Yesterday Ali and I went Christmas shopping. I went all over two malls and outlets using a walker or a cane. We were both tired at the end and I got quite a workout!
I am babying the leg today because I was supposed to take it easy until Tuesday. On top of that the Redskins lost after teasing me with two quick touchdowns. Stayed up to watch Rutgers and West Virginia yesterday so I am tired and because of Washington depressed.
Thanks Mahler! We had a great time. I was a little depressed because I couldn't walk into the restaurant. I have blisters on my leg. I had it checked today by my rehab doctor and a wound specialist and I am down probably until next Tuesday. I am even starting to look lustfully at Ian King's Limping Programs and you know that's not right!
Sorry to be away from my log.
Mahler, I would love to run with you as long as you don't kill me!
Tuesday I went back to the gym. I wore the leg for a short time at a party on Saturday, but I had to leave early because of pain and shakiness. It's probably a good thing because Ali said I was being sullen and mean anyway.
I didn't want to be that way because these were nice folks who hadn't seen me since I got sick. Being a gimp doesn't give me permission to be a jerk. But I was one anyway!
Anyway on Tuesday I started out with an exam by the PT and Ginger the wound specialist. The dr had been pissed that I wouldn't walk for him because Ginger told me not to. I might have anyway because he was pissed but my wife backed him down. It was really funny because Ali has the sweetest face and sweet musical voice, One of the PTs says she has southern charm but sweetly lets patients know they are going to do what she wants with no ifs ands or buts. The dr went into this rant that he started out as a surgeon and he now saw wounds all the time. My wife sweetly asked how long had it been since he was a surgeon and did wound care and then explained that you had to keep up and that, why, it would almost be malpractice to treat wounds with the latest best knowledge. The dr and my wife then got into a discussion regarding the fact that they still used maggots and leaches for treatment and the basic care did not usually change. The dr said I did not have to walk but that the wound care specialist should keep out of it.
Anyway, when I went to PT on Tuesday, the dr had chewed out the wound specialist and the PT. They didn't let it bother them and examined me and realeased me to walk. I walked with a cane and went up stairs. I walked back and forth and worked on my form without my cane. I did leg presses 2 x 25 x 95 with my amputated leg and prosthesis. Not impressive but a 20 lb improvement. I did leg extentsion with my amputated leg with about 15 lbs both on a machine and with about 7lbs in ankle weights. I did 95lbs on lat pulls 3 x 20. Seated rows 110 x 20 x 2. I also did a stair step machine (the Kinetron) 2 x 90 seconds which exhausts me ! I also did 10 months on a recumbent bike with resistance.
Wednesday I did my usual dumbbell complex with 21.3 lbs x 6,5,4,3,2,1
Band workout. BW squats (3/4). I tried a King deadlift but that was tempting fate. Still I am going to keep at that. Someday I hope to get strong enough to do the entire Ian King limping series while doing one of his upper body series probably Super Strength. Enough dreaming though.
Thursday I was in PT again. It was a beautiful day so we went upstairs to a patio. I practiced a kind of shuttle run without my cane while watching my form. I was to go as fast as I could without breaking form. I would go around the patio from one bench to another. I had to get up from the bench without using my hands and arms. After I did this, I had to use the cane to walk and it was perfect! I then went down the steps which is much harder than going up. I walked on padding to simulate mud and uneven terrain. This was between parrallel bars but I could not use my hands. I also did a kind of tire drill like at football practice. I had to walk though a wooden frame and place my feet in each box wothout missing one or falling on my face. Strangely, it is much harder to do this with my real foot. I guess because I balance on my prosthesis to do it. Still I can't really feel with my fake foot so you would think that would trip me up. Anyway then we did the lat pulls 3 x 25 x 95. Leg press 2 x 25 x 95 with my amputated leg and prosthesis. Leg extensions with the machine and with ankle weights. (14 x 25 x 2) and (7 x 25 x 2) Seated rows 2 x 20 x 110. Boy was I tired and sore.
Today I tried something diffent for me:
Bodyweight squat 2 x 20
King Deadlift (still trying) (It's a balance thing)
Bodyweight Static lung 2 x 6 (These hurt a lot. Will have to get used to them.
Shoulder pulls with bands 3 x 10 each
Dumbbells (weight for each dumbbell)
Military presses 16.3 x 8 x 3
One armed bent over rows 3 x 26.3 x 8 each
Lateral raises 3 x 11 x 8
Upright Row 21.3 x 8 x 2
Arnold press 21.3 x 10 x 3
Band workout with legs.
I can lift more this way, although I still think the complexes kind of give me an aerobic workout. Kind of like intervals.
I'm thinking of doing something like this:
M. Complex, bw legs and bands
T. PT
W. Above weight workout, bw legs and bands
Th. PT
F. Shoulder complexes, bw legs and bands
S. Walking while shopping and doing errands with my wife.
Su. Watch football and rest like the Good Lord says!
Seems like a plan.
I also took out the trash with my cane or walker this week. Seems little but it isn't.
Man - that all sounds like a lot of work. I can easily believe not all days are great, but you keep going. Here's some hope and prayers for lots of easy days for Christmas. Rob
Greg,
Damn, that's a full week. You are making great progress. The improvements in your lifts are pure inspiration and you should not be downplaying them. Many small steps will get you as far as one giant leap.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
The leap is always more exhilirating though! I'll be working around the lack of a calf muscle on a lot of my lifts so it should be interesting to see how that goes over time. It will even affect things like bench presses. I will have to be content with slow steady progress at a pace that pushes me and not worry about the way things should have been if I had been a little bit smarter.
I screwed up my sleep last night and it looks like I'm not going to make it tonight. I took a Lunesta and some chamomille tea, but it's not working. No anxiety and no pain tonight. Just can't sleep.
It just gets better and better! I haven't logged much because I had a set back and I have to figure a way around it.
I had to get a further eval from a rehab doctor and podiatrist for my insurance coverage and for rehab. My rehab doctor does not cooperate with them which is a whole other story. Anyway, when I was there the rehab doctor and podiatrist saw my foot. It has bone damage and bends in a way that it is not supposed to. Apparently, there is a condition where the bones soften and then need to be supported or they reharden and deform. I have been prescribed orthotics to keep the proper shape. The thing that bothers me is that if I had not been required to be evaluated, my foot would have ended up deformed. My rehab doctor didn't catch this. When I asked about this, I get the medical equivalent of your doctor should have caught this, but we got it in time. The thing that bothers me is that my other foot had the same symptoms and became septic under a doctor's care. Was it really infected initially or as these doctors tell me, could it have been this condition that can be mistaken for an infection. If so, could my leg have been saved if it was properly recognized in the beginning?
I really can't do anything about this, but the clinic and hospitals should know because they may be able to prevent this from happening to someone else. I don't want to cause problems for anyone, but I can tell by the way the doctors are talking to me that they are not going to raise it so no one learns anything.
On top of this, the podiatrist advised me that I cannot do squats on that foot. I can do squats on my prosthetic leg and King deadlifts on that prosthetic. I can do bodyweight lunges. I can do leg presses. I work out at home and I don't have a leg press. I don't know if I have room for one.
I don't want to go to a gym but I may have to once PT is over to get the proper workout. Meantime, I can't workout my legs until I get the modications to my shoe necessary.
Oh, and my old rehab doctor's recommendation: lots of squats.
I realize that part of medical practice is art, but I lost my one leg in part to bad information and misdiagnosis. I don't want to lose the second.
I need to figure out a lower body routine for my home, if I can that I can use with an upper body workout to get back to a regular rigorous workout.
I think I can do beginner's BOM with some modification but that will only work for so long.
On the plus side, I have been spot on on my diet. I am doing a high protein diet with high fiber carbs and lots of steamed veggies. This will keep my blood sugar down and hopefully eventually get me off meds.
Greg,
Thanks for the update. I know it is tough on you when you get conflicting information and begin to go through a host of "what ifs", but hang in there.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
It just gets better and better! I haven't logged much because I had a set back and I have to figure a way around it.
I had to get a further eval from a rehab doctor and podiatrist for my insurance coverage and for rehab. My rehab doctor does not cooperate with them which is a whole other story. Anyway, when I was there the rehab doctor and podiatrist saw my foot. It has bone damage and bends in a way that it is not supposed to. Apparently, there is a condition where the bones soften and then need to be supported or they reharden and deform. I have been prescribed orthotics to keep the proper shape. The thing that bothers me is that if I had not been required to be evaluated, my foot would have ended up deformed. My rehab doctor didn't catch this. When I asked about this, I get the medical equivalent of your doctor should have caught this, but we got it in time. The thing that bothers me is that my other foot had the same symptoms and became septic under a doctor's care. Was it really infected initially or as these doctors tell me, could it have been this condition that can be mistaken for an infection. If so, could my leg have been saved if it was properly recognized in the beginning?
I really can't do anything about this, but the clinic and hospitals should know because they may be able to prevent this from happening to someone else. I don't want to cause problems for anyone, but I can tell by the way the doctors are talking to me that they are not going to raise it so no one learns anything.
On top of this, the podiatrist advised me that I cannot do squats on that foot. I can do squats on my prosthetic leg and King deadlifts on that prosthetic. I can do bodyweight lunges. I can do leg presses. I work out at home and I don't have a leg press. I don't know if I have room for one.
I don't want to go to a gym but I may have to once PT is over to get the proper workout. Meantime, I can't workout my legs until I get the modications to my shoe necessary.
Oh, and my old rehab doctor's recommendation: lots of squats.
I realize that part of medical practice is art, but I lost my one leg in part to bad information and misdiagnosis. I don't want to lose the second.
I need to figure out a lower body routine for my home, if I can that I can use with an upper body workout to get back to a regular rigorous workout.
I think I can do beginner's BOM with some modification but that will only work for so long.
Greg, I have no real words of wisdom for you regarding this setback, but just wanted to offer some support and thanks that God put you in the path of these "new" docs who figured things out before it was too late! Would your "old" rehab doc (I assume you mean a physiatrist) be open to you explaining what the other docs said and discussing it with him? It's definitely a tricky situation ... I'd like to hear how you handle it!!
He's a surgeon which kind of says it all. He would not be open. When I ask questions, it is like I am kicking his puppy. I think that I will just go with these guys because my plan allows me to. It requires alot more travel, but I don't have to see them that often. Team Greg has a good internist, a good PT, a good rehab doctor (now), and a good podiatrist. I supposedly have the best prosthetist around so things on that end are great. My shoe guy listens to my concerns and answers my questions as well. I also have the doctor who ramrodded this thing who is one of my personal heroes.
I'll get this straightened out. I just liked squats and weighted lunges better than bodyweight and no squats.
He's a surgeon which kind of says it all. He would not be open. When I ask questions, it is like I am kicking his puppy. I think that I will just go with these guys because my plan allows me to. It requires alot more travel, but I don't have to see them that often. Team Greg has a good internist, a good PT, a good rehab doctor (now), and a good podiatrist. I supposedly have the best prosthetist around so things on that end are great. My shoe guy listens to my concerns and answers my questions as well. I also have the doctor who ramrodded this thing who is one of my personal heroes.
I'll get this straightened out. I just liked squats and weighted lunges better than bodyweight and no squats.
Well, having the right "team" is more important than commute time!! Did they say no squats ever or just until they get the foot thing squared away?
They were just not crazy about the whole squat concept. I can review with them when my foot straightens out but I get the idea that this is something I will be prone to for a long time. I have playing with the idea of proposing box squats to them. I could propose them off a bench or a little higher box so it would relieve strain on the foot. I'll have to ask and then get Fayman to tell me how to build a higher squat box. The interestig thing is they did prevent me from doing step ups although again they would be bodyweight for now.
I twisted my left knee today taking out the trash. It was ouchy before but now it really hurts. I'll see what it's like tomorrow but I may have to call the doctor on Monday.
Greg,
Keep the faith. Your attitude is the most potent weapon you have to get through this. I think the docs just think you are asking for too much, too soon. Sorry to hear about the knee.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this thing, but I keep getting tripped up along the way. I developed a condition called Sharko's foot in my foot. Basically your foot collapses. A combination of reasons for it. Stress on the foot, infection, you name it. Anyway, couldn't do anything until I got custom orthotics and a carbon fiber shank put in one pair of shoes and another pair of shoes. I got the shoes and my knee twisted and kept me from exercising. I got back to PT yesterday. I had a great workout, by the way. I will probably throw away my cane in a few weeks and I have been casted for my permanent leg. I came home from that, fell and cut my right leg where it is supported in the prosthesis. I can't put my prosthesis on until it heals. I tried to rush it today by putting on the leg and going for a walk and it started bleeding again, so I guess I'll have to behave myself.
Anyway, I am getting either the foot that was used by some guy on Survivor (Renegade) or a foot I saw being used by a local cheerleader. (Axtion). Then they have that fellow in either MH or MF who is making me look like a wimp! Bad for morale.
Finally, my Dr. said with the Sharko's no squats for a long time. I can do bodyweight split squats, step ups, lunges and possibly BSS's although I haven't discussed those with him. I should be able to swap them out for most of the squats. Can do leg presses but I can't get that machine in my basement. Oh well, that's a problem for another day.
On Thursday I had PT. The bulk was spent on walking style and ensuring that my leg is in fact healed. I would walk awhile, do balance exercises and then pull the leg off to check whether the wound was aggravated. It didn't seem to be, but she told me to take Friday off.
Leg Press 195 for 3 sets of 10
Lat Pulls 2 sets of 20 at 90 lbs.
I kept my leg off Friday and went back to the wheelchair. Blah.
To make up for it, I did my BOM workut today.
Barbell BP 1 set at 95 x12, 2 sets at 100 x 12
Military Press 3 x 55 x 12
Thin Tummy 1 x 15
Static Lunge BW x 1 x 15
DB Upright Row 2 x 21.3 x 15
Curl Up, Cheat Up, Slow Lower (This is hard because of change in center of gravity.)
Step Up BWx 2 x 15 (I do these at PT so I did an extra set.)
Lying Pullover 2 x 25 x 15
Seated Alt Hammer Curl w Twist 1 x 21.3 x 15
Triceps kickback 2 x 16.3 x 15
I was going to use the elliptical trainer, but I thought that might be too much yet. We don't have a bannister so I crab walk up and down the basement steps to do this. That's a small cardio workout. It also is a core workout and a triceps workout.
I wanted to do BOM today but my knee was very sore. Instead I practiced walking for 30 minutes today. I walked all over my house for thirty minutes. I can't walk outside yet because my ankle doesn't bend so I can't get down the driveway. I've tried twice and fell both times.
I'll do BOM either tonight if I feel better or tomorrow.
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