Today is 3-14 the annual celebration of Pi day. (Mmm, pie)
By a happy coincidence, my daughter-in-law Irene’s maiden name is also Pi, so she gets a shout out too.
In my post a couple of days ago I mentioned that Kate and I would be traveling to the Aulani Disney Resort in Hawaii in April. Sis replied asking if I would be there over my birthday (April 21st) and reminiscing about being stationed at Naval Airstation Barbers Point back in the mid-70’s. She closed with “I wish I was going with you!”
I answered her “No, we’re going for Apr 9 through 11. I remember coming out to visit you at least once at Barbers Point. Any chance you could get sprung? We could cover your costs if you could go AWOL.”
Less than 10 minutes later I received a Facetime call from Sis. After confirming that I was serious we discussed how we could meet up in Denver for our noon flight. I then called Kate to alert her about the change. I got on the United Airlines website and booked another ticket and changed our seat locations. By 10:00pm we had booked and changed our travel arrangements.
Since we are looking at checking out the changes in Barbers Point and elsewhere on Oahu, I decided to spring for a rental car. It will also make it easier to get over to Aulani from the airport. Looking at Google Maps there are a lot more freeways, but some things look the same. Kaena Point is still unpaved and labelled as a hiking trail. It was unpaved in the early 70’s but mostly passable for the adventurous, but if you got your vehicle stuck it would have cost thousands to get it out. Nu’Uanu Pali still overlooks the Kaneohe Marine base and the Northeast side of the island.
One of the issues from my physical in February was my weight (and subsequently A1C). So I’ve gotten back on the intermittent fasting wagon. I’ve also gotten back on the water walking. Like today I got up at 7:45am or so and went immediately to Casper Aquatic Center and walked a mile or so and came back home for a cup of coffee and breakfast. I cut off eating about 4:00pm or so and just suffer through the evening. So far, I have lost about 10 pounds since my high of 253.6 at the end of February. My goal is to get down to somewhere in the vicinity of 220 by May when the PCP wants me back in for and A1C check.
It has been a month since my last update and things are winding down back to somewhat normal. I will try to update you all my current state.
I got definitive proof that I do NOT have Alzheimer’s Disease (at least as of now). I had a lumbar puncture (Spinal Tap) to look for specific proteins that leak into the spinal fluid and the result was negative. Sometime later this year or the next they will have a blood test for the same kinds of protein to monitor it on an ongoing basis. It made last quarter an exciting period of time but I’m glad that it’s over.
My right ankle has healed from spraining it (stepped in a hole in the back yard of the C-cans). When I went in for a Podiatry appointment about two weeks later and the doctor expressed concern about increased blood flow that added to the swelling and the perception of warmth in the ankle. The concern was for Charcot Syndrome which results in your ankle collapsing. The correction was to finally start wearing knee high compression stockings. Lindsay had worn them (thigh high) for the last several years for the same circulation issues. Two or three days later the swelling was down significantly and the follow up with the podiatrist went great. From the 6 page full report:
Assessment & Plan Problems 1. Diabetic foot E11.8 2. Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hyperglycemia, without long-term current use of insulin E11.65 3. Polyneuropathy associated with underlying disease G63 4. Generalized edema R60.1 5. Nail dystrophy L60.3 6. Tinea unguium B35.1 7. Sprain of anterior talofibular ligament of right ankle, subsequent encounter S93.491D Plan Diabetic patient with right ankle sprain concerning for potential Charcot event with improvement in temperature and swelling from prior visit. No changes in right ankle compared to left side today. Recommended continued monitoring. He will continue to limit his activity. He will continue with compression socks. Discussed follow-up in 1 month with repeat imaging. He will follow-up sooner if recurring swelling or heat to the ankle. He will continue with good blood sugar control. He will monitor and follow-up. All questions answered.
A week later I had a rather uncomfortable conversation with my PCP at my regular 6 month physical. Jen Wagy had been gently advocating for compression stockings for the last year that I had been ignoring. All of a sudden, I showed up in compression hose and there were several axes of contention – Male Doctor vs Female Nurse Practitioner, etc. We left it as it is good that I am using compression hose.
Other than that, things are generally good with the signal exception that my A1C has crept up to 6.5 along with my weight. She expressed that maybe it was time to go back on medication (metformin). I expressed confidence that if I got my weight back down to 230-220 lbs from the current 252 lbs that the A1C would go down. She agreed to let me try, but set the deadline at May 28th, a couple of days after Memorial Day. So I am back to intermittent fasting, restricting my eating to mostly protein between about 9:00am-3:00pm. I am also going back to water walking at the Casper Aquatic Center three days a week. For those of you who want to dig into the ugly details, the actual report is below:
One thing Jen suggested was getting a DexaScan to measure bone density. It’s of more concern for women, but good to get a baseline for elderly gentlemen. Again, a couple of days later I went into the Radiology Clinic on the first floor, and it was 20 minutes in and out. The report is below:
Kate visited from Feb 23rd-Mar 1 and we actually got some significant things accomplished. First up was the stairs up to Jan & Mike’s house:
The ties are actually 8′ lengths of 4×4″ plastic cut into thirds. After placing they are staked down by 3′ or 4′ sections of 1/2″ rebar. I added the lights I had hanging around and the finished work is as shown below. The plan is to let the spring rains settle the earth on the slope and when Jon comes out this summer add the handrails (set in concrete) and pea gravel.
Contrary to what was alleged, the second step was not set to intentionally trip Jon’s OCD.
The other major project was to get some 2×3 sections of shelving from Menard’s to help clean off the island. It and the table had accumulated misc tools, liquor bottles and assorted stuff. We set up first one, then went back to Menards to get the last one in stock to finish off.
They are set up on the wall across from the island in the putative dining room. A view of the cleaned off island is below:
The last project we accomplished was replacing the UPS system that protected the Starlink system. It tripped off a couple of times while Kate was working here. It was easy to reset, but Kate offered to split a replacement from Best Buy. We went down and bought a slightly updated one of the same kind that we had. It went in with no issues, but the instructions showed how to remove/replace the 2 12vdc batteries. I checked Amazon and they were $81.00, but I checked at Batteries & Bulbs in town (on Second St) and got the last two in stock for $78.95. I brought them home and installed them, so I now have a UPS for the laptops in the office.
That resolved most of the medical issues I had. Next month I go back for a repeat set of X-rays of my feet and ankles and in May I have the follow up on my weight/A1C. Also, next month Kate and I are going to Hawaii for 4 days to visit Disney Aulani Resort. It’s to burn off a few vacation points that will otherwise expire. It’s located over by the former Barber’s Point Naval Air Station so it will be interesting to see the changes from the early 70’s.
