Here’s a picture of my mom and our youngest. In case you can’t tell, that’s her on the right

Nearly four years ago (March will be four years), my mom had knee replacement surgery. Something happened during surgery and nerves in her lower right leg were damaged. The result was chronic pain in her right foot. It started immediately after surgery. During recovery she only complained of pain in her foot, not her knee.

Her surgeon repeatedly stated the pain was a normal part of recovery and that it would eventually subside. Well, nearly four years later it still hasn’t. The pain is horrible. I can’t tell you how many places she’s visited or things she’s tried to alleviate it, but no stone has been left unturned.

She was eventually diagnosed with a condition called RSD . . . → Read More: My Mom]]> Get better soon. We all love you and are pulling for you.

Here’s a picture of my mom and our youngest. In case you can’t tell, that’s her on the right

A little history

Nearly four years ago (March will be four years), my mom had knee replacement surgery. Something happened during surgery and nerves in her lower right leg were damaged. The result was chronic pain in her right foot. It started immediately after surgery. During recovery she only complained of pain in her foot, not her knee.

Her surgeon repeatedly stated the pain was a normal part of recovery and that it would eventually subside. Well, nearly four years later it still hasn’t. The pain is horrible. I can’t tell you how many places she’s visited or things she’s tried to alleviate it, but no stone has been left unturned.

She was eventually diagnosed with a condition called RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy), also called CRPS (compartmental regional pain syndrome). The most common description of RSD/CPRS is a chronic, painful, and progressive neurological condition that affects the skin, muscles, joints, and bones. It is characterized by various degrees of burning pain, excessive sweating, swelling, and sensitivity to touch.

Yep, that pretty much describes what my mom’s been going through. The medical establishment, being what it is, thinks it’s all mental. As time progressed and the pain did not subside (and actually got worse), she was diagnosed as depressed and given pain medication. Depressed is not my mom, not before the surgery at least.

Over time, the pain continued to get worse. As this happened, her ability to perform activities of daily living basically disappered. She couldn’t drive anywhere. Hell, she could hardly walk. Wearing shoes was nearly out of the question. Sleeping? Not really. Not with the kind of pain she was experiencing.

Maybe the worst part of all was that as her pain levels increased, so did the strength of her pain medication. One year we all went for a visit and she was basically wiped out from the pain meds. She doesn’t even remember us being there, even though we stayed about a week. SAD! This tears her up because she’s at a point where she should be enjoying her grandkids. Being unable to recall a visit is a little short of enjoying…

There are other things too. When she goes to the store, she has to rent an electric cart. The vibration from riding in a car is nearly unbearable. She’s afraid to walk out of the house and check the mailbox because the sidewalk has an uphill grade! The lack of mobility has led to other problems. Her bones are weak. The lack of activity and mobility makes it harder for her to manage her diabetes. She’s lost so much strength that standing from a chair requires assistance.

She just turned 66, not 86!

Like I mentioned earlier, she’s at a point where she should be enjoying things. Not suffering.

She wanted something special

This year, she was determined to spend quality time with her grandkids, Jordan and Kendall (that’s Kendall in the picture above – she’s the youngest). They love their Momo (and their Popo, too) and always look forward to seeing them. This year, Momo and Popo came down for the holidays. They got here December 22. On the 23rd, my mom wanted to take them to see Tangled. Off they went. My dad dropped them off and was going to run some errands while they were in the theater.

Less than an hour after they left, Jordan called me. She said Momo had fallen and needed help. Jordan (all of 11 years old) sent Kendall (all of 8 years old) out to get an employee from the theater. Despite their ages, they did a great job. By the time I got there (which took about 20 minutes), emergency personnel was already there and had my mom prepped for the ambulance trip to the emergency room.

In the emergency room, I knew something wasn’t right. The way she described the pain in her hip gave me a sinking feeling. After x-rays, the pain seemed to increase exponentially. All the positioning, pulling, pushing and moving…NOT good. When the x-ray tech visited, he said the radiologist would be in contact soon. I asked if he could say anything and he said, "I have a stat read on them."

Umm…stat read is not good news!

As it turns out, she had broken the neck of her femur. This required emergency, hip replacement surgery. Great!

The surgery would be either later that day or first thing the next morning, depending on the schedule of on-call orthopedist. As it turns out, a great surgeon was on call, Dr. Vincet Phan. I cannot recommend him more highly. Other good news was that she’d only need a partial hip replacement. The pelvis wasn’t damaged and the only thing that needed to be fixed was her femur.

So on Christmas Eve day, she had partial hip replacement surgery. We spent most of that and the ensuing days with her in the hospital.

I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the special she had in mind, but the girls did their best to make her feel at home. They drew her lot’s of pictures and made the Momo sign on the right. That helped. And the staff at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital was the best!

On December 30, 2010, she was moved to a stay-in rehab facility. Therapy was slow-going at first (non-existent, actually). A little tip – try to never need medical care on a holiday. She’s progressing pretty well and using a walker to get around. It’s the January 24, 2011 and she’s still there. A follow-up visit with her surgeon is this Thursday (1/27/2011). We should get an idea as to how much longer she will be there and when her hip might be healed enough to make the 8-hour trip back home.

Progress has been good

To finish up, I’ll say this. My mom has made great progress. When she walks with her walker, it’s the best gait I’ve seen her use since her knee was replaced. For that, I’m happy. I’m not so happy about this. My mom is a Type 2 diabetic. The way blood sugar is managed in the hospital and rehab facility leaves A LOT to be desired. I’ll hit on that in the next post – it will want to make you pull your hair out!

If you’ve had any experience with hip replacement surgery (full or partial) or you want to vent about how blood sugars were contolled in someone you know while they were in the hospital, have at it in the comments.

The control panel on my server is old – at least 2 versions behind. I’ve known about some of the things for some time, like the php upgrade requests on WordPress plugins. Just figured … it’s working so what’s the harm?

This is the harm.

Like it or not, my control panel is being upgraded. And because all of my services are so far out of date, everything has to be wiped out. Apparently all those warnings I ignored (ahem) don’t allow me the luxury of a smooth transition.

So, I’ve backed up everything on the server. The upgrades will start tonight. And the full migration will be complete within two weeks.

What does this mean?

In terms of viewing the homepage or blog, nothing – unless you happen to load the page at the moment the change is taking place.

In terms of posting . . . → Read More: 2-week hiatus]]> After ignoring untold warnings (apparently), I’m left with no choice now.

The control panel on my server is old – at least 2 versions behind. I’ve known about some of the things for some time, like the php upgrade requests on WordPress plugins. Just figured … it’s working so what’s the harm?

This is the harm.

Like it or not, my control panel is being upgraded. And because all of my services are so far out of date, everything has to be wiped out. Apparently all those warnings I ignored (ahem) don’t allow me the luxury of a smooth transition.

So, I’ve backed up everything on the server. The upgrades will start tonight. And the full migration will be complete within two weeks.

What does this mean?

In terms of viewing the homepage or blog, nothing – unless you happen to load the page at the moment the change is taking place.

In terms of posting and updating, a lot. During this time, there will be no blog posts, no newsletter and no updates to the website.

So there you have it.

Oh…and I’m working on another “You Suck as a” post. Waiting on feedback from a few folks before going with it. But I think you’ll like it. That depends, of course, on where you live.

That’s a hint

See you in two weeks.

Brian

Not all of the pages are up or finished yet, but “the feel” is there.

something clean and without clutter. Did I get what I wanted? To me, yes. I like the color schemes. It seems nice and crisp.

The hover color contrast on the menu pops out and flows well.

So in a word, I’m happy.

Yes, it took an extra day and many more hours than I thought. I learned more about CSS than I ever cared to .

Now I know why programmers dislike all the various browsers (especially IE). I wanted the site to look the same in Firefox, IE, Chrome and Safari. For the most part, it does. But there’s still a problem with IE. If you load the site in IE and any of the others, you can tell. . . . → Read More: Website re-design]]> The new design is up. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Not all of the pages are up or finished yet, but “the feel” is there.

I wanted…

something clean and without clutter. Did I get what I wanted? To me, yes. I like the color schemes. It seems nice and crisp.

The hover color contrast on the menu pops out and flows well.

So in a word, I’m happy.

Surprises?

Yes, it took an extra day and many more hours than I thought. I learned more about CSS than I ever cared to .

Now I know why programmers dislike all the various browsers (especially IE). I wanted the site to look the same in Firefox, IE, Chrome and Safari. For the most part, it does. But there’s still a problem with IE. If you load the site in IE and any of the others, you can tell. There is a slight top margin in IE, which is not there in the others. Ughhh! Frustrating.

If anyone has a tip for this, please let me know in the comments. 

What’s left to finish?

A couple of things, such as:

• Some of the menu items need drop-downs. This is next.
• The menu strip needs to be inserted into the Log-in page.
• The log-in button above the menu strip needs some work. Something makes it act strange when a hyper-link is added.

Other than that, just other links and various page updates.

What do you think of the new look?

Those are the opening lyrics to a song that helped me through my workout today (actually yesterday by now). If you know the artist and title of the song, put it in your comment. First one correct wins a prize. Should be easy, what with the interwebz and all.

I thought it was appropriate to start the post this way for several reasons. First, it’s been a while since my last post – March 17, to be exact. Time flies when you’re having fun! Second, I’ve been working on a project that literally took every free ounce of time I had. Finally, and most importantly, some crap is behind me that just had to be dealt with.

What is the . . . → Read More: I’m back!]]>

I’m back (back), the fog has lifted. The earth has shifted and raised the gifted. You knew I’d be back so pack your bone and hit the road, Jack, cause daddy’s home.

Those are the opening lyrics to a song that helped me through my workout today (actually yesterday by now). If you know the artist and title of the song, put it in your comment. First one correct wins a prize. Should be easy, what with the interwebz and all.

I thought it was appropriate to start the post this way for several reasons. First, it’s been a while since my last post – March 17, to be exact. Time flies when you’re having fun! Second, I’ve been working on a project that literally took every free ounce of time I had. Finally, and most importantly, some crap is behind me that just had to be dealt with.

What is the crap that I had to deal with? All I will say is that it’s not for the internets. If you see me somewhere and want to know, a scotch on the rocks will likely do the trick. Maybe two. I’m not too picky, but I’m partial to this.

So why this song? Other than it popping up on the iPod and being a good workout song, I don’t know. But the lyrics sounded appropriate, since things are getting back to normal. And just like the song says, it does feel like a fog has lifted. There was more stress going on than I thought.

On to the project
Over the last six months, I’ve reworked my main offering, the Metabolic Performance Program. No, I haven’t changed the foundation of the program, just the deliverability. Previously, I’ve only offered this program in-person, either individually or through small groups. I’m still doing this – especially through my Church, where I donate 2-3 hours of time per week helping the sick (like individuals with stage IV cancer). The main change, however, is that I’m offering the program over the internet.

And that’s part of what I was doing over the previous six months. I was surprised at the amount of work it took. Without overstating the obvious, offering a program online is completely different. Writing guides, more detailed instructions, figuring out ways to deliver the material, anticipating any and every question, etc… I never thought it would be such an undertaking.

The good news is, I’m done. Yeah! To culminate changes to the program and a new start, I’ve changed the name. Metabolic Performance is no more, may the name RIP. The new name is Becoming Indestructible. I’ve also secured the domain, becomingindestructible.com. A free wordpress template serves as a placeholder. Soon, posts will be going up there.

Last thing…
The very first edition of Becoming Indestructible online starts October 4, 2010. Slots are still open. I’m also looking for a few people interested in marketing the program. If you are interested, please visit the professionals page. All of your questions should be answered there, if not, send me an email: email at briansekula dot com.

As a heads up, here are some posts I’m working on…

1. You SUCK as a Man – a swift kick to the you know where for all the men turning into women.
2. Top 10 generic and non-generic prescription drugs of 2009. This is a follow-up to the same from 2008. I’m sure it won’t disappoint.
3. And then there are some posts about Kelly Brownell, the guy from CSPI and more…

Stay tuned…these will be posted soon.

As I scanned the menu, I noticed a large number of items I would never consider… Let’s take a look. 

First of all, the menu is overwhelming. I’ve been countless times but never picked up or even unfolded it. Printed on a sheet of 10×18 in. paper, with four columns of choices, it’s loaded with drink choices. As far as I can tell, there are 218 items. With a choices of “Things to add or leave out” section, the choices are practically infinite.

So what did I find? A whopping 156 out of 218 drinks contain at least 25 grams of carbohydrate. That’s 72%. You will be happy to know that my . . . → Read More: Starbucks: Coffee only Please!]]> I recently had a meeting at a local coffee shop (Starbucks, is there anything else?). I was on time. My counterpart was stuck in traffic. After getting my drink of choice (Venti, half-caff), I picked up the Starbucks menu.

As I scanned the menu, I noticed a large number of items I would never consider… Let’s take a look. 

First of all, the menu is overwhelming. I’ve been countless times but never picked up or even unfolded it. Printed on a sheet of 10×18 in. paper, with four columns of choices, it’s loaded with drink choices. As far as I can tell, there are 218 items. With a choices of “Things to add or leave out” section, the choices are practically infinite.

So what did I find? A whopping 156 out of 218 drinks contain at least 25 grams of carbohydrate. That’s 72%. You will be happy to know that my Venti half-caff checked in with zero.

The worst offenders? Where should I start…at 72%, it ran the gamut. As far as hot drinks go, the worst offenders were White Chocolate Mocha, Espresso Truffle, Hot Chocolate, Signature Hot Chocolate, Caramel Apple Spice and Tazo Green Tea. Carb counts ranged from 25 to 94 grams per drink. All of these without whipped cream. Add that and you can figure up to 3 grams of sugar, depending on the size of your drink.

The Venti Caramel Apple Spice is the culprit checking in with 94 grams. That’s 22 teaspoons of sugar. As an aside, could you sit down and eat 22 teaspoons of sugar? Overall, 68% of the hot beverages checked in as FAILS. Your best bets, any plain Coffee, short, tall and grande Classic Espressos, any Caffe Americano, any Cappuccino, and any size plain Tazo tea. All check in at under 25 grams (still too much for me, but hey, you gotta draw the line somewhere). There are a couple of others here and there, but you get the idea.

Good luck with the cold drinks, where 81% have more carbohydrate than you can shake a stick at. Frappuccino’s were the worst. The winner? How about a Tazo Green Tea Blended Creme Frappuccino (without whipped cream, of course)…it only has 111 grams. Double Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Bean came a close 2nd and 3rd, with 104 and 100 grams, respectively. The Pancreatic Hammer Trio is what they really need to be called. 

Looks like Starbucks created their menu using the food guide pyramid. The drinks follow the blueprint: low in fat, high in carbohydrate. I’m just waiting for the barista to offer me a bagel or low-fat muffin with my coffee…oh wait, never mind.  I guess paying better attention is in order.

Why hasn’t the guy from CSPI (scroll down to the guy from CSPI) gone after Starbucks? He’s gone after Coke, McDonalds and everything in between. Why not Starbucks? As far as I can tell, Coca-Cola and Starbucks are pandering the same things.

Oh wait…I think I know. People at Starbucks are smart enough to know the difference. They don’t need someone like Jacobsen forcing calorie counts on the wall, like those who frequent McDonalds. 

So there you have it, you are smarter, at least now, for going to Starbucks. Just stick with plain coffee (fully caffeinated or not). Your pancreas will thank you.

Any Starbucks drink stories you care to add?

Why is it news when Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono (and a bunch of other, pasty looking pseudo-celebrities) attempt to create a free yourself from meat day? Jeez, if giving up meat (even for one day) would bring me closer to looking like them, I’d put beef jerky in my socks.

And why are they the experts on “climate change?” I’ll bet they were consulted on the name change too, huh? As a perfect display on her understanding of the situation, Yoko provided this brilliant piece of evidence…

Give up one day and then it will be two days maybe. It’s a very, very intelligent idea.”

Very intelligent, indeed.

Sounds about as intelligent as the lady in the video (not identified, although she sounds like a nutritionist).

Cutting your meat consumption in half would be better for the . . . → Read More: No thanks Paul]]> Can the insanity of listening to celebrities ever stop? Are they ever right about anything?

Why is it news when Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono (and a bunch of other, pasty looking pseudo-celebrities) attempt to create a free yourself from meat day? Jeez, if giving up meat (even for one day) would bring me closer to looking like them, I’d put beef jerky in my socks.

And why are they the experts on “climate change?” I’ll bet they were consulted on the name change too, huh? As a perfect display on her understanding of the situation, Yoko provided this brilliant piece of evidence…

Give up one day and then it will be two days maybe. It’s a very, very intelligent idea.”

Very intelligent, indeed.

Sounds about as intelligent as the lady in the video (not identified, although she sounds like a nutritionist).

Cutting your meat consumption in half would be better for the climate than cutting your car use in half.

She looks like a vegetarian – too many carbs! (if you know what I mean)

Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t I start walking or riding my bike everywhere and doubling my meat consumption? All that extra activity will require more protein, gotta rebuild that tissue – and as I said before, I’m not not putting soy in my body.

I’ll let Paul and all the other men eat soy. Then I’ll put them in contact with Kramer – they’re gonna need some of these.

If you’re interested in maintaining excellent cardiovascular health and wondering if your diet could be improved, these posts are mandatory reading.

The first, Eicosanoids, Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance is the primer for metabolic syndrome.

The second, Eicosanoids and Ischemic Heart Disease is an eye-opener regarding consumption of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

The final, Eicosanoids and Ischemic Heart Disease part II shows that it’s not just the ratio of omega-6 and 3’s in the diet that’s important, but the amount too.

All of Stephan’s posts are good but this series may top . . . → Read More: Eicosanoids, Cardiovascular Disease, and Health]]> Stephan over at Whole Health Source (an excellent blog – and in the list of Blogs I Read) has written a 3-part series on Eicosanoids.

If you’re interested in maintaining excellent cardiovascular health and wondering if your diet could be improved, these posts are mandatory reading.

The first, Eicosanoids, Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance is the primer for metabolic syndrome.

The second, Eicosanoids and Ischemic Heart Disease is an eye-opener regarding consumption of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

The final, Eicosanoids and Ischemic Heart Disease part II shows that it’s not just the ratio of omega-6 and 3’s in the diet that’s important, but the amount too.

All of Stephan’s posts are good but this series may top them all!

Brian

Our first annual Fitness Challenge, benefiting the Fort Bend Education Foundation, is starting soon. We’re asking you to participate for two very good reasons. First, exercise is good for you. No shocker there but even though you know that, sometimes you need a swift kick to get it in gear; and that’s where reason number two comes in. Knowing that you’re working to support our teachers and students in Fort Bend ISD is all the incentive you need.

Here’s how it works. Our Fitness Challenge was inspired by the legendary 300 workout surrounding the 300 movie. If you have HBO, you’ve seen the movie. Believe me. I think it’s running a continuous loop. The 300 challenge is a series of exercises, . . . → Read More: 1st Annual Fitness Challenge]]> Before getting to the challenge, a question. It’s the last week of January, how are you doing on those Resolutions? Never fear, you still have time and I have something just for you.

Our first annual Fitness Challenge, benefiting the Fort Bend Education Foundation, is starting soon. We’re asking you to participate for two very good reasons. First, exercise is good for you. No shocker there but even though you know that, sometimes you need a swift kick to get it in gear; and that’s where reason number two comes in. Knowing that you’re working to support our teachers and students in Fort Bend ISD is all the incentive you need.

Here’s how it works. Our Fitness Challenge was inspired by the legendary 300 workout surrounding the 300 movie. If you have HBO, you’ve seen the movie. Believe me. I think it’s running a continuous loop. The 300 challenge is a series of exercises, each performed for a specific number of repetitions under a time limit. 

There are seven exercises: pull-ups, deadlifts, pushups, box jumps, wipers, clean and press and pull-ups again. During the challenge, you start with the pull-ups and proceed to each successive exercise and finish with pull-ups. One time through completes one circuit. There are four different levels within the 300 challenge. For Levels 1 – 3, you must complete two circuits within 20 minutes. For level 4, you need only complete a single circuit in 20 minutes.

And that is where the challenge lies. With each successive level, the number of repetitions you must perform increases. For level 1, you need only complete 5 pull-ups and then 10 repetitions of every other exercise before finishing with another 5 pull-ups. For level 4, you must perform 25 pull-ups, 50 repetitions on everything else and finish with another 25 pull-ups. If you add those repetitions up for level 4, you get 300. Interesting, no?

So what exactly is the Fitness Challenge? Well, when you decide the take the challenge, the first thing you need to do is register at our facility. Registration is $35. We will evaluate your fitness level and determine which level of the 300 workout you should strive to complete by the end of April. We’ll give you a t-shirt, give you some tips on how to work out to reach your goal, and send you on your merry way. Then we’ll test you again the last week of April. If you’ve met the challenge and successfully completed your level, we’ll give you a finisher t-shirt and you’ll get special recognition when we make our donation to Fort Bend Education Foundation.

Now, about that registration fee. You can get it waived when you sign-up for one of our special training programs. We have a few time slots available created specifically to help you reach your goal.  

So how are we raising money for Fort Bend Education Foundation? When you register, we’ll give you a sponsor form. Use that form to get family members, colleagues, friends, your neighbor, anyone to sponsor you. Get them to commit to a “per rep” sponsorship. For example, someone sponsors you at $1.00 per rep. When you complete your final testing in April, we’ll provide you a letter indicating exactly how many reps you performed. When you go to inform your sponsors of how well you did, show them the letter. If you completed 300 reps, then your sponsor pays $300. If you only did 50, then they pay $50. You get the picture.

The point is that you’re getting in shape while raising money for a great cause – never lose sight of that.

For more info on the Fitness Challenge or to sign up, visit our homepage and give us a call or send us an email.