News and Views

Prior to my collarbone surgery, I had to get a pre-op authorization that included a blood platelet count. Platelets in the blood help with clotting, so if it’s too low the surgeon will not operate. Mine did turn out to be low; high enough to continue with the surgery, but low enough to merit further investigation.

Possible causes of low platelet count vary from some forms of cancer to problems making the measurement. So off I went to the Ironwood Cancer Center.

After filling 10 test tubes with blood and then a CT scan that included drinking barium and an iodine IV, I went back for a follow-up today to see what’s going on.

Mostly good news. No cancer. Liver, spleen gall bladder, adrenal glands, kidneys and pancreas are normal. The low platelet count was caused by “clumping”: I have a rare antibody (0.1% of the population) that reacts with the solution they mix with the blood to prevent it from clotting. This antibody causes the platelets to clump together so that the automated platelet counting equipment sees several platelets as one, or even doesn’t count them because the clump is too big. So my platelet count is fine.

Incidental to these results, however, I tested positive for the the antibody to Lupus. She assured me that it doesn’t mean I have Lupus, but I now need to follow up on this to make sure. Rheumatology.org indicates that only 11-13% of the people with a positive test actually have Lupus, and about 15% of healthy people test positive for the antibody. So it’s probably nothing to worry about, but worth following up just the same.

I also have only about 2/3 of the minimum level of vitamin B12, so I will begin supplementing with a pill each day. Maybe that will give me more energy!

And by the way, while were talking about my health, the orthopedic surgeon told me last week that I am free to do anything I want except play basketball. I can practice shooting to my heart’s content, but no floor play until November 1. I can live with that, but it won’t be easy.

That’s how much rain we had yesterday in the big “100 year storm” according to my digital rain gauge. That’s almost an inch and a half more than they measured at the airport (3.29″), but less than some areas in Chandler (5.85″). We had about 2 inches in the first hour or so, between 2:00 and 3:00 am, and then it tapered down the rest of the night. I just found out that my neighbor’s gauge read 5.20 inches. Not sure why the discrepancy.

I woke up about 2 am to the roar of very heavy rainfall and the steady “drip drip drip” of water leaking in the house. We had three leaks, two of which I have since fixed, or at least stopped. I can’t figure out where the water comes in at the other leak. Fortunately it’s not something I have to worry about very often, and it has opportunity to dry out between storms. Still, I need to find and fix that leak.

I’m glad our house sits up high, with a low back yard to catch the water. Our neighborhood is well designed for heavy rain, with most of the overflow going into the lake (which was very full) unlike some areas of the city where a foot or more of water flowed through houses.

Here’s the basketball court under a couple of inches of water.

After more than 2 years of putting electricity into my Volt, it is finally prepared to give a little electricity back.

A company sells kits that allow you to wire into the Volt and use it to generate 120 volts. You can actually do this with any car, of course, with a simple inverter. But you are limited on how much power you can draw and for how long before the battery dies.

The Volt has a robust charging system that can handle a lot more power than most cars, and if the battery starts to get low the engine will automatically start and charge it back up.

The kit will put out pure sine wave 120V, 1500 watts sustained, and handles surges of up to 3000 watts. So if the power goes off I should have enough to run my refrigerators, perhaps only one at a time, but at least we can save our food.

Now I almost wish we would have an outage so I can try it out…

I went back for my 3 week surgery followup today. Doc say’s I’m 3 to 4 weeks ahead of schedule in terms of healing, flexibility and range of motion. He used the word “amazing”. The biggest concern is that I will feel so well that I will try to do too much too soon. But he thinks I should be released to do whatever I want by 12 weeks post-surgery, or about October 15.

I have graduated from being limited to lifting a fork, mouse or TV remote to a coffee cup or bottle of water. I start physical therapy tomorrow to help preserve and improve range of motion. And I get to lose the sling and sleep in a bed again. What a treat!

Nomorobo means “No more robo-calls”.

Last year the FTC issued a challenge to develop a system that would help reduce the huge amounts of telemarketing phone calls. One of the two winners of the challenge was “Nomorobo“.

I hate telemarketers! My Ooma phone system has private and community blacklists, and it helps a lot, but we still get 1-2 telemarketers getting through every day.

I just set up the free Nomorobo system, so I can’t really say yet how well it works, but reviews by other users are very positive. Unfortunately it won’t work with many of the current phone companies. It pretty much requires a VOIP (Internet) phone. So no Verizon, Century Link, AT&T. It is compatible with my Ooma VOIP phone.

Nomorobo requires that your phone system support “simultaneaous ring”, so that when you get a call it also connects to the Nomorobo office. They quickly analyze the call and if it is a telemarketer it is immediately blocked. If it is valid it rings through to my house.

I’ll see how it goes and report back here later.

Note: On my cell phone I use the Android app “Call Control” which seems to work very well. I get almost no telemarketer calls on my cell phone.

From the Daily Banter:

1) The Bundy Ranch: On one hand, a large group of armed white men marched in a line of battle while at least one civilian rifleman in a sniper’s perch trained his weapon at Bureau of Land Management officials. In reaction, the government didn’t fire a single round or canister of tear gas, and eventually retreated, conceding the disputed ground to the Bundy militias. It’s important to note that the protesters turned out in support of a man who refused to pay his taxes and grazed his cattle without paying the accompanying fees. This man, Cliven Bundy, and his supporters threatened secession and armed revolt against the United States goverment.

2) Ferguson, Missouri: On the other hand, unarmed African American protesters in Ferguson, enraged and grieving from the death of an (again) unarmed black man named Michael Brown who was shot in the back by a police officer, have been confronted for several days now by police in full military regalia. This time, the rifleman in the sniper’s perch is a police officer — his scope trained on the protesters.
In Ferguson, law enforcement is vastly overreacting in the face of peaceful protesters, while at the Bundy Ranch, law enforcement vastly underreacted in the face of armed secessionists and scofflaws.

Certainly looting and violence needs to be curtailed, but peaceful protesters have protected rights. And anyway, Bundy was “looting”, and continues to loot, a lot more value than anyone stole in Ferguson.

Went back to see the physician (actually the PA) after my surgery.

Looks good. I can start to use my arm outside the sling for very light activities (nothing heavier than a remote control, mouse or fork). That’s a big improvement! He still recommends that I sleep in a recliner, though I can try a bed if I want.

He showed on the original x-ray how one broken end of the bone was very near, and almost punctured, my lung. I’m glad that didn’t happen!

No pain anymore, just an occasional little ache that acetaminophen easily covers.

Come back in two weeks, and then start some physical therapy. 7 weeks till near normalcy, 11 or so to sports.

Surgery went well yesterday, though about two hours behind schedule. We got home about 5:00pm.

I had a total nerve block on the right shoulder from neck to finger tips. My arm was literally like a numb, wet noodle, just lying there in the sling. The greatest force of concentration could not get the slightest motion from finger, wrist or elbow.

I slept pretty well in a recliner. The doctor warned me to take pain pills before I went to bed in case the block wore off in the night. It didn’t. This morning when I got up it was still numb, but I was able to move the fingers slightly.

By mid-day full feeling was pretty much back, and it hurt. Two 7.5 Percocets cut the edge, but it was still there.

Now this evening it feels quite a bit better, but I think it’s about time for another pain pill.

Here’s an x-ray taken while I was still in the OR.

Doc says about 4 weeks in the sling and about 12 weeks to resume sports. There may be some physical therapy in there to ensure I maintain full range of motion and don’t lose strength.

I asked him if the plate on top of my collarbone is going to bother me when backpacking. He said for some it does, for others not. But if it does it’s a simple procedure to remove the plate once the bone has set. We’ll see.

I’m all set for Tuesday mid-day surgery. How come it’s always nothing to eat or drink after midnight, whether your surgery is at 6:00am or 4:00pm? They are obviously trying to have one simple set of instructions instead of trusting people to be able to calculate time differences.

So here’s what’s going to happen. First, a sample xray of a similar break to mine (I don’t have my own xrays for any of these so I found some similar ones on the web)

You have to imagine that you’re seeing this from behind, since it’s my right shoulder. This is similar to the xray I saw in the surgeon’s office. There is no way these bones are going to grow back together, and even if they did it would be a strange non-functional arrangement!

Here’s a picture of a similar plate that gets screwed into the bones after they are lined up:

And here’s an xray taken after someone has had the procedure done, and I hope what mine looks like in a few days:

There is an alternative procedure that is sometimes done that involves drilling out the center of the bones and inserting a metal rod, similar to what Dale has in his leg. It can sometimes be done arthroscopically, which is a lot less invasive and leaves much smaller scars. My procedure will involve an incision longer than the plate, but fortunately there are no muscles and very little tissue to be cut, as you can tell by feeling of your own collar bone — it is right under the skin. One problem with the “intermedullary” rod approach is that the round rod does not prevent the bones from rotating before they set. Also, the rod is usually removed after the bone has set, involving more surgery. All things considered the plate approach is still the predominant method and the one my doctor chose for me. The doctor did tell me that the plate is not made of adamantium, so I won’t be like the Wolverine.

I’m still hurting much more from the broken rib than the shoulder. Since they are on opposite sides, I’m feeling pretty crippled. Two nights ago Gisele had to help me out of bed so I could go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I’ve discovered a method of sliding out of bed onto my butt on the floor and standing up from there, so at least I am able to get up by myself. But it hurts and I’ll be glad when the rib heals. I’m probably going to go through a very unpleasant few days right after surgery when both sides will be very painful. I hope I don’t get addicted to the pain pills…

… it’s another, and the other is a broken clavicle (collar bone).

Playing basketball this morning, my feet got tangled up with the feet of another guy who is bigger than me, I fell on my shoulder and he fell on top. I heard a crunch and got the wind knocked out of me for a few seconds, but didn’t feel a lot of pain. But when I stood up I knew there was something wrong with my right shoulder.

Got in to see the orthopedic surgeon this afternoon and had some x-rays. He said it won’t heal on it’s own. The broken ends that are supposed to be part of one bone are over an inch apart and will never grow back together. So next week I go in to have a plate and screws put in. Hopefully this will happen Tuesday if I can get the pre-op physical done in time, but if not, then Friday.

To make it worse, I think I slightly fractured a rib on the opposite side which actually hurts more than the shoulder. Coughing is torture, and don’t make me laugh! But that will easily heal on it’s own.

Surgery is getting to be routine for me!