Where does the time go? It's January 2011 and there's been no updates in 2010 at all. So here it is in a nutshell.

Mike and I retired to Hess Lake, MI in April 2010. There was a whirlwind of activities for the first few months—many needed repairs and upgrades to the house and settling in, a new Subaru for Mike when the old one gave up the ghost, and a makeover for the yard.

In June and July Mike took advantage during the yard construction to build a deck that turned out beautifully. His stump took quite a beating and a wound appeared that didn't seem to want to heal. August 15th was the last day he would wear his prosthetic for the rest of the year.

After a quick trip to Cleveland to have Dr. McDonald look at the wound, we returned home and began the series of appointments with Spectrum Wound Care Clinic, Dr. Bukrey (surgeon) and the many specialists of Mary Free Bed Clinic—all in Grand Rapids.

The final diagnosis was a huge bone spur on the end of the femur. Dr. Bukrey successfully removed the 1st spur on October 7, 2010. There was some concern about infection around the end of the femur, how the graft skin would heal and whether they might have to remove some of the femur to have enough tissue to work with. All turned out well—no infection was present, the spur removed and Mike healed quickly and very well.

By late December, Mike was beginning the process of fitting a new prosthetic. Progress has been rapid so far, so he might be off the crutches, out of the wheelchair and walking by sometime in February 2011. He's been very fortunate to find very capable professionals in Grand Rapids after leaving behind those he trusted in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

We're looking forward to a much quieter year in '11, hopefully with no new health issues and most of the labor-intensive home improvements behind us. We both love life here on the lake and are going to enjoy it to the fullest. And with a little prodding, maybe Mike will make an entry on this blog soon too.

Almost two years later and I get a chance to write a blog about Uncle Mike. I had the honor of having Uncle Mike be a guest speaker at Cuyahoga Heights High School where I am currently substituting. The students asked some great questions and I learned many new things about Uncle Mike. I do have to admit I was a little nervous about what he might say ..... let me rephrase that, the words he might choose to say it but it all went well. (Defintion of all went well: no phone calls from parents) He really connected with the students, which is no surprise. He detached his leg and passed it around for all to see up close and personal. I would like to highlight some of the favorite moments for the students.

Here we go.....keep in mind these are 11th and 12th graders.

#1. Question: Can you kick your leg?
Answer: Uncle Mike demonstrated that he can kick extremely high with his leg (stump) because his hamstrings are not connected across his knee which allows his leg to go beyond parallel to the ground. Students thought it was quite a sight to see a 60 year old man kick past his waist. Then he described the action of the prosthetic as he was kicking. The leg of the prosthetic will automatically go into free swing when he moves his leg that fast and gains inertia.
This is the drumroll part.....Uncle Mike said," Therefore, if my foot came into contact with your testicles, they would end up wrapped around your tonsils. So, if you ever think about fighting an invalid, THINK TWICE."
There was laughter in the air and the questions kept on coming.

#2. Question: What attachments are there for a prosthetic leg?
Answer: a. water leg (can be submerged in water) b. Swimming leg (has a flipper for the foot) c. running leg d. He told the class about the attachment he is inventing for the prosthetic called The Crawl Ball which will allow him to kneel and crawl around. e. He started to describe his current prosthetic which is controlled by a computer. He demonstrated how the computer adjusts to the length and speed of his stride and how putting load on the toe springs it forward for the next step.
And then he said.................."It is like having three brains instead of two, one you are born with, one you get when you're 13 and one in my leg."
This one took a moment to process and laughter slowly erupted.

#3. Question: Is there anything you have tried to do and couldn't do then regretted having one leg?
Answer: (I thought I knew the answer to this one because it's Uncle Mike..he can do anything) Uncle Mike said, "Yes, I would really like to dance. I love dancing and that is one thing I tried and struggle with because the computer doesn't accomodate dance movements. It is great for walking but not for dancing."

#4. The students favorite story--familiar to some.
I'll do my best to retell the story. I will preface with the fact that AJ couldn't understand how someone could just lose a leg. It is attached to you so how do you actually lose it? Where did Uncle Mike put it? Why can't he go back and get it? It was just all too much for AJ to process. Uncle Mike got creative and showed AJ the accident with a large tinker toy wheel and a GI Joe guy. He slowly rolled the wheel up the left leg of GI Joe until it got to his knee and stopped. AJ looked at Uncle Mike and said" OH, you didn't LOSE your leg, you RUINED it." This was a classroom favorite!

I am positive I am missing some moments. Thank you Uncle Mike, you are a true inspiration to all and believe me when I say that you absolutely changed things for some of those students forever. You would be surprised what an impact you can have even when we think it is insignificant. Thank you a thousand times. It was fun and you were great...of course!

Becky

It's been quite a long time since any entries have been made here, so I thought I'd enter a quick summary of the past year.

After Mike's Maine hike last September '08 he's been dealing with bruising and blisters that took months to heal and an ill-fitting prosthetic that does not want to stay on, not to mention hidden hair follicles (where old skin meets graft skin) that want to work their way to the skin surface. (I'll skip the details here!)

This has been a back-sliding period for Mike and I've especially missed our walks together. There have been periods when he just had to leave the prosthetic off so skin could heal and times when lengthy wear just created new skin issues. If skin issues weren't present, then slippage problems were. I'll never forget the surprised look on my sister's face when Mike couldn't quite make it back inside the house at Hess Lake and handed her the leg when it came off! (This after a midnight boat ride to view the Milky Way, running out of gas and Mike's 10 minutes of paddling the pontoon back to the dock.)

Mike is such a trooper and has always stayed positive. That engineer's brain of his is always coming up with ways to make the leg system more functional/comfortable with what he's had to work with, and his prosthetists all seem appreciative of his input ( as opposed to their more routine patients). We're excited now that Scott (Buckeye Orthopedic Design, Inc.) and his brother are working on a new system for Mike—liner, socket and possibly even a new foot! As much as we might wish it, the process just can't be hurried especially due to the uniqueness of Mike's stump and graft skin. Eventually they'll hit on the right combination of fit and materials - which in turn will eliminate many blistering/rubbing issues. Since Overload training was so far away and because of Mike's workload he had to drop it and missed it very much. So now Scott is looking for a new place with a personal trainer for Mike to workout. That should help bring his fitness level back to last year's status. Even a seemingly small thing like the body's natural arm swing is something that he has to consciously work on.

Also worth mentioning is the past year's progress remodeling the house at Hess Lake. Major repairs were done on the roof, siding, sea wall, mold abatement, some new drywall, plumbing, new carpeting, etc. It's been worth all the effort since the results are spectacular!

And one other important event to list—Mike became a grandpa for the second time when Erin and Chris welcomed little Eric to the world in January.

We're looking forward to a better and more physically active year for both of us and sweetly anticipating spending more time in Michigan and a lot more time with our family.

Dad has another entry brewing, but wanted someone else to post something to the blog for a change, so here I am. I've made some little changes, like displaying years on the archive page, as this blog will soon be entering its third (!) calendar year as the _second_ anniversary of "the incident" approaches. Time sure flies these days...

I'm not sure that Dad has found a name yet for his leg -- I personally favor either something silly (like 'gimpy'), something from Harry Potter (like 'Alastor' or 'Moody', for the character that sported a peg leg), or something short (like 'Bob'). But what do I know about names: I look like I swallowed a basketball, am due really at any time now (37 weeks approaching), and haven't figured out the whole name thing yet...

Edit: I originally confused Dad by talking about the third anniversary... I know what I meant. See the comments.

Fri/Sat, 9/12,13/08 - On the road
Left Maineville at 10:30 am and got to Erin (with a cute little baby bump) and Chris in Poughkeepsie at 9:00 pm. Celebrated my 61st lap around the sun at Erin's for breakfast, with 7 hrs on the road, and diner at Ruth's (AT hiking partner, Maine Dish) in Holden, Maine. After dinner, Ruth and I started organizing hike gear, much of which was packed away 4 years ago and made a shopping list for a 4 day excursion into Baxter State Park.

Sunday, 9/14/08 - Shopping
Bought some zip-on wind pants, a couple carabiners, a 20ft repelling strap (just-in-case), and Aqua Mira (water purification drops) at local outfitter. Got LED flashlights and some dense foam anti-fatigue floor padding that got converted to very functional hip pads for under the "power belt" (helps anchor the C-leg). Sewed more fleece padding to the hip area of the shrink garment.

Monday, 9/15/08 - Final preparations-forgot camera
Went hiking on North Bubble mountain in Acadia: 2.5 or 3 miles in about 3 hours.

North Bubble is pretty steep up and almost all boulders and smooth rock. Down was more gradual going from rock to dirt. Working on technical on uphill and learning to ride the knee on the down. A lot is a matter of confidence in myself, the prosthetic, the poles, and shoes. Things don't come naturally, I have to think about each placement of prosthetic foot and therefore have to plan a strategy in the placement of my good foot and then I also have to be aware of where to put each of the poles. Practice seems to be big in my future.
I did have to crawl on my good knee past a part that was too narrow to get both of my feet thru (foot over foot) and actually sat and slid my butt to get over a steep smooth slippery rock. There was lots of sweating but, no "involuntary descents". "Mikie sticks" worked really good except for some chafing from wrist straps.

Tuesday, 9/16/08 -
Cut a couple feet off the repelling straps to make stronger, softer wrist straps on the "mikie sticks".

Filled the car with all the gear that would fit and headed north to Baxter. Settled into camp and prepared our packs for tomorrows ascent to Chimney Pond. Spent the rest of the evening trying to keep the smokey (flame retardants) wood burning. We enjoyed smoked hot-dogs and a full moon next to Roaring Brook.




Wednesday, 9/17/08-No Helicopter Rides
Got a good early start had everything packed and ready to go at 7:30am. Chimney pond trail is nothing but rocks and boulders and more stones. It starts with a gradual ascent and goes to a steeper inconsistent 10 to 18 inch stair-stepping and then rock hopping and boulder climbing. The first mile was slow but steady going with foot placement on which rock? Had to pick my way thru the rocks but moving at a consistent pace. As it got steeper, foot place got more difficult, lost all forward momentum each step, my gluts started to burn, so; I switch the mikie sticks to the forearm mode to allow me to lift my weight with my upper body. That worked well for a few minutes, regained steady forward momentum until one of the mikie-sticks broke "like butter". I had replacement parts but carried only one of the piece that broke (middle extension tube). I fixed the pole and continued to climb in hiking stick mode, and began to realize that the hiking stick mode was not going to get me all the way up and the forearm crutch wasn't viable because the poles weren't strong enough, and I couldn't get down if I broke another middle tube. So just short of Halfway Rock we sat and discussed options and decided to play it safe and go back down the mountain. Elevation gain of 800 to 900 feet in 1.7 miles in about 2 hours.
(fairly level start up the mountain)

(rocks make foot placement tougher and incline getting steeper)

(continued getting tougher and steeper)

(using the only spare middle tube made continuing too risky)

(heading down)

(the "mikie sticks" were designed for down hill)

(sticks performed very well and "No Helicopter ride")


We got back down and met with the ranger. He arranged for us to have a tent site at Roaring Brook for the night. So we moved the car, set up the tent and I took a power nap. After lunch we went to Sandy stream pond. We took a 2 mile round trip walk into moose bog country.
The pond is a popular moose hang out. We did by chance meet a orthopedic surgeon from Oklahoma. He had great admiration for my abilities and ambitions i.e. He pumped my sagging ego back up, I was really feeling bummed out. We did see a full grown female moose in the pond.

We also met our neighbors in the next lean-to while out there, and they invited us to come over for wine and snacks when we got back. Which we did . Enjoyed the wine and the snacks and the wonderful conversation.

Thanks to John and Sheila for a much needed hug and unexpected "trail magic" moment. We couldn't have met more delightful people. We hope to stay in contact with them.

After leaving them and while waiting for the local outhouse to free up we chatted with a couple of guys from Mass at their camp site. The conversation started with—what do you do with your packs while you're finishing the AT (climbing Katahdin) and ended with "my give a shit is broken". When we got back to camp, it was dark. But we spent a few more hours trying to get the wood to burn-- the flame retardant wood they sell in $3 bundles at the ranger station. We must have left an impression with those guys because while sitting in our smoke and eating our smoked hot-dogs on smoked buns, a blinding light (a head lamp) came and asked if we would like some wood that they were going to leave behind. A half a cord of SEASONED wood was to be found in their campsite the next morning. Chilly night with a little rain that got the bottom/sides of the tent wet because we didn't get the fly on till after dark so it didn't get staked out properly. My knee not bending enough made it difficult to deal with the tent and the firewood.

Thursday, 9/19/08
Got a leisurely start. I cleaned the stump well and retaped everything while in the tent. The small blister on the lower end of the stump appeared to be healing well. We packed up the camp and prepared to go to the next scheduled lean-to. We stopped at the Mass guys campsite and loaded up the—cord of SEASONED wood and drove to our next home. Lean-to 7. While we were unloading, the guy next door came over trying to unload a $3 bundle of flame-challenged wood. They were leaving and hadn't been able to burn it yet. I directed him down to John and Sheila's.

We headed out for the Katahdin Lake trail: 3.3 miles one way (close to 7 miles round trip with the lake loop). This trail seems to be more like the AT: rolling dirt trail with smaller stones and some rocks and roots and bog/board walks without major elevation change. Worked on some technique and balance with the board walking and kicking the leg out hard to get more toe clearance. The worst fall (of many while in Baxter State Park) was on a wide open trail while cruising along at close 3 mph. Stubbed the prosthetic toe on a small outcropping of rock, hammered the max knee bend hard stop on the way down, banged the prosthetic knee into the dirt and onto my hands. I still had enough strength in my arms (thank again "Overload") to stop the fall from burying my face in the dirt. I ended up with a fairly nasty deep tissue bruise on the front of my stump near the bottom almost in the same spot as the blister caused mainly by the knee flex hard stop. Oh and I got another blister from kicking out so hard-- it's higher up on the front of the thigh where the rim of the socket is.


Bridge wobbled, swayed and had big spaces between the log planks. Didn't like it.
m-i-l-e-s of bog logs. (Emily's balance drills payed off)

Breath taking views over the lake. Tilted fine gravel beech was tough going.

A little rest after a hard out-of-control involentary descent.




OK Noel. We've decided that it's too hard to keep talking so coldly about the prosthetic leg It's going to be around awhile and I/we think we need to name it... "Otto" is a possibility. Ruth likes "Bob".

When we got back to the car, we decided to go to the camp store outside the park and get some entertaining supplies and while there got to take a hot shower at a local camp ground. Got back to camp to find John and Sheila had left early-- possibly the idea of the chilling forecast urged them home. So we settled down to dinner and Tah Dah -- lumos!! No smoke, no hot-dogs, and hmmm what's that feeling..? Toasty warm !!!!! Thanks guys from Mass.! That night they say it may have been 27 degrees. Just a bit nippy but I was still comfortable. No bugs no mice... The stump felt tender most the night.

In the morning the brused stump didn't want anything to do the socket, so; we decided that hiking into the wilderness 6 miles to the next lean-to was not a good idea at this time. So instead of pop tarts for breakfast we packed up and headed to Millinocket for hot food...mmm mmm great home cooking and good company at the Appalachian Trail Caf".

Sitting behind us was a young couple and their 2 year old from Mo. They too, had just come out from camping in the park. When leaving he stopped and said he couldn't help overhearing our conversation and wanted to say how awesome he thought I was doing. He is a physical therapist and can appreciate all the hard work involved.

So, a kind of mixed week in Maine: I didn't achieve all I wanted to, but I learned a lot-- I have to revise some assumptions (like the role the Mikie sticks will play when hiking uphill), retool some equipment, and get a lot more practice.

Friday, 8/15 - Hanger
Paul put me in the new socket. This system is more like the first socket. The rigid fiberglass outer shell is a little thicker and heavier than the carbon fibber original. The inner shell thinner, softer and more pliable. The fit feels a little strange (as expected), just need to wear it for few days to see how goes.

Weekend, 8/16-17/08 - Hess Lake
The neighbors on both sides (Dave, Maria and Edna) and I are engaged in a joint sea wall project that is showing good progress. John (microbial Masters) started mold abatement and selected Dean (Bouwcamp Builders) to replace the roof. Getting the place ready for entertaining grandchildren.

Monday, 8/18/08 - Overload and a Hike
Up at 6:00 for an 8:00am workout with Adam—did the leg press twice getting ready for Maine.
Gene S, Bonnie P, Angie, 9 yr old Alexis and I stomped around "Old Man Cave" for about three hours. The gorge is about 200 feet deep. The trails were very challenging—a lot of stair steps and steep ups and downs. One really dicey section of the trail sloped down to the right (interferes with left prosthetic free swing) toward a 5 foot drop to a dry river bed complicated by massive tangles of exposed tree roots and wet slippery mud. (I forgot my camera but Angie took some pictures and promised send them.)

Tuesday, 8/19/08 - PT Drake Center
Haven't seen Emily for a month. Examined the latest suspension changes, marched the isles and the "gait rite" runway to checked my gait (surprisingly good) then reviewed my hiking plans for Maine. She said I'm doing great and set our next session for mid October.

Wednesday, 8/20/08 - Hanger
Paul made some subtle socket changes - pushed out some hot spots, made some miner mounting adjustments. He also recommended adding a silicone putty pack to the bottom of stump for a little more end load The new socket is working a feeling good. We also tuned the C-leg's dynamic settings with my back-pack (loaded with a 40lb bag of rock salt) and hiking sticks.


8/21,27 & 9/3 - Overload
Adam and Skyler continue their focus on fitness and getting me ready for the Maine mountain hiking exercise.

Sunday, 9/7/08 - Bike trail
Did a quick 5 miles with Bonnie just to get some miles in before the Maine trip. I have not been pushing big mileage lately because that seems to precipitate stump reduction. The focus has been on getting the stump healthy (blister free) and a stable secure fit with the socket. Made a set of "mikie sticks" (a functional cross between hiking poles and forearm crutches). The hiking sticks allow longer stride, higher cruising speed and upper body assist for the lead (natural) leg on the long up-hills.

Friday, 8/1 - Hanger
Paul gave me some spare parts that might be useful in the quest to extend the time range away from an electrical outlet to 5 days.

Saturday, 8/2—Haaserpalooza
The 5th annual Haaserpalooza (family reunion) was fantastic again this year.
Because I intend to complete a four day, three night, full pack, mountain shake-down hike in early/mid September, extending the C-leg battery range has become a high priority. I took advantage of the combined electrical expertise of nephew, Judd (Marsha's son) and son-in-law Chris (Erin's husband) to complete the "5 day power supply" goal. We started late Friday evening with an intentionally close to dead C-leg battery. The C-leg was charged while tracking current consumption and time. Armed with enough information too be dangerous, Judd, Chris and I visited local hardware and electronics stores in pursuit of a light weight, prepackaged, 12 volt, lithium-ion (great energy to weight ratio) battery pack and charger. (The charger is too bulky but I won't have to carry on the shakedown hike. Chris is hoping to find a way to charge the portable batteries with the C-leg charger to minimize pack weight) I bought a rechargable drill that had every thing we needed. We had to make a short adaptor cord to transfer power from the portable drill batteries to C-leg - everything else is "off-the-shelf".

- drill/charger/2 battteries - - (above) - - spare battery -
- stripted down battery pack - (below) - Otto Bock car charger -

home made adaptor

It looks like each 5.7 oz battery pack will supply enough power to operate the C-leg for about 3 days. (Click read more for test data) That will be verified over the next couple of weeks. This system may not be optimized yet. I have been in contact with Scott Rogers (trail name One Leg Wonder) an AKA that hiked 2000 miles of the AT in 2004 & 2005. Meeting him on the trail in 04 has inspired my aspirations. Scott said he'd send his battery pack and there is good chance Otto-bock might even come up with something better.

» Read More

Monday, 7/21 - Hanger
Tried on a test socket equipped with mounting hardware this time. The vertical profile was near perfect and the depth was intentionally too deep. After pacing the casting room for a while and a few load rim refinements to create a "boney lock" (essential to the clocking stability that has eluded the current temporary socket), Paul filled the bottom of the socket with some goop that looked like tapioca pudding. I inserted my stump covered with the seal in liner until the goop solidified which created an accurate depth cast. The finished carbon fiber socket will be finished in a couple of weeks.
Paul also observed the start of some blisters at an impression line caused by the use of a silicone tubular filler. He gave me a thin urethane liner to eliminate the impression line.

7/22 thru 24 - Mississippi - "one more goal complete".
Went on another engineering trip to Grenada. Walking around the large stamping plant is always a good work-out with long days and lots of miles. And of course - the "nemesis"




Monday, 7/28—
The blisters that started a week ago finally bloomed into a bit of a bloody mess. Gave the stump the day off.

Goals for year 2:
o Get down to 180 lbs (202 lbs 4-17).
o Attend an outdoor concert (maybe, Blossom with some old friends).
o Water skiing (thanks Jen for planting that one). That'll mean spending time at Hess this summer.
o Get a photo of me kicking the "the fork lift" (aka "tow motor" aka "nemesis"). (Noel's request). -COMPLETE-
o Take dance lessons and dance with Bonnie at the company Xmas party (left over 1st year goal but not forgotten).
o "Ready" to start an Appalachian Trail thru hike by March 12th 09.—Milestones:
o Walk 8 miles in less than 3 hours. -COMPLETE-
o John Bryant State Park - hike the river loop trail . -COMPLETE-
o Ford a river in at least 2 feet of water.
o Extend the C-leg battery range from 40 hours to 5 days. -COMPLETE- 8/2/08
o Hike with day packs from Cadillac Mountain to Sand Beach and Sand Beach to Cadillac Mountain (Acadia Nation Park) on two consecutive days (endurance test).
o Three day full pack mountain hike (probably Baxter State Park) before October 08 (equipment shake down).

Monday, 7/7/08 - Overload

Wednesday, 7/9/08—Hanger
Showed Paul the modifications to the padding in the bike shorts. (Sewed the bike shorts to the liner and added hi-tech fleece padding to the blister areas.) He measured me for the carbon-fiber socket. We also discussed the daily variations in the stump volume. In the mornings the socket fits well, but by afternoon or after heavy activity the stump loses volume and the socket becomes loose. I've begun recording my stump girth measurements several times a day which will be useful in developing a remedy.

Thursday, 7/10/08—John Bryan State Park/Overload
Met Ruth (AT hiking partner Maine Dish) at Clifton Gorge around 9:30 AM. The weather was good this time and we hiked about 4 miles in a little under 3 hrs on some very primitive trails—uphill, downhill, over and under fallen trees, around rocks, through heavy vegetation, etc. Used hiking poles and a power belt to anchor the socket.

I did hit the deck twice after catching a toe on buried tree roots. But all in all, I completed the hike with trail conditions worse than what would normally be encountered on the AT.


(click "read more"at the bottom of this item for more pics)

Another goal complete!

Topped off the day with an Overload session where Maine Dish did a few reps on the leg press set for me at 460 lbs. Adam and I were both impressed.

Monday, 7/14/08—Overload

Wednesday, 7/16/08—Grandpa Mike
6:50 am, daughter Ruth gave birth to Ariana, an absolutely perfect baby girl. This was a moment when all minor troubles melt away and I was overwhelmed with how truly fortunate I am.



Thursday, 7/17/08—Drake PT
Emily didn't beat me up too much for the limp that invaded what used to be a near perfect gait. She gave me a few balance exercises to be done daily and instructed me to log some miles without the hiking sticks (safety first - of course).

Weekend, 7/19-20/08
I am back to using a silicone filler band to keep the socket tight. Walked about 6 miles around the pond - no power belt, no hiking sticks, and no "involuntary descents". Could have walked further but it's just too hot and sticky.

» Read More

Mike and I started out about a half hour ago for a short stroll around the pond. It was unexpectedly cut even shorter by an "involuntary controlled descent" - poo! It was a FALL! Followed by a 2nd FALL! The C-leg refused to come to a supportive position and would not hold Mike up. He sat down on a bench while I ran home for the car and his crutches and went back to pick him up. Mike's fine, still chuckling and I'm regaining my composure. He plugged it back in for a moment when we got home and it reset itself. Definitely some questions for Hanger on Monday. Enough excitement for one day, thankyewverymuch!