Collarbone Update, Canoe/Kayak “trainer”, and my experience with focusing on health not weight

I am now pretty much completely healed with my collarbone. I’ll get the final xray and hopng to get doc’s blessing to ride my bike and lift heavier when I get back (fingers crossed). In the meantime I’m still lifting lighter weights and doing a lot of walking. I'll be glad to get back to … Continue reading Collarbone Update, Canoe/Kayak “trainer”, and my experience with focusing on health not weight →

Collarbone rehab update – week 5

The wall crawl: crawling up the wall my fingers to open up angle on shoulder My Collarbone is doing a lot better. Almost no pain, and I've got a lot of the range of motion back in my right shoulder. I have been doing my PT exercises diligently, and the "wall crawl" to get more … Continue reading Collarbone rehab update – week 5 →

Staying Active While Aging Despite Life’s Curveballs-Heart Valve Replacement, Part III

Part III-Long-term rehab and recovery. I saw my surgeon for a follow-up at one month post-op. He showed me my ekg that indicated sinus rhythm (normal heart beat- no afib) and said “this means you aced the test”. Karen said “no, you aced the test”! He said my body didn’t know it had undergone surgery, … Continue reading Staying Active While Aging Despite Life’s Curveballs-Heart Valve Replacement, Part III →

Staying Active While Aging Despite Life’s Curveballs- Heart Valve Replacement, Part II

Part II- surgery and immediate aftermath. With good attitude in place, Karen and I showed up bright and early on August 11, 2017 at El Camino hospital for the surgery. Actually it wasn’t bright, it was still dark that early. But admission and prep for surgery went smoothly, and Karen’s beautiful smiling face was the … Continue reading Staying Active While Aging Despite Life’s Curveballs- Heart Valve Replacement, Part II →

Collarbone Rehab Update

Sorry, I’m not trying to subject you to wrinkled old guy beefcake pictures, but I thought the colors coming down from the broken clavicle were interesting. I’m now entering my 3rd week and rehab is going nicely. Going through the interesting process of bone healing: I should be getting some “fibrocartilaginous callus formation” by now. … Continue reading Collarbone Rehab Update →

Staying Active While Aging Despite Life’s Curveballs- Heart Valve Replacement- Part I

Part I – Fit and Healthy to Severe Aortic Stenosis This post is kinda long (but so was the adventure it refers to) so I’ll split it into 3 installments . This part describes the developments leading up to surgery. As I mentioned in my post “Staying Active Despite Arthritis And Two Hip Replacements”, I … Continue reading Staying Active While Aging Despite Life’s Curveballs- Heart Valve Replacement- Part I →

Staying Active Despite Arthritis And Two Hip Replacements

I’ve been very active in endurance sports, like biking, running, and hiking, all my adult life. Then I began to develop some pain in my right hip, which was diagnosed as arthritis at age 49, back in 2002. So I had to give up running, my main activity at the time. You may think, as … Continue reading Staying Active Despite Arthritis And Two Hip Replacements →

Rehabbing- again!

I just had a bike crash and broke my right collarbone a couple days ago. It was a freak incident- I hit a bad pothole and it caused my cleat on my clipped in shoes to come loose. My foot slipped off the pedal and hit the ground. The ground dragged my foot backwards which … Continue reading Rehabbing- again! →

On Rehabbing…

Bouncing back after major surgery is challenging because your fitness can decline considerably. Whatever condition you just got fixed can limit your activities leading into surgery, then you are flat on your back for at least a couple of days, then you may have movement limitations prescribed by your surgeon after. It helps to have … Continue reading On Rehabbing… →

Welcome

I am a mechanical engineer born in 1953 with a lifetime interest in outdoor activities and fitness. My lovely wife of 46 years, Karen, and I live in Morgan Hill, Ca, a bit south of the San Francisco Bay Area. I have gone through and rehabbed from three major surgeries: two hip replacements, and a … Continue reading Welcome →