
It's hard to get anything done in two hours a day. To think two hours a day is tiring is hard to imagine. Good incentive to stick with the doctor's orders and not try and stretch my time. The goal is to get back to full time not to burn myself out and fail at resuming a normal work schedule.
PT has been good. I'm doing some exercises that seem to be restoring some of my flexibility and stabilizing my back and neck. My hamstrings and back had really tightened up during the sedentary recovery. Using the exercises to get some flexibility back is helping increase comfort with everything I do.
The back and neck stabilization exercises are really helpful. Before, a few times a day, I would make some move that caused a pain between my shoulder blades like something in my spine was snapping into or out of place. That happens much less frequently now and that's a good thing.
Keep on trying to expand the envelope of things I can do. I took my old road bike out and rode it on the yard, with my helmet on. Very short ride, just half the length of the yard and back to the starting point. Balance was okay if a bit tentative. Certainly not ready to ride at road speed much less on the road. Position on the bike felt uncomfortable. Could definitely feel tightness in my back bending over the bars and weakness in my shoulders keeping my my head and neck up and steering.
That experience led to ordering a stationary trainer to put the bike in. I have rollers but there's no way I'd be safe riding on them. With the stationary trainer I'll at least be able to get on, spin my legs, build some leg strength and aerobic capacity and monitor my back and shoulders for improved comfort in the riding position.
Now I've got two things to focus efforts on. Mental stamina to be able to build back up to a regular work schedule and physical stamina to be able to get out and ride again. I've succeeded, if somewhat underwhelmingly, at getting started back at both. Now I'll just have to keep building on these first efforts.
It's hard to get anything done in two hours a day. To think two hours a day is tiring is hard to imagine. Good incentive to stick with the doctor's orders and not try and stretch my time. The goal is to get back to full time not to burn myself out and fail at resuming a normal work schedule.
PT has been good. I'm doing some exercises that seem to be restoring some of my flexibility and stabilizing my back and neck. My hamstrings and back had really tightened up during the sedentary recovery. Using the exercises to get some flexibility back is helping increase comfort with everything I do.
The back and neck stabilization exercises are really helpful. Before, a few times a day, I would make some move that caused a pain between my shoulder blades like something in my spine was snapping into or out of place. That happens much less frequently now and that's a good thing.
Keep on trying to expand the envelope of things I can do. I took my old road bike out and rode it on the yard, with my helmet on. Very short ride, just half the length of the yard and back to the starting point. Balance was okay if a bit tentative. Certainly not ready to ride at road speed much less on the road. Position on the bike felt uncomfortable. Could definitely feel tightness in my back bending over the bars and weakness in my shoulders keeping my my head and neck up and steering.
That experience led to ordering a stationary trainer to put the bike in. I have rollers but there's no way I'd be safe riding on them. With the stationary trainer I'll at least be able to get on, spin my legs, build some leg strength and aerobic capacity and monitor my back and shoulders for improved comfort in the riding position.
Now I've got two things to focus efforts on. Mental stamina to be able to build back up to a regular work schedule and physical stamina to be able to get out and ride again. I've succeeded, if somewhat underwhelmingly, at getting started back at both. Now I'll just have to keep building on these first efforts.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Back in the saddle
I spent two hours in the office Friday. First time there in three months! Felt strange. Didn't really get anything done in just two hours but did confirm I can do the commute and walk from the parking garage to the office and then the reverse when it's time to go.
The doctor is giving me very limited return to work. It was disappointing but after being there, and suffering a headache from the event, I'm thinking the doctor's approach is right. Imagine that!
Anyway I'm allowed two hours each day the first week, three hours per day the second week and so on until I'm back to a full time schedule. Also have been restricted from business travel until after I've been back seven weeks. As I said, a restricted schedule but seems to be the right thing.
I'm expecting the headache will stop happening on trips to the office shortly. That would mirror my other recovery experiences. Every new effort has been met by some headaches or other discomfort. As long as I persisted and kept at it the discomfort dissipated after just a few iterations of the new activity.
Received more opinions on the bumps on my temple. Spoke with an ENT and a neurologist. Both of them surmised they are aneurysms in a blood vessel that developed as a result of the crash. The neurologist scheduled follow up MRI and MRA to inspect and confirm. Then I go see a neurosurgeon with the result of those tests for confirmation of the diagnosis and determination what, if any, corrective action to take.
The doctor is giving me very limited return to work. It was disappointing but after being there, and suffering a headache from the event, I'm thinking the doctor's approach is right. Imagine that!
Anyway I'm allowed two hours each day the first week, three hours per day the second week and so on until I'm back to a full time schedule. Also have been restricted from business travel until after I've been back seven weeks. As I said, a restricted schedule but seems to be the right thing.
I'm expecting the headache will stop happening on trips to the office shortly. That would mirror my other recovery experiences. Every new effort has been met by some headaches or other discomfort. As long as I persisted and kept at it the discomfort dissipated after just a few iterations of the new activity.
Received more opinions on the bumps on my temple. Spoke with an ENT and a neurologist. Both of them surmised they are aneurysms in a blood vessel that developed as a result of the crash. The neurologist scheduled follow up MRI and MRA to inspect and confirm. Then I go see a neurosurgeon with the result of those tests for confirmation of the diagnosis and determination what, if any, corrective action to take.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy!!
I received the following in email today from the doctor who administered the neuropsychological test.
"Your report was faxed to Dr. M this morning. Your exam performance was quite strong throughout. I will call you within a few days with the details, but the basic conclusion is that there is no significant cognitive impairment at this time, and to consider a gradual return to work."
Thursday I expect to get the doctor's note that approves return to work, finally. Yehah.
fyi the title of this entry is a reference to dialog from Star Trek
"Your report was faxed to Dr. M this morning. Your exam performance was quite strong throughout. I will call you within a few days with the details, but the basic conclusion is that there is no significant cognitive impairment at this time, and to consider a gradual return to work."
Thursday I expect to get the doctor's note that approves return to work, finally. Yehah.
fyi the title of this entry is a reference to dialog from Star Trek
Most productive day yet
Over the past few months of recovery a few things have accumulated around the house. There's been the regular stuff that comes in the mail box which may or may not be related to the accident and then the stuff that's been picked up on the doctor visits. I've let it pile up at different spots in the house. A bit more than a week ago I decide to try and get it all in order. I put it all on my desk to file, toss, etc. as needed.
The mess sat on my desk until this past weekend. Late Sunday I spent about three hours going through everything and cleaning up my desk. I followed that up with about another hour of organizing Monday morning. The interesting part to me is the week it sat on my desk. During that week I somehow wasn't able to do the work to clear it off the desk. I don't know why I wasn't able to. I certainly looked at it often enough and thought about doing it. I just wasn't able to start doing the clean up. Then Sunday I was able to sit down and go to work on the mess.
As I've written here before it's only with hindsight that I'm able to recognize some of the deficits which I'm attributing to TBI. It's a really strange thing because at the time my perception is that things are normal. A week or two passes and I'm doing something I wasn't before and at that point I'm able to recognize that there was a deficit.
In essence I guess it could be described as changing reality day by day and week by week. One day I can't do something and it seems normal, the next week I can and that is the new normal. The good part of this is I haven't been able to tell when things aren't right. The problems might have really frustrated me otherwise. And the fact that there's been steady improvement probably helped keep me from recognizing I was stuck at something so I didn't have the time to recognize the difference and get discouraged. Of course the bad part is I'm a bit suspicious at this point when I'm not able to get right into doing something. Is it me or is it a result of TBI?
Anyway this week I'm feeling clearer than I have since becoming aware of the world again in the hospital. The really weird thing is every other day between then and now I thought I was clear. Its only with each new day that I can look back at prior days and recognize that I wasn't as clear as I thought. At some point these improvements will stop. But when, and how close am I to that point now? Recovering from cracking my head open has definitely been a very strange experience.
The mess sat on my desk until this past weekend. Late Sunday I spent about three hours going through everything and cleaning up my desk. I followed that up with about another hour of organizing Monday morning. The interesting part to me is the week it sat on my desk. During that week I somehow wasn't able to do the work to clear it off the desk. I don't know why I wasn't able to. I certainly looked at it often enough and thought about doing it. I just wasn't able to start doing the clean up. Then Sunday I was able to sit down and go to work on the mess.
As I've written here before it's only with hindsight that I'm able to recognize some of the deficits which I'm attributing to TBI. It's a really strange thing because at the time my perception is that things are normal. A week or two passes and I'm doing something I wasn't before and at that point I'm able to recognize that there was a deficit.
In essence I guess it could be described as changing reality day by day and week by week. One day I can't do something and it seems normal, the next week I can and that is the new normal. The good part of this is I haven't been able to tell when things aren't right. The problems might have really frustrated me otherwise. And the fact that there's been steady improvement probably helped keep me from recognizing I was stuck at something so I didn't have the time to recognize the difference and get discouraged. Of course the bad part is I'm a bit suspicious at this point when I'm not able to get right into doing something. Is it me or is it a result of TBI?
Anyway this week I'm feeling clearer than I have since becoming aware of the world again in the hospital. The really weird thing is every other day between then and now I thought I was clear. Its only with each new day that I can look back at prior days and recognize that I wasn't as clear as I thought. At some point these improvements will stop. But when, and how close am I to that point now? Recovering from cracking my head open has definitely been a very strange experience.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Stymied by health care customer 'service' again
I'm ready to get back to work. Really I am. Had an appointment last week where I took a full day neuropsychological evaluation. Have an appointment next week were a doctor is supposed to review the results of the evaluation and presumably approve my return to work.
During the test last week I spoke with the doctor about wanting to get back to work and the upcoming appointment to be cleared to do so. He acknowledged the appointment and promised to get the report to the next fellow in a few days.
The office of the doctor who's (hopefully) going to send me back to work called today. They haven't received the neruopsychological report. They said there's no use in keeping the appointment if they haven't gotten the report. If the appointment needs to be rescheduled that would probably mean at least a six week delay before I could see him! argh, argh, argh!!!
The doctor who was supposed to prepare it is away and can't be reached! Argh. I have his email and have sent an urgent request for him to prepare the report. Of course there's no way of knowing if he'll read his email while he's away. The one spot of hope I have in this is that the email address he gave me appears to be a personal address, not a business address. It's doctorsname@optonline.net. That seems like a personal email account, right?
During the test last week I spoke with the doctor about wanting to get back to work and the upcoming appointment to be cleared to do so. He acknowledged the appointment and promised to get the report to the next fellow in a few days.
The office of the doctor who's (hopefully) going to send me back to work called today. They haven't received the neruopsychological report. They said there's no use in keeping the appointment if they haven't gotten the report. If the appointment needs to be rescheduled that would probably mean at least a six week delay before I could see him! argh, argh, argh!!!
The doctor who was supposed to prepare it is away and can't be reached! Argh. I have his email and have sent an urgent request for him to prepare the report. Of course there's no way of knowing if he'll read his email while he's away. The one spot of hope I have in this is that the email address he gave me appears to be a personal address, not a business address. It's doctorsname@optonline.net. That seems like a personal email account, right?
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