Earthwatch

I got an email from my friend Sarah in Washington DC the other day, asking for help on a project she’s working on.

Sarah had contacted me several years ago asking about my Mongolia trip for a book she was writing, but that project morphed into a whole new company and never got published. So, now that her company is off and running on its own feet (so to speak) she’s going back to the whole book idea, and has again asked for my input. Only this time I get to contribute on all 4 of my expeditions!

Check it out: Volunteer Global (http://volunteerglobal.com/)

I am currently going over the travelogues I wrote for each trip, doing a little bit of editing work on them, before sending them down to her. I will also send her the photos I have, but don’t know yet if she’ll want them all or just a few. I’ll let her decide: she may only have room for one or two of them for each trip.

Just today I got a phone call from Lilian at the Alaskan Prospector’s Society asking if I was ready to present on my Amazon trip for their club meeting. I had been scheduled to do that earlier in the year, but had to postpone due to my neck surgery. I am now rescheduled for September 18.

This means I shall have to get busy and actually create the presentation! I haven’t done that yet. But, since I’m going over the travelogues anyway, it shouldn’t be too difficult to remember what happened way back in February. Going thru the 975+ photos will be a whole other story, though. Trying to pick out the best ones to use for the presentation will take some time. It won’t be that bad; I’ll just look at it as an opportunity to relive all those wonderful memories again!

And yes, I’m already thinking about my next expedition with Earthwatch. This time I’m going to do something completely different and try my hand at some archeology in Thailand! I’m really quite excited about it, even though it will probably be several years from now since I have to pay for all these surgeries and whatnot first. I will open another “Expedition Fund” account for anybody who wishes to contribute – that worked out so well last time: thank you again for all who contributed.

Check it out: Origins of Angkor (http://www.earthwatch.org/exped/chang.html)

Forever Ago

It’s been forever since I last updated my blog here. I feel bad about that, but honestly just haven’t really felt like writing lately. Not that I haven’t done anything – I have. It’s just that the urge to write has died down a bit. I wonder if that means anything significant.

Just to catch you up on things I’ll recap the highlights of my past month in one short posting – then hopefully will be better about making regular posts.

My Neck: I’m healing up so well, it’s truly amazing. I barely have a scar even! I’ve been putting vitamin D ointment on it each night; that’s helping a lot. The pain is mostly gone, too – all that’s really left is the pain from the shoulder, which will get operated on in October. Hopefully that will go as well as the neck surgery did.

My headaches: unfortunately, the neck surgery did not do a thing for my headaches. I had hoped that by relieving the pressure on my spinal chord it would magically “cure” me, but no. If anything, it actually made them worse! I have had some really bad ones lately, one of which occurred while I was out on a hike. My poor hiking buddy had to help me down the mountain, stopping almost every 15 minutes so I could throw up. She kept asking “Should I call 911 now?” It was brutal.

Hiking: aside from the headaches, I have managed to get out on the trails a bit. One of my favorite hikes was with Rob and his daughter up Mt. Alyeska. We rode the tram up to the top and then took off on foot even farther up. What a fantastic view from up there!

Family: Mother came in this last weekend for a visit. We had planned on walking downtown Anchorage to see the flowers, but since it was raining I took her to my friend’s house to see their flowers instead. We had a good visit with them, then played some cards and ate a bit of lunch at my house before she went on home. I also got to spend some time with my niece Kate this weekend. She and I went to the South Anchorage Farmer’s Market together; they had so much good food & veggies there! It was hard to decide what to get, but she ended up with a nice bunch of Swiss Chard and a bouquet of small sunflowers; I got a medium sized kohlrabi and a beautiful zucchini. My other niece Lauren moved back into her dorm room at college this weekend, so our weekly dinners together starts up again – I’m looking forward to that!

Crafting: I’ve been rather lax on my cardmaking, too, it seems - but I have been accumulating more supplies! That’s always fun. My sister is cleaning out her house, preparing for her babies to come, and gave me first pick of all her paper & punches. I’ve also made a few purchases online and at the store near my house (I couldn’t stop myself). And I found a group on Craig’s List who get together each month to make cards using products from the Stampin’ Up line – I will join in with them whenever I can. Meanwhile, my little craft room gets more and more cluttered with stuff. My sister also gave me two shelves that need to be installed in the room; I will be able to organize a bit better once their up.

My Job: the job is going well except that we have no work at the moment, so I spend my hours reading my “Construction Materials, Methods, and Techniques” book – which is oh so exciting. My little brother has been working a job that is right in our back parking lot, so I get to go out on my breaks and chat with him every once in a while. He keeps telling his co-workers that I’d been knifed in a botched mugging attempt. They’re all impressed with my neck wound!

Highly Recommended

The following is a quote from the book I’m currently reading:
     The Last Explorer by Simon Nasht

“When Wilkins first came this way in 1913, Barrow was a town of seven Europeans, 200 Eskimo and 800 dogs. When he returned a dozen years later, nothing much had changed. It was still 200 miles to the nearest bump resembling a hill, twice as far again to the nearest tree, and 500 miles to the nearest telephone. Mail reached the settlement just three times a year, hauled by dog teams on a month-long journey along the coast. In short, it was the type of place where Wilkins felt right at home.”

Here’s the description taken from Amazon.com:

“This riveting biography recounts the life of the world's first truly modern explorer, a life of unrelenting adventure and the high drama of polar exploration. Hubert Wilkins was the most successful explorer in history: no one saw with his own eyes more undiscovered land and sea. Largely self-taught, he was a celebrated reporter, pilot, spy, war hero, scientist, and adventurer. He captured in his lens war and famine, cheated death repeatedly, met world leaders like Lenin, Mussolini, and King George V, and circled the globe on a zeppelin. Knighted for being the first person to fly across the North Pole, Wilkins was also the first to fly in the Antarctic, discover land by airplane, and take a submarine under the Arctic ice.”

People Are Amazing Sometimes

I found an ad on Craig’s List the other day: somebody wanting to connect with others that do stamping/cardmaking – so on a whim, I responded to it. I thought (hoped) they wanted to find a partner to have crafting dates with, because it’s always more fun to do that with company.

I was wrong, on several counts actually. I had assumed it was a female who posted the ad, but turns out he was (is) a guy. And he wasn’t interested in crafting dates, either.

What he wanted was to – get this – give stuff away!

Apparently a friend’s wife had been into making cards but had passed away a few years back. He was helping out by finding a good home for all her supplies, so they would be used and appreciated as much as she used & appreciated them.

We arranged to meet in the parking lot of Barnes & Noble, where he transferred over $300.00 worth of supplies from his car to mine. All free, with no strings attached!

Totally Awesome!

I will have fun tonight, that’s for sure; it will be like Christmas in July.

I Shoulda Been a Doctor!

Surgery is over, and recovery is well on its way to being over… now comes the really painful part: paying the bills!

I haven’t actually gotten a bill yet, but I’ve been keeping tabs on the insurance – and have seen some pretty amazing numbers being thrown around.

So far:
the hospital has charged $48,249.17
the doctors have charged $38,272.00
the MRIs have charged $4,914.00
and I had to have $95.47 worth of pain medication
     That’s a grand total of $92,728.58

All I can say is “Thank God for insurance!”

Recovery

The recovery process was so much worse than the actual surgery; not surprising, really, considering the fact that I missed the whole thing. But I was a little bit shocked at just how bad I felt, although oddly enough my neck really didn’t hurt much at all. It was that danged migraine that I still had.

When I finally came to in the recovery room, I found Rob and Mother there with me, along with the nurse assigned to take care of me. They all seemed to hover around me till they assured themselves that I was truly aware again. I don’t think I said much, just listened to all the activity around me.

The nurse gave Mother the instructions (both written and verbal) on how to take care of me post-op – and then, once I was stabilized enough, sent me home. All together, I was in the hospital for just 8 hours. My anesthesiologist had told me she had the same operation done back 20 years ago, and they made her stay in the hospital for 5 whole days!

To be completely honest here, perhaps I did go home a bit too soon. I was very glad to be home but was still quite nauseous, throwing up at least 6 more times throughout the night. I was finally able to keep liquids down by the following morning, though, and was even able to get up and walk around a bit without passing out.

As mentioned earlier, I still had that migraine however. That was worse than the surgery pain, actually. I really wanted to take my headache pills for it, but had been told not to (it’s a blood thinner, and may cause bleeding). That evening it was so bad I had mother call the doctor to ask what I should do. Thankfully they told me to go ahead and take my normal medication so I finally got some relief.

Also at that time, I stopped taking the pain pills the hospital had prescribed for me. Not only did they make me sick – they didn’t really even work. I am still taking the muscle relaxers, though. That operation really did a number on my neck and shoulders; two weeks later and they’re still so sore I can barely move, and I have a lump in my throat where the esophagus is still swollen.

What isn’t sore is the incision itself! The hospital put little butterfly bandages on the incision, with a gauze pad over the top; all of which was covered by what looked like a piece of plastic about 6” square. I left that whole ensemble on to keep the wound clean, but at my Wound Check appointment a week later that plastic wrap and the gauze bandage finally got taken off. Three days later, I had my niece Kate help me remove the butterfly bandages. Now I am Fully Exposed!

It is such a tiny little incision; hard to believe they did all that they did thru that tiny little opening. But I have the muscle soreness to prove it – they really did do what they told me they would.

My doctor said I am healing up quite nicely, and gave me permission to go back to work!

Surgery

Well, I did it. To be honest, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Not that it was a piece of cake, by any means – but all in all, it was not that bad.

Rob picked me up at 5:30 in the morning and drove me to the hospital for my 6:00 check in. The waiting room was quite nice, with some really good photographs hanging on the walls. I didn’t have much time to enjoy them, though, as the nurse came out within 5 minutes of my arrival to lead me back into the prep-room. I said goodbye to Rob and followed the nurse in.

The prep-room was just a big room with lots of smaller areas partitioned off with hanging curtains. I was shown to the area assigned to me and told to change into the hospital gown (yes, the kind that gaps open in the back). It was a little unnerving getting undressed; I had the curtain closed, but it had gaps all around, and there were a lot of people in the room.

Once I was comfortably settled into the hospital bed things got rolling. One by one, each doctor, nurse, and orderly came to introduce themselves to me and explain what roll they would have in the surgery. Each one made a point of making sure they knew who I was and what I was there for, so I had no fear of getting the wrong procedure done. They also made sure that I understood what they were going to do, and always asked if I had any questions.

I had a really bad migraine that morning (of course I would) so the anesthesiologist said she would give me something for that along with the “cocktail” she originally planned to give me. I don’t know what it was, but it sure knocked me out. One minute I’m watching her put the needle into my IV and the next minute I’m throwing up in the recovery room! And let me tell you, that was really disorienting. It took me several minutes to figure out what had happened.

All the doctors, nurses, and orderlies had told me all about how they would wheel me in to the operating room, which would have all kinds of equipment and lights and what not. They said they would probably have me move myself to the other table, and that there would be lots of commotion going on around me. The anesthesiologist would “come at me” with the mask to knock me out. It all sounded so interesting and confusing.

And I missed the whole thing.

FAQs

When is my surgery?
Check in is at 6:00. Surgery begins at 7:30 and should last 2-3 hours.

What do I do to prepare?
No food or water after midnight the day before. No metal (earrings, rings, hair bands) worn the day of.

What about medications before surgery?
No aspirin-type medications (Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, Excedrin, etc.). If you need pain relief, Tylenol can be taken - but not after midnight. Continue taking your anti-depressants.

What about medications after surgery?
Prescriptions for any pain meds deemed necessary will be giving to your family member after surgery. They can get them filled there at the hospital for you to take home with you. Continue taking your anti-depressants.

Will there be any follow-up appointments after surgery?
One week after surgery will be a Wound Check appointment, to assess the progress of your incision. Six weeks after surgery you will come in for more X-rays to determine how well you are healing.

Will I have to wear a neck brace?
A brace will be given to you after surgery; most likely a soft one (more comfortable) but that depends on how the surgery went. You should wear it as often as possible to minimize movement, but can take it off to allow the wound to air out.

How much time off can I expect?
Absolute bare minimum will be one week. Doctor would prefer two weeks, but if you’re doing well and your wound checks out good, he may give you permission to go back to work early – probably half days at first.

Can I drive after surgery?
If you must, but it would be better not to. Keep your neck brace on – and know that it restricts movement so drive accordingly.

How do I take care of myself afterwards?
Keep the wound dry (special bandages will be given for use in the shower). Don’t lift over 10 pounds (thankfully my girls are just under that). As soon as possible, start walking around the neighborhood – but take it easy; don’t over-do it. Minimize movement as much as possible. Get off the pain meds as soon as you can.

What if I start to bleed?
Butterfly bandages will be placed on the incision right after surgery: there will be blood dried onto them – but don’t panic! If the blood you see is dark red, it’s old. Do panic if you see bright red – that’s new blood, and you should go directly to your doctor to have it taken care of.

I heard that I won’t be able to talk afterwards?
The doctor will have to move aside your esophagus and voice box in order to gain access to your spinal column, so you can expect “some discomfort” after surgery. This can last up to two weeks! Ice packs can be applied to help reduce any swelling, which will help ease your sore throat. Eat soft foods.

I’m very nervous!
Dr. Kralick is the best Neurosurgeon there is – you’re in very good hands.

I Like This Backpack

While sitting at the trailhead in my car this weekend, waiting for my friend to show up so we could go hiking, I transferred all my “stuff” from my old backpack to my new one.

My new backpack was the one I’d bought specifically for my Amazon trip: it’s small, made of recycled material (shredded milk jugs!), and fits me a lot better than my old one.

In the process of switching things over, I made a very exiting discovery: $200.00!

Apparently, I had tucked the money in there during my trip and then forgot about it. I do that: I spread my money around in various places when traveling so that if something gets stolen I will still have money. It’s also quite common for me to forget about it, too.

It certainly made for a great surprise!

My Weekend Was Great!

Saturday, I met my friend Tina at the McHugh Creek Trail parking lot where we left her car and took mine back down the road to the Potter’s Ridge parking lot. Then we set off on foot back to her car, 4 miles along the coast up on the cliffs.

It was a beautiful day: clear blue skies and just enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away. There was a lot of activity on the trail, both human and animal. We didn’t see any actual bears but did see a lot of bear scat, some of which were quite fresh. Some of our fellow hikers told us about a Black Bear sow and her cubs hanging out along the trail, but thankfully she was gone by the time we passed by that section.

Neither Tina nor I are in that great of shape, but we had fun regardless. We ambled our way down (up?) the trail, chatting and catching up on all the news the whole way. I took tons of pictures, of course – and even managed to get some really good shots in.

When I eventually got home again, I headed off to the used car lot downtown and – get this – BOUGHT MYSELF A NEW CAR! Well, new to me at least. It is a used vehicle, but it only has 1,675 miles on it – so it’s only barely used.

It’s a 2012 Toyota Yaris LE, and is the exact car I’ve been looking for. I got a great price on it, too. I’m very happy with it.

Sunday morning, I headed over to Rob’s house for some sourdough pancakes! His son Trey is up for the summer, so I got to give him a ride in my new car. He was suitably impressed, especially when I showed him the single front windshield wiper = that’s just way too cool.

Michael’s Craft Store was having a super sale on paper (5 for a dollar, regularly 79 cents a piece) so of course I had to stop in on my way home. $13.00 later, I walked out to my car with a bag full of some really cool sheets to make envelopes with.

When I got home, Mother was waiting for me – early, of course, but I didn’t mind. We went to the museum together and walked thru their Pole to Pole exhibit. I hadn’t seen the new Smithsonian Alaska Exhibit before, either, and was very impressed. I think they did a really good job with that one.

Once we’d seen as much as we wanted to we stopped in at the café there and had a cup of soup and a pita bread appetizer, then headed on over to Rob’s house for a visit. Mother hadn’t seen his house all fixed up so he wanted to show her all that he’d done on it.

By that time I was ready for a serious nap, much to the delight of my two girls.

Floating the Kenai River

For my birthday this year I got to go on a float trip down the Kenai River!

Rob has a new-to-him boat that he wanted to get wet before his kids arrive for the summer, just to make sure everything was good to go. So we hooked the trailer up to his truck and headed off down the road last Sunday.

We pulled in at Cooper Landing to put the boat in the water and get all our gear in order, then drove the truck & empty trailer down the road to the Russian River Confluence where we planned to end our trip. From there, we hitched a ride in a random pick-up truck back to our boat.

Mind you, we’ve got Daisy with us too! The truck we ended up hitching a ride from was one of those smaller ones. Picture Rob crammed into the back camper, literally underneath a mountain bike and some camping gear while I’m up front with Daisy “sitting” on my lap not 3” away from a complete stranger (those who know me well can imagine just how uncomfortable I was in that situation).

It was actually kind of funny…

We made it back to the boat safe and sound, and started on our way on the river. The Kenai was quite swollen with a lot of water, so the rapids were quite a bit more fun than normal.

Daisy was so cute; she has her own PFD (Personal Flotation Device) even, that provides a convenient suitcase-like handle on her back. This comes in VERY handy when she forgets where she is and leaps to chase after the birds that fly by. At one point, she barked at something on shore only to have it echo back at her: she got scared and had to run to daddy for protection! When we got to the rapids, she got scared again when she saw them coming – and again had to run to daddy for protection.

The fish haven’t quite hit the river yet, but we could tell it wouldn’t be long. The eagles were beginning to line up along shore, just waiting for lunch to be delivered.

And ducks! Who knew there were ducks in a river? For some reason, I just assumed they would only be in a lake…

The float took us about 3 hours; not very long, actually – but it was a good one.

“I’m In Minor Freak Out Mode”

That’s a quote from my brother when he found out he and his wife are pregnant with twins - but I think it applies to my life at the moment, as well.

First, there’s the surgery. Well, surgeries to be exact. My neck will be operated on in a couple weeks followed by up to 2 months in a brace. Once that is over, I get to go back under the knife to fix my shoulder. God knows how long that recovery process will take.

There goes all that summer hiking I was planning.

One side effect of the neck/shoulder problems I’m having is that I can barely drive my car anymore: it is a manual stick shift, and it’s my right side that hurts. So I am looking in to buying a new car, this time getting an automatic. This means a lot of shopping around, as well as some creative banking to ensure that I can afford it. To that end, I am getting a Home Equity Line of Credit which involves an awful lot of paperwork and planning. At the same time, I am switching insurance companies to get a cheaper monthly bill. And of course, I am selling my Nissan.

I can’t seem to find the exact car I want here in town, so now I am looking at buying one outside and having it shipped up – which of course means shopping around to find the perfect deal that justifies all this bother as well as finding a shipping company to get the car up here in once piece.

And now, to top it all of with a big fat cherry = my cat is sick again!

She has been struggling with kidney failure for the past year or so, but had been doing really well – or so I thought. Just the other day, she took a turn for the worse. I rushed her to the vet’s office as soon as they could squeeze me in – and 5 hours later brought her back home $500 poorer.

Thankfully, she’s doing okay now. She’s happy to be back home again, and has a new collection of medications to help her live out the rest of her life comfortably and pain-free.

Speaking of living pain-free, everybody I’ve spoken to who has had the same surgery I’m going to have has told me that it’s well worth it. I should notice a difference right away; once I recover from the knife, that is.

All Over the Map!

I’ve been collecting auto insurance quotes from numerous companies to get a feel for what my payments will be on a 2012 Toyota Yaris (full coverage: Comprehensive and Collision). The responses I’ve gotten are all over the place!

It really does pay to shop around, it seems.

Allstate:
$957.50 for 6 months

Progressive:
$440.00 for 6 months

Amica:
$1086.00 for 6 months

State Farm:
$587.63 for 6 months

Geico:
$659.00 for 6 months

Can you suggest any company I might have missed?

My Neck

So, I go in for pre-op on Wednesday, June 20 = they’ll explain the process, fill out all the paperwork, and do the blood tests

Surgery is scheduled for Friday, June 22 = check in is at 6:00 am, surgery will begin at 7:30

I have no idea how long recovery will be, but I’m hoping to be home that evening and will have the weekend to see how it goes…

For those who don’t know what’s going on, I have two vertebrae (C5 and C6) that require some attention. Dr. Kralick will go in thru a tiny slit in my throat, file off the bone spurs that have grown in all directions (they are putting pressure on my spinal chord), place bone grafts from a cadaver, and tie the whole thing together with a metal plate.

Insurance Quote

Hi Ruth,

Here are the break downs of the vehicles. Basically since it is a new vehicle, of course we do recommend collision and comprehension since the vehicles will obviously be worth much more.

With comprehensive and collision ($500 collision/$250 comp):
     2012 Toyota Yaris - $957.50
     2012 Honda Fit - $945.58

Without comprehensive and collision:
     2012 Toyota Yaris - $390.50
     2012 Honda Fit - $382.46

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you,
Allstate Insurance Company

How Do You Spell Relief?

First the bad news:
     The $30,550.00 figure that I got from the doctor for my neck surgery is only for his services. There will be separate bills from the hospital, the anesthesiologist, the nurses, the janitors, the candy striper, the drug supplier – pretty much anybody who even glances in my direction while I’m in the hospital. I had thought my bill would only be $10,037.95… but no – that’s only part of it…

Now the good news:
     My insurance has a yearly Out of Pocket Maximum of $5,500, which includes my deductible of $2,500.00. On top of that, the company I work for will reimburse a major portion of that deductible ($2,000.00); so, in reality, my expenses will only be about $3,000.00 = FOR EVERYTHING!

Maybe I can afford that new car after all…?

The Meaning of Flowers

January -- Carnations; represent pride, beauty, admiration and gratitude.

February -- Iris; the three upright petals symbolize faith, valor and wisdom.

March -- Daffodil; symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings.

April -- Daisy; joy and playfulness is associated with this bloom.

May -- Lily; symbolizes purity of heart, honor and majesty.

June -- Rose; each color of the rose has a different meaning, but it is often associated with love and beauty.

July -- Delphinium or larkspur; symbolizes an open heart and strong attachment.

August -- Gladiola; a symbol associated with strength and moral integrity.

September -- Aster; a symbol of elegance and an amulet for love.

October -- Marigold; associated with affection and grace.

November -- Chrysanthemum; signifies optimism and happiness.

December -- the poinsettia; symbolizes good cheer and happiness.

Put These on Your List

The following is a list of books you might enjoy – if you haven’t already read them, that is.

Lost in the Jungle
     By Yossi Ghinsberg

King Leopold’s Ghost
     By Adam Hochschild

The Firecracker Boys
     By Dan O’Neil

The Children’s Blizzard
     By David Laskin

Ada Blackjack
     By Jennifer Niven

The Worst Hard Time
     By Timothy Egan

Triangle
     By David Von Drehle

The Windows of Heaven
     By Ron Rozelle

My Lobotomy
     By Howard Dully

Rats
     By Robert Sullivan

The Mummy Congress
     By Heather Pringle

Locust
     By Jeffrey Lockwood

A Sense of the World
     By Jason Roberts

Blood River: a Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart
     By Tim Butcher

How Ironic is That?

I had my appointment with the neurologist yesterday – not exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday, but you take the appointment that’s available or wait months for the next opening. And what an appointment it was, too. I was in there for 4 hours!

The news is pretty much what I expected: I do need surgery. I have two discs that have blown, two vertebrae that have bone spurs, and the entire neck has lost its curvature. The doctor will go in thru a tiny incision in front of my neck, shave off the spurs, repair the discs, graft in bone from a cadaver, and secure the whole thing with a metal brace. The procedure should take no more than 2.5 hours, so if I go in first thing in the morning I might actually be home that evening.

Mother says I will now have to travel with a note from my doctor explaining the metal in my neck!

This whole thing will be quite expensive – again, pretty much what I expected. The doctor’s office gave me a list of expected expenses to be charged; I called my insurance to find out what my coverage would be and then created a spreadsheet in Excel (gosh, I just love that program!) to calculate my portion of the bill.

Wouldn’t you know it: the total was almost EXACTLY what I have in my savings account! Almost to the penny! It’s like somebody knew, and arranged to have it just perfectly so.

Good Things To Come!

Coworker: “So… hypothetically… if somebody were to make you a birthday cake, what would it be?”


Me: “Hypothetically? Hmmm… Probably an angel food cake with fresh strawberries.”

Coworker: “Oooo! With whipped cream on top?”

Me: “Yeah!”