Photography
One of my first little outings in a while. I actually felt strong enough to carry the camera and not rely on the tripod to take photos. It was a lovely fall day. Again, random shots.
I really like taking photos of the Burrs. The thin spikes are really interesting.
As mentioned in the previous post, my photography will be a bit random and sporadic for a bit.
Here are some shots that I have taken over the summer.
Hello Friends and Followers
Sorry for my absence for most of the the summer, I have been on a bit of medical journey that has kept me away from the camera, computer, screen time and work.
First off, this is not a post looking for sympathy or anything of that nature. I am not that kind of guy. If anything, believe it or not, I prefer to fly under the radar as a bit of an introvert. Some will disagree with that 😉
In January of this year a regular blood test for my regularly scheduled physical showed an unusual result. Long story short and after multiple blood tests, an endoscopy, some kind of electricity test on my leg muscles, an actual muscle biopsy (I now have a cool 5 inch scar on my left leg) I was given the diagnosis that I have an auto-immune disease called Necrotizing Myopathy. Basically my immune system cant tell who the bad guys are and its gone rouge on everything. Most effected are my core muscles and hip flexors.
On Wednesday afternoon of July 21st , things got a bit real.
After my 2nd dose of my very first (chemo like) treatment for my Autoimmune disease (they take 2 days to get), I came home from the hospital and my legs gave out and I fell backwards off the front step of our house on to the drive way hitting my head. Several skull fractures, a broken orbital bone, a broken nose, a black eye, and a small brain bleed (maybe as many as 4), and a concussion means I was out of commission for almost 8 weeks. Good news though if you keep reading.
So with the treatment for my autoimmune disease that I have started, the Doctors are very confident that I will make some kind of recovery but it will be weeks, probably months, maybe years. There is no cure for this but it is manageable. I had been keeping it quiet hoping treatments would get me back on track and no one would be the wiser, but this got real enough to share.
We are so lucky to have the Riverside, the General and the Civic Hospitals here in Ottawa. The care has been 5 
all the way despite all the Covid issues. All my Doctors and every person I have had the pleasure to meet on this journey so far have been Superstars, Angels, and Superheros. Last but not least, my amazing family at home has been a god send of help and support. Brenda, Kendra, and Heather are Superstars in their own category. Amazing support and caring even from afar in Kendra’s case.
My poor Mom and Sister who have known since June and been worried sick and not trying to show it are also superstars.
Work has also been super supportive.
Thanks to the few people who also knew but kept this on the down low until I was comfortable enough to share.
If you want an overview of what I have, look up Polymyositis. My Necrotizing Myopathy is a relatively new sub diagnoses. Do your physicals annually as that’s how they caught this early and is giving me a great chance if not actual chance to return to some kind of near normal. Peace out. Love you all. Lets keep moving forward and lets try to be kind to each other.
So for those of you wondering about my weight loss plan, this has been it. For anyone counting, my last weight on this past Wednesday morning was 140.3lbs. When I came out of the hospital (after 6 days) I weighed 130.2lbs. As of today, I am up to 143lbs. This is good news. My most recent blood work is showing that the treatments are working. My numbers are still well above normal but nothing like they were earlier this year.
I am really looking forward to getting back out and taking photos. However it might be kind of sporadic until my muscle strength returns as the camera is simply to heavy to hold for any length of time and I am still walking with my walker at the moment. Good news is, my strength is slowly returning along with my balance.
