Dear friends, thanks for continuing to read. You make me very happy when you reach out in response to something I have written. It has been a long time since I provided an update so I hope you are ready for a really long one!
The holidays were very quiet for us. We missed Kim's dad Bill at Christmas and this was the first year nobody exchanged any presents. We missed having Mel with us also. Kim actually stayed up through the stroke of midnight this year. Usually I have to wake her up so we can see it together.
My condition continues to gradually worsen. But you have to remember that everyone who reported improvements said that they got worse before they got better!
I've lost strength and coordination in my right hand and my legs are weaker. I've fallen once (fell backward from a squatting position) but have come close a number of other times. My handwriting is very poor and very slow, which makes doing my job difficult. I can still type fairly well, but slower and with more typing mistakes. My biggest complaints are my teeth and my sinuses.
Due to the muscle spasms in my face and jaws, I grit and grind my teeth uncontrollably 24/7 and my teeth are wearing down and my jaws and teeth hurt all of the time also. My dentist tried to take a mold of my teeth several months ago but was unable to take an impression due to my gag reflex. Some nights I can tolerate a mouth guard for several hours but it is rare to be able to keep one in all night. And once I remove it my teeth immediately clench strongly and grind. I wake up some mornings with small pieces of mercury amalgam fillings in my mouth. I am afraid that I will start breaking teeth at some point in the next few months unless I can get some relief.
My sinus challenges make it very difficult to breathe at night. I have one position I can breathe comfortably in at night, lying on my left side, my head elevated in a certain position and angle. It's such a narrow range that if I cross my legs to the other side I can't breathe properly. I often spend a couple of hours a night sitting up in bed trying to sleep so that I can breathe through my nose. As a result, I am not getting enough sleep. With the really cold weather I have started having problems breathing through my nose during the day, also. I make noises now when I am trying to breathe normally - nose whistling, throat noises, etc. But that is nothing compared to the noises I make when I eat or drink.
I'm sure part of the problem is the loss of the seal between my throat and sinuses. That means I will probably never be able to scuba dive again.
I have an appointment with my ENT on Monday to see what they can find out and hopefully get some advice on things that may help.
The past week my excess saliva has been worse also. When I open my mouth to try to say hello to someone at work, I often end up drooling instead. Whether drooling, sneezing, coughing, or choking, I usually end up with something on my shirt and pants and am having to launder my pants more often. Gross! Have to increase my meds during the day to compensate for the increased saliva activity.
My Pseudo Bulbar Affect (PBA) is worse also. Last week I had a major crying jag in the morning as Kim was leaving to go to work. I often laugh inappropriately and smile uncontrollably. I wouldn't do well playing competitive poker! Sometimes when I laugh I spray also, which is awful for me and the person standing in front of me, usually Kim. I will have to ask for some medication to attempt to control these symptoms if they get worse.
I am a little frustrated with Hershey Med. I had a heavy metals blood and urine test in December. They called and left a voice message on the home phone saying that nothing showed up on the test results. However, they did not enter the test results into my electronic file and after repeated emails to try to get a copy they suggested that I call the Holy Spirit Lab where the test was done to get a copy for my records and to see what it really said. I want to see my numbers, dang it!!! Kim called the Holy Spirit lab and they said they will print a copy for me if I stop by. Fortunately it is in the same building as the ENT office so I should finally be able to see my numbers on Monday.
Kim and I have talked about having my amalgam fillings removed to see if that will help with my teeth grinding, sinus condition, and ALS symptoms. I hope to get an initial consult at the very least to see what they say and get an estimate for having them all replaced.
I am adding some new supplements based on recommendations in the ALS Diet book starting tomorrow. I already take a lot of pills for someone who has trouble swallowing, but have to keep experimenting until I get a positive response and slow my progression or hopefully, see some improvements. It may take 3-4 months or longer for any supplements to make a difference. I have been on the Deanna Protocol a little over 2 months and it is difficult to say that I have noticed any differences. But if I wasn't on it, would I be worse than I am today? Who knows...?
The ALS diet book has a lot of food recommendations that I am working on, such as ingesting 15 pounds of apples every 10 days - that's a lot of apples. I bought a juicer to make fresh apple and fresh orange juice and I just bought a 36-pound box of organic apples from a local farm.
I am definitely slower! The reduced strength and coordination in my right arm and hand has affected my ability to get ready to go to work in the morning. As a result, I seem to get into the office a little later each week. Shaving and brushing my teeth take longer. On Friday I tried using my left hand to shave and it didn't go too badly. Showering takes longer because I often drop the soap and drying myself takes longer with my reduced dexterity. I have difficulty with my fine motor coordination in fastening collar and sleeve buttons on my dress shirts and have had difficulty fastening some of my pants with buttons also. My belly bulge hasn't gone down any, although I have lost a little more weight, which is not a good thing. I am also having some difficulty eating with my right hand. I can't rotate my wrist and hand to come straight to my mouth so come in at an angle instead.
I eat breakfast at home every morning to try to keep my weight up and have to take my morning Deanna Protocol supplement drink and get out all of my supplements for the day. Before my new supplements arrived this week I had about 20 bottles to deal with and 30 pills. Once I am taking all of my new supplements the number of bottles will be more like 35!
I am still putting in a full 40 hour week at work but because I get into the office later than I used to I have to work later into the evening to put in my hours. I have asked for an accommodation to allow me to work from home part of the time so I don't have to struggle as much in the morning to get in to work to get started.
I filled out the paperwork for my Handicapped Parking placard and picked it up at the DOT this week, which will make the walk from my car into the building shorter. Some days I can walk fairly normally, other days I am very spastic. Going up and down stairs seems to be a little more difficult and I always hold onto the rail for stability and safety.
Have I depressed you? Maybe, but I hope not. Just keeping it real! Battling ALS is a daily struggle, but I am very much in the fight and I am still expecting a turnaround. It's just not happening as quickly as I would like for it to.
I have apparently been polluting my body with poor diet, bad food, lack of exercise, alcohol, sugar, and toxins for 40+ years now and I can't expect my body to bounce back in 2 months just because I have changed my diet and lifestyle. It is going to take longer than that!
Well you've read this far, thank you for hanging in on a long post. Now for some good news! Kim applied for a job at PSU in State College in early November after some difficult discussions and a lot of persuasion and arm twisting by me. She interviewed the week after Thanksgiving. The Applied Research Lab (ARL) offered Kim the job, and this week she received her official offer and accepted the position.
That means that Kim and I will be moving back to State College, where we first met, fell in love, and lived before moving away due to my career needs. Now we are moving back for Kim's career, which seems right and fair. She will finally have her dream job - working at PSU and living once again in Happy Valley. We last lived there in 1993!
It is a good move for us because it will be helpful to live closer to family who can help us and it will be good for Kim's family to have her close by as well. In addition to family we still have some close friends there, more than we have in Mechanicsburg. Kim will live with her mom and I will probably continue to live in the house until it sells for as long as I am able to work and live here safely. One of us will commute on weekends, maybe alternating between State College and Mechanicsburg. Once we sell our Mechanicsburg house we will live with Jean until we figure out where we are going to live in State College. One of the components of the PSU job offer was a relocation package, which is a major benefit for us and certainly helped make a decision.
I've talked to my supervisor about the possibility of working remotely some of the time now. It would be helpful to me to be able to work some of the time from our house in Mechanicsburg or Jean's home in State College instead of getting ready and driving to the office every day. For now, I am capable of commuting to Harrisburg from State College for meetings at the office or with customers if needed. How long I am able to do that is questionable, but if the time comes that I can't safely commute then we will do what we have to do. I am hopeful that we are able to work this out because it would be much less stressful and I would be much more productive if it didn't take me 3 hours from the time I get out of bed to the time I get into the office.
We met with a realtor friend today and our house will officially be on the market early next week. We have a lot of cleanup to do before we are ready for our first showing, but started working on it today.
Please keep your prayers coming! They make a difference! Please pray for strength, patience, healing, to maintain my weight, and for my supplements and diet/lifestyle changes to slow my progression and to recover my capabilities.
It is an exciting time for Kim and me - more new beginnings. New job, new living arrangement, new geography.
Next time I will talk more about my diet and supplements. Stay tuned!
Showing posts with label ALS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALS. Show all posts
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
ALS Clinic #3 - December 10, 2014
Today was a long and exhausting day. Kim and I got up at 5:30 this morning and were at Hershey Med Center Neurology at 8AM for my third quarterly ALS Clinic. Fortunately the snow passed us by last night. There was some good news and some not so good news.
My Forced Vital Capacity score was 84, down from 89 in September and 96 in May. To be honest, I expected it to be worse because of the difficulty I have breathing at night, which is related to my chronic sinus condition. While it was disappointing that it went down, I am happy that it wasn't worse.
The reflex tests were exaggerated indicating nerve and muscle damage. Occupational therapy evaluated my arm and hand strength. My right hand (dominant) grip strength was about 60 pounds, compared to 80 pounds for my left hand. That explains why my handwriting is getting worse, it takes me longer to do almost everything, why I have some trouble shaving in the morning, have trouble opening things, and am dropping things frequently. My weight was down several pounds also, which they have been cautioning me about. It is hard to eat when I am at work, and it takes me a long time to eat a large dinner - about 45 minutes.
They didn't find a major loss of strength in my legs, but they feel very spastic to me and I cannot walk as smoothly or as quickly as I used to. When they tested my ankles they found some catching, which may explain part of my walking slowdown. However, I can still do 30 minutes on the treadmill without getting out of breath or feeling like I am going to fall, just at a slower speed than I used to walk.
The good news - swallow is still good, not much change since September. Surprised everyone since my speech is completely gone for all practical purposes. My blood pressure was good. The physical therapist walked me down to the PT room observing me as I walked and then had me walk up and down 4 steps 3 times and didn't notice any balance, strength, or wobbliness issues on the steps or on the walk down the hall to and back from PT. She did say that I walked with my head forward, but we think that has been the case for a while. She suggested I should work on my posture and try to get my keyboard and computer screen raised more to my eye level to keep my head up.
The push is on for me to agree to let them install a PEG feeding tube to ensure that I am getting enough food and fluids and to help prevent me from aspirating food into my lungs. The feeding tube would be directly inserted into my stomach and it would be fairly inconspicuous, although it might be noticeable if I wear a tight shirt. The doctors, nurses, and nutritionist indicated it wouldn't limit my ability to travel or do any physical activities. They suggested that I might want to do this sooner rather than later.
We also talked about a diaphragm pacer that may help me long term before I would need to use a non-invasive ventilation system such as a BiPAP. Can often delay the onset of using an NIV by a year. The diaphragm pacer system requires an external power pack that must be carried everywhere, which may be more limiting in terms of travel and normal activities.
Both devices could be installed at the same time on at outpatient basis. Lots to think about and I am not in a hurry to make a decision on such important topics.
I also asked to be tested for mercury toxicity, and Dr. Simmons agreed to write the lab order for me, although he indicated that he didn't feel that we would find anything. My first symptoms started a week after I received my flu shot last year. I didn't realize that most flu shots contain Thimerosal, which is a preservative that has organic mercury in it.
I have been severely grinding my teeth for more than 6 years, and I have a lot of large amalgam fillings in my molars. I knew amalgam had mercury in it, but I was very surprised to learn recently that amalgam contains 50% mercury! Mercury is one of the most toxic substances to the human body, and can cause sinus issues and brain and motor neuron damage. My sinuses and gag reflex have gotten worse every year that I have been grinding my teeth at night. I have several mouth guards, but my terrible gag reflex means that I often cannot tolerate one in my mouth at night.
These days, I grind my teeth 24x7 due to the muscle spasms in my face and jaws, and I can feel my fillings disintegrating, which means that I am ingesting more mercury into my body in addition to the mercury vapors that leach from the fillings. Since the teeth are so close to the brain, sinuses, and eyes, amalgam fillings can cause significant bodily damage. I am anxious for the tests and to see what the results are. I am educating myself on amalgam mercury toxicity and treatments.
I gave three vials of blood for two ALS research projects today. Heidi had trouble finding a vein in my right arm so we tried my left arm and eventually found a vein, but it came out as a slow drip, and filling 3 vials took more than 10 minutes.
We finally got out of the ALS clinic around 12:30 and headed to Panera's for a bite of lunch before driving over to Nyes Road for my annual dermatology checkup at the Hershey Med offices at 2PM. No major issues again this year, but about a dozen sun damage places frozen off my face and head. Finally got home around 3:30. Kim and I were both exhausted!
The day was emotionally and physically draining, but all in all it was a pretty good clinic report. So it's early to bed tonight after a full day missed from work and back to the office and PA Turnpike tomorrow.
My Forced Vital Capacity score was 84, down from 89 in September and 96 in May. To be honest, I expected it to be worse because of the difficulty I have breathing at night, which is related to my chronic sinus condition. While it was disappointing that it went down, I am happy that it wasn't worse.
The reflex tests were exaggerated indicating nerve and muscle damage. Occupational therapy evaluated my arm and hand strength. My right hand (dominant) grip strength was about 60 pounds, compared to 80 pounds for my left hand. That explains why my handwriting is getting worse, it takes me longer to do almost everything, why I have some trouble shaving in the morning, have trouble opening things, and am dropping things frequently. My weight was down several pounds also, which they have been cautioning me about. It is hard to eat when I am at work, and it takes me a long time to eat a large dinner - about 45 minutes.
They didn't find a major loss of strength in my legs, but they feel very spastic to me and I cannot walk as smoothly or as quickly as I used to. When they tested my ankles they found some catching, which may explain part of my walking slowdown. However, I can still do 30 minutes on the treadmill without getting out of breath or feeling like I am going to fall, just at a slower speed than I used to walk.
The good news - swallow is still good, not much change since September. Surprised everyone since my speech is completely gone for all practical purposes. My blood pressure was good. The physical therapist walked me down to the PT room observing me as I walked and then had me walk up and down 4 steps 3 times and didn't notice any balance, strength, or wobbliness issues on the steps or on the walk down the hall to and back from PT. She did say that I walked with my head forward, but we think that has been the case for a while. She suggested I should work on my posture and try to get my keyboard and computer screen raised more to my eye level to keep my head up.
The push is on for me to agree to let them install a PEG feeding tube to ensure that I am getting enough food and fluids and to help prevent me from aspirating food into my lungs. The feeding tube would be directly inserted into my stomach and it would be fairly inconspicuous, although it might be noticeable if I wear a tight shirt. The doctors, nurses, and nutritionist indicated it wouldn't limit my ability to travel or do any physical activities. They suggested that I might want to do this sooner rather than later.
We also talked about a diaphragm pacer that may help me long term before I would need to use a non-invasive ventilation system such as a BiPAP. Can often delay the onset of using an NIV by a year. The diaphragm pacer system requires an external power pack that must be carried everywhere, which may be more limiting in terms of travel and normal activities.
Both devices could be installed at the same time on at outpatient basis. Lots to think about and I am not in a hurry to make a decision on such important topics.
I also asked to be tested for mercury toxicity, and Dr. Simmons agreed to write the lab order for me, although he indicated that he didn't feel that we would find anything. My first symptoms started a week after I received my flu shot last year. I didn't realize that most flu shots contain Thimerosal, which is a preservative that has organic mercury in it.
I have been severely grinding my teeth for more than 6 years, and I have a lot of large amalgam fillings in my molars. I knew amalgam had mercury in it, but I was very surprised to learn recently that amalgam contains 50% mercury! Mercury is one of the most toxic substances to the human body, and can cause sinus issues and brain and motor neuron damage. My sinuses and gag reflex have gotten worse every year that I have been grinding my teeth at night. I have several mouth guards, but my terrible gag reflex means that I often cannot tolerate one in my mouth at night.
These days, I grind my teeth 24x7 due to the muscle spasms in my face and jaws, and I can feel my fillings disintegrating, which means that I am ingesting more mercury into my body in addition to the mercury vapors that leach from the fillings. Since the teeth are so close to the brain, sinuses, and eyes, amalgam fillings can cause significant bodily damage. I am anxious for the tests and to see what the results are. I am educating myself on amalgam mercury toxicity and treatments.
I gave three vials of blood for two ALS research projects today. Heidi had trouble finding a vein in my right arm so we tried my left arm and eventually found a vein, but it came out as a slow drip, and filling 3 vials took more than 10 minutes.
We finally got out of the ALS clinic around 12:30 and headed to Panera's for a bite of lunch before driving over to Nyes Road for my annual dermatology checkup at the Hershey Med offices at 2PM. No major issues again this year, but about a dozen sun damage places frozen off my face and head. Finally got home around 3:30. Kim and I were both exhausted!
The day was emotionally and physically draining, but all in all it was a pretty good clinic report. So it's early to bed tonight after a full day missed from work and back to the office and PA Turnpike tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Knudson Brothers Ice Bucket Challenge 9/11/2014 at Estes Park, CO
I've been waiting for brother Chuck to provide the video for a few weeks, and finally have a copy. Thanks to Chuck, Forest, and Don for an amazing trip and amazing ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Thanks to Chuck for a great video edit! Love you all!
This is difficult to watch. You can tell how emotional we all were and how much my speech has degraded. But you can also see what a great time we had together! It was a huge bucket list trip for me!
We were challenged by my sister, Amy Burgett.
I challenged my friends I worked with from MapQuest and GeoDecisions. A few people from each organization have completed the ice bucket challenge. Thanks to all who did so for me!
This is difficult to watch. You can tell how emotional we all were and how much my speech has degraded. But you can also see what a great time we had together! It was a huge bucket list trip for me!
We were challenged by my sister, Amy Burgett.
I challenged my friends I worked with from MapQuest and GeoDecisions. A few people from each organization have completed the ice bucket challenge. Thanks to all who did so for me!
Saturday, November 1, 2014
One Year Symptom Anniversary
Kim and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary last week.
It was a year ago today that I first noticed speech difficulties a week after getting my annual flu shot at work. A lot has changed in that year!
My six month ALS diagnosis anniversary is next week.
I have experienced a continued general degradation in my speech and swallowing during the year. It is very difficult for me to talk and be understood by anyone these days. I am experiencing fairly severe muscle spasms all over my body. I don't sleep very well at night because I have trouble finding a position where I can breathe comfortably with my sinus allergies/ALS symptoms. Some days I feel like my hands and legs are weaker, other days I feel normal.
I met with the Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) this week to talk about getting a communications board tablet computer and software that has pics/text to speech capabilities to help me with my verbal communications. Also sent an email to Baker HR to request an accommodation to help pay for the device and software.
I started doing morning Tai Chi/Qigong exercises before work to provide stretching, strengthening, energy, and improved breathing. I still do some walking on the treadmill, but not as intense or as long as I used to. I ordered a PowerLung device this week to strengthen my lungs and diaphragm and started doing breath stacking exercises to help also. My Forced Vital Capacity (FVC, measure of lung/breathing health) went down some in my second ALS clinic in September, so I want to do some exercises to keep it from worsening, and hopefully see an improvement at my third clinic in December.
I've been taking Chinese Herbs and doing intense acupuncture therapy for ALS for 6 weeks. I have been on the Deanna Protocol of nutritional supplements for ALS for 2 weeks. The Deanna Protocol suggests ingesting 12 Tbsps of coconut oil every day, but I have had difficulty ingesting 2 Tbsps. I ordered a case of Fuel for Thought (F2T), which provides the equivalent of 15 Tbsps of coconut oil daily in a 2-serving 2.5 oz bottle and I am on day 4. Can't drink it straight, but I am getting it down. F2T is currently being researched for Alzheimer's treatment and has shown benefits for most neurological conditions by providing energy for healthy brain and nerve function.
I hope to see some significant DP benefits by week 4!
Jean, Kelly and Liam are visiting us this weekend and we are going to see Cirque du Soleil Varekai at the Giant Center this afternoon. Should be fun!
NO WHITE FLAGS!
It was a year ago today that I first noticed speech difficulties a week after getting my annual flu shot at work. A lot has changed in that year!
My six month ALS diagnosis anniversary is next week.
I have experienced a continued general degradation in my speech and swallowing during the year. It is very difficult for me to talk and be understood by anyone these days. I am experiencing fairly severe muscle spasms all over my body. I don't sleep very well at night because I have trouble finding a position where I can breathe comfortably with my sinus allergies/ALS symptoms. Some days I feel like my hands and legs are weaker, other days I feel normal.
I met with the Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) this week to talk about getting a communications board tablet computer and software that has pics/text to speech capabilities to help me with my verbal communications. Also sent an email to Baker HR to request an accommodation to help pay for the device and software.
I started doing morning Tai Chi/Qigong exercises before work to provide stretching, strengthening, energy, and improved breathing. I still do some walking on the treadmill, but not as intense or as long as I used to. I ordered a PowerLung device this week to strengthen my lungs and diaphragm and started doing breath stacking exercises to help also. My Forced Vital Capacity (FVC, measure of lung/breathing health) went down some in my second ALS clinic in September, so I want to do some exercises to keep it from worsening, and hopefully see an improvement at my third clinic in December.
I've been taking Chinese Herbs and doing intense acupuncture therapy for ALS for 6 weeks. I have been on the Deanna Protocol of nutritional supplements for ALS for 2 weeks. The Deanna Protocol suggests ingesting 12 Tbsps of coconut oil every day, but I have had difficulty ingesting 2 Tbsps. I ordered a case of Fuel for Thought (F2T), which provides the equivalent of 15 Tbsps of coconut oil daily in a 2-serving 2.5 oz bottle and I am on day 4. Can't drink it straight, but I am getting it down. F2T is currently being researched for Alzheimer's treatment and has shown benefits for most neurological conditions by providing energy for healthy brain and nerve function.
I hope to see some significant DP benefits by week 4!
Jean, Kelly and Liam are visiting us this weekend and we are going to see Cirque du Soleil Varekai at the Giant Center this afternoon. Should be fun!
NO WHITE FLAGS!
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Bucket List Alert - Fishing
I am very fortunate to have some compassionate friends who want to help me fulfill my bucket list. On Thursday evening, my friend Pat G. from Baker invited me to go fishing with him on the Susquehanna River. He has a nice bass boat, and told me all I had to do was show up and have a valid PA fishing license - he would supply everything else. We agreed to meet at his house in Marysville at 5:30PM.
The last time I went fishing was in my backyard in Lancaster, which backed up to the Little Conestoga Creek and was stocked with trout by the PFBC. That was probably at least 14 years ago. The only fish I ever saw in the creek were some healthy carp. I tried to catch fish quite a few times during the 7 years we lived on Bob White Lane, but can't remember ever catching anything other than our wet dachshund who slipped into the creek.
I spent quite a bit of time fishing with my buddies in South Charleston in my youth through age 23 when I stopped working for the phone company and dropped back into college, including many weekends on banks of the Kanawha River near the storm sewer outlet in Kanawha City. I still have many of my fishing rods and lures from 30+ years ago.
The biggest bass I ever saw was a large mouth that my friend Webster caught on Sherwood Lake in eastern WV. Dave, Webster, Mike and I spent many a night on the Kanawha River and on various camping/fishing/drinking trips, and we did catch some fish. Like fishing on the Susquehanna River, fishing on the Kanawha was catch and release because we knew the river was polluted.
Since it had been such a long time since I had been fishing with someone else - easily 30 years - I was very excited to join Pat and fish on the river. It was a beautiful fall evening, warm when we started, slightly cloudy, and a half moon in the sky. We drove down to the I-81 bridge in Marysville and put the boat in the water.
It's not easy for me to hold a smile these days due to weak facial muscles, but I had a big smile on my face the whole evening!
We were fishing for small mouth bass using plastic worms. Pat had about 8-10 fishing rods ready to go. When it gets dark it is difficult to see to tie knots in the boat, so everything was already baited. They were all spin casting rods - raise the bail, finger the line, and cast. Work the crank and reel it in, working the tip to try to interest a fish. Like riding a bike, I figured it out quickly.
I caught the first smallmouth after about 10 minutes, a nice sized 12-incher. It put up a pretty good fight, and Pat took a picture. I caught one additional 12-incher the rest of the evening and had several on the line but failed to set the hook. You forget a lot after 30 years absence! Two of them seemed much larger than the 12-inchers I did land, but since we didn't get them near or into the boat, not sure how big.
Pat caught a very nice 15-inch and a 14-inch and also missed several that swallowed the bait. We motored upriver a total of 3 times and drifted down past the bridge before heading back up each time. It was pretty quiet when we were several hundred yards above the bridge but got increasingly louder as we drifted closer. With the half moon, lights from the bridge, and lights from the Enola train yard it was easy to see even after it turned dark.
We left the river in the dark around 7:30, a successful night! Thanks, Pat, for helping me with my bucket list and for being my friend! Now I have my fishing license and hope to go again soon. I need to check my rods and lures, replace the old and probably rotten fishing line, and figure out my next excursion.
The last time I went fishing was in my backyard in Lancaster, which backed up to the Little Conestoga Creek and was stocked with trout by the PFBC. That was probably at least 14 years ago. The only fish I ever saw in the creek were some healthy carp. I tried to catch fish quite a few times during the 7 years we lived on Bob White Lane, but can't remember ever catching anything other than our wet dachshund who slipped into the creek.
I spent quite a bit of time fishing with my buddies in South Charleston in my youth through age 23 when I stopped working for the phone company and dropped back into college, including many weekends on banks of the Kanawha River near the storm sewer outlet in Kanawha City. I still have many of my fishing rods and lures from 30+ years ago.
The biggest bass I ever saw was a large mouth that my friend Webster caught on Sherwood Lake in eastern WV. Dave, Webster, Mike and I spent many a night on the Kanawha River and on various camping/fishing/drinking trips, and we did catch some fish. Like fishing on the Susquehanna River, fishing on the Kanawha was catch and release because we knew the river was polluted.
Since it had been such a long time since I had been fishing with someone else - easily 30 years - I was very excited to join Pat and fish on the river. It was a beautiful fall evening, warm when we started, slightly cloudy, and a half moon in the sky. We drove down to the I-81 bridge in Marysville and put the boat in the water.
Captain Pat
Pat motored us up above the bridge several hundred meters, then we stopped the motor and drifted back down. It was neat to look up under the bridge and Pat had some interesting stories to tell about it. He pointed out the pins that are supposed to keep the bridge from falling into the river in case of a structure failure, and pointed out where all the piers had cracked and how they had placed the steel turnbuckles around the top of each bridge pier to strengthen them.It's not easy for me to hold a smile these days due to weak facial muscles, but I had a big smile on my face the whole evening!
I caught the first smallmouth after about 10 minutes, a nice sized 12-incher. It put up a pretty good fight, and Pat took a picture. I caught one additional 12-incher the rest of the evening and had several on the line but failed to set the hook. You forget a lot after 30 years absence! Two of them seemed much larger than the 12-inchers I did land, but since we didn't get them near or into the boat, not sure how big.
Pat caught a very nice 15-inch and a 14-inch and also missed several that swallowed the bait. We motored upriver a total of 3 times and drifted down past the bridge before heading back up each time. It was pretty quiet when we were several hundred yards above the bridge but got increasingly louder as we drifted closer. With the half moon, lights from the bridge, and lights from the Enola train yard it was easy to see even after it turned dark.
We left the river in the dark around 7:30, a successful night! Thanks, Pat, for helping me with my bucket list and for being my friend! Now I have my fishing license and hope to go again soon. I need to check my rods and lures, replace the old and probably rotten fishing line, and figure out my next excursion.
Normal Acupuncture vs. Intense Acupuncture
I've been discussing my extreme acupuncture for the treatment of ALS, and apparently I have made some people who have considered medical acupuncture for the treatment of pain or allergies uncomfortable and reconsider acupuncture as the means to help them with their problem. Several of you have contacted me saying that after reading my blog you will no longer consider acupuncture.
Please let me set the record straight. I am using the terminology "intense acupuncture" to refer to the treatment that my doctor is providing to combat my ALS disease. 99.999% of people who receive treatment from a qualified acupuncture medical doctor will NEVER receive any of the treatments I am blogging about. This is a life and death procedure I am attempting, NOT standard acupuncture.
My first few sessions with my medical acupuncturist focused on relieving some of my symptoms such as chronic allergies/sinusitis, TMJ pain, muscle spasms, etc. The doctor used the standard, very thin, solid acupuncture needles for these treatment sessions. Standard acupuncture needles are very thin and not hollow like a hypodermic needle, that is why they don't hurt when inserted.
Twirling the needles once inserted or moving them up and down to stimulate the acupressure point can sometimes be a little uncomfortable, but the discomfort is minor.
Most Chinese herbs dispensed by acupuncture medical doctors in the U.S. come packaged in pill form (see previous picture on my blog of the back of one of these boxes). Because the herbs used to treat ALS are not that commonly dispensed, my doctor is growing them and preparing them especially for me. As a result, they are not in pill form and must be ingested. Yes, they taste and smell terrible. But if there is a 10% chance of slowing my ALS progression, it is worth it,
Millions of people in the U.S. seek acupuncture treatment for a variety of ailments. The number grows every year as the cost of other medical treatments and drugs continue to increase. Acupuncture has no side effects unlike most prescription medicines advertised in magazines and on TV with side effects like death, blindness, diabetes, stroke, etc. Acupuncture is very safe, and has been used in China and other far eastern cultures for thousands of years and people are more likely to see an acupuncturist than a medical doctor for treatment.
So, if you have considered acupuncture but have been dissuaded by reading my blog, give acupuncture a try! It is a very effective treatment for many medical issues, and especially for chronic pain. Find a good medical acupuncture doctor. My wife's coworker recommended Dr. Williams based on her own successful treatment.
The extreme acupuncture I am writing about is for treatment of ALS. I did some research online about acupuncture and ALS, and nobody reported any ill effects from their acupuncture treatment. However, only a few PALS felt that it really helped them with their ALS condition.
I asked my doctor about a medical article regarding acupuncture coupled with injection therapy at the acupuncture sites with a homeopathic substance called Enercel. Dr. Williams checked them out and indicated she didn't think it was worth trying.
She did some research on Chinese treatments for ALS by contacting one of her grandfather's acupuncture students in China (now in his 80's), who provided her with a medical treatment article involving a small number of Chinese patients treated with extreme acupuncture over a several month period combined with Chinese herbs. Most people in the Chinese study were treated on a daily basis, whereas I am being treated three times a week following a similar regimen. According to the article, more than half of the treated PALS reported improvements in their condition, with several reportedly being completely cured.
I apologize if I confused the issue about normal acupuncture and my extreme acupuncture. They are entirely different. If you have considered trying acupuncture for a health condition, I strongly recommend that you try it!
Thanks for reading!
Please let me set the record straight. I am using the terminology "intense acupuncture" to refer to the treatment that my doctor is providing to combat my ALS disease. 99.999% of people who receive treatment from a qualified acupuncture medical doctor will NEVER receive any of the treatments I am blogging about. This is a life and death procedure I am attempting, NOT standard acupuncture.
My first few sessions with my medical acupuncturist focused on relieving some of my symptoms such as chronic allergies/sinusitis, TMJ pain, muscle spasms, etc. The doctor used the standard, very thin, solid acupuncture needles for these treatment sessions. Standard acupuncture needles are very thin and not hollow like a hypodermic needle, that is why they don't hurt when inserted.
Twirling the needles once inserted or moving them up and down to stimulate the acupressure point can sometimes be a little uncomfortable, but the discomfort is minor.
Most Chinese herbs dispensed by acupuncture medical doctors in the U.S. come packaged in pill form (see previous picture on my blog of the back of one of these boxes). Because the herbs used to treat ALS are not that commonly dispensed, my doctor is growing them and preparing them especially for me. As a result, they are not in pill form and must be ingested. Yes, they taste and smell terrible. But if there is a 10% chance of slowing my ALS progression, it is worth it,
Millions of people in the U.S. seek acupuncture treatment for a variety of ailments. The number grows every year as the cost of other medical treatments and drugs continue to increase. Acupuncture has no side effects unlike most prescription medicines advertised in magazines and on TV with side effects like death, blindness, diabetes, stroke, etc. Acupuncture is very safe, and has been used in China and other far eastern cultures for thousands of years and people are more likely to see an acupuncturist than a medical doctor for treatment.
So, if you have considered acupuncture but have been dissuaded by reading my blog, give acupuncture a try! It is a very effective treatment for many medical issues, and especially for chronic pain. Find a good medical acupuncture doctor. My wife's coworker recommended Dr. Williams based on her own successful treatment.
The extreme acupuncture I am writing about is for treatment of ALS. I did some research online about acupuncture and ALS, and nobody reported any ill effects from their acupuncture treatment. However, only a few PALS felt that it really helped them with their ALS condition.
I asked my doctor about a medical article regarding acupuncture coupled with injection therapy at the acupuncture sites with a homeopathic substance called Enercel. Dr. Williams checked them out and indicated she didn't think it was worth trying.
She did some research on Chinese treatments for ALS by contacting one of her grandfather's acupuncture students in China (now in his 80's), who provided her with a medical treatment article involving a small number of Chinese patients treated with extreme acupuncture over a several month period combined with Chinese herbs. Most people in the Chinese study were treated on a daily basis, whereas I am being treated three times a week following a similar regimen. According to the article, more than half of the treated PALS reported improvements in their condition, with several reportedly being completely cured.
I apologize if I confused the issue about normal acupuncture and my extreme acupuncture. They are entirely different. If you have considered trying acupuncture for a health condition, I strongly recommend that you try it!
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Intense Acupuncture, Week 3
On Friday, I lay on my back and we punctured my toes, the inside of my cheek, and under my tongue to bleed me with a large bore hypodermic needle. Then we focused on my neck area.
She also gave me the formulated Chinese herbs I had been waiting for in a pickle jar with the instructions to take twice a day after eating, morning and evening. They are coarsely ground and look kind of like sea oats. To be sure that I wasn't allergic, she asked me to start with a teaspoon Friday night, and then a heaping tablespoon for each subsequent dose if I wasn't allergic.
She warned me it wouldn't taste good, and it was okay if I mixed it with orange juice. It smelled horrible, and tasted significantly worse!!! I didn't have any OJ Friday night so tried adding to cranberry juice. It was lumpy, smelled terrible, and I had a terrible time swallowing it. It took me about 15 minutes to work up the courage to try it. I ended up with whole pieces of bitter and pungent herbs in my mouth and I actually vomited part of it back up it was so terrible.
Saturday morning I took two loads of stuff from the basement to the Salvation Army and got some OJ on the way back. It was better when I mixed it with OJ as she suggested and ground it up in my NutriBullet, but I still didn't have the liquid/herbs mix correct, so there were chunks left at the bottom of the glass that I couldn't swallow and stayed in my mouth and almost made me throw up again.
Fortunately, in a few days I have gotten better at the consistency and quantity of juice that is required to grind it up in my NutriBullet and get it down quickly and in a single breath. If I have to come up for air and then swallow the rest of it, the taste is horrendous. I told Kim on Saturday that it was like trying to eat vomit! I now have a glass of water and some mouthwash standing by to get the taste out of my mouth as quickly as possible. The smell when I open the jar doesn't make me gag anymore, so I guess I am adjusting. I will finish the last of what she gave me tomorrow morning and she will have more for me when I see her tomorrow.
On Monday, I lay on my stomach and we did the "mosquite bites" procedure on my upper back, where she jabs me very quickly many times with a regular hypodermic needle to get my back to bleed. I could feel the rivulets of blood on my back and some ran down the side of my neck.
She followed this up with heavy duty suction devices and left 3 large "pepperoni" marks on my back, two on the right side of my spine and one on my neck. They hurt a lot worse today than they did yesterday. Then she had me flip me over on my back again, worked on my neck to try to affect my speech, swallowing, and jaw muscles, then pricked my fingers, and vigorously massaged my ears to affect all of the acupressure points.
No noticeable differences yet, although my swallowing seems slightly better. It is still taking me longer and longer to get through a meal. Hopefully after a few weeks of being on the herbs and the intense acupuncture we will start to see a difference! Keep those prayers coming!
She also gave me the formulated Chinese herbs I had been waiting for in a pickle jar with the instructions to take twice a day after eating, morning and evening. They are coarsely ground and look kind of like sea oats. To be sure that I wasn't allergic, she asked me to start with a teaspoon Friday night, and then a heaping tablespoon for each subsequent dose if I wasn't allergic.
She warned me it wouldn't taste good, and it was okay if I mixed it with orange juice. It smelled horrible, and tasted significantly worse!!! I didn't have any OJ Friday night so tried adding to cranberry juice. It was lumpy, smelled terrible, and I had a terrible time swallowing it. It took me about 15 minutes to work up the courage to try it. I ended up with whole pieces of bitter and pungent herbs in my mouth and I actually vomited part of it back up it was so terrible.
Saturday morning I took two loads of stuff from the basement to the Salvation Army and got some OJ on the way back. It was better when I mixed it with OJ as she suggested and ground it up in my NutriBullet, but I still didn't have the liquid/herbs mix correct, so there were chunks left at the bottom of the glass that I couldn't swallow and stayed in my mouth and almost made me throw up again.
Fortunately, in a few days I have gotten better at the consistency and quantity of juice that is required to grind it up in my NutriBullet and get it down quickly and in a single breath. If I have to come up for air and then swallow the rest of it, the taste is horrendous. I told Kim on Saturday that it was like trying to eat vomit! I now have a glass of water and some mouthwash standing by to get the taste out of my mouth as quickly as possible. The smell when I open the jar doesn't make me gag anymore, so I guess I am adjusting. I will finish the last of what she gave me tomorrow morning and she will have more for me when I see her tomorrow.
On Monday, I lay on my stomach and we did the "mosquite bites" procedure on my upper back, where she jabs me very quickly many times with a regular hypodermic needle to get my back to bleed. I could feel the rivulets of blood on my back and some ran down the side of my neck.
She followed this up with heavy duty suction devices and left 3 large "pepperoni" marks on my back, two on the right side of my spine and one on my neck. They hurt a lot worse today than they did yesterday. Then she had me flip me over on my back again, worked on my neck to try to affect my speech, swallowing, and jaw muscles, then pricked my fingers, and vigorously massaged my ears to affect all of the acupressure points.
No noticeable differences yet, although my swallowing seems slightly better. It is still taking me longer and longer to get through a meal. Hopefully after a few weeks of being on the herbs and the intense acupuncture we will start to see a difference! Keep those prayers coming!
Failure to Launch!
This post is a difficult and emotional one for me to write.
Melanie and I rescheduled our tandem skydiving to this past weekend. We were excited! It was beautiful weather, warm, great weather for a jump day! Mike at the Maytown Sport Parachute Club instructed us to show up at noon. We were there on time, and it wasn't very crowded at noon. John took us right into the classroom to watch a video about the risks of skydiving and to sign our lives away - I think there were probably close to 50 paragraphs we had to read and initial indicating we wouldn't sue in case of accident or death, and our heirs wouldn't sue either.
I gave Mel the opportunity to choose whether to jump first or second. She chose first, afraid that if she waited she might chicken out. She put on her jump suit with John and went through the drill of how to get out of the airplane and what the videographer Mike wanted her to do. After about a 30 minute wait for others on the manifest to jump and refueling the plane. Mel, John and Mike boarded and went skyward. About 12 minutes later, we saw them overhead exiting the plane at 10,000 feet, tine specs. Then we saw John's drogue deploy to slow them to 120 mph (instead of 170mph) and Mike circling them taking video. After a little less than a minute, John's chute deployed and Mel and John floated to earth. Mel got to steer the parachute and they did a lot of tight turns that she said were a lot of fun. They landed without incident and Mel was all smiles.
While Mel was in the air, Chuck and I suited up and Chuck walked me through what was expected to get into the tandem rig and exit the airplane. There was one flight manifest between Mel's jump and mine.
When Mike got his chute repacked, he walked over and talked to me about the video and what I should do when we were freefalling. We waited for another manifest in front of us to jump and the plane to refuel, then it was our turn. We had another lady with us in the plane who took a "short jump" at 4,000 feet. She looked like she was in her 60's, and she indicated she had jumped about 6,000 times since she started in 1970.
It was a breath of cool fresh air when they opened the door at 4,000' feet and she jumped. They closed up the door and we started our climb to 10,000 feet. It takes a while. The scenery was beautiful!
I made a mistake when I put on my jumpsuit. Due to ALS, my mouth alternates between too much saliva and being totally dry. I remedy the dryness and stifle the urge to gag by sucking on small sugar free lozenges. I had quite a few with me, and I put one in my mouth before I got my jumpsuit and tandem harness on. However, I neglected to plan ahead, and having waited almost 30 minutes with my jump suit on before boarding the plan, my lozenge was gone shortly after the lady jumped and I had no more at hand - they were buried in my pants pocket and inaccessible. Maybe if I had a drink before I got on board I would have been okay, maybe not.
Normally, this wouldn't be too bad, but with my heightened excitement (okay, I was appropriately scared) about jumping out of a plane, I started feeling like I was going to gag on our climb to 10,000 feet. That happens to me fairly often these days, but the lozenges work well. Unfortunately, I couldn't access them in my pocket with my harness and jumpsuit on. I started gagging around 8,000 feet and thought I might vomit in the back of this small plane.
Chuck was concerned and told me if I had to vomit to do so in my helmet - they don't carry barf bags like a commercial flight and it would be a real mess and ruin everyone else's afternoon if they had to smell it on their ascent after my plane ride. I didn't barf, but it was a near thing. I felt like I was starting to get some control back as we approached 10,000 feet and felt I could exit the plane for the jump, but Chuck and Mike quickly decided that it wasn't worth the risk - for Chuck and for me. The jump masters take their life and their passenger's life in their hands for every tandem jump, and if someone is in distress like I was, it is always safer to abort and retry.
So, after fifteen years of waiting to do the deed and jump out of an airplane, I came very close, but failed to launch. My body let me down this time. Obviously, I was extremely disappointed, but I respect the difficult safety call that Chuck had to make. I was clearly in distress, and I have no doubt that he made the correct decision and credit him for doing so.
I was defeated and morose as we flew back to the ground. Chuck and Mike were very sympathetic, and Chuck told me several times to keep my chin up. We went back into the classroom to talk about what happened. They gave me every chance to convince them I could use the lozenges to control the gagging and was ready to go back up and try again, but I felt that I couldn't face a second disappointment if it happened again and I was concerned that even with a drink ahead of time and several lozenges it could still happen. So, I decided not to wait for a new manifest and try again that afternoon.
I am very happy that Mel succeeded and that she had such an incredible freefall and canopy experience. She said she would do it again and when I am ready she will go with me again. She should have her video later this week and I look forward to seeing it.
My third attempt wasn't the charm that I hoped it would be, but I know what to expect now and I hope that I have a chance to try again and am successful the next time. It was definitely a life experience and a learning experience, just not the one I expected.
Melanie and I rescheduled our tandem skydiving to this past weekend. We were excited! It was beautiful weather, warm, great weather for a jump day! Mike at the Maytown Sport Parachute Club instructed us to show up at noon. We were there on time, and it wasn't very crowded at noon. John took us right into the classroom to watch a video about the risks of skydiving and to sign our lives away - I think there were probably close to 50 paragraphs we had to read and initial indicating we wouldn't sue in case of accident or death, and our heirs wouldn't sue either.
I gave Mel the opportunity to choose whether to jump first or second. She chose first, afraid that if she waited she might chicken out. She put on her jump suit with John and went through the drill of how to get out of the airplane and what the videographer Mike wanted her to do. After about a 30 minute wait for others on the manifest to jump and refueling the plane. Mel, John and Mike boarded and went skyward. About 12 minutes later, we saw them overhead exiting the plane at 10,000 feet, tine specs. Then we saw John's drogue deploy to slow them to 120 mph (instead of 170mph) and Mike circling them taking video. After a little less than a minute, John's chute deployed and Mel and John floated to earth. Mel got to steer the parachute and they did a lot of tight turns that she said were a lot of fun. They landed without incident and Mel was all smiles.
While Mel was in the air, Chuck and I suited up and Chuck walked me through what was expected to get into the tandem rig and exit the airplane. There was one flight manifest between Mel's jump and mine.
When Mike got his chute repacked, he walked over and talked to me about the video and what I should do when we were freefalling. We waited for another manifest in front of us to jump and the plane to refuel, then it was our turn. We had another lady with us in the plane who took a "short jump" at 4,000 feet. She looked like she was in her 60's, and she indicated she had jumped about 6,000 times since she started in 1970.
It was a breath of cool fresh air when they opened the door at 4,000' feet and she jumped. They closed up the door and we started our climb to 10,000 feet. It takes a while. The scenery was beautiful!
I made a mistake when I put on my jumpsuit. Due to ALS, my mouth alternates between too much saliva and being totally dry. I remedy the dryness and stifle the urge to gag by sucking on small sugar free lozenges. I had quite a few with me, and I put one in my mouth before I got my jumpsuit and tandem harness on. However, I neglected to plan ahead, and having waited almost 30 minutes with my jump suit on before boarding the plan, my lozenge was gone shortly after the lady jumped and I had no more at hand - they were buried in my pants pocket and inaccessible. Maybe if I had a drink before I got on board I would have been okay, maybe not.
Normally, this wouldn't be too bad, but with my heightened excitement (okay, I was appropriately scared) about jumping out of a plane, I started feeling like I was going to gag on our climb to 10,000 feet. That happens to me fairly often these days, but the lozenges work well. Unfortunately, I couldn't access them in my pocket with my harness and jumpsuit on. I started gagging around 8,000 feet and thought I might vomit in the back of this small plane.
Chuck was concerned and told me if I had to vomit to do so in my helmet - they don't carry barf bags like a commercial flight and it would be a real mess and ruin everyone else's afternoon if they had to smell it on their ascent after my plane ride. I didn't barf, but it was a near thing. I felt like I was starting to get some control back as we approached 10,000 feet and felt I could exit the plane for the jump, but Chuck and Mike quickly decided that it wasn't worth the risk - for Chuck and for me. The jump masters take their life and their passenger's life in their hands for every tandem jump, and if someone is in distress like I was, it is always safer to abort and retry.
So, after fifteen years of waiting to do the deed and jump out of an airplane, I came very close, but failed to launch. My body let me down this time. Obviously, I was extremely disappointed, but I respect the difficult safety call that Chuck had to make. I was clearly in distress, and I have no doubt that he made the correct decision and credit him for doing so.
I was defeated and morose as we flew back to the ground. Chuck and Mike were very sympathetic, and Chuck told me several times to keep my chin up. We went back into the classroom to talk about what happened. They gave me every chance to convince them I could use the lozenges to control the gagging and was ready to go back up and try again, but I felt that I couldn't face a second disappointment if it happened again and I was concerned that even with a drink ahead of time and several lozenges it could still happen. So, I decided not to wait for a new manifest and try again that afternoon.
I am very happy that Mel succeeded and that she had such an incredible freefall and canopy experience. She said she would do it again and when I am ready she will go with me again. She should have her video later this week and I look forward to seeing it.
My third attempt wasn't the charm that I hoped it would be, but I know what to expect now and I hope that I have a chance to try again and am successful the next time. It was definitely a life experience and a learning experience, just not the one I expected.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Ten Days in Beautiful Colorado
Well, this time I have a good reason for no new posts the last 11 days. I went to Colorado for a bucket trip with my dad and two brothers and traveled almost 1300 miles in our rental van. Here is our Day 1 and 2 story and pictures.
We started out in Denver Thursday. Dad and I arrived late afternoon within an hour of each other at Denver International Airport, and we met up with middle brother Forest, who lives in Aurora, at our hotel by the airport. Forest drove us down to have dinner with dad's cousin Charlie and his wife Helen. We had a fantastic fish dinner at the Cherry Crest Seafood restaurant and enjoyed catching up. I hadn't seen Charlie and Helen for close to fifteen years! It was a joyful reunion, and the start of our fantastic gastronomic tour across Colorado with lots of different and excellent foods.
Youngest brother Chuck arrived around 1AM and joined us at our hotel room. Forest picked us up Friday morning and we had breakfast with Charlie and Helen at the Original Pancake House, where I had the biggest omelet (Cowboy Omelet) I have ever seen, light and fluffy (oven baked) and stuffed full of ham, bacon, Tillamook cheese, and covered with delicious sausage gravy! Oh, and it came with 3 pancakes also! Needless to say I was stuffed!
As we continued our drive westward, we entered Glenwood Canyon, which is an engineering marvel and a geologic marvel as well. Lots of interesting rock formations, the Colorado River, and lodgepole pine trees and aspen trees, which were just starting to turn golden in the higher altitudes.
We stopped at the Grizzly Creek Rest Area to stretch our legs, and Forest saw and took pictures of a black bear cub. As you look up river you can see the elevated highway that runs down through the canyon. The sun was starting to throw long shadows in the canyon before we exited and drove into Mesa country as we drew nearer to Grand Junction.
After Grizzly Creek we drove hard to try to get to Grand Junction before dark. Didn't stop as many times as we did up to that point. The canyon gave way to badlands and then to flattop mesas.
We started out in Denver Thursday. Dad and I arrived late afternoon within an hour of each other at Denver International Airport, and we met up with middle brother Forest, who lives in Aurora, at our hotel by the airport. Forest drove us down to have dinner with dad's cousin Charlie and his wife Helen. We had a fantastic fish dinner at the Cherry Crest Seafood restaurant and enjoyed catching up. I hadn't seen Charlie and Helen for close to fifteen years! It was a joyful reunion, and the start of our fantastic gastronomic tour across Colorado with lots of different and excellent foods.
Mountains in the distance in the rain
Youngest brother Chuck arrived around 1AM and joined us at our hotel room. Forest picked us up Friday morning and we had breakfast with Charlie and Helen at the Original Pancake House, where I had the biggest omelet (Cowboy Omelet) I have ever seen, light and fluffy (oven baked) and stuffed full of ham, bacon, Tillamook cheese, and covered with delicious sausage gravy! Oh, and it came with 3 pancakes also! Needless to say I was stuffed!
L-R: Helen, Forest, Don, Chuck, Jim, and Charlie - the Before Picture
After breakfast we drove to Hertz to pick up our rental van. Chuck went to visit some of his former optometry office friends. Dad, Forest, and I drove around town and visited where Grandpa's house was (where dad grew up), Knudson Hall on the campus of Denver University, named for my Grandpa Clarence, who was the dean of Chemical Engineering, and his apartment building on Harvard.
House on Clayton
Forest hamming it up
We drove to Charlie and Helen's house and visited until Charles finished his running around and joined us so we could start our cross-state journey. Charlie's dad (Charlie) was inducted into the Wall of Honor for the Douglas County Fair this year, and we enjoyed reading about his award and seeing some of the Kirk family pictures.
Don and Charlie with the Kirk Family Photos
We got away just after 1PM, and drove I-470 around Denver to I-70 West to go to Grand Junction. It was rainy the first part of the trip but eventually turned partly sunny as we drove farther west.
We stopped in a small mining town (Silver Plume) to see if the bakery that dad and Helen loved was open, but it had been converted to a bar. The houses were very interesting and picturesque.
We stopped for a late lunch at Frisco (9,000' elevation), at the Butterhorn Bakery and since the sun was shining, sat outside and enjoyed the warmth and beautiful views of the mountains.
I had forgotten just how beautiful and majestic the mountains of Colorado were, and I took lots of pictures out the window. Many of them didn't turn out very well due to light conditions or dirty windows, but they still tell the story of our journey. At every turn there was a different sight to enjoy, different geology/topography, sky/cloud/weather conditions, wildlife and flora. Trust me when I say that the pictures don't do justice to reality!
A PortaPotty on Wheels? Who Knew?
We stopped at the Grizzly Creek Rest Area to stretch our legs, and Forest saw and took pictures of a black bear cub. As you look up river you can see the elevated highway that runs down through the canyon. The sun was starting to throw long shadows in the canyon before we exited and drove into Mesa country as we drew nearer to Grand Junction.
After Grizzly Creek we drove hard to try to get to Grand Junction before dark. Didn't stop as many times as we did up to that point. The canyon gave way to badlands and then to flattop mesas.
And after that picture, my Nikon Coolpix, which had been on almost all afternoon, ran out of battery (never happened before, but that was the way it was every day - had to recharge the battery every night). I have to get the rest of the day's pics uploaded from my iPhone to show you Grand Mesa and the rest of the trip to Grand Junction.
Moon rise over the mesa
Grand Mesa in the background
We finally arrived at our motel in Grand Junction around 7PM. We called my cousin Frank and his wife Margie and had dinner at the Rib City Grill down the road. I hadn't seen them for close to ten years.
Our motel was a throwback to the 50's and 60's, cute and quaint. It gets 4+ out of 5 on TripAdvisor, and for good reason. The owners have done a nice job refurbishing the El Palomino, complete with the red neon sign by the road. It was a typical old-style motor court, interior courtyard with a small pool (too cold to swim), smallish rooms, small bathrooms, two double beds, small TV. It did have some nice modern amenities, DirectTV, free Wi-Fi, coffee maker, refrigerator in the room, and a very nice continental breakfast. The staff was very friendly and the hotel was full both nights we were there. The rates were low enough we had two rooms. Dad and I shared one room and Chuck and Forest shared the one next door. Even though it was right next to a busy road, it was quiet and comfortable.
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