18 January 2017
I am reading "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing which is a factual
account of Shackleton's ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica by foot in 1914. His ship became stuck in the ice and the crew were forced to spend Winter in the Antarctic. After long voyage on the drifting pack ice followed by a perilous sea crossing in small boats, Shackleton brought all his crew home alive. Here is a Nova documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bToqGFvAcM
Reading such an amazing factual account of survival makes my relative discomforts seem minor. I even have all the vast medical support systems to alleviate any discomfort and for that I feel lucky.
I am on a day 5 of a 2 week treatment on steroids and it is really helping. The mucous and phlegm in my throat has already dwindled to a minimum and my swallowing seems to be improving. The swallowing problem could be due to damage to the vagus nerve or irritation of the nerve from swelling. I hope it is the swelling because nerves are slow to never in self repair. The steroids also give me a huge increase in energy which Shackleton's men would have greatly appreciated. The down side is that coming off the steroids is quite unpleasant but the boost in recovery they give while active is so welcome.
My problem with this excess energy from the steroids is to force myself to rest and not dive into my sports and my lengthening to-do list!Well, I am taking a break now for a bike ride and I'll finish this blog this evening. It snowed a bit over night but my mountain bike tires have good snow tread.
Don't be concerned I only went for a half hour ride after which I walked at a very leisurely pace behind my snowblower to clear my driveway and the driveways of my 2 neighbours. Things were a little quiet in the afternoon so I took our cat to the vets for annual shots and dropped in to pay the balance for my new motorcycle which should be delivered in about 2 weeks. I am hoping for some warm weather!
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| GO STEROIDS |
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