The boy can walk

I've been sneaking around the house without my walker for a couple of days but now it is official -- the walker is toast, I'm to do it on my own. Of all the "hurrahs!" on this blog this might be the best. I also took the step of driving myself to my orthopaedic appointment today. It feels like wonderful progress.

The news from my appointment was pretty much all good: the bones are healing (if you look at the top of the femur in the x-ray, it doesn't look like abstract art anymore); I'm to progress with walking and strengthening within the limits of pain; and I'm officially allowed to work again. I'll still be doing some physical therapy to continue working on mobility of my left wrist and strength/mobility of the right leg.

Back to yoga on Wednesday, I wonder how much flexibility I have lost and what postures I can manage?

Coding maniac rants

Without really getting fully fixed in between, and still mainly stuck inside, I shifted from working a bit to being a long-hours coding maniac. The reason is that I'm finally going for the "big push" (ready Blackadder?) to get the arXiv identifier changes done. It is a little too close to call as to whether we'll make it in time for 1 April (an amusing day for some big changes) or not, but I think we have at least a fighting chance.

So, to the rant. Not entirely unrelated but not about arXiv: why is the "state of the art" of web design based around fixed 800 pixel wide layouts? This is really pitiful and sadly includes this blog -- which I apologize for but claim I have no control over other than to chose another blogging service. I have a 1600 pixel wide screen which isn't even super high resolution these days, the blog size is fixed at half my screen width so if I choose a sensibly sized font for casual reading I get about two and a half words on a line. I can't imagine that I'm the only person who thinks that high resolution screens are to give beautiful and easy to read text rather than to cram more small text in. Hurrumph!

I can do it standing up

As I sat on the "tub transfer bench" in the shower I wondered what was stopping me from taking a show standing up now. I couldn't think of a good reason so I stood up and took the rest of the shower that way. Much better! I think I'll take the bench out as soon as it has dried off. No more tub transfer bench, hurrah!

Taking a hike

Limits are for pushing... right? Today I gimped my way all the way to the credit union and thence to Leslie's for lunch with Leslie and Chris. I think it took 15-20 minutes to get to the credit union. My leg felt fine but my left wrist was little sore from swinging and hanging on the the walker all that way. I opted to the easy way home in Chris's luxury vehicle.

In doing my exercises I feel it is the wrist that needs most work. Yesterday I managed to get my left (good) leg a little tired after 30 minutes on the exercise bike, so I think I'm doing fine there. My wrist still has rather limited range of motion and aches quite a bit. The range of motion is improving steadily though, so I don't think I should worry but instead keep with the programme.

The great north face of the Eiger... or my driveway

The Eiger it isn't, but my driveway has been looking pretty steep and intimidating for the past couple of months. However, the warm weather melted the remaining snow and ice and it started to look tempting. Today I plucked up the courage to tackle it -- solo, unroped -- and I succeeded in collecting my mail. The round trip must have taken me about 15 minutes but what an adventure! What a feeling of achievement!

I must be feeling bold today as I also ventured upstairs to do some laundry. I didn't want to try to get the walker up so I butt-scooched up the stairs and then slid and hopped to the washing machine. Not elegant but it seemed to work. I suppose I'd better go up again and move it to the dryer.

Sweet Sweat Rain

This weekend was marked by several outings: shopping at Weggies and Targét, a failed attempt to go to Stellar Stereo, a delicious dinner at Pangea, and a trip to the pictures. The flip side of these outings is that the muntins of my windows feel more than ever like bars. I want out.

It is always good to have a place to channel aggression somewhere harmless, or even better, somewhere productive. Recall that exercise bike? Well, today I managed 30mins and a good sweat in a 59F room. I broke a sweat on track 7 of the Sex Pistol's "Seventeen". As I enjoyed the feeling I noticed them belting out the lyrics... "I'm a lazy sod". Ha! The youth of 1977 I thought. I, on the other hand am working out and enjoying the sweat as if it were warm summer rain. This is probably more than you wanted to know so I'll put the ice-pack for my knee back in the freezer and take a shower.

Putting on the miles

I've been missing exercise, missing the kind of work that makes one sweat. Now, thanks, to John I can bike to my heart's content (leg willing) in the comfort of my living room.


Jim and Kata helped me set the bike up yesterday. I found that I can't hold my usual road bike posture so we had to turn up the handlebars in just the same way that all the cool kids did at high school (that didn't include me). Looking at the photo I think I should be mindful of my back... looks rather too rounded there. Anyway, did about 15mins both yesterday and today and it feels good. I haven't yet managed to break out into a sweat but I'm not far off.

Sticking my neck out

Hot on the heels of my Monday orthopedic checkup, Tuesday was neuro day. X-rays of my neck in a neutral position, bent forward and bent backward all showed that the chip on C3 moves with the rest of the bone. From this, and the time since injury, it is inferred that the chip is now connected with the main part of the bone which is good. Various other tolerances were checked and are also fine, so I got the go-ahead to ditch the neck brace. Hurrah!

That was two days ago and I am delighted to report that life without a cast or neck brace is better than with. My wrist still feels very weak but is improving. I spent most of yesterday with it out of the soft brace. I'm doing my best to use my right leg at the appropriate weight bearing level as I walk around -- just about to go to the scale to calibrate myself to the feeling of 56lbs for today.

...and the sun is shining.