May 2006

Sorry...

I've been duly reminded that my update is long overdue. My appointment with Dr. Healey went well. I no longer have to wear the aircast unless I'm going to be walking on uneven ground. That means that I have to wear it to work, of course, since New York sidewalks and streets are more uneven than our yard. He gave me a new prescription for another six months of physical therapy, working mainly on the side of my foot and leg and relearning balance (not that my balance was that terrific previously). Until I build up some of those muscles, I will continue to wear the aircast when I go out. It looks lovely with shorts, as the photo above shows. A new fashion trend, I'm sure. And in case you're wondering, I'm picking shells on the beach on Sanibel Island.

I'm now in a fight with Orthonet, the company that authorizes my PT visits, since they seem intent on approving 4-6 visits at a time rather than, say, 10 or 12. I plan to compose an appeal letter within the next week to fight for longer authorizations. Otherwise, the therapist has to waste 20-30 minutes every four visits measuring the angles of my foot and writing up a progress report, which only lands us another four visits. What a scam! I can understand not wanting to approve more visits than are necessary for a sprained ankle, but I think I qualify for a little more leeway than that. Wish me luck!

Otherwise, things are getting back to normal around here. My boss is off to his Montana ranch for the summer so I began working from home on Tuesday. I'll be going into the city every 7-10 days to pick up the mail and pay the bills. My mom is coming to stay with us for a few days next week, and our friends from Michigan will be coming out over the July 4th extended weekend. I've been doing some long overdue spring cleaning, like washing windows, vacuuming behind the furniture, cleaning the fan blades, etc. We are going to attempt to turn over the mattress today -- that should be interesting since it was difficult for the two of us to move it when I had two good ankles!

My next CT scans are at the end of August and will be performed at MSKCC so Dr. Keohan can have the 3 phase liver scan performed at the same time, and I will see her later than day for a report. My next visit with Dr. Healey isn't until mid-September. If anything comes up in the meantime, I'll post it here.

Happy first full day of summer to all. I hope your summer is filled with fun, laughter, barbeques, lazy days and nights, and enjoyment in whatever form you seek it.

Visit Update

Saw Dr. Keohan on Tuesday and she agreed that my scans look clear. She did request that my August scans be performed at MSKCC because she wants a better picture of the hypodensity in my liver. She said she did not find it suspicious but wanted to be able to see it better, so she's ordering an extra scan of the liver. From what I've been told, the barium solution there is more like raspberry Crystal Light, which would be a HUGE improvement over the "berry smoothie" solution Jersey Shore uses.

I see Dr. Healey on Monday for a follow up. I think he will keep me in the AirCast for another 6-8 weeks, especially since I haven't done any eversion/inversion work on my foot with weight. I've been moving my foot around on a little wobbleboard while I'm sitting, but to really reteach the muscles to support my ankle, I need to be standing on the board. I don't know how much I'm looking forward to that, but I will be glad when I can stop wearing the AirCast -- especially now that the warmer weather has arrived.

Will post another update next week!