Eleven Degrees and Sunny

My wheels for this summer

Today has been a productive day...so far anyway.  I worked at BACC this morning, visited a few potential members and then came home.  Had a few minutes to dig in a flower bed and get some of the crud left from last fall pulled and removed.  Now I am trying to organize two newsletters and several blogs and articles. Hopefully, I don't post the same article several times to the same blog:-)

Today has been a good day in another sense.  I left home this morning without my cane. While I haven't been using it much lately, I have been taking it and leaving it in my vehicle while I am in the office. But not today, I forgot it at home and you know, I didn't need it. Another milestone. Yippee!! I have lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks and my knee doesn't hurt very much, so life is good.

Guest Speaker for Arthritis Society

For the past three years I have been a guest speaker for the Arthritis Society, Nova Scotia branch.  This is volunteer and not overly demanding.  I am provided with a talk outline, brochures and information and my part is to show up and make the presentation. This have been very rewarding.  I have had the opportunity to meet several people and to hear their stories and in a few cases I hope I have been able to offer information and suggestions that has lead to a less painful life. 

In the next few weeks I will be taking part in two Senior's Academies organized by the Liverpool detachment of the RCMP.  Linda W does a great job of finding locations and participants.  The Academy is usually held over a six week period with a couple of hours a week, and I am invited to speak for an hour or so on Arthritis.  Linda has worked her magic and has two more sessions organized one in April and another in May/June.  The expectation is that there will be three or four dozen people at the two sessions. Great initiative for the community.

I am looking forward to dusting off the old binder of material, getting my handouts organized and meeting some great folks. 

Volunteering truly does reward the volunteer.

Bowling, Arthritis and Hair

My husband and I have just returned from the bowling alley where we bowled three stings.  This is a major accomplishment since we haven't bowled for probably a year.  This is the first time out since my hip replacement and it felt good.  I had an average of 83 for the three stings...not great but I'll take it. This is definitely something that I will want to do again...soon.

Yesterday afternoon I was part of a team of two who made a two hour presentation on Arthritis to the residents of Drummind Hills (spelling?)  That was the first time I had worked with that material and with the co-presenter...it went well. There are a few things I would change but all in all, I am having a good week.  Getting out and about, getting things done and moving on.

And I have a hair appointment for tomorrow.

Where does the time go?

Past the mid point in March, almost a quarter of our new year is gone. And I am not sure what I have to show for the time.  Certainly I have not accomplished as much as I had hoped to. Maybe my expectations are too high or maybe I am letting valuable time and effort get chewed up with non productive things. 

I have a six month check next week for the hip replacement surgery that I had in late September. Doesn't seem like six months. While I am still working on strengthening muscles in my legs, I have no pain in the hip joint and I am looking forward to a summer full of movement without pain.  My knee is another story, waiting for the call to have that operation.


Snow is almost gone, of course it is early yet and we could get more...but as my mother always said "It can't last when it comes in March or April"  I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

The air smells like spring, although I am still looking for the first robin. Soon.

Icy Roads and the Sand Truck in the Ditch

We live in cottage country, a semi retirement community with private winding, hilly, dirt roads. The association that collects our money and hires road maintenance contractors has a dilemma...the truck that was sanding our icy roads yesterday slipped into the ditch and there it remains 30 some hours later. No backup plan, no snowplow digging out the sand truck, nothing. There it sits.  Thankfully spring is only a few weeks away so maybe the truck will be functioning by then. Or then again, maybe not.

Oh the joys of country living.

Six month Check Up

Yesterday's mail brought the notice for my six month followup since my hip replacement surgery.  The appointment is a month away but even so, it has been five months since I have had my surgery.  Things are certainly a lot better, there is such a big improvement. No pain in the hip joint. I am still working on mobility, I expect everything to be perfect but I have to do the physio exercises, which I neglect often, and I have to work hard to continue reducing my weight and building endurance. All easy if you say it fast but all take concentration and effort.  Sometimes too much effort at the end of a long and tiring day.

This past week has included an eleven hour workday, followed the next day with a funeral for a distant cousin's wife. Emotionally and physically demanding for me. But I have bounced back, I am looking forward to a four day weekend at home, true two days will be work days in my home office, but I enjoy my home office and wish I could work from here everyday.

So what do I want to achieve before my six month check up?  Lose at least another five pounds, Do my exercises everyday for the required number of repetitions and to get the rest my body needs and demands.

The six month check up will also be a chance to discuss getting my knee replacement surgery done sooner rather than later.

Fisherman's Memorial Hospital -- Emergency Room Changes

The Lunenburg Hospital is one of those selected for the changes to emergency room procedures.  There will be fewer doctors on staff but they will remain on call. The hospital in Lunenburg has had continuous problems staffing the emergency room.  There are of course rumors about doctors living in Bridgewater and not wanting to work nights in a hospital 20 minutes away, there is a conspiracy theory and other pieces of incomplete or misinformation. But the fact remains things are changing.

Nova Scotia cannot afford to do the same old, for very much longer so changes are welcome. The concern is always that government ministers think things through before making changes that are difficult to reverse.  For example over 10 years ago, the government of the day, decided to give regions more voice in health care and this was accomplished by creating more health authorities with the all the administration and expense that entails. We can't afford that type of top heavy system and now the work is underway to try and streamline and consolidate functions so they will be more cost effective.

Will it work?  Only time will tell. But change is needed, care needs to improve and costs need to be kept affordable...well at least manageable.

Nova Scotia's Heatlh Care System ... More Problems

thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9019774.html

Halifax police investigate homicide at nursing home

By DAN ARSENAULT Crime Reporter
Tue, Feb 8 - 12:49 PM
Halifax’s latest homicide victim is a 92-year-old woman who died Saturday, almost four weeks after she was pushed and fell at the hands of another resident of her nursing home.

The woman succumbed to her injuries at Arborstone Enhanced Care Nursing Home on Purcells Cove Road after a Jan. 7 incident involving her and another elderly female resident, according to a statement from Shannex, the company that owns the home.

The Shannex statement said the victim and the woman who allegedly pushed her were both in their dementia unit and that neither woman had a history of aggression. The injured woman went to hospital for 11 days before her return to Arborstone.

“We investigated the incident fully at the time of the occurrence and determined that the cause of the fall was unpredictable and not something that the staff could have prevented,” the statement said.

Despite the decision to rule the case a homicide – which was made by the province's medical examiner – police have decided not to detain the woman they think contributed to the other woman’s death.

“At this time there’s no believed risk to the public or other residents,” regional police spokesman Const. Brian Palmeter said Tuesday.

The Halifax Regional Police/RCMP integrated major crime unit will investigate. They first heard of the incident after the woman’s death.

“Given the circumstances around the death and the circumstances around the people involved in the incident, there’s a question whether or not criminal culpability exists,” Palmeter said.

A number of factors can play a role in determining criminal culpability, he said.

“One potential one is somebody’s mental condition at the time of the incident. Another one is whether or not self-defence is an issue. Essentially what we have to determine is whether or not the incident on Jan. 7 rises to the level of a criminal offence and then whether or not the person is ultimately responsible for the incident”

According to their website, Arborstone has space for 190 clients, which include seniors requiring nursing home care and young adults with special needs.

In a media session held mid-afternoon Tuesday, Health Minister Maureen MacDonald expressed remorse and concern about the incident.

“It’s a very sad situation … and we will gather extensive information.”

She said the department's critical incident policy will be followed to gather information and determine if proper procedures were followed.

“We will examine it very closely to learn what, if anything, we need to change.”

MacDonald said she’s spoken with family members of the victim, but she declined to say if they are considering any legal action over the killing.

Police didn’t release the victim’s name, but The Chronicle Herald has learned that it is Pauline Ethel Hartling, whose husband of 46 years (Ken Hartling) died just over a week before Jan. 7.

They had no children and both of them worked as school teachers.

Members of her family declined to comment Tuesday.

Pain Can Make You Grumpy

I have had arthritis pain, constant and deep in my joints, for so long I had forgotten about the lighter things in life. That fact was brought home to me yesterday, when a work acquaintance told me that my outlook seemed to have changed, I was upbeat and energized, contributing positive comments to discussions.  And it hit me...I had seriously let the pain in my joints make me into a pain, negative and doom and gloom.  The acquaintance contributed the change in me to some changes in my work environment, but I know that isn't it, the change is because I am not using all my positive energies to cope with throbs and aches.  Well, not as many of them anyway. My knee still aches and throbs at times, but I can usually walk without it constantly paining which I haven't been able to do for years with my aching hip. 

I think I knew this on some level but it is never easy to admit that you may not be able to handle everything in life well, especially for an old control freak like me.

So I have once again realized that no matter how miserable I feel, it isn't my right to take that out on everyone in the surrounding area. They deserve my respect and my best and if I can't give that, they deserve my absence until I can.

Let's see how long this will last.

January Blahs

January always seems to be a long cold month. It features the letdown from the Holiday season, the extra pounds picked up during the binge eating over Christmas and of course the prospect of resolutions and keeping or breaking them.  My mood becomes more prickly than usual and I moan and groan about small insignificant things, I know it is happening but can't seem to stop myself.

One thing that does cheer me up is looking at sunny summertime pictures. I thought I would share a few...they might cheer you up as well.

Beautiful LaHave River

Outside of Bridgewater NS

Wild Apple Blossoms along the LaHave River in Spring 2010

The ''Old'' Ferry before it was replace in 2010

Healthy Workplace, healthy workers

More and more we are hearing how stress can impact the health of individuals. Some of that stress may be generated at work, but in tough economic times financial concerns can also generate a lot of stress. This stress carries into the workplace.

A few of the symptoms of stress are:

• Irritability
• Lack of appetite or Overeating
• Lack of energy
• Lack of interest  in people and events
• Physical illness, stomach upset, headaches, muscle aches and pains
• and the list goes on. 

Business owners can offer some help and support to employees through an employment assistance program that offers counseling of various kinds. This may be provided through a group insurance benefit package.

January and February are often difficult months because of the reduced hours of daylight and the let down after the holiday season. New years resolutions are often forgotten by the third or fourth week of the new year and this can lead to despondency. 

Simple things in the workplace can encourage workers to improve their health. For example a walking program can be organized where all workers are encouraged to track how many steps they take each day. Or a weight loss group can be organized during a lunch hour or before work. The employer can provide the scales and ask three or four interested workers to help with the organizational tasks.  For example TOPS has a great workplace program that anyone can join for $ 30.00 a year membership. Details can be found at
http://www.tops.org/default.aspx

Employers have a responsibility to encourage their employees to be healthy...healthy workers help build a healthy workplace with fewer accidents, fewer sick days, and better morale. 

Getting on with 2011

I have spent the first three weeks of 2011 wishing and thinking. Now is the time for doing.

Physiotherapy is Finished

The weekly visits to the hospital's physiotherapy department have finished but the exercises and the challenges of getting my strength and flexibility in my leg muscles is an ongoing challenge. I can feel improvement and for that I am thankful.

The structure of my work week has changed. I am now working Tues, Wed and Thurs each week, and Wed is working from home. So only two trips into the office most weeks. I am actually looking forward to the change of getting out of the office and visiting the chamber's members and calling on businesses to get them signed up as members. The plan is for that to be 3 to 4 hours a week. So my real in office time will only be 1.5 days if that. Meeting time for committees or board meetings reduces that office time even further.

January is always a hard month for me. Short days with limited sunlight and winter well settled in with its grip on almost everything I do. On a positive note, January is half over and we have had only one snow storm so far this winter. Last night and today are above freezing temps so a lot of that snow fall has melted, hopefully more will go before the -5 to -10 night temps return. 

All in all, January has been good so far. I am looking forward to 2011 and everything it will offer.

Super Day

Today was a day of change and hurry up and wait. I awoke at 5:00 a.m. so got up and started working on the BACC newsletter, finalizing it for mailing to our list.  The next "must do" was a trip to Liverpool for my physiotherapy appointment and I got the good news that I have made a lot of progress in just three days. That was definitely encouraging. Then into Bridgewater for lunch, errands and then home. The trees along the way were covered with a light dusting of snow, grey overcast skies and the feeling of winter in the air. I took a few pictures for "my photo journal" that I am keeping on another of my blogs http://artisticpreneur.blogspot.com..  I am having some fun with the photographs and I am starting to "see" my surroundings. 

I will be working 20 hours a week for the next few weeks, not a significant reduction in my existing hours which works well for me. I am looking forward to having my job description defined so I know what is expected.

All in all a good day so far.  Oh, the traffic to my blogs is starting to increase.

January 5, 2011

Tuesday morning was my first physiotherapy appointment in 2011 and my first appointment with Donna who will now be my go to person. My back has been sore for four or five days, tight and painful to do simple things like walking. I had stopped my exercises as they seemed to be aggravating the problem and I wasn't sure if that is what I should have done, so I was a bit apprehensive about the appointment.

It only took Donna about 15 seconds to figure out what was wrong and what had caused it. Seems the muscles in the hip area should be both strong and flexible. Mine are neither. My exercises were to build strength but I hadn't been doing anything to increase the flexibility so my back was taking the brunt of a lot of my moving activities. So now I am back to some really basic stuff to help improve flexibility. I have an idea that it will take me as long to learn to walk correctly this time as it did when I was a toddler and anxious to explore the world from an upright position.

I have another appointment for Friday am.  Two appointments a week, for a while. Oh joy! However, I will do what is required to get my old body whipped into the best shape it can manage. 

Back to the Future

Well back to work and normal routine. It certainly has been great having a few days out of the office, although I have spent part of most days in my home office at my own computer, writing blogs, newsletters and catching up on a training CD development project. But today is another clean slate and I am off to the physiotherapist for an 8:00 am appointment and then to work.

I sprained/twisted my back (self diagnosed) and have been having some pain and discomfort, hopefully my exercises this morning won't aggravate the situation. Seems to be more in the back area than in the hip which is a blessing...don't want anything to happen to that bionic hip.

It will be interesting to see what this year will bring. I am looking forward to some changes, house renovations or improvement, and some fun, short mini vacations and maybe getting plans underway for a can trip to Vancouver Island and return. Not this year probably 2012 or spring of 2013. But there is a lot to do before then.

I will find out about my work hours later this week or early next week.  I also need to find time (make time) to get to the quilting projects that I want to get developed. And of course it is good to be blogging about business topics on a sister blog.

Life is good and getting better!

Doing the Same Thing Doesn't Work

I have been a faithful member of TOPS for four years.  In that time I have managed to lose a few pounds but I have also gotten caught up in the trappings of the organization.  By that I mean I volunteered to be an area captain, for several reasons, and while I did enjoy most of the experience I have resigned from that volunteer position.  The expectations were high, my own and the organization's. I have always felt that if I am to commit to something I must meet all the requirements and I came to the realization that I would never be able to meet all the expectations that were part of that position. Not that the TOPS organization was complaining, they weren't. But I didn't feel I could accomplish what the position needed.


There is also the expectations of the weekly meetings.  It isn't a matter of going and getting weighed, having a discussion about how to improve the next week.  Our chapter spends a lot of time as a group.  There is the annual 10 Km walk, which because of severe arthritis I haven't been able to participate in. There are the cute phrases, I've been a bad girl this week.  For pete's sake we are all seniors so what is it with the bad girl phrase.  Just because someone ate a piece of pie that doesn't make them a bad anything. Christmas parties are centred around food...a meal at a restaurant and a pot luck.

The conclusion that I have finally reached is that doing the same thing and expecting different results is a sign of insanity. I know that isn't original but it does apply to me and my weight loss/weight control efforts to date. Maybe giving myself time to feel good about who I am and what I am will go a long way to helping me control my weight.  Gee you think?

2011 will be an exciting year. I am ready for new ideas, and new experiences.  New books, new hobbies and new friends.Of course, there are many friends that I want to keep and that I hold very dear, they are important to me.  It will be interesting to see how this new year unfolds.

A new Chance

The end of a year is always a time of reflection and sometimes there are regrets and sometimes there is the feeling of accomplishment.  2010 has been a hurry up and wait kind of year for my husband and I.  First there was a scare that his cancer might have returned, so we hurried to get his blood work, only to wait on the results and specialist appointments. And we had good news, changes to the lab reporting system and changes to the labs were responsible for the changes in the numbers.  A big sigh of relief.

And then the phone call to tell me my hip operation was scheduled.  I had waited so long that I think I had forgotten there would actually be an operation. The feeling of relief to be within days of the operation was off set by the concerns of what could and might go wrong.  Feelings of doubt and almost panic. But the sense of reason returned and off to the hospital I went and I had the operation in late September.  I have mended well. With the help of a physiotherapist my walk is almost acceptable to my surgeon and I am feeling stronger and more confident every day.  And no pain in the hip joint.

Now I wait for the knee replacement surgery that will probably take another 16 to 18 months for me to make my way up the waiting list.

This fall has been especially sad with the passing of several friends, relatives and neighbours.  In the space of four short months, eight people that we knew or knew of passed away.  Some were almost expected, although that doesn't make it easier for those left to mourn, some were shocks and completely unexpected.  Unfortunately two were friends from our days in Manitoba so we didn't get the chance to pay our respects although our thoughts are with their families.

With the new year just hours away, I am filled with a feeling of anticipation.  Much like a writer feels when looking at a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen. A clean slate that I can control what goes on it and what gets left off.

Our health care system is still limping along.  There has been an announcement by the Provincial Govt that there will be changes to the ER's throughout the province.  Early days yet, but hopefully the changes will increase the access to health care professionals which is so badly needed. 

I have started another blog: http://toptensforbusinesses.blogspot.com/  It deals with lists of tips and pointers for small business owners or managers.  Hopefully, it will be useful and informative.

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2011.

Three month Check Up

On Dec 22 I had my three month followup appointment following my hip replacement surgery. And as much as I have complained about the physiotherapy it has done its job, I am walking much better and usually without my cane. I got a good report re the hip joint and don't need to go for another appointment until late March. Life may be getting back to normal.

I really appreciate having access to a walker and other items during my recovery through the Red Cross. They have a branch office in Bridgewater and we were able to pick the items up there and return them three months later. And the cost was a voluntary donation to the Red Cross. A really great service.

No pain in the left hip and only occasionally in the right knee. I had an injection in the knee while I wait to work my way up another waiting list.

Everything Takes Time

The last three months have been a physical and emotional rollercoaster for me. I had been on a waiting list for hip replacement surgery for what seemed like forever. But it was actually 20 months, a normal wait time here in Nova Scotia. Is that acceptable? Not when you are suffering pain everyday with everything you do. But that is the fact 20 to 24 months.

The good news...I finally got the phone call saying I was scheduled for surgery. The very first feeling was relief and then trepidation. What would be the outcome. Of course friends and business associates had all shared the horror stories of people that had chosen the operation only to have it fail miserably. But I knew that I could not continue as I was. In pain and slowly deteriorating, my physical activities decreasing and my attitude feeling the pain as well.

The operation way Sept 29th, a success, I was home on Oct 2nd. The next few weeks were a strain on my limited patience. I wanted to be out and about and doing and my body was demanding time to heal. Six weeks passed and I went to my appointment for the post op checkup. I was so proud of myself, getting around with only the use of a cane and feeling no pain.

I was very surprised to learn that the muscles on the outsides of my legs needed physiotherapy because they were so weak they were not supporting my hips properly.

Physiotherapy started five days later. I was very fortunate to get into our local hospital that quickly, often there are waiting periods of several weeks. And I have been getting up at 5:30 am to shower, dress and drive the 40 minutes to a 7:00 am appointment every Tuesday for the past four weeks. Am I improving? Yes! Am I improving at the rate I should be? Who knows, not me.

I will be visiting my surgeon again on Wed Dec 22nd and his assessment of my progress will be interesting...I am eager to hear what he has to say.

Oh, I am on another list. For a knee replacement. That will probably be in a little less than two years from now.