Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Toe Up to 10K wins Gold Medal in 2015 Reader's Favorite Book Awards

My book, Toe Up to 10K, won the Gold medal in the 2015 Reader's Favorite Book Awards in the category: Non-fiction - inspirational.

It's been a busy half year. I will try to start posting regularly again.


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Motocross Star Pauly Plewa Spinal Cord Injured Set to Run 10K

Pauly Plewa was a motocross rider who injured his brain and spinal cord in an accident in March, 2012.  His chances of regaining any sensation below the chest was given at 2%.

Now, 3 years later, he is set to run 10K May 10th in the Wings For Life World run, which takes place in several cities at the same time.  If I remember correctly, it is a race that is organized by another motocross racer who also injured his spinal cord resulting from a racing accident.

Regular readers of this blog know that I set a goal of running a 10K myself, and it will also be three years for me in June, 2015.  I cannot yet "run" any distance longer than  the length of an intersection, but I think I can improve enough to do a 5K before the end of the year - who knows, maybe even a 10k.

In any event, this is truly an inspirational story reported by cbcnews.com last week.

Pauly Plewa, SCI motocross rider set to run 10K

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Q Fever - Another Scary Mystery illness

In 2012, I came down with viral meningitis.  Viral meningitis isn't supposed to be as bad as meningitis caused by other agents, but I ended up in ICU with kidney and lungs shutting down, and causing me to fall into a semi-conscious state. When I regained full consciousness (among other things), I found that I could not talk, breathe independently, nor move my legs.

I suffered damage to the spinal cord at the T4 level, and was told I may not walk again.  Fortunately, that prediction did not come true, but I still have issues related to walking, and other issues which go with spinal cord injury.

Doctors were never able to positively determine the cause of the spinal cord damage, but I'm sure it is at least indirectly related to the virus that caused the meningitis.

There are many agents out there, and sometimes it takes years to figure out what caused the illness.

Here is story, about a basketball coach who was diagnosed with Q Fever, something that can be transmitted just by breathing the air around a birthing cow. How scary is that?

This story is from FoxNews.com

Basketball Coach's Mysterious Illness is Q Fever

Monday, April 13, 2015

Sweet Gesture by San Diego Padres Baseball Team

Not a Padres fan per se, but love the city of San Diego, love Petco Park, think Bud Black is a great manager, and I think they have a great team this year.

But what is better than reading about what I think about San Diego and its baseball team?  What the team has done for a player they drafted 22 years ago.  A pitcher by the name of Matt LaChappa.

19 years ago, LaChappa, at the age of 20, and a pitcher at the A level, suffered a heart attack.  He uses a wheelchair, and now, age 39, has signed a minor league contract with the Padres for the 20th straight season.  The contract gives him access to health insurance.

Click on the link for the story on CBSsports.com.

Matt LaChappa, pitcher

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Jan Zari, the LA Marathon and the City of Hope

"Because sometimes it's nice to do things for other people." wrote Jan when he announced that he would be participating in the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon, as a relay runner and raising money for the City of Hope.

Disclosure: I know Jan personally, for we had worked together for a few years (I have since exited the workforce), and maintain contact through social media platforms.  I didn't tell Jan of this blogpost beforehand, so, "surprise." Hope you like the write-up, and if you don't, too bad.  I found your story to be inspirational and worth sharing.

On Jan's fundraising page, he tells his story of how much he detested running while in junior high school and high school, and what triggered his decision to take up running. Hint: it was health concerns.

Inspirational point #1.  He made a change to his life.  Changes are really difficult to do.  Many people want to change, say they will change, but never get around to making those changes.  Jan has made those changes and with gusto.  Since taking up running, he wrote that he has lost over 50 pounds and his health has improved dramatically.

Inspirational point #2.  Building on the changes with gusto theme, in the two short years he has been entering races formally he has entered 34 races, distances ranging from 5K to 26.2 miles (a full marathon).  All the more impressive because of how much he hated running as a kid.

Inspirational point #3.  Because it's nice to do things for other people.  Jan wrote that he feels that running has given him a second chance at life.  The City of Hope, he writes, through their research and treatment, provides a second chance for many people with serious and life-threatening diseases.  I know people who have had relatives treated at the City of Hope and know it to be a wonderful organization. This is a very good example of helping others by helping oneself.

Even if Jan wasn't raising money for the City of Hope while participating in this year's Los Angeles Marathon, his story is still worth sharing.  I've written this before and will many times in the future, sharing success stories has a positive impact because it serves as inspiration and motivation for people who want to make a change in his/her life.

So, in summary, Jan Zari: a good guy with a good heart (literally and figuratively) running for a good cause.

Visit Jan's fundraising page .

Thursday, February 12, 2015

My name is pronounced close enough

Here is a video of Toe Up to 10 announcing it as a nominee for a Global Ebook award.

The second syllable in my last name is pronounced the same as the "jii" in Mount Fujii. However, this is the way most people tend to pronounce my last name.  I used to correct people all the time, but over the last ten years or so, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

But it's still a good video.


Monday, February 9, 2015

The Cancer Olympics or A Patient's Best Advocate

The first book I read this year (which was the last book I was reading at the end of last year), was titled The Cancer Olympics, by Robin McGee.  The author had cancer, but because of inadequate medical care, she was not diagnosed until it reached the late stages.  To add "insult to injury," her home province of Nova Scotia did not offer the best care chemotherapy for the type of cancer she had.  In the book, McGee chronicles her battles not only with her illness, but her early medical providers, and her provincial government.  How did it turn out?  Well, it is someone writing a memoir, so you can guess how it turned out - though not in the way you will think when you start the book.  I'll just say she gets three gold medals, but you'll have to read the book to find out how.

I mention McGee and her book not because it is uplifting and inspirational, which it is, but because of one of the themes of her book. That is: A patient must be his/her best advocate because - to be a little snarky - for some people in healthcare, it is just a job.  To a patient, it is his/her life, and ultimately, it is up to the patient to ensure that he/she is getting the best care possible.

It is shameful to hear when patients don't get proper medical care.  I was very lucky in his case.  Of course, I had some issues, but whoever I went to for help, whether it was a hospital staff member, or even my insurance company, I was met with co-operation and a true willingness to work with me to solve the issue.

Now, after almost three years of participating in online forums, talking to strangers on the street, etc, I've come to realize that, to put it nicely, many times, proper medical care slips through the crack.

A way to see things is like a project. The project is your health. Doctors, technicians, insurers (whether private or govt) are part of your team.  And you are the project leader.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

paraparesis will always remind me of my connection to SCI issues

Although I have recovered from a spinal cord injury I sustained in 2012, and to a point that those who have not met me, nor had seen me last before I had sustained the injury wouldn't guess that my spinal cord had been compromised, I still have issues - even in my legs.  I still experience spasms and cannot run fast.

But the spasms are less frequent and intense than two years ago, and at least I can run.

Generally, sports are thought about for able bodied people.  But there are adaptive sports like wheelchair basketball.  But how about for people like me?  Those who are in between able bodied and plegic.  I can shoot baskets, but I can't play basketball. I can hit a baseball, but I can't play baseball.

I wondered if there was a word for people who are in this boat; I knew there had to be one. And there is, "paraparesis" which means weakness of the muscles.

Although I am no longer paraplegic, I am paraparetic.  I can move my muscles.  And in absolute strength, that has probably returned as well, but there is something missing in regards to the strength that keeps me from being fully able bodied.

I am extremely grateful that I have recovered this much, but the paraparesis is a constant reminder of my SCI - once an SCI patient, always an SCI patient.

Friday, January 16, 2015

A Boy Who Said He Went to Heaven Made it Up - I'm Mad, but not at the Boy or his Family

When I first read the story below, I thought it was about he boy whose story was made into a movie last year.  Apparently, there were three books in circulation about boys who "visited heaven."

This book is titled, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven.  It is about a boy, Alex Malarkey, at the time, age 6, who said he went to heaven after a terrible car accident.  His father wrote a book, which eventually became a best-seller.

The boy, now 16, has retracted his story, saying that he made it up to get attention.

I'm writing off the cuff, now, and I feel anger, but not at the boy, nor his parents.  I can understand a six year old making this up to get attention. I can understand a father wanting to write this down and sharing what his son had said.  I read that in the book, the father wrote that he found some of the stuff his son was saying was hard to believe - so there was no intention of deceit on the part of the father - he was just writing down what his son had said.

So, who am I mad at?  Or why am I mad?  The family made no money.  The book is a New York Times Best-seller, and none of the profits trickled down to the family?  It is hard to believe.  What kind of arrangement did the father make?  Was it a one-time fee for all rights?  That's really the only way I can think of that would lead to this situation.

Bit even if his father signed away the rights to this book, the boy is severely paralyzed. It's pretty obvious that the medical bills - and bills related to healthcare are not only medical - but there are all sorts of incidentals that are not covered by insurance.  So, even though the publisher(s) may not be legally obligated to help the family, it riles me that it seems that those who profited from the book did not extend any helping hand after the book became a best seller.

From what I also understand, despite the title of the book, very little of it is the actual description of heaven. Much of it is the struggles and coping when a child is stricken with a serious injury.

If I were the parents, I would write another book with their son.  Leave out the actual descriptions of heaven, but include their spirituality, and talk about how they have coped with this situation for the last ten years - I'm sure a lot of people would still be inspired from their story, and would be interested in reading about it.

Anyway, here is the story from Daily Mail.com: "I Did Not Go to Heaven."

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Martin Pistorius - Ghost Boy

This is an incredible story, and one I wish to never experience.  Locked eye syndrome is awlful.  It is mostly associated with people who are in the later stages of ALS, but can really happen to anybody.

When he was 12 years old, Martin Pistorius suffered a mysterious ailment - to this day, it is unknown, but doctors believe it was some form of meningitis.  Anyway, he suffered from locked in syndrome, which the person is aware, but cannot move anything other than his/her eyes.

The first two years, he had failed every awareness test possible, and then  when he started getting his awareness back, they stopped testing him, and for 10 years, he lived aware, but no one around him knew he was aware.  Until a new caretaker noticed something and urged to have him retested.

He has written a book about this experience. It is an international bestseller.  Below is a link to his story, and a trailer to his book.

Ghost Boy article and book trailer

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Colton Beasley - Musician

Colton Beasley was a college student and musician who contracted viral meningitis.  I often refer to viral meningitis as the step-child of meningitis because I think the dangers from this are overlooked more so than from other types of meningitis.

It is also closer to my heart because I, too, was diagnosed with viral meningitis.  And although I was not in a coma, I fell into a semi-conscious state, and doctors wouldn't have been surprised if I came out of it brain damaged.

Beasley made it out of his coma and resuming his music career.  Below is a link to an article that appeared about him and his band.

Interview with Osara 


Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Curing the Cause, not Masking the Symptom

I can't help think but think about this, but sometimes I think it was my allergy medication that was indirectly responsible for the meningitis that led to my spinal cord injury.

About a month before I got sick, I had switched allergy medications. The medication worked in clearing up my nasal passages.  Howver, as with most OTC medication, I believe the primary purpose of medications is to resolve the symptoms, and not the underlying cause.

The sinus issues I had were severe. If I hadn't taken allergy medication, my nose would be, at the same time, congested and runny.  And I'd often go through a box of tissues every two days.  Heck, even with allergy medications, i would still go through a box a week.

I think the medication did reduce the mucous buildup inside my nose, which gave me relief, but did not 1. kill off the agents that was causing the allergic reaction, and/or prevented mucous production so when a virus did invade my nasal passages, could not put up a defense and the virus was able to make its way to the spinal cord.

This is why I believe it is important to treat the cause, rather than the symptoms.  And the best thing is, they aren't mutually exclusive.  You can treat the symptoms while trying to treat the cause.

We usually do this when we catch colds.  There is no cure for the common cold, but we will take medication to treat the symptoms while the cold virus runs its course.

However, during all those months of taking allergy medications that worked for me (I spent years trying all sorts of allergy medications, and finally there were two that worked), I should have also continued my research in curing the cause, rather than masking the symptoms.  Doctors are trained to rid us of our symptoms, so when I went to my ENT and told him that the allergy medication was working and I could breathe normally, of course, that was taken as good news and that was it until my next follow-up.

But I can't but think that the allergy medication somehow reduced my bodies ability to fend off invaders, and that is how I ended up with meningitis.

Of course, I will continue to take medications that resolve the symptoms when I catch a cold, but I will still continue with my "cold killer" diets and such when I get sick.  They might not help with the symptoms, and they might not always reduce the duration of the cold (and in my case in 2012, did not prevent it from morphing into meningitis), but it is an effort to tackle the cause, and not just the symptoms.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Tumeric Milk - My magic bullet for sinus issues

For years, I have battled a nasty chronic sinus condition. Surgery was not an option since it was caused by allergies.  Finally, about three years ago, I found relief in Allegra, but the effectiveness eventually wore off.  Then I found Zyrtec to work pretty well, but it was two months agfter that when I came down with meningitis.  For a year after that, my sinus problem was pretty manageable.

However, in November, 2013,my sinus condition came back worse than ever. I thought since it had been a couple of years since I had taken Allegra, it would help, but it brought very little relief. All Spring I had suffered, but in April, 2014, I started taking a supplement called serrapeptase, which is an enzyme thought to reduce inflammation, and also dissolve scar tissue.

This enzyme worked just as well as the allergy medication, enough so that I was able to stop taking allergy medication, but it really didn't solve my issue with the sinus.

I started taking serrapeptase on and off around September 2014, and in November 2014, again, the sinus issue got really bad, but not as bad as it did in 2013.  I started taking serrapeptase regularly again, but wanted better relief.  (As an aside, coincidentally or not, the pain and stiffness around my kneecap has gotten much better since I started taking the serrapeptase, which is a reason I continue to take it).

So, in late December, I learned about tumeric milk - which is adding  1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder to milk and drinking it warm/hot.

For me, this has done the trick. Although my sinus issue hasn't completely gone away, it is 500x better than before.  I haven't felt this clear in years.  I still haven't regained my sense of smell, but I am hoping that will return also.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Will this be the year I run a 10K?

It was early 2013, about 7 months after I had injured my spinal cord, that I decided to run a race as a symbol of my recovery.  Ultimately, I decided the length would be 10K.  However, at that time, I couldn't walk six blocks efficiently.

Around the summer of 2013, I felt strong enough to "jog" on the sand at the beach, but it was mostly form, and was probably no faster than my walking speed.

Finally, around Spring, 2014, I felt strong enough to sprint a little distance, but by the end of the year, I could never really sprint a longer distance than crossing the length of a short intersection.

Another improvement i made during the summer of 2014 was that my jogging speed improved, but my endurance was still lacking.  I couldn't jog in one session, for more than 10 blocks.

So, now it is 2015.  Last week, I felt another "leap of improvement" in my legs.  I think I can get my legs strong enough to maintain somewhat of a pace to complete a 10K race, and also work up the endurance for the same.

So, let's hope this is the year I can complete a 10K race.