Yoga

I took a yoga class for seniors today and it was perfect.  So I will be going back.

I had a session with my personal trainer yesterday and that is also going well.

A dear friend of mine died this morning.  He died exactly like Marshall.  Prostate cancer caused by Agent Orange in Viet Nam.  He's been fighting it for several years just like Marshall did.  So sad.

Now, on to the topic of skin cancer.  I've been going to a dermatologist regularly (mainly because my mom died of skin cancer) and there have been a few of what they call pre-cancers and they froze those off.  But there were two spots -- one on the nose and one on the cheek) that they wanted me to use Efudex on.  Efudex is a chemotherapy cream.  You apply it to the designated spots every morning and night and after two weeks if nothing happens except for some redness, it means that those spots are just normal actinic keratosis (I think that's how it is spelled).  What is fascinating about this cream is that you can put it on areas of your skin that are perfectly clear and if there are cancers hiding that haven't surfaced yet, this cream will bring them out.  In a way, that's kind of scary, isn't it?  

Well, if after two weeks, those spots get all ugly looking, that means it was either pre-cancer or cancer.  Well, my two spots got all ugly looking.  So I will have to make an appointment for a double check to be sure this cream got rid of it.

I did a little research on this cream and it appears that some people -- if they can get a prescription -- will apply this cream to their entire face and when the redness clears up, their skin is all brand new and younger looking.  Boy, that seems a little excessive... and dangerous.

Mia and Artemis

Mia's trainer wanted to get Mia out in public today so that hopefully we might encounter other dogs and we could see how Mia reacts.  It was a very hot day so we met at the lake at 5:30, hoping that it would be cooler.  Cheyanne brought her pit bull Artemis again.

Mia continues to get along with Artemis (it's unbelievable the progress she has made).  Here is a picture of Mia getting "re-introduced" to Artemis.

 So we went on our walk and Mia and Artemis were walking side by side beautifully.  Incredible.

However, after a few minutes, Mia started panting and wheezing and having extreme difficulty breathing and her body felt extremely hot.  Cheyanne had water and poured water on Mia's body and forehead and that helped a bit.  We immediately headed back to our cars and Cheyanne carried Mia.  When we got back to the car, I got the air conditioner going and put out water which she devoured.  She started improving immediately.  By the time I got her home she was acting normal again.  She sure scared me.  I'm sure that was a reaction to heat.  I guess we will limit walks while the temperature stays so hot.

I had a session with the personal trainer this morning and that is really progressing nicely.  I see him again on Thursday.

Yoga

This morning I went to the Rec Center to take a yoga class.  The title of the class was "Basic Yoga."  To me, that sounded like it might be perfect for me.  HAH!!

I got there 15 minutes early so that I could talk to the instructor about my limitations and what I should do, etc., but he was way too busy to talk to me.  He just said, "get a mat, a strap and a block and find a spot."  So that didn't sit well with me.

There were about 25 or 30 people in the class and they were clearly all very experienced at yoga.  While I, on the other hand, could not master anything he wanted us to do.  Frankly, I didn't understand most of what he was telling us to do.  Eventually he noticed that I was having difficulty and he came over to help me and it was kind of embarrassing the way he did it.  So obviously "Basic Yoga" isn't what I thought it was.

The only other yoga class offered by the Rec Center is called "Chair Yoga."  So I will try to take that class and see if it's more my style.

Mia is showing progress in her tolerance of other dogs.

Trainer(s)

First of all, Mia's trainer come on Tuesday and she brought her pit bull with her.  Whenever I take Mia out for a walk, if we run into another dog, Mia goes crazy.  But Cheyanne was able to "introduce" Mia to her pit bull Artemis and within about 5 minutes Mia and Artemis were buddies and Cheyanne took them on a walk together.  I've got a lot to learn.

Then on Wednesday I saw my trainer and actually worked out.  I am really liking the Thornton Carpenter Rec Center.

I've also been trying to find a place where I can take some dance lessons -- I think it would be so much fun.  But so far, every place I've found on the internet is only for young children or they are on vacation for the summer, etc.  I'll keep looking.

My cardiologist told me to start monitoring my blood pressure here at home and it has been consistently high.  I believe the exercise program will help to bring it down.

Cardiology visit

This morning was my quarterly visit with the cardiologist as well as my pacemaker "interrogation."  The pacemaker checked out perfectly and I haven't had any A-fib episodes.  There are still 5-1/2 years left on the battery.

I asked the Medtronics guy about the hacker possibility and he said that right now the hackers are only able to mess with the wireless pacemakers and the Medtronics pacemakers (like I've got) have wires and can only be reprogrammed with a special apparatus that sits on my chest.  So that was pleasant news.  He said that the other pacemaker manufacturers are quickly making the appropriate changes to keep their pacemakers hacker-proof.

The cardiologist said that I am now truly released for any and all exercise now.  So I will pass that on to my personal trainer when I have my first actual session tomorrow. I met with him on Monday to talk about my health and my goals and he showed me the equipment.  He also wants me to take the yoga class that is offered at the Rec Center, as well as the Silver Sneakers class.  But he wants me to start slow so that he can monitor any pain or any bad form.

My blood pressure was high today and the cardiologist wants me to start taking it every day and keeping a chart.

He also showed me the printout of my Pacemaker "interrogation" and pointed out what changes we can hope to see as I get involved in the sessions with the personal trainer.  If I understood correctly -- and I'm never totally sure I understand this pacemaker stuff -- the more I work out the more my heart takes over and the pacemaker rests.  I hope I understood that correctly because that is very motivating.

Mia's trainer comes to the house today.  I may have to cut back on that, though, because it's $60 an hour and it is getting way too expensive, especially when I am also paying for my own trainer.

A good cry

I went through my mail this morning and there was an envelope from my dear lifelong friend Donna and it contained this photo taken by her husband when they visited after Marshall was diagnosed.  Brought on a sudden short-lived cry but what a great photo.  It was especially interesting because once the motorcycle had its custom paint job he never rode it out to the house because of the rocks.  He stored it in town.  So this was probably the only time the bike was at the house.

Personal Trainer

I went over to the Thornton Recreation Center today and got signed up for a personal trainer.  He will hopefully call me tomorrow and get me on a schedule.  I'm excited about that.

Mia is finished with her antibiotics now but still seems to be wheezing a little.  I guess I'll call the vet tomorrow and ask about it.

And Mia now has a "personal trainer" coming here to the house twice a week and it is doing wonders.  The trainer's name is Cheyanne and Mia just adores her.  When Cheyanne shows up, Mia goes crazy, she gets so happy to see her.  And she is learning to sit, stay, wait, down, and heel.  We need to practice more, but she is learning fast.

I read an article recently about hackers now being able to hack into the programming for pacemakers and are able to actually kill people.  That was quite unsettling to read.  I see my cardiologist on Tuesday and I'll ask him about it.  I also want to ask him why my heart rate raises when I'm driving.  That doesn't make any sense.

Bear

My nearest neighbor at my house in Westcliffe sent me this picture of a visitor who went to my old house and then down to his cabin.  I sure miss sights like this.

Massage

Yesterday I got a hot stone massage.  I didn't pay attention when I booked it, but it was a full two hours and first there was a facial, then a sugar scrub for the feet and then the hot stone massage.  I probably wouldn't want the facial or the foot scrub but the hot stone massage?   Ahhhhhh, I will definitely do that again.  When I left there I felt like there wasn't a stressful bone left in my body.  It was awesome.

While I was there, my phone buzzed with one of those Amber Alerts.  A 10-year-old girl had disappeared and the last time she was seen she was just a mile from my townhouse.  When I got home the police were everywhere and there were about 100 people across the street from my front door.  I learned that they found the little girl's body in a ravine across the street from my front door.  There was yellow police tape everywhere, even across the garage door of a townhouse around the corner from me (can't wait to hear why they had to do that).

The police were over there pretty late last night and then back again this morning doing their investigating.

They aren't saying much about how she died, but one newscaster did say that it is possible she got swept away by a flash flood -- we had one heck of a storm Wednesday night. It is just heartbreaking.

I went to Pueblo today to get my car serviced at Pueblo Toyota.  It's a 2-hour drive but well worth it because I know all of them and they know me and I trust them.  I was able to have lunch with friends while I was there.

When I left there, I got on I-25 to head home and saw a really jazzy burnt-orange car and when I looked to see what it was, it was a Toyota 4Runner.  I want it.

Mia - The Escape Artist

Well, over the past several months, Mia has been able to escape from her harness twice.  Once, she almost got hit by a car when she ran out into the road.  The second time I was able to kind of throw myself on top of her to restrain her.  So I have been very very careful with her outside because the sight (or smell) of a rabbit throws her into a frenzy.  And I don't have a yard, so she has to be on leash.

Here lately, now that summer is pretty much here, the sprinkler systems go on twice a day and she is absolutely fascinated with the sprinklers.  I think they even trump rabbits for her.  She wants to attack the water.  So in order to keep myself from being drenched I have been trying to figure out the timing of the sprinklers and take her out when I'm pretty sure they won't be coming on.

But tonight I didn't time it right.  I was trying to make sure she did her business so I lingered a bit too long.  The sprinkler nearest to us came on and she turned into a little tornado.  I have a leash now that is supposed to be escape proof but she was able to go into a frenzy of back-and-forths and cartwheels and she got away again.  Fortunately she was only interested in the sprinkler and not in running out into traffic.  I had no choice but to jump into the sprinkler to try to grab her and she kept avoiding me (I'll bet we put on a good show for the neighbors).  When I was able to pick her up she fought me and we both fell back onto my concete steps.  I got a big gash in my arm but I was able to get her into the house and we both were dripping wet.  I am so mad at her, and she knows it.  I try to remember that she spent the majority of her life in a crate and she is fascinated by being able to explore things, but I worry about her safety.

I've been taking her to obedience training twice a week and she is making great progress.  But that is indoors.  Outdoors is another story so the trainer is going to start coming to the house to see if she can accomplish more "on location."

My friend Tony

When we lived in Westcliffe, there was a cabin down the road a bit owned by a really nice couple, Tony and Margaret.  They live in Aurora and only go down to their cabin on weekends or holidays.  During the years of Marshall's illness, every time they came down, Tony would come over and help fix things or install things, etc.  When Marshall was close to the end, he asked Tony to look out for me.

So now that I live about 20 minutes from Tony, he calls periodically to see if I need any help with anything.  Today was door day -- my front storm door got caught in a major wind and kind of got a little wacky.  So he fixed it.  And helped with a few other little things.

He came over on his Harley -- I love it.  Maybe the neighbors will think I'm part of a gang...

My pacemaker has been behaving strangely, doesn't seem to be keeping my heart rate in the proper range.  Just walking the dog takes my heart rate up to 105 -- not acceptable.  So I have a call in to my cardiologist and may need to get in to see him.  Ugh.