Month: January 2018

Gibberish OR #ChinChillin

Well, by now, its obvious that I’m cheesy and I watch way too much TV.  I have no idea why I dig this Progressive commercial so much that I laugh out loud EVERY TIME I see it:

I don’t even have Progressive insurance and I don’t plan on changing my insurance carrier anyway.  I am not cool enough for a Vlog (just like my son says that I am not cool enough for Instagram) so I just have a blog (“like 10 years too late 😜”). I like cashews and laugh out loud at the, “Holla at ’em Brun” each time whether I am by myself or not.

But, the best part is the part with the chinchilla!  It was this part that brought this commercial to my attention in the first place.  The chinchilla’s name is Rocco.  I call Sean, “Rocco” ALL THE TIME!  I call Sean by SO many different names!  Most of the time, he’s “B” or “Beeb.”  But  there is “Butta,” “Roc,” and the list goes on forever.

When Sean was an infant, I would call him, “Seanie.”  It just came naturally to me but I probably got it from The Quiet Man starting John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

Whenever my Dad would hear me call him this,  he would tell me not to call him that and that it was a, “Sissy name.”   I told him that I am Sean’s mother and I can call him whatever I want. It wasn’t until my Dad had a short stay in the hospital for a few days and while he was there, he called and asked how, “his Seanie” was.  I remember I joked with him and said, “Oh, YOU can call him Seanie?!”

It was probably from that moment on when I started calling him all of these names that there was not any rhyme or reason to call him this. His name is Sean Ramon Tracz. (the Ramon is after my Dad) There isn’t even a letter, “B” in his name!   Recently, we talked about all of the names that I call him and he told me that, “There really is no reason for these names, it’s really just gibberish that you came up with.”  He’s 100% correct.  I just call him these names. Just because.

I’ve done it all his life and he knows that I am talking to him and he just answers to them.   Growing up, my friend, Natalie had a chinchilla so the fact that this box talked about a chinchilla AND the chinchilla’s name is Rocco coupled with the, “Holla at ’em Brun!”  Just makes me laugh! What can I say?! Simple pleasures. I’ll take it! #ChinChillin

1.23.18 Killing It OR “You’re Welcome”OR Return of the “Ooh Doggie!” Stretch

I worked with Greg again on Monday but first, he had Larry do an ultrasound on my knee for about 20 minutes.   Once Greg came over, I told him about tests my neurologist has me do at my annual appointments  as he stretched my right leg out.  He was familiar with these tests and put his index finger out in front of me.

It was probably a foot or a foot and a half in front of me and he told me to, “Go!”  I  concentrated a whole lot as I touched my nose and then his fingertip with my left hand index finger  repeatedly. He kept telling me to go faster and faster and I did this about 10 times. On the 10th time, he told me that I was, “Killing it!”

We both laughed as he bent my right leg and had my knee kind of crossed over my body to the left. He leaned on the outside of my  thigh. I immediately got alarmed because I felt the stretch on my hip and it hurt! I told him so and he told me it was OK because I just don’t use these muscles because I sit so much and so he was stretching them out for me. Then he added, “You’re Welcome!”

I laughed again as I tried breathing through the pain. He stopped leaning on my right leg and walked around the table and did the same stretch with my left.

My mom and Greg helped me back to my chair and my legs felt like Jell-O because both of my hips were really stretched out and kind of hurt. My mom had to put me into the passenger’s side of the car pretty much by herself because I couldn’t offer any help because I was unable to stand.

Both of my hips hurt and my right hip hurt a little bit more than my left. It wasn’t until we were at the light on Plymouth Oaks and Sheldon that I realized that I have had this pain before. This stretch was very similar  to the, “Ooh Doggie!” stretch that Michael used to do on me in 2014.

The table I worked on with Michael at Barwis was about the size of a full-size bed and was lower to the ground. I didn’t equate the two because the table at ATI is similar to a gurney in a hospital.

Michael laid on me more and pushed the opposite shoulder down to the table.   I used to grab his wrist because it hurt so much!  Thinking about it, I welcomed this return of the, “Ooh Doggie!”  Stretch and it made me miss Barwis so badly! As we were driving on the freeway, my hips burned and I remembered the first time I felt this 2013 with Jesse at Barwis.

It’s crazy that I seem to have reverted  to my abilities from 2014 or even 2013 because this stretch hurt me so badly because my hips were so tight. I can’t wait to get back to Barwis but my knee is still popping out of it socket. The other day, I was awakened and shocked by the pain as I rolled over in bed in the middle of the night and heard and felt the  very familiar click of it popping out and I had to roll back over to get it to pop back in.  February 16th cannot come fast enough!  Happy Birthday Mar-Bear and Adam!   Hopefully, it will be a good day for me too and Dr. Moore will clear me to go back to Barwis.  It will really stink if my knee popping out will become my new normal!  Grrr!!!

1.19.18 Heavy

I worked with Greg on Friday. He stretched my leg out really good  and for a really long time and then he had me do my leg lifts with the bolster under my knee. I really rocked them with Matt and I do OK with Brad, but doing my leg lifts on Friday with Greg proved to be really difficult! I told him that my legs felt, “Heavy.”

This fact frustrated me and tried to put these frustrating thoughts out of my head (if just for a moment) so I immediately thought of the movie Across the Universe and this song. I could see Max carrying the Statue of Liberty with all the other guys.  I love that movie!

“I Want You/She’s So Heavy”  Across the Universe Soundtrack

We ended our time with the ultrasound and I really could feel the vibrations from the ultrasound more than I ever have before. It felt nice! I think it is crazy how ever since my injury, I am hyper-aware of my knee, it’s aches, and how much it hurts… STILL.

My knee is still popping out of it socket and I don’t know why. I will talk to Dr. Moore about this when I see him.   In the meantime, when it pops out and I gasp, my mom will grab my ankle and pop it back in. I remember I told Mr. Langford about this and he said something like she was, “Hard-core.”   I remember laughing and I didn’t really think about it but, I guess she is!   It’s just crazy that this is still happening a year and a half later.

Frustration

I started a puzzle a few weeks ago and I thought it would be challenging because the pieces are not uniform. I really dug the picture and I was up for the challenge but as it turns out, it is more than challenging! It takes me to the highest level of frustration!

Because the pieces were not uniform, there were no edge pieces and I had to change my whole strategy in order to complete the puzzle.

 

That was the biggest piece I had completed in a couple of weeks! I couldn’t do it anymore!  Sadly, I’m getting rid of the puzzle.

Based on the documentary I watched earlier this week, I ordered a different puzzle (it has uniform pieces!).   I will either start it later tonight or tomorrow.

Since watching the documentary, I have been listening to Bob Marley Essentials on Apple Music while I cook or wash the dishes. I asked Sean if it was strange that I know all the words to these songs and he told me that it kind of is. Especially when I sing along with,  “Get Up, Stand up.”

😂😂😂

I’ve done three puzzles since hurting my knee and I still have to glue and frame them which I plan on doing! Not sure if I’m going to glue this one but I think I’ll be fun to do!

 

1.15.18 Another Analogy OR Hating on Greatness

I worked with Brad on Monday. As I was getting onto the table, I told him and Matt that if the Eagles don’t make it to the Super Bowl, it will be dumb! All of my teams lost last weekend!

Once I was on the table, Luba came over to talk to  Brad. She told me that she was leaving and she told me to, “Hold it (ATI) down with all of these boys.”  I told her I would as I looked around and noticed who was there  as Brad put my leg in traction. There was Brad, Larry, Matt, and another client. I totally could handle this! I grew up with four older brothers!

As Brad unsnapped my pants and pulled my compression sack down, I told him how my knee was feeling. I haven’t worked with him since after my Tenex.  As I was telling him about my, “Shank hole” Larry yelled from the other end of the room that I need to find another analogy. We laughed as Brad looked at my leg and pointed to the, “Shank hole”  and asked if I was talking about, “this little slit.”  I told him that I was and how badly it hurt and how it felt like it was the size of a quarter and that a screwdriver was stabbed into my shin.

I’m not sure how the conversation started but we (the four guys in me) talked about the playoffs and the upcoming Super Bowl and then we started talking about Tom Brady.  I told them that I wasn’t a fan even though I went to Michigan. I just don’t like him.  Matt told me it was because I was hating on greatness. I laughed and  agreed.

Brad told me that my tone was not too bad and he kneaded  my shin mostly. I kind of winced at times and he asked me if it was tender and I nodded.  When he was finished, he told me that it was time for ice and stim but I told him that ice would make me too cold and that the last time Larry just did an ultrasound.   Larry started doing that and kind of  marveled at my football knowledge. He told me that I should be a bookie or something. I told him that, “You  would think I would be good at fantasy which I am not!”

I’ve played on Draft Kings a few times and at the beginning of the second quarter once, I was up seven dollars. At the end, I finished 27,000   or something.   I told him that I enjoyed the game and the NFL Network.

My knee is really starting to get better. I wish it was all the time but there are still times when it aches and my knee pops out of it socket. I will say, the pain isn’t like it was before surgery and the further I get away from my surgery date now that my Tenex is completed, it’s starting to feel better.   I just wish I could trust that because then there are days like yesterday and this morning. The pain can still stop me in my tracks.   I will talk to Dr. Moore more about that on February 16th.   In the meantime, I really like coming to ATI!  It helps my knee to feel better AND I have great conversations with everybody!

AXS tv

Because the AFC and NFC championships are this weekend, there was only one broadcast of Good Morning Football and then it changed over to a different show about Championship Wednesday.   I’m really not into any of the teams in the championships for both the AFC and NFC so,  I started to channel surf and I ended up on a channel called AXS tv.   There was a documentary about Bob Marley titled Marley.  

I have never watched anything on this channel before and based on the show advertisements, it’s all about classic music. I ABSOLUTELY loved Bob Marley my junior and senior years! My friend, Bobby, turned me onto him.  I used to call him, “Bob-O”  because when I would call him ( I called his house back then) and his dad would answer the phone, he would call him  to come to the phone and it was always, “Bob-O.”

I was a bit bummed because the documentary was already on for an hour before I started to watch it and I wondered if I missed my favorite song but shortly after I started watching it, my favorite song came on:

“No Wonan No Cry”  Bob Marley

It was SO interesting!   I learned about Jamaican politics and his toe injury. I never knew that he had 11 kids from seven different women!  TONS of great music was playing for the duration of the show. I love SO many of his songs  and I have Bobby to thank for that!

My cousinT, Dawn’s  husband really likes him and this was their wedding song that they danced to:

“Is This Love”  Bob Marley

I’m  not sure of what point I started to cry, but I did. I cry often nowadays. I can’t control it. PPA sucks!  I cried a lot when I talked about his death and cancer!  I remembered my senior quote from high school,

“Good friends we’ve have and good friends we’ve lost along the way, (hey) in this bright future, you can’t forget your past, so dry your eyes I say.”

I never saw that in print because we never got our yearbooks.  I didn’t think I would hear my favorite song but just before it ended, it played:

“Buffalo Soldier”  Bob Marley

It was a really good documentary and I’m glad I watched it! I hope to catch it again soon! Now that football is drawing to a close for the season, I think I will.

ALMOST Forgotten Tune #13

I really haven’t left my house very much since the spring of last year.   It’s a combination of my knee and MS.  One song I heard the other day on my way to ATI was a song that I vividly remember liking, listening to,  and singing along with as I drove myself to Barwis.  I listen to my Apple Music playlists often when I am doing the dishes, loading my crockpot, or puzzling.  I absolutely DO love me some Gavin so I am surprised that I had not heard that song  for so long, even when I put my playlist on shuffle that’s why it was ALMOST forgotten until I Heard it on the radio.

“The Best I Ever Had”  Gavin DeGraw

1.8.18 Irrigation OR Lavage

I worked with Greg on Monday and told him that my shin was really hurting from the tendon scrape. Greg told me it wasn’t a scrape but rather an irrigation or lavage.  He explained the process very well for me.  He almost had it done in his ankle. Well OK, but it still hurts!

He stretched my knee out and told me that my range of motion is pretty good for my knee.  My shin is killing me though! Once we were finished, Greg asked if I wanted ice on my shin while I waited for my mom to come back.  It felt REALLY good!

Larry came over to help my mom transfer me from the table back to my chair. He asked how I was doing and I told him that my, “shank hole” was killing me!  He replied, “Whoa, whoa, whoa –  don’t start  throwing around all of your “medical terms” now!”   I laughed because, “Shank hole” is NOT a medical term  but just what I call it because that’s what it feels like. I showed him that it feels  like the incision is the size of a quarter  with my thumb and index finger.  Really it’s just a tiny slit but is still SO painful for me!  STILL!!!

It was good to hear that my knee is getting better yet my shin hurts so badly still because of the Tenex  that was necessary BECAUSE my knee still hurt. It really stinks and I told Greg that because my left knee is completely normal I know what it is supposed to feel like. And, that’s just cruel.

One Week

Well, it’s been one week.

“One Week”  Bare Naked Ladies

This song reminds me of my roommate in college at WMU when I was a Freshman, (she listened to them a lot).  I also think of my CousinTs, Dawn and Shannon  because they went to one of their concerts and my cousinT Shannon told me that they put on a really good show!  I have been singing this song in my head constantly because today marks “one week” that I have started to drink Garlic Tea three times a day.

I first heard about this Tea in  one of the groups I belong to on Facebook. I have been hearing for a long time about the health benefits of garlic so I thought I’d  give it a try.  I’m sure that I smell terribly, Sean really hasn’t been so bothered by it, except that he says the tea smells disgusting  as I am making it.   He has been squeezing the lemons for me because I don’t have then strength to do it myself anymore.  I think it tastes really good! I have been warning all of my friends that I may smell like garlic because I am taking this tea now.  It’s a good thing that I am a chain gum-chewer now because of Adam at Barwis, back when I was on garlic supplements.  I have been chewing Blue 5 since then.

It’s really good!  I told my group on Facebook that at least I have proof now that I am NOT a vampire!

1.5.18 The Short Straw

It was so freezing cold on Friday!   We met Larry at the door and I was working with Matt on Friday. My mom helped me get my coat off and I looked at him and asked if I was working with him. He nodded and told me that I drew the “Short Straw” so I was stuck with him.   I shook my head and laughed as my mom helped me get onto the table.

I have never worked with Matt although I have seen him at ATI a lot. He  was Khal Drogo  for Halloween:

 

They won the Halloween costume contest for all the ATI locations and got a lunch at work and bragging rights for the year.

He asked me questions about the date of my procedure  and how my knee was feeling and told me that he saw the notes from Greg who worked with me last time He told me that he would do the same exercises with me and he would start by putting my  leg in traction.  As he went to get the belt, Brad walked over. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I thought I spoke too soon saying that my knee didn’t hurt.  I told him that I iced my knee over the weekend and I was a little bit disappointed. He asked me if it was from the cold and I nodded. I told him that it was either that or I am getting old.

Over the last 17 years, I have figured out that my body is very sensitive to barometric pressure and precipitation in the air. Extreme cold temperatures as well as extreme heat do not go well with my body full of MS either.   The problems I have been having with my knee in the last 15  months has made the pain a little LESS bearable.

Matt came back and put my ankle in  traction and we talked about football. I told him that I wanted the Rams to win the Super Bowl. Again, I guess I spoke too soon because they were eliminated on Saturday. I will take the blame for it;  but, I don’t think Cooper’s turnovers helped very much either.

After traction, Matt stretched both of my legs out and I could feel them relax. We did the leg lifts again and I did extremely well at it with my right leg. I even surprised myself! I told Matt that I should run a marathon after how well I did at it. I did leg lifts on both legs and Matt told me to ask Dr. Moore about my restrictions on completing, “sit to stands” for next time. We ended with ultrasound on my knee that Larry performed.

I had to ice my knee again over the weekend and the Rams lost.  I don’t so much ice my knee, but rather my shin. I think it’s a little crazy that I would think that my leg would be all better from the screwdriver shank in less than a month!   My “Shank-hole” still has a scab on it. Normally, I’m a scab-picker but I am too afraid to pick this one because it hurt so badly when I got it  and for two  weeks afterward.   As I put my coat on to leave, I turned and looked at Matt and told him that I did not draw the “short straw” to get him as my therapist.   He gave me a double thumbs up as we left.

Thinking about it, I think I may ice my knee again tonight…   Icing frustrates me because it is almost 16 months after my original injury and I am still dealing with pain.  But I guess that icing is better than pill popping. I used to take so many painkillers  because my knee hurts so badly!