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Monday, August 09, 2004
Well, my new prosthesis is complete. It's radically different than any anything I've had in the past (I've been wearing them for 40 years).
It's held in place with a gel sleeve that has a threaded metal end. A plastic attachment screws into the threads, and a string is pulled to hold it in place. Very different. The upside? The gel insert is very comfortable, and even when I sweat, it doesn't feel hot or sweaty. Janice says I'm walking better, too. The downside? It takes too long to put it on. If I'm not wearing it, and there's a knock at the door, I'll never get there before they leave. It's the price I pay for comfort, I guess. I'm expecting to get faster at it over time. Another plus, it looks better. It has a sprayed-on skin that seems to match my own flesh tones better, and even has little squiggly lines to simulate hair. I get a new one once every six or seven years. Hopefully, this one will stay comfortable and I will not feel like I'm forced to get a new one just to be able to tolerate it. I'm not sure why the old one got to be so uncomfortable, but I'm sure it felt okay when it was new. Maybe it has something to do with weight gain. Weight is another new development. I had recently been forced to buy larger pants, as I outgrew my old ones. Well, the new larger ones were starting to feel too tight, so I decided it was time to finally do something. I'm amazed at how easy it has been to shed those pounds. Janice suggested an Atkins-like approach. She had to go out of town, so she hasn't started dieting yet, but in the week she was away, I lost 3 1/2 pounds. In the first few days of the diet, I thought I was not likely to make much progress, because I felt plenty full after meals, but despite eating well, the pounds are dropping. I haven't researched Atkins, so I don't know the program, but I have cut way back on carbs. Nothing fanatical, but I'm avoiding high-carb stuff. My usual morning ritual, which consisted of a bowl of cereal, has been replaced with bacon and eggs, or sometimes canteloupe. I still go home and make a sandwich for lunch, but without bread. I put the meat and cheese on a large leaf of lettuce, and roll it up. Basically, it's the same lunch I've always had, but no bread. Other than that, I've cut out sweets, which is no sacrifice, as I don't eat that many. I can already see a noticable difference, and it's just been a week. I'll celebrate my 45th birthday this month, and it looks like I'm going to have to start paying attention to diet from now on. I've been thin all my life, and I plan to stay that way, but it won't come naturally anymore. Archives11/01/2001 - 12/01/2001 12/01/2001 - 01/01/2002 01/01/2002 - 02/01/2002 02/01/2002 - 03/01/2002 03/01/2002 - 04/01/2002 09/01/2002 - 10/01/2002 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 |