Besides the wheelchair and the bed, the only other item in my possession that I could not live without is my brown, faux-leather recliner. It is way more than just a piece of furniture to me. I receive at least three hours of forced air via my BiPap every evening while seated in the reclined [...]
Archive for the ‘Treatments’ Category
A New Use for an Old Friend
Posted in Allegedly Funny, Life, Treatments on July 11, 2011 | 4 Comments »
The Latest Batch of Humiliating Pictures from the Files of ALS Boy
Posted in Allegedly Funny, Treatments on February 28, 2011 | 4 Comments »
I receive an acupuncture treatment every two weeks from my friend and now-new mom Jen. Since I can’t really do stairs anymore, and because her Redwood City treatment center facility called Casa de Gallina has quite a large number of them, she brings her box of needles to me. Who says that house calls are [...]
The Divorced Philosopher
Posted in Allegedly Funny, Treatments on November 19, 2010 | 6 Comments »
Every other Friday I have a one hour appointment with Troy Mandala — a pseudonym for purposes of anonymity — so he can practice medical Chi Gong on me. I have been with Troy for a while now, ever since my previous healer moved to Atlanta and her replacement ran afoul of one too many [...]
Breathing Easier
Posted in Life, Treatments on October 1, 2010 | 2 Comments »
I don’t recall where I picked up this little tidbit of information but it sounds reasonable enough so I’m going to go with it as if it was true for the sake of this introduction. You know how if five people witness the same accident that they would have five different versions of what went [...]
Breathing Easy(er)
Posted in Treatments on August 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Everything we ever needed to know about BiPAP we learned in ten minutes. Muchas gracias to Peggy and Cyndi and the entire team in the Pulmonary Medicine department at Santa Clara Kaiser. Throughout the duration of my personal ALS experience in regards to the astronomical number of doctor visits I’ve accumulated, it is their department [...]
Strive for Five
Posted in Allegedly Funny, Treatments on August 16, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Based upon the fact that my latest breathing scores were lower than the Giants’ winning percentage versus the Padres this year, the brain trust here at Team ALS Boy decided to bite the proverbial bullet and get me hooked up to a BiPAP machine. Just a little bit at first, so I could get used [...]
Leisure Rules
Posted in Treatments on August 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Here is a picture of me yesterday afternoon sporting the new DynaSplints on my paws. I am only allowed to wear them for two hours the first day, three hours the next day and so on and so on until I reach between six to eight hours per session. They are rather heavy and [...]
Stretch HandStrong
Posted in Treatments on August 14, 2010 | 4 Comments »
One of the first things you’ll notice about me — besides my inability to walk and talk or my propensity to drool excessively after yawning or the fact that I still think farts are funny — is that my hands always seem to be balled up in a fist. No, I’m not looking for the [...]
My Happy Place
Posted in Life, Treatments on April 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
To get to the place where I can simply just be, we have to traverse tree-lined suburban avenues whose sidewalks are filled with the names of those who were fortunate enough to be there just as the cement was drying. Before too long, the streets transform to a more urban entity with used book stores [...]
Better Living Through Pharmaceuticals
Posted in Treatments on March 20, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Here is a list of the pills and vitamins — aka Daddy’s Little Helpers — that I take two times a day (unless otherwise indicated). Baclofen – This is a muscle relaxer. I’ve upped my dosage from 20mg to 60mg and it has made all the difference. No more spasticity in my legs and arms. [...]
