Busy Vacation So Far

I've had a very busy couple of days. After our work on the digger logs Saturday, I was MCing a big concert just outside of the city. It was an opportunity to take Cranky Baby with me and take some more pictures. The first one is with a couple of the Road Dawgs who were helping out at the concert. The guy holding Cranky Baby was immediately smitten.
Before any of the bands took to the stage I gave Cranky Baby a chance to feel like a rock star.

Some of us in the VIP tent acting like idiots.
On Sunday morning the Wookie and I did a 14 k bike ride on part of the Salt Marsh Trail from Lawrencetown Beach. Part of the trail goes through dense woods, then right through the marsh. The weather has wreaked havoc with the trail in the exposed Marsh areas, with two hurricanes in 6 years being the worst offenders. We don't usually have hurricanes in this part of the world. Hurricane Noel last November and hurricane Juan several years before were unusual events that have changed a lot of the landscape of the city. I will write further about the trail at a later date and post pictures. We also ran into a trail warden who warned us about increased sightings of poison ivy.

After the ride, we went to a wildlife rescue facility that was having an open house. Then off to Mom and Dad's for supper. I finally convinced Dad to pose with Cranky Baby on the Alien Landing Pad. Of course Dad didn't want his face in the picture.
This morning I was off to Palooka's Gym to take some shots of Cranky Baby working out. The gym is owned by a friend and patron of the MS Society.
So as you can see my vacation has been jam-packed so far. And it will continue with more meetings and appointments planned. Actually, later this week I'll be seeing my wonderful family doctor to get final results of all the tests and images that have been taken of the inside of my body (MRI, ultra-sound, blood). I suspect I'll be getting the all clear as I've been feeling 100 % since the surgery and riding 20 k at a time on the bike would indicate that I'm ok.

I wanted to write a post about heat, humidity, and MS, but I'm sweating too much so it'll have to wait for cooler weather. Suffice to say that on these muggy days, I like to ride my bike near the ocean. Or just sit in it.

S.

Digger Logs

Yesterday morning at 9 , 4 of us from the Sackville Rivers Association went to a spot on the Little Sackville River to do maintenance on a digger log. Digger logs are installed at several points on a river for a number of reasons. I've explained before about how we're trying to restore the natural meandering of the river. Installing the logs allows us to divert the flow of the river ever so slightly. It is placed at an angle, opposite to the one before it. In the first picture, looking upstream, the water will be mostly coming to the right of the log (on the left of the picture).So now we have to place deflector rocks on the upstream side of the log and dig out the rocks and stuff from the downstream side of the log. Deflector rocks help hold down the log and deflect ice off it. As chunks of ice move down river, they should slide right over the rocks rather than into the log. They also help deflect some flow of the river. Removing rocks and stuff from the downstream side of the logs creates a pool for the fish to rest as they move upstream.

This particular rock that I dug out is all sharp and raggedy. It's not a natural river rock, which would be smooth with rounded edges. It came directly from a quarry and ended up in the river either during construction in the neighbourhood or someone brought it in. More likely the former. There's a tiny white spot on the rock that reveals a vein of quartz. Whether a rock is smooth or not we'll use it.

So after shovelling two tons of rock and debris from the river, I sat down in the middle and just hand picked the rocks, throwing them to the appropriate areas. Behind me you can see a line of rocks that define the downstream side of the pool. You can also see my bug net in the background just in case I came across something interesting.
Another picture looking upstream. On the right side of the picture you can see how we built up the rocks a little bit. On the left side of the picture you can see where the water is flowing more quickly over the log. The quicker flowing water will churn up the bottom of the pool and help make it a little deeper plus it will help oxygenate the water. We placed rocks at the downstream side of the pool to help define it and to also concentrate the flow of water. We also started to fashion a trench to the bottom of the pool.
In the last picture you can see the "gurgling" water flowing over the log. On the right you can see a lone rock. We dug out a little bit of debris from around this rock located in the middle of the pool. That's to offer some protection to the fish as there isn't really a place to hide from predators in the pool.
We're not done yet. But the basic structure is there. Our fearless leader, Walter, said that if you remove the rocks from a river you remove the singing of the water. Or something like that. It was rather profound, for Walter. Anyway, we're just rearranging them to make the water sing a little louder.

S.

As always, click on the pictures to get a closer look.

My Huckleberry Finn Adventure

Yesterday after work I raced home, jumped into my biking gear, threw the bike on the car, and drove to one of the trails outside of the city. I wanted to start biking by 4 so I could get 20 kilometres under my belt, so to speak (if I wore a belt). The weather has been absolutely magnificent and is supposed to continue to be wonderful through the weekend and I want to squeeze every last ounce of summer out of every hour of daylight that I possibly can. We had such a wet summer for the most part, I and most Nova Scotians feel somewhat cheated.

On the trail I came across a plethora (love that word) of bugs. I even managed to inhale two small gnats of some sort as I was speeding along. I also had a head on collision with an enormous dragonfly. They have compound eyes and fly better than helicopters but they can't avoid me? I did have a few dragonflies tease me, too. As I'm rolling along the trail they would get in front of me like we were in a race. After about 50 metres or so they veer upwards and get behind me, then pass me at a greater speed. I can almost hear them saying "Nyah nyah nyah" as they jet by me. Show offs.

There were all kinds of caterpillars out crossing the trail, too. Most that I spotted were off the Tussock variety that I blogged about a week and a half ago. There were also a few smooth skinned fat ones that I will stop to inspect next time I'm out. The one pictured below is very much like the Tussock moths, but it had no hairs (the "tussock part of the creature) sticking up like a punk rocker. It was more of a preppy caterpillar. Lovely colours and a few spots, too.

After about 10 kilometres, I got off the trail, crossed the highway, and went to a wharf at the ocean that I have only ever seen from afar. There were 4 people fishing so I figured it was as good a spot as any to take a snack break and see what these folks were up to. Two older gentlemen and a younger couple were catching mackerel. The fish were practically jumping out of the ocean and into their bucket on the dock. I chatted with the four of them for several minutes just amazed at how easy it was to catch these fish. I was also quite surprised at pretty they are. They've got wonderful, swirly, greenish lines on their sides and a brilliant silver belly. I'm afraid my picture doesn't really do them justice.

They they asked me if I had a plastic bag with me to take some home. I have almost everything else in my bike pack for specimen collecting, so I checked to see if I had a baggie big enough for a couple of fish. Nope. But we found one on the dock wrapped around a sign post. I grabbed that one and we put two fish in it. They wanted me to take more, but as I was only feeding myself that night I declined. They also quizzed me on my ride and my bike. I also told them I'd be talking about this adventure on the radio tomorrow(today) but we agreed I'd just refer to them as the Fishers of the Bay as we didn't want to give away their most excellent fishing spot. I finished eating my apple, had some water, said thanks for supper and was off again.

The ride home went a little faster than the ride out. I felt like I was 6 years old racing home with my catch or like Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. I had the wind behind me and fish in my pack that needed cleaning. I came across a toad on the trail that wouldn't let me catch him and more deer tracks than you can shake a stick at. It was a really good ride. Once home, I had to clean the fish, which I have done before, but had somehow forgotten how much I dislike that chore. Yuck. Anyway, I managed to get enough meat to satisfy my protein requirement as per my diet. Lemon and dill added and into the frypan. Yum.

I'm planning on a shorter ride after work today but I don't expect to be lucky enough to have someone catch my supper for me.

S.

Cranky Baby and Chickens

Picture from Wikipedia.

Here's Cranky Baby stating her mission:

I'm still waiting for Ed to send me the pics from his Las Vegas trip but he assures me they're good. In the meantime, I took a few more of Cranky Baby with some co-workers. Below is Rod, who administers the Children's Trust Fund. This fund is our company charity set up to help kids and their families with expenses not covered by any other government or insurance plan. For example, fencing a yard for the family of an autistic child, or extra medical equipment deemed as therapeutic but not covered by insurance.
And here's Pat, our receptionist. She's a living doll herself, easy to laugh (especially at my antics), and she's also got a wonderful singing voice. I've heard her sing with her church choir. And except for this picture, I don't think I've ever seen her pout.
And just because I thought this was funny, a pic of a van towing a trailer filled with cages of....chickens. There are boxes and pet carriers, too, and I'm sure they've got chickens in them as well. Seeing this on the outskirts of the city , I figured these folks aren't just taking the birds for a drive but are probably headed to one of the many agricultural exhibitions happening this time of year
They aren't the typical egg laying or fryer variety as a couple are quite fluffy and pretty (for chickens). But they did remind me of how the Wookie and I met.

The Wookie and I first met online on one of those dating sites. I was getting pretty tired of guys with young kids as I don't have children and don't want them. I was also looking for someone with a similar background to mine, at least a university degree, and a curious nature. I specified on my profile that I wasn't interested in someone who was still driving a mini-van (that indicates smaller kids) but if their kids were old enough to vote that was OK. And I also had a question for any prospects. Why did the chicken cross the Mobius strip?

The Wookie didn't get the answer right, but he was one of the few who attempted to answer the question and the only one who knew what a Mobius strip is. If you are a fan of M.C. Escher or are a mathmetician you would know what this thing is. So basically, it was a litmus test to see if a guy knew what it was or was curious enough to look it up. The Wookie passed the test.

So why did the chicken cross the Mobius strip? To get to the same side.

S.

Simon Whitfield

Picture from Harry magazine.

I've been enjoying watching a lot of the Olympics. And I was really looking forward to catching the men's triathlon. Sadly, it didn't actually start until 10 last night so I was able to watch only the first few minutes before sleep took me.

Since 2000 I have been aware of a young man by the name of Simon Whitfield. He was the gold medalist in Men's Triathlon in Sydney at the tender age of 25. A series of unfortunate events led to a poorer showing in 2004, but last night (or today, depending on where you are) Simon won silver for Canada. Yay!!

I have always been a fan of multi-event sports like heptathlon, decathlon, and the trithalon. In my wildest dreams, I'm participating in the trithalon. I'm afraid I don't like running, though, and I can't so much more than a mean dog paddle in the water, but put me on a bike and I can go for miles it seems. And I love to watch the event.

Simon Whitfield was asked to be an ambassador for the MS Society of Canada in 2001. And he agreed. The reason he was asked? His uncle had been living with MS since 1980.

“He is incredible,” said Mr. Whitfield, who de-
scribes his uncle as one of the most inspiring people he
has ever known. “Coping with his MS, he runs an
Olympic triathlon everyday. Any hardship or obstacle
I face, pales in comparison.”

Even though I'm not an elite athlete, I like to imagine myself as one. And yesterday, on the way back from a mere 15 k ride, for the last half kilometre, I pretended I was finishing the triathlon. I won gold, by the way.

S.

Insurance

Lisa from Brass and Ivory posed a question in her comments section to me about my experiences with health care and insurance in Canada. Because we have universal health care in this country we often don't think about what an illness can do to families financially. This is much more evident in the US but it does affect Canadians as well.

My mother was quite ill when she was pregnant with me. I wasn't a very good guest apparently. As a result of not being able to keep anything down and the threat of miscarriage a few times, when mom went into labour, the specialists were called in to help with the delivery and to care for what they thought was to be a tiny baby. The minute I was born, they wheeled the incubator out of the room and the specialists all started to leave. Mom asked where everyone was going. She was told they weren't needed as I was big and healthy (and screaming), at 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

My father is fond of reminding me it took them 3 years to pay for my birth because of the precautions needed and the specialists required to be there. I never understood that statement until I was a teenager and learned about our health care system. Canada has only had universal health care since the mid '60s (I was born in '63). Yes, they had insurance, but that only covers so much. My parents have been adamant over the years that I have insurance for everything, and I do.

I have been a consumer of health care since before I was born. All the usual childhood diseases, tonsils came out at 10, occasional trips to emergency for sprains, stitches, etc., regular doctor visits (they now call them "well woman" visits instead of paps), irregular doctor visits for severe colds or flus, MS onset and diagnosis and most recently my surgery for ovarian cysts (I can't imagine the costs associated with that whole experience).

If I added the costs of my health care together, I'm sure I'd be at the million dollar mark by now. But it has basically only cost me parking. And the occasional over the counter medicine.

When the MS diagnosis came along, I signed up for the Avonex drug study. For the duration of the study, the drug company, Avonex was going to cover the costs associated with the study: MRIs, blood work, etc. That was for almost two years. Then after the study, my insurance at work covered the prescription. But it would only do so for two years. This was in the midst of lobbying the various provincial governments to cover the enormous expense of the DMDs. Nova Scotia came on board with the plan around that time along with New Brunswick a few years later and eventually Newfoundland and Labrador. The rest of the country had already covered the drugs.

I get my prescription for Avonex filled every three months. I call the hospital pharmacy, give them my ID number and go pick it up the next day. They send me a bill for $9.54 for "dispensing fees" or some such thing and that's it. So for about $40 a year and parking I get Avonex. In September it will be 9 years that I've been on this drug. Since diagnosis I haven't missed any work because of MS. I have worked full time for the past 8 years (I was part time for several years before that), volunteered, and in general contributed to society (and to the government coffers).

A lot of folks complain about the government's take of income tax. I understand their frustration as I used to be one of them. But not now. I know why I pay taxes and my health is to show for it. I also sock away as much money as I can for retirement because I know that my retirement may one day be forced on me because of the MS.

I have repeatedly said over the years that I am one lucky duck. Not everyone can say that. Some folks may not be working full time or have full health coverage for other prescriptions or they may not be working at all. They may not be living where they want because of financial strains. Maybe they were the sole breadwinner before disability and can now no longer afford to look after their families the way they had been. Whatever the case, even in Canada, getting sick can cause great financial hardship, though it may not be because of the cost of the actual health care.

The Wookie moved to Canada from southern California when he was a teenager. His father (now semi retired) became a professor at one of the universities here. A few years after they had moved here, the Wookie's youngest brother was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Sadly, it was discovered too late and he passed away, but not before undergoing surgery and treatment. Both parents were working professionals but admitted that if they had still been in the US, the brother's medical care would have bankrupted them.

We have wonderful care in this country, wonderful doctors, and wonderful facilities. We also have problems with our medical system that we're trying to work out. The biggest complaint people have is wait times for tests or to see specialists. If your condition is emergent you will be seen and assessed quickly. If it turns out that you don't need emergent treatment, well, you'll wait...

Over the past several years I have watched walk-in medical clinics open up to help ease the strain on emergency departments. There is a shortage of family doctors and as a result, longer waits to see one even if you have one. That's part of what was driving folks to the EDs. The other part is that many people aren't proactive enough with their health, engaging in risky behaviour, not following doctors' advice , that sort of thing. The government and our doctors are not responsible for our health. We are. And we have to educate ourselves about...ourselves. We must become more knowledgeable about our health, we must lead healthier lives, and we must not take for granted the great things we already have.

S.

PS:Lisa, I guess I could have contributed to the Carnival this week after all. Hope that answers some of what you were wondering about.

Interview

Over the years I've had a chance to interview a number of professional singers and musicians, sometimes live on air and sometimes taped to air later. I usually have some time to prepare for an interview, though not always. If I don't have time to do some research, I feel like I'm floundering.

I am a "go to" person for the local office of the MS Society so when the newspaper or TV folks want a quote or soundbite from someone with MS, they often go to me. I love it when someone is prepared with questions for me and when I don't have to explain the basics of MS. One of the best interviews I ever gave was to a TV reporter who has since become an instructor of media studies at a local college. (She also happens to be the wife of a former colleague. We see each other about once a year at social gatherings.)

Yesterday, I was interviewed by a young woman from a communications company that is doing the PR for an upcoming campaign by the MS Society of Canada, and I happen to be the spokesperson for this campaign in Halifax. This woman was prepared and what a treat to speak with someone who had done their homework. She knew what I did for a living and she had discovered my blog. She googled me. A very simple thing to do. Very basic research, really, but it made the interview that much easier for me.

She had one question for me at the beginning. After finding my blog she asked: Who or what is the Wookie?

That cracked me up, as it did the Wookie when I told him later. I explained that the Wookie is my boyfriend/partner/whatever-they're-calling-them these days. The reason for the nickname is that he is the hairiest guy I've ever dated. Not the hairiest I've ever met, but the hairiest I've dated. "And he doesn't mind being called the Wookie?" Well, no, he knows he's hairy.

That set the tone for the rest of interview. I talked for half an hour about living with MS from diagnosis to now. 10 years condensed into half an hour.

One of the questions she asked me had to do with what I would ask researchers or government. Well, when I have questions to ask researchers I ask them. I send e-mails to the MS clinic staff
when I need something explained to me, I talk to pharmacy students when I need someone to research and explain certain brain chemistries to me (students love to do this stuff), I even send e-mails to the researchers themselves on occasion. As to what I would ask government, I do that, too, though not as often. I ask them to support initiatives for the disabled, but asking government to spend more money on research is like shaking your fist at God. Ineffective. So I leave those questions to lobbyists.

But the surprising thing I came away with from the interview was my feeling that researchers really have to concentrate on the more progressive forms of MS. Right now I have a wonderful life with MS. I have gained more than I have lost with MS. I truly feel that way. But I am also aware that most people aren't as lucky as I am. I am also aware that I may not always feel this way. Even now, some days I get pissed off at MS. But I am more pissed off at what MS is doing to my friends and their families. We need to find a way to combat the more severe forms of MS. I am living a very good life with what I've got right now. And if this is the worst I experience I will consider myself truly blessed. Some of my virtual and real life friends aren't so lucky or blessed. It is for them that I do what I do. It certainly isn't for the money or the glory.

S.