A chief reason I bought this type of hearing aid is that it paired well with the iPhone.
That allegedly meant that the phone would ring in my ears.
It didn't really start until recently for some reason.
So I am not used to it.
I also had my phone turned up quite loud, not sure why.
This is a bad combination for me.
The phone call this afternoon scared me, sent my head into my desk and raised a welt.
As soon as I was sure it wasn't bleeding, it was off to Amazon to look for bumpers.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Sunday, January 28, 2018
In the water
I finally went swimming today for the first time in nearly six months. It felt good.
Mostly.
I didn't really get my head wet because of my staples. I am sure it would have been fine. The teacher was a little uncomfortable with it, so I just took it easy.
It was still tiring.
Mostly.
I didn't really get my head wet because of my staples. I am sure it would have been fine. The teacher was a little uncomfortable with it, so I just took it easy.
It was still tiring.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
What, me fall?
I was chatting with one of the physical therapy students that I work with the other day. He told me that a fall is defined as an uncontrolled descent.
By that measure I hardly ever fall. I am almost always holding on to a pole or something when I wind up on the floor.
Yay, me!
By that measure I hardly ever fall. I am almost always holding on to a pole or something when I wind up on the floor.
Yay, me!
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Man hits car ... almost
When I roll anywhere, I tend to bow my head. Not all the time, I watch where I am going. But with my head down, I can navigate or avoid entirely bad curb cuts, bumps, gum or dog poop. I block wind and am able to help Mom on her quest for pennies.
It is not good for posture or breathing or apparently crossing the street.
I was approaching an intersection on the bike trail, so I stopped. I saw a car coming up, so I was going to let it pass. But it stopped completely. So I began to cross. It is a bad curb cut at that intersections my head was bowed. I raised it when I got down safely, just in time to see these of a car three feet in front of me.
I think the driver somehow didn't see me and was a stopped for someone coming the other way -- even though I was nearer and wearing a bright orange jacket.
Before leaving on a walk today, Mom told me to keep my head up. I did.
It is not good for posture or breathing or apparently crossing the street.
I was approaching an intersection on the bike trail, so I stopped. I saw a car coming up, so I was going to let it pass. But it stopped completely. So I began to cross. It is a bad curb cut at that intersections my head was bowed. I raised it when I got down safely, just in time to see these of a car three feet in front of me.
I think the driver somehow didn't see me and was a stopped for someone coming the other way -- even though I was nearer and wearing a bright orange jacket.
Before leaving on a walk today, Mom told me to keep my head up. I did.
Friday, January 19, 2018
I smell blood
Mom slept poorly Wednesday night, and I made her do a bunch of stuff Thursday, like my hearing appointment. So when I needed to take a shower Thursday night, I asked my sister.
I showered no problem, she helped me into and went to make me tea. That's when the problems started.
I sat up in bed to pull down my shirt.
As I sat up, I noticed my legs were not bent at the knee as my awesoeneeme physical therapist had suggested for safety. I didn't have long to notice because almost immediately I lost my balance and fell of the bed into my chair. I managed to call my sister. She immediately came and called my brother-in-law.
They got me on my bed. My brother-in-law went to get the van (this was kind of the first inkling i had that I was bleeding; well, that and the blood on my sheets).
This left my sister to deal with Bloody Matty.
She first tried by calling my niece to help. She saw the blood, ignored my sister's "heads bleed a lot," threw her mom the requested wash cloth and disappeared.
My nephew was more amenable, helping me put on pants and shoes, even offering to go get the staple gun and fix me up.
Then my brother-in-law came back with the van, and Mom.
The ER was fast -- home with six staples in a little over an hour.
I give my sister grief in this blog, but she is pretty incredible. No one should have to mother an older sibling. She does it wonderfully.
I showered no problem, she helped me into and went to make me tea. That's when the problems started.
I sat up in bed to pull down my shirt.
As I sat up, I noticed my legs were not bent at the knee as my awesoeneeme physical therapist had suggested for safety. I didn't have long to notice because almost immediately I lost my balance and fell of the bed into my chair. I managed to call my sister. She immediately came and called my brother-in-law.
They got me on my bed. My brother-in-law went to get the van (this was kind of the first inkling i had that I was bleeding; well, that and the blood on my sheets).
This left my sister to deal with Bloody Matty.
She first tried by calling my niece to help. She saw the blood, ignored my sister's "heads bleed a lot," threw her mom the requested wash cloth and disappeared.
My nephew was more amenable, helping me put on pants and shoes, even offering to go get the staple gun and fix me up.
Then my brother-in-law came back with the van, and Mom.
The ER was fast -- home with six staples in a little over an hour.
I give my sister grief in this blog, but she is pretty incredible. No one should have to mother an older sibling. She does it wonderfully.
I earned that F
My audiologist tried to lower my already low expectation for my new hearing test, my first since I have had hearing aids.
You got a 70% in clarity last time, she pointed out. Maybe that's as good as it gets. But wearing hearing aids stimulates the auditory nerve and should keep it from getting worse.
Note not will but should.
I got my low D last time with a 72 in my left ear, raising the 68 in my right.
And in fairness, the left ear was essentially the same -- a 68. The right ear was an impressive 56, so my failing grade of 62.
She was baffled. She even tested the right ear twice.
A nerve problem in a neurological condition like Friedreich's ataxia. NO WAY!
You got a 70% in clarity last time, she pointed out. Maybe that's as good as it gets. But wearing hearing aids stimulates the auditory nerve and should keep it from getting worse.
Note not will but should.
I got my low D last time with a 72 in my left ear, raising the 68 in my right.
And in fairness, the left ear was essentially the same -- a 68. The right ear was an impressive 56, so my failing grade of 62.
She was baffled. She even tested the right ear twice.
A nerve problem in a neurological condition like Friedreich's ataxia. NO WAY!
Saturday, January 13, 2018
OK, I guess
Today held several firsts. I got back to exercising for the first time this year. I also wore some mittens for the first time in a long while. Neither was a resounding success, but they were both good.
The exercise was tiring as you would expect after nearly three weeks of lying around while sick and recovering.
The mittens did seem to not fiddle with my chair controls. My hands felt warmer with all my fingers together, but the wind seemed to blow through them. Again, probably not a shock because it was cold and windy out.
Spring will solve my problems.
The exercise was tiring as you would expect after nearly three weeks of lying around while sick and recovering.
The mittens did seem to not fiddle with my chair controls. My hands felt warmer with all my fingers together, but the wind seemed to blow through them. Again, probably not a shock because it was cold and windy out.
Spring will solve my problems.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Stuck at home
I have not been in the office since last year.
I don't like that.
The longer I am absent from the office -- and it's been two weeks and a day -- the harder it becomes to get in there. I also worry that parts of my body will forget how to do what needs doing at the office.
I don't like that.
The longer I am absent from the office -- and it's been two weeks and a day -- the harder it becomes to get in there. I also worry that parts of my body will forget how to do what needs doing at the office.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
I ❤️ my cardiologist, part II
I went to see my cardiologist last week to follow up on the ER visit the previous week.
As he did in October, he got me to relax -- well, as much as I ever do.
The zombie-like heart rate, he said, was just a mechanical error related to not actually feeling my pulse for at least 30 seconds.
The EKG that sent me to the ER was misread, he said. Apparently, the doctor's office thought it showed A-Fib, atrial fibrillation, an irregular and often rapid heart rate. What it actually showed was the heart's response to low blood pressure, which is to beat faster.
The low blood pressure probably resulted from my cold, which I didn't even know I had, or from my urinary tract infection.
I did everything right, he said, don't worry.
As he did in October, he got me to relax -- well, as much as I ever do.
The zombie-like heart rate, he said, was just a mechanical error related to not actually feeling my pulse for at least 30 seconds.
The EKG that sent me to the ER was misread, he said. Apparently, the doctor's office thought it showed A-Fib, atrial fibrillation, an irregular and often rapid heart rate. What it actually showed was the heart's response to low blood pressure, which is to beat faster.
The low blood pressure probably resulted from my cold, which I didn't even know I had, or from my urinary tract infection.
I did everything right, he said, don't worry.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Man-colds can kill
I guess technically, since I am a man and I have a cold, I have a man-cold.
A friend mentioned that her husband had a man-cold when I asked after her family. She was not sympathetic.
The only thing is: A cold might legitimately kill me.
There was the cough-drop incident. Coughing in my shower chair could tip it over. If I cough or sneeze with a computer on my lap -- now for instance -- the computer is likely to fly into my face. Same thing with hot liquid of any kind. Even is I am in my chair with my chest harness on, a cough or a sneeze can wreak havoc on my knees.
There is more, but I am feeling woozy from all the hard work of posting this.
I know I am betraying my gender by running this, but it makes me laugh.
A friend mentioned that her husband had a man-cold when I asked after her family. She was not sympathetic.
The only thing is: A cold might legitimately kill me.
There was the cough-drop incident. Coughing in my shower chair could tip it over. If I cough or sneeze with a computer on my lap -- now for instance -- the computer is likely to fly into my face. Same thing with hot liquid of any kind. Even is I am in my chair with my chest harness on, a cough or a sneeze can wreak havoc on my knees.
There is more, but I am feeling woozy from all the hard work of posting this.
I know I am betraying my gender by running this, but it makes me laugh.
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