April 1 2016 - Long day trip

12:00
On the 28th of March, Maddie and I did a long day trip to many surrounding towns near George.
We drove just over 430 kms (260 miles). We started at 08:00 and got back home at 19:30. I wore the leg the whole day. By the time we got home, I really wanted that leg off.

Our route followed R62. It follows between the Langeberg and Swartberg mountains. That long thin valley is called the "Klein Karoo".

We started by heading north through the Outeniqua pass to Oudtshoorn. Ostrich capital of the world. We tried to get pictures of ostriches. They were shy that day. Here is a picture of Maddie getting ready to sneak up on some, and here is a picture of them running away from Maddie.

A great picture of 8 Ostrich asses.

We then drove to a small town called De Hoop. It wasn't even on the map.  Many farmers around the turn of the century would get together and build a big church to serve all the farmers in the area. 

Huge church in a town with population 31. The clocks even had the right time.

Often a small town would grow around the isolated church. 

De Hoop soon got a railway through it. 

I wanted to steal this railroad sign.

The next town we visited was Calitzdorp. It was established 1821 and currently has a population of 4300. Calitzdorp is a very arty, crafty town. It felt like a hippy town. And as usual, it is built around a big church.

At one time in the early 1800's, within the British realm, the determining factor of whether a settlement was a town or a city, was whether or not, it had a Cathedral. The small settlement of George had a Cathedral, and at one time, George was the smallest "city" in the world.

We then passed through the towns of Zoar, and Ladismith. 

 Ladismith Church, from 1874. (We did not take this picture.)

To the north most of the day was the Swartberg mountains.

And to the South was the Langeberg mountains.

Soon we arrived at the wonderful town of Barrydale.

We stopped for lunch. 

Note the dainty little finger. :-)

Barrydale's claim to fame is the fact that it has the Fynbos ecosystem to the South and the Klein Karoo to the North. These two ecosystems are about 10 kilometers apart, with Barrydale in between.

Barrydale is also the start of the Tradouw Pass through the Langeberg mountains. 

When we did motorcycle tours, The Tradouw Pass was one of the motorcycling highlights. 17 kilometers of tight, twisty, canyon road. 

After the pass, we were now between the Langeberg mountains and the ocean.

We approached the small town of Heidleberg. Of course there was a church.

We both were tired, so we got on the freeway and just went straight back to George.

I had been wearing the leg for 12 hours now, and the stump had shrunk so much it was very hard to walk. The stump was bottoming out in the socket. Back at the house, I took off the leg.

On freeing the stump, the blood rushed in and PLP was there very strong. I quickly washed the stump, and put on a nylon shrink stocking, and took anti-inflamatories. Trying to keep the swelling contained. 

We were both very tired, and bed called early. I was battling with PLP.  I drugged up and waited. I sat in the kitchen and watched CNN and read my book. 

At about 2 in the morning, I SMSed my Texas buddy. He then called me, and we had a wonderful chat for 1hr42min. Having a chat with him, helped take my mind off the PLP. Finally I headed for bed at a bit after 4 in the morning. Awake 22 hours.

At about 6:30 I woke to pee, and got a rush of PLP... really strong. I was not able to reduce it by action or keeping busy.

The best thing for me to do, was drugs, wait, nap,...drugs, wait, nap,......(rinse and repeat). The next 48 hours were a blur.

Now I am sort of recovering. Even with the compression stocking on for 2 days, the stump is swollen.

 This pain and drugs life, is just not sustainable.

A teaspoon of pleasure, for a bucket of pain.

I need to try to get the silicon liner on the stump, and maybe go for a short walk. 

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Mar 27 2016 - Walk in the Botanical Garden

17:30
Finally something to write about. Nothing exciting, but not "nothing" either.

This morning Vicky (Maddie's granddaughter) left to go back to Stellenboch University. I sure hope she can stick to her studies of Math and Physics, and not change her major to boys.

Maddie and I decided to go to the Botanical gardens for some exercise. Last weekend Maddie did the 5km (3.10 mile) George park run through the Gardens. Here is proof....

Notice the thousand yard stare of an exhausted athlete.

I told about Maddie showing me the hard part of the run through the woods. Today we stayed on the easy part of the run.
The weather was cool, windy, and beautiful skies.  We appealed to the gate guard to let the poor, helpless, cripple, park his car inside the Botanical Garden. Inside the Garden are two large grassy plains, and a hill that is called the labyrinth. We parked in the one big grassy field.
The labyrinth is a 10 meter high hill with a spiral path leading up to the top, and another spiral path leading down. The paths never cross, so you never meet anyone on the path.

Here is a Google map of the Labyrinth Spiral and the one big field.

Maddie zoomed off to get her exercise, and I started walking with my cane, crutches, and Maddie's walking sticks. I needed to learn slope walking, and uneven ground walking.
First I walked the length of the grassy field a few times with the walking sticks. They are better than the cane for walking fast on uneven ground.
 My prosthesis is designed to lock the knee when weight is on the heel, and to unlock the knee when weight is put on the toe.
When walking on uneven ground, one step may have a clump of earth under the heel, so the knee will never get weight on the toe to unlock the knee. So just when you need to swing the leg forward, it won't swing forward because the leg is stiff, and doesn't leave the ground. The opposite is true if there is a clump of dirt under the toe. As soon as you put any weight on the foot, the knee unlocks, and the leg collapses. After quite a bit of walking I figured out that taking LARGE steps greatly increases the angle of the prosthesis foot on the ground, which greatly increases the knee breaking loose if something is under the heel, and helping hold the leg stiff if something is under the toe.

I then went to the Labyrinth, and practiced walking up slopes, and down slopes. I used a walking stick in my right hand, and the cane in my left hand. Once again I found large steps to be a big help for up slopes.
If the down slope is steep, I found that a method similar to going down stairs works best. First put the prosthetic foot down in front, then because the weight is on the heel, I must use LOTS of force to move my stump forward to break the knee loose so it collapses. (OH NO...I'm going to die.) then quickly move my good leg to prevent me falling on my face. It feels very much like I save my life every step.
 Then I got a bright idea. What if the leg never locked? So I changed the settings so the leg was floppy. It just would swing free. The only thing to keep it straight was to snap it forward, then hold it against the ground with strong back pressure. If the back pressure was released, the knee collapsed.
Now I had no problem getting the knee to break and bend. This allowed controlled collapsing.
 I did 2 more up and down the Labyrinth.

 The view from the top was fantastic.

A couple at the top took a picture of Maddie and I.

Here is a panorama of the view from the top.

I walked fast with the knee loose back and forth the length of the big field, then with Maddie close by, I "fell" and got up by myself twice.

Then home for a welcome shower, and a movie. "Now you see me".
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Mar 24 2016 - Cool rainy day.

14:18
No news from George.
It has rained for 3 days straight. Good because the average rain fall this year is below average.

Last night I tried to go to bed with no drugs. I slept well till 1:00. Then I awoke with very bad PLP. I got up, got dressed,  drugged up, went into the kitchen, watched CNN and read my book until about 3:30. Then I slept in a spare room so as not to wake Maddie.

Belgium and France have both been bending over backwards to assimilate the muslim population into their society. Obama would like to do the same thing for the USA.
Hey Belgium!...How is that working out for you?

I want to read my book now, but it is way over on the other side of the room.
My cell phone is on charge.
I have had 2 cups of coffee today.
It has rained for 3 days straight.
That's all the exciting news, the rest is boring.

Maddie just went to bed to get under the duvet and read her book. Smart Lady. I am going to follow.
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Mar 19 - Market and Walk in the woods

19:30
Today was a busy day.
There are 4 people staying in the other part of this house, so it is a busy place.
Maddie and I went to a Farm Market this morning. We walked lots on very uneven ground. There were hundreds of people there and 99% of them would not look at me, or else they would smile in a sheepish manner.
A boy walked up to me and asked what happened to my leg. I started explaining about it, and he invited me over to his parents stall. They were selling hippy jewelry. His parents quickly said he had a super curiosity about everything.
I explained about the leg, and he asked if I could take it off. He brought a stool over and I took off the leg. Now there were maybe 10 people watching. I showed them all how it worked, and they played with it. The kid wanted his picture taken holding a leg. I then put it back on. Everybody asked about the cancer, and we had a good talk.

Maddie bought us some Jalepeno poppers for way too much money, then we had some coffee.

Maddie's one grand daughter was supposed to arrive today, but will only be here tomorrow. So Maddie and I quickly went to the forest section of the parkrun course to see if I would be able to do that section.
It was very steep, muddy, slippery, and had lots of large roots crossing the pathway. VERY difficult for me. As expected, the down slope was much worse than the up slope.
If I try that section again, I will take my crutches along. We both were sweaty and muddy by the time we got back to the car.

On the way home we decided to get take away food, so Maddie didn't have to cook. Almost everything was closed, so we went to a Dros (fancy restaurant) to see if they did take aways. They didn't so we had to go in to eat. They stuck us off in a secluded corner. Probably because we stank, or maybe because we were muddy, or maybe because my leg would scare customers or maybe they thought we were homeless. We had very expensive hamburgers. (The cheapest thing on the menu.)
We also had a large draft beer each, which left us in a giggly mood, which only re-enforced the managements thoughtful precaution of secluding us.
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We watched Kill Bill Vol 1. before bed. I like women with guns (or swords).
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Mar 17 - Lackadaisicalness

20:10
Not much to blog about. I have been feeling very un-connected to the real world.

Today I walked 3.35 km in 1:07. Thats 3 km/hr. A new dan record.

We sure seem to be busy all the time. I carried my latest book around for a week, and I was 5 pages from the end. The hero was about to die and the lady hero was trying to save him. I just couldn't be bothered to finish it.


I blame my drugs for the lackadaisicalness. But the alternative is worse PLP. Talk about  hard decisions.

Common side effects of Lyrica include dizziness, drowsiness, loss of balance or coordination, dry mouth, constipation, edema, breast swelling, tremors, blurred vision, weight gain, and problems with memory or concentration.
Common side effects of Cymgen (Cymbalta) are Nausea, dry mouth, constipation, loss of appetite, tiredness, drowsiness.

Both drugs are very hard to get off of, and the withdrawal on both is supposed to be terrible.


I read about one of these.
http://powersports.honda.com/2013/vfr1200f.aspx
It is a motorcycle with an automatic transmission.

I had a blood test yesterday. I got the results today. All looks OK. Maddie has been feeding me well.
I tried to call the oncologist today, but she was busy both times. She will call me. After 3 weeks I was supposed to have an interview with her, but I am not in Pretoria, so I will have to call.

Africa is worried about Trump. He has said that weak people should not concern strong people, because they are weak.  Also that strong people should not care what weak people think. I bet he would feel the same with countries.

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Mar 11 - Walking in the rain

14:33
There has not been much to blog about. I would have to invent something to get more than a few sentences. :-)

A few days ago we went to the big Train Museum. Lots of cool steam trains.
Yesterday we went to the main Museum in George. it wasn't that great of a museum. The best part was the ramps for the wheel chair access. That gave me good practice on walking slopes with my prosthesis. I did all the up slopes, but used the stairs going down. I almost have up slopes figured out.
When we got home I went for a walk around the block in Maddie's neighborhood.

From the house it is a .96km round trip around the block back to the house. We are in a hilly neighborhood. Not steep hills, but enough that I have problems with the slopes. The driveway is about 100 meters long, and very steep. I really battled getting down the driveway.
Remember that my prosthetic ankle is stiff, and does not move. A steep downslope means the toe of the prosthesis never gets weight on it, so the knee will never break loose, and bend. The knee remains stiff as I limp/stumble/reel down the slope.

An up slope on the other hand means the toe gets lots of weight on it before I am ready for the knee to bend. It wants to collapse on me every step as soon as I put weight on the leg. I can use strong back pressure using my buttock muscles to keep the knee straight, and prevent it from unlocking. Long up slopes makes my butt muscles tired quickly.

Today is a cool, windy, cloudy day with light rain. But I wanted to walk and get some exercise.

Maddie went to pay bills, and I went for a walk in the rain. I first used both crutches, and walked up and down the driveway twice.
To go down a steep slope like the driveway, the accepted way is to step forward with the prosthetic leg putting weight on the heel, then use the hip flexors on that side to break the knee so the leg collapses. To keep my face from hitting the ground, I must quickly move my good foot to stop the fall.
If done properly and at the proper rate, the steps look even and smooth. While using the crutches, I was able to do a decent step about one time in ten. The other times the use of the crutches saved my life. But 10% today, and improving to 20% tomorrow. In a zillion years I will have it down pat.

I thn walked around the block 3 times. there are some hills, and I was able to walk up the hills good, but battled going downhill. I ended up walking 2.48 km in 55 minutes. Almost exactly half the speed needed for the parkrun.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and Maddie is planning on doing the parkrun so she can learn the route, so we can practice it together during the week.
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Mar 7 - in George with Maddie.

I have been very lazy. No blog for a long time.

On 2 March I drove down to George from Pretoria. I planed on leaving at 4 in the morning to beat the Johannesberg traffic. But PLP kept me awake, so at 12:00 midnight I decided to get up and leave. I left the house at 01:00 exactly. I couldn't decide whether to take the toll road and save an hour, or take the smaller road and save R200. I took the toll road. It was safer in the early hours of the morning. The toll road also has large truck stops along the way that are safer for sleeping in the car.
After driving for about 6 hours at near the half way point, I stopped and had breakfast, and a one hour nap. I arrived in George at 16:15...1285 km (899 miles) later.. It was great to see Maddie again.
You would think that after not any sleep the night before, and driving for 15 hours, that I would be sleepy that night, but PLP once again ruled my life, and I only got to sleep after 02:00. I was up at 08:00. Then around 10:00 I fell asleep for real. This sleep pattern would not fit in with Maddie going to bed at 22:00 and getting up at 06:00.

I now try to go to bed at 22:00 and get up early. Today I got up at 06:30, then took a nap till 09:00 then after breakfast I took another nap till 15:30. I don't think sleep tonight will come easy.

My good leg has been swollen for about a month. The Oncologist gave me some diuretics. They seem to help. But the leg is also very red, and the toes are white. With my IR temp detector, I found my thigh was 29.4C, my red lower leg was 32.5C and my toes were 25.6C. I have been sending pictures of my leg to Maddie for about a month, and we went back and checked them. The red area is growing up the leg. Tomorrow we go to a doctor. There are many things that cause a red, hot area on the lower leg. Some are serious.

The last few day have been chilly here. I am wearing a sweat suit. The low today was 15C (59F, 288K) and the high today was 18C (64F, 291K). It has also been raining lightly for the last few days, and I have not put the leg on for 2 days, which has helped with the PLP.
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