Category: Blog

Scary times.
I’m 60 and diabetic so I am at high risk of ending up in the hospital and on a respirator. I’m also high risk for dying.
Frankly, I don’t want to take up resources a younger person might need, especially if those resources are in shortage. I don’t want to be unconscious in a hospital where my husband can’t visit. Of course that time when you are on the vent, is the best time to visit, but there are a few days after where company is nice.
I have talked about the possibility of having it with my primary care physician. Back in February and today. Both times he said my respiratory symptoms are my normal spring pollen symptoms and at this time he doesn’t recommend testing.
Here’s the deal: They have their own lab, so if he doesn’t think I need to be tested, I don’t need to be tested.
I didn’t put it as this succinctly, but a friend did. The virus is just like Schrödinger’s cat.
You can get tested and be positive. But that could be a false positive. You can positive and not have symptoms. You can be positive and have symptoms.
If you don’t have symptoms, you should self quarantine for 2-3 weeks. If you do have symptoms, you should treat the symptoms and self quarantine for 2-3 weeks.
You can get tested and be negative. It could be a false negative. At the moment, I’m in Texas and Dallas County and my movements are restricted. Basically in quarantine for 2-3 weeks. You could get the virus two days after you get tested — see above.
I do think that shutting things down enough so that every one is quarantined for 2-3 weeks. I do think this is something we’re going to have to live with. I think the things we have done have not only allowed the virus to stop circulating is also allowing the flu virus to stop circulating.
We’re going to be wearing face masks for a while, and that when we see a community outbreak, we’re going to have to shut down community down for a 2-3 week.

<whew!>

No more DME for my diabetes care.  No more 90 day supply.

Dexcom G6 sensors: check

Omnipod Dash: check

Insulin: of course

Ozepic: of course

Test strips: them too

I can't tell you how much nicer it is to be able to go to your local CVS and pick up your diabetes supplies.  No more UPS, no more FEDEX.  It shows up too hot, the pharmacy deals with it.

Not only that but if I travel, I can get it filled at a local to that location too.

Now they don't keep them in stock, and it typically takes a business day to get them, but I can live with that.

Seriously, when I drove to Boston this year and needed insulin, I was able to pick it up in Sikeston, Missouri.  When I needed a new transmitter for my Dexcom G6, I was able to get that in Acton, Massachusetts.  It makes traveling so much easier when you don't have to pack everything for the full trip but can get what I needed on the road.

I haven’t said much about it because I am so discouraged.

On May 2, I was getting ready for a dog show and fell hard.  I literally couldn’t get up and had to crawl to a chair and pull myself up.  Husband brought me the crutches and I just couldn’t use them.  It was late in the day and I was in denial so waited and did xrays the next day.

Good news, nothing was broke and it wasn’t any thing an orthopedic surgeon could fix.  I got a Physical Therapy appointment as quickly as possible, and worked with them from May until mid July.  I stopped when I wasn’t making any more progress.

At that point, I was walking with a limp which wears me out, or using a walker.

On the good news front, I’ve found a walker that looks good and I can show Obi with.  I have good and bad days. Yesterday I walked into the gym and Nordstrom’s — today I used the walker.  

My orthopedic surgeon wanted me off anti-inflammatories, but my primary care physician wants me to do them for another month.

At this point I am planning to go to the National Specialty and the dog is entered, but it depends on how the regional speciality in Iowa goes.  

I fell on May 2.  I'm still going to PT and we think I have 3 more weeks to go.

Yesterday I had Physical Therapy at noon, and then went to conformation class with Obi.  Everything was easier but 6" steps and standing are still kicking my butt.

I was able to move Obi well enough on the down and back, but I'm still slow moving him around the outside of the ring.  The Dallas shows are the first weekend of July, and  I am planning on taking my walker, as it's easier to sit and position him than it is to squat and position him.  

The day after PT, I'm doing the pool.  I find that I just ache the next day, and being in the pool helps.  I do as many of the at home exercises I can in the pull, especially balance and standing.

Still have lots of odd pains in my leg.  Most my butt, the band of tissue above the knee, and knee pain when I'm tired.  Unfortunately about 5 steps makes me tired.

I'm learning to take the afternoon off after PT, and to take the next day off.  Today, I am starting to work hard on standing since I can't stand on the right leg only.

The good news, is that I have now met my maximum out of pocket, and I was pain free working out on the bike yesterday.  I was having pain when fully extending that leg.

Also, I was able to do all the exercises that the PT people threw at me on Friday.

Every day is a bit better.

This should be 5 weeks since I fell.

I went to dog agility.  The drive didn't bother me as much — some of the rougher roads as I got close but not like last time.

I parked halfway between the PortaPotty and the door to the barn.  EE had lots of chairs spread out, which was really nice.  We started out by sitting and talking and ended that way.

We did some nice distance work but man, does Summer have trouble focusing there.

I can just imagine what will happen at a trial.

The best news:  I was almost walking!

I will admit some serious frustration with the office staff at my optometrist office so I dropped into an EyeLab  

Is remote optometrist a thing now?  She could have been in India.  The video connection between us was working but the actual device wasn't and I had trouble making people understand that.  

After an hour of their game, I left, let them know I would not be back. They better have not filed an insurance claim.  

I’m almost walking, and I’m walking just a bit better each day.

I’m doing 5 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the recumbent bike, and all the exercises the PT people have me do.

I am going to PT twice a week.  Each time I go in, they tell me I’m doing better.  Then they give me something I can’t do and I get frustrated.  They send me home, aching, and aching the next day.  Two days after, I start feeling good again.

It’s been a month — seems longer, I was thinking it was 6 weeks last week.  

The last time I used assistance to walk was to go to dog class.  I knew that walking through the building would wear me out.  I was able to do about half of class, so that wasn’t bad.  

I give myself a major walking goal most days.  

I feel better, writing this, as I just realized it wasn’t as long as I thought.

It’s been three weeks and three days since I fell.

I’m walking but it wears me out and I limp badly.

I did 5 minutes on treadmill today.

I’ve had days when my knee ached, and that makes me scared I need a knee replacement.  Most days, I have pain in my glutes, and the muscle just about my knee and below, but not the knee itself.

I’m faithfully doing rehab exercises.

Here’s the deal.  Each day, I get about 10% better than the day before.  Note that doesn’t add up to 100% better.   But since I’m 10% better, I do 10% more effort, leaving me tired and frustrated at the end of the day.  

Rinse, Shampoo, repeat.

I have to ask the physical therapists if I am better, because I don’t feel it.

I went to physical therapy on Friday.

We came up with a plan for the dog show.  Basically, I’d use the rolling walker (rollator) when I was setting up the dogs, putting them on the table, etc. but lose it to show their gate.

Apparently I did way too much.

First, they wanted Summer to be shown by a junior but she was not having it and went into full blown snit.  I ended up going in the ring with her, because we didn’t have time to let someone else show her.

She did make friends again with Martha—owner of Summer’s father.  

On Sunday, it was decided that Martha was going in with Summer and Ann was taking Obi in.

Good news, we got the same result.

I was exhausted, and wasn’t up to arguing with anyone, but did manage to move both dogs around at the same time with the rollator.

On Saturday night, my knee was itching and most of the day Sunday. I woke up today with it aching.  Cleaned out the car, got to the grocery store and picked up two easy meals, did lunch and went to physical therapy, iced and rested it the rest of the day until dinner time.  I managed to make dinner, though it wasn’t hard.  Salmon in the oven, veggies in the microwave.

I’m the best I’ve been now which is great because I was totally discouraged during PT.