Ted's Health Updates

Friends,

Hi, everybody!  We are back from Honolulu and ready to start on another adventure.  More about that later.  We have lots of news to share.  This update will be a little long probably.  We have been ordered to include pictures from the Honolulu Century, so you will find those in here too.

Our trip to Honolulu was great fun, as you might imagine.  We went to the airport hoping to see off our team, but we arrived at their gate just as their aircraft was pulling out of the terminal area.  We had a comfortable, pleasant flight to Honolulu and made our way to our hotel, the New Otani Kaimani Beach Hotel.  Quite a mouthful.  It is east of Waikiki in Kapiolani Park next to Diamond Head.  They gave us a 3rd floor room in a building with no elevator.  From there, we had to walk to Waikiki to get my bike, and go to dinner with the team.  The weather was hot with about 99% humidity.  With wrestling my bike up all the stairs, walking through airports,  and around Honolulu, by ride day, I was totally exhausted and could hardly walk, my legs were so sore.  It was quite a relief to get on the bike and ride.  Ride day was relatively cool and rainy.  Our route took us on the south side of Diamond Head and then up the coast toward Koko Head through Hawaii Kai.  There was a steep hill in Hawaii Kai that was very challenging for me, but I made it.  After another relatively easy hill, we emerged on the windward side of the island and did a screaming downhill past the marine park.  Then we hit back roads through the jungle during a sprinkle.  Very beautiful and pleasant.  We started to hit a lot of rolling hills going through the Kaneohe area and I simply ran out of energy.  I was riding OK, but I was getting quite ill physically, so I stopped at about the 40 mile mark of the ride.  Menchie picked me up and we drove the rest of the route and admired the scenery.  After lunch we went to the designated meeting spot to ride to the finish with the team.  I joined the team at the highest point on Diamond Head and led the team to the finish line.  We did a double pace line through Kapiolani Park.  It was a great finish to the ride.  Everyone on our team finished the ride safely, with no serious injuries.  We had lots of fun at the victory party afterward.  The first picture below is the double paceline being led by Jason and me as we go through Kapiolani Park.  The second picture is one of me with my  new medal and my trusty steed.

On Monday, I showed Menchie around Honolulu.  We went to the Punch Bowl, Hanauma Bay, what used to be Barbers Point, and to the Arizona Memorial.  On Tuesday we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a great time there.   This is a picture of a fiji warrior attacking me.  We are obviously terrified.

Wednesday we went to the International Market and hiked into Diamond Head.  After Monday, we were using the city bus system, so we hiked a mile or so into Diamond Head and up the trail toward the peak.  There was a bench by the trail, so I waited there while Menchie continued to the top.  There is no way I could have done that.  Two interesting things though, I was able to hike a couple of miles, and I was too tired to get to the top.  I like to attack my weaknesses whenever possible, so my success at hiking from the road into Diamond Head has motivated me to do more walking or hiking, and my failure to get to the top has also motivated me to get stronger in my walking ability.  Similarly, my failure to finish the Century has motivated me even more to get a lot stronger on the bike.  We flew home on Thursday, and pretty much rested on Friday and Saturday.  Sunday we went for a ride, about 20 miles, as preparation for the MS 150 which is this coming weekend.  Hopefully I will be able to finish that.  It is about 110 miles over two days.  Menchie will be riding it with me.

Everybody has been asking about our secret project for Honolulu.  Menchie and I made dreamcatchers for every member of the team.  The picture below shows how they looked.  The card says “Catch The Dream” on the outside and there is a brief description of the dreamcatcher on the inside.  The dreamcatcher is made in the traditional Ojibwe fashion, except it has two beads in the middle, one white and the other red, representing blood cells.  The feathers are purple and green in the first row to represent Team in Training (TNT) and the bottom feathers are red and white, the colors of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  My dream, is that I will someday be able to hold my great grandchildren on my knee and rejoice in the knowledge that they will never have to go through what I have been through.  Here is a picture.  This one is a little more complex than the others, as this was the prototype.  We used half as many feathers on the rest of them.

With getting stronger and attacking weaknesses in mind, I have pretty much decided to do a couple of more programs with TNT.  This means that I will be asking again for fundraising assistance from all of you, my friends and family.  The first program I will be doing is called Peak Performance.  It will be a combination of strength, aerobic, flexibility and agility training that will lead to the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon.  I am planning to train with the 1/2 marathon walk team along with Menchie and possibly Violy, her sister.  Maybe some of my old hiking buddies would like to join us too!  We might sell the dreamcatchers in the future as a fundraiser if there is interest.

I have accomplished something else with my spare time while I have been sick.  I am now a California Notary Public.  As of last week, I have all my supplies and equipment and am ready to stamp all of your legal documents, if you are in California.  If you need a Notary, feel free to give me a call!

My doctor appointment before leaving for Honolulu went well.  Everything was pretty good, except that my creatinine had crept up again.  My Magnesium was high, but the doctor was happy with that going into a century ride.  I was supposed to have another appointment this week, but it has been canceled.  The next doctor appointment is tentatively scheduled for the 23rd of October.

On the medical front, no changes to medications or anything, although I have changed my medication schedule a little bit to allow me to sleep better at night, and give me more flexibility during the day as I return to more and more work.

Lab results from my last appointment.  No significant changes:

Good day to you all!