I don't know if you've discovered the incredible range of videos available on YouTube, but I've recently discovered that there are thousands of hiking videos to watch.
In my previous life I was always out hiking or as I would describe it walking and exploring. I'm not sure how we connected with this, but it started with a video of walking pathways in the English Lake District, and I was hooked.
Mrs.F.G. watches videos on sewing and knitting, and I watch videos of paraplegics and the tricks they've developed to be comfortable. YouTube throws up other videos they think you might be interested in and that's how we started.
I soon searched for 'hiking the Appalachian Trail', and discovered in the process the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and of course our own Bruce Trail. I've now hiked the Appalachian Trail three times and I'm currently just finishing the El Camino pilgrimmage in Spain.
The best of these videos are taken with a head cam and leave you with the feeling that you're walking through the woods or climbing that mountain. They include the personal side of hiking, camping, cooking, and so forth that gives the video a really human feeling. I'm quite impressed with the quality of both photography and narration given that these are all amateur hikers taking a video as they go.
These are now a highlight of keeping myself amused along with reading a good book, in this strange time of social isolation. Just go to YouTube and search for whatever topic you like and see what you find!
Meanwhile here at home a drift of tiny crystals of white stuff just blew across the backyard and the golf course behind it. But thankfully the sun came out and the weather in about 30 seconds turned decent even though it's quite cold and windy.
Hope you're finding absorbing things to keep your days enjoyable!
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Fracture Clinic
We headed for Owen Sound yesterday to see the orthopaedic specialist. It turned out to be a fracture clinic that has a steady if small stream of new fractures coming through every day. The visit was quite quick and efficient. He said things were looking fine and we could simply maintain what we're already doing, keep the leg in a brace that holds it straight 24 hours a day for the next six weeks.
The hospital has what looks like a pretty secure system for keeping COVID19 patients separated from everyone else who arrives at the hospital, so we think we're safe.
Bloody nuisance this is though, especially trying to go through the doors in the house. I'm having a really difficult time positioning myself to get through those doors without damaging the door frames. Mrs. F.G. has tried various different combinations of padding to support my leg in the wheelchair. I now have a pillow, a board wrapped in an old pillowcase and a support piece enclosing some bubble wrap all under my leg. Thanks to her efforts I am reasonably comfortable.
I spend a fair bit of time sitting in front of the window reading and watching the birds that happen to be dropping by. There are two robins that come and entertain me outside the window every day, and a number of junkos, a song sparrow, and occasionally a chickadee, nuthatch or woodpecker. Of course the squirrels keep coming and have emptied the peanut feeder yet again.
We have discovered that the local nursery is selling plants for spring but not much more than pansies at this stage I think, but they have a system where you can phone in your order and go and pick it up by appointment so you have no interaction with any people. either staff or visitors. That's going to make Mrs. F.G. feel a lot better about her spring gardening efforts. She's just returned, so I'm off to see what she got.
Take care.
The hospital has what looks like a pretty secure system for keeping COVID19 patients separated from everyone else who arrives at the hospital, so we think we're safe.
Bloody nuisance this is though, especially trying to go through the doors in the house. I'm having a really difficult time positioning myself to get through those doors without damaging the door frames. Mrs. F.G. has tried various different combinations of padding to support my leg in the wheelchair. I now have a pillow, a board wrapped in an old pillowcase and a support piece enclosing some bubble wrap all under my leg. Thanks to her efforts I am reasonably comfortable.
I spend a fair bit of time sitting in front of the window reading and watching the birds that happen to be dropping by. There are two robins that come and entertain me outside the window every day, and a number of junkos, a song sparrow, and occasionally a chickadee, nuthatch or woodpecker. Of course the squirrels keep coming and have emptied the peanut feeder yet again.
We have discovered that the local nursery is selling plants for spring but not much more than pansies at this stage I think, but they have a system where you can phone in your order and go and pick it up by appointment so you have no interaction with any people. either staff or visitors. That's going to make Mrs. F.G. feel a lot better about her spring gardening efforts. She's just returned, so I'm off to see what she got.
Take care.
Monday, April 6, 2020
First Spring Sunset!
Mrs. F.G. captured our first sunset of the summer season the other day, taking a couple of shots from the deck and then walking out onto the golf course to get several more. Sadly, that's something I can no longer do, but she did a great job. The results were stunning. Enjoy.
From the golf course.
Meanwhile, life goes steadily on. My leg is in a zimmer brace which holds it more or less straight, though it hangs down at a bit of an angle in the wheelchair. It has reduced the swelling quite a bit already, and we see the orthopaedic surgeon tomorrow to see if anything else is necessary.
We are of course self isolating still, though I'm headed outside as soon as I finish this and will ride up and down the street if it's not too busy. My photography is severely limited now, so not sure what I'll do for blog posts, but we'll see.
I've now figured out the doors I need to get through in this new configuration, and I figured out how to position myself to use the dishwasher. Otherwise, I'm doing a lot of reading, watching the odd video, and still doing some limited exercising.
Outside Mrs. F.G. is slowly filling the planter boxes with gravel, mulch, manure and planting soil, so it will soon be time to update you on that. Our first crop will probably be some lettuces.
Take care and enjoy having time on your hands!
From the deck.
Meanwhile, life goes steadily on. My leg is in a zimmer brace which holds it more or less straight, though it hangs down at a bit of an angle in the wheelchair. It has reduced the swelling quite a bit already, and we see the orthopaedic surgeon tomorrow to see if anything else is necessary.
We are of course self isolating still, though I'm headed outside as soon as I finish this and will ride up and down the street if it's not too busy. My photography is severely limited now, so not sure what I'll do for blog posts, but we'll see.
I've now figured out the doors I need to get through in this new configuration, and I figured out how to position myself to use the dishwasher. Otherwise, I'm doing a lot of reading, watching the odd video, and still doing some limited exercising.
Outside Mrs. F.G. is slowly filling the planter boxes with gravel, mulch, manure and planting soil, so it will soon be time to update you on that. Our first crop will probably be some lettuces.
Take care and enjoy having time on your hands!
Saturday, April 4, 2020
The New Furry Gnome Garden Begins!
Our deck has been transformed by the addition of 4 large planter boxes, made at wheelchair height! We're both looking forward to creating a raised garden of flowers, herbs and hopefully a few veggies.
This is our deck before the new planters arrived.
The first one gets put in place.
And here they are; there's a 4th out of sight to the left.
These planters were all made for us at a Mennonite nursery, the Maxwell Nursery, over the winter. They were made to our specifications so I could access them in my wheelchair, all built of cedar and pine. All but one are 8 feet long and about 16" deep and wide. The fourth is shorter, allowing room on that side of the deck for my ramp.
And these are the raised beds at Parkwood Institute, the rehab hospital I spent two months in. That's where we got the idea. I'll be posting updates so you can see how these develop. Today is a bright sunny day, if still cool, so Mrs. F.G. is out there working on them, She's the horticulturalist in the family, so she's in charge. I will just be documenting her work!
Friday, April 3, 2020
I Broke My Leg!!
Yes, it's true. I broke my leg. Yes, even a paraplegic can break their leg. It's a long story which I will shorten for you.
A couple of weeks ago we were trying to do some stretches since I can't go to physio anymore. We were imitating the exercises my home physio had shown us. I stretched a little too far and crashed into Mrs. F.G. who was sitting directly in front of me to protect me. I crashed to the floor landing on my knees with my lower legs spread out awkwardly to the sides.
The story of getting me dragged back into the bedroom under the lift, lifted up into bed, and lifted back out into the wheelchair again is really not very exciting. But we did it.
In the days that followed my right knee swelled up. Not too surprising. And what could the doctors do about it anyway? I'm paralyzed!
After ten days some redness developed on the lower shin. This got the nurse in Mrs. F.G. worried. In fact that turned out to just be an insect bite, after I'd been sitting outside one day. Yes there are insects out and about already. And we still weren't anxious to head for the hospital during this pandemic!
But after a couple of more days we called my GP, who actually made a house call. He checked me over while I was sitting outside in the garage, and said we should order some tests to check it out and make sure nothing too serious like a blood clot was going on.
So yesterday we went over the 5 blocks to our small local hospital. But of course they wouldn't allow
Mrs.F.G. in, the hospital being in lockdown mode. At this point I feared she would begin to panic,
having always been there for me as my advocate. I was left alone to have the tests.
I was with the ultra-sound nurse for an hour and a half, then went to the x-ray room for five x-rays. At this point the technicians knew what was going on, but of course they couldn't tell me. They sent the x-rays to the radiologist in Owen Sound, and then he said he wanted to call my GP. I waited for the circle of consultations to go on, not knowing what was coming next, but beginning to wonder!
The report was that they wanted me to go across the hall to Emergency for the doctor there to see me in person. I was moved about 75 feet and then saw a nice young nurse who did the usual things like B.P., temperature and such, and asked the usual questions like cough?, fever?, been travelling? No, no, and no.
It was time to call Mrs. F.G. and let her know what was going on (after 2.5 hours), mostly telling her to stay calm. It was the beginning of a series of phone calls until I went home.
Eventually the doc came in and reassured me there was no blood clot, but oh, by the way, did you know about the fracture? !!!???
At this point I thought 'my life is one continuing comedy of medical adventures!' Remember, there
was no pain with this, even though I apparently had a broken leg, so I could afford to chuckle at this news.
The next three hours was spent waiting, begging for something to eat, waiting, seeing the doctor for 1minute, waiting, calling Mrs. F.G., and seeing the doctor again. He was now consulting with the
orthopaedic surgeon in Owen Sound and suggesting a screw to hold the broken piece of bone in place. He showed me a photo of the x-ray so I could see the fracture. It's the left front 'knuckle' at the bottom of my femur just above the knee.
They decided against surgery and ultimately I was sent home in a zimmer brace to try and keep my
leg a little imobilized. We'll see the surgeon on Tuesday for more details. It's making things a little awkward here at home. I can get though most of the doors I need to, but I can't load or unload the dishwasher. Yet more work for Mrs. F.G., while I get to sit in front of the window and read..
A couple of weeks ago we were trying to do some stretches since I can't go to physio anymore. We were imitating the exercises my home physio had shown us. I stretched a little too far and crashed into Mrs. F.G. who was sitting directly in front of me to protect me. I crashed to the floor landing on my knees with my lower legs spread out awkwardly to the sides.
The story of getting me dragged back into the bedroom under the lift, lifted up into bed, and lifted back out into the wheelchair again is really not very exciting. But we did it.
In the days that followed my right knee swelled up. Not too surprising. And what could the doctors do about it anyway? I'm paralyzed!
After ten days some redness developed on the lower shin. This got the nurse in Mrs. F.G. worried. In fact that turned out to just be an insect bite, after I'd been sitting outside one day. Yes there are insects out and about already. And we still weren't anxious to head for the hospital during this pandemic!
But after a couple of more days we called my GP, who actually made a house call. He checked me over while I was sitting outside in the garage, and said we should order some tests to check it out and make sure nothing too serious like a blood clot was going on.
So yesterday we went over the 5 blocks to our small local hospital. But of course they wouldn't allow
Mrs.F.G. in, the hospital being in lockdown mode. At this point I feared she would begin to panic,
having always been there for me as my advocate. I was left alone to have the tests.
I was with the ultra-sound nurse for an hour and a half, then went to the x-ray room for five x-rays. At this point the technicians knew what was going on, but of course they couldn't tell me. They sent the x-rays to the radiologist in Owen Sound, and then he said he wanted to call my GP. I waited for the circle of consultations to go on, not knowing what was coming next, but beginning to wonder!
The report was that they wanted me to go across the hall to Emergency for the doctor there to see me in person. I was moved about 75 feet and then saw a nice young nurse who did the usual things like B.P., temperature and such, and asked the usual questions like cough?, fever?, been travelling? No, no, and no.
It was time to call Mrs. F.G. and let her know what was going on (after 2.5 hours), mostly telling her to stay calm. It was the beginning of a series of phone calls until I went home.
Eventually the doc came in and reassured me there was no blood clot, but oh, by the way, did you know about the fracture? !!!???
At this point I thought 'my life is one continuing comedy of medical adventures!' Remember, there
was no pain with this, even though I apparently had a broken leg, so I could afford to chuckle at this news.
The next three hours was spent waiting, begging for something to eat, waiting, seeing the doctor for 1minute, waiting, calling Mrs. F.G., and seeing the doctor again. He was now consulting with the
orthopaedic surgeon in Owen Sound and suggesting a screw to hold the broken piece of bone in place. He showed me a photo of the x-ray so I could see the fracture. It's the left front 'knuckle' at the bottom of my femur just above the knee.
They decided against surgery and ultimately I was sent home in a zimmer brace to try and keep my
leg a little imobilized. We'll see the surgeon on Tuesday for more details. It's making things a little awkward here at home. I can get though most of the doors I need to, but I can't load or unload the dishwasher. Yet more work for Mrs. F.G., while I get to sit in front of the window and read..
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Rural Internet!!
I've read a lot about how the lockdown is affecting those who actually keep society running, but tend to be paid lower wages with fewer benefits more than others. I sincerely hope we can find a way after this is all over to better balance the rewards for doing all this vital work - the grocery clerks, delivery drivers, garbage collectors, and all the others who we take for granted all the time, the ones who are still out there keeping the important things in society running.
Another indication of disparity I read about today is the uneven quality of rural internet, creating a divide between urban and rural. This is one of my pet peeves as we've lived in a rural area and now a small town for ten years. There are all kinds of ways in which these areas get poorer service than large urban centres.
Now that schools have been closed here for a further month and the province has moved to provide on-line learning, this is especially critical.
Many students in rural areas will find themselves unable to even download photos, let alone participate in on-line discussions or download videos. In a lower income family with no computer the expectation that students staying at home will keep up with their classmates becomes ridiculous.
It is far beyond time that high-speed internet was available to all. The pandemic simply underscores all the unjustified disparities in our society and makes them worse!
Let's do something about it!
Another indication of disparity I read about today is the uneven quality of rural internet, creating a divide between urban and rural. This is one of my pet peeves as we've lived in a rural area and now a small town for ten years. There are all kinds of ways in which these areas get poorer service than large urban centres.
Now that schools have been closed here for a further month and the province has moved to provide on-line learning, this is especially critical.
Many students in rural areas will find themselves unable to even download photos, let alone participate in on-line discussions or download videos. In a lower income family with no computer the expectation that students staying at home will keep up with their classmates becomes ridiculous.
It is far beyond time that high-speed internet was available to all. The pandemic simply underscores all the unjustified disparities in our society and makes them worse!
Let's do something about it!
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Sunny Days!
It's bright and sunny out and the forecast shows more of the same all week! Finally a week that may feel like spring and allow me to get out for a ride every day. I have things to do, so I'll just entertain you with this beautiful sunrise from a few days back, thanks to Mrs. F.G., the photographer.
We woke to flashing lights, fire trucks and police this morning. turns out our neighbours had smelled smoke and called for help. They all dispersed before 8 o'clock, so I presume all is ok. Have a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)