D+14: Dandelions

It would be hubris to declare victory or even supremacy in the war against dandelions, but I must say that after the massive campaign in the back lawn a few years ago, they rarely show in that yard. And the policy of digging when they flag themselves with a flower seems to be working in the front as well. Some weeks none show themselves at all, and usually it is only two or three week during the wet season. I dug up three a couple of days ago. None have showed since. Back pat. If you had seen the miserable condition of the lawns about a year after we moved in, you would think that today's balance was a good one. I think maybe there is some parallel to maintaining your health. Do what you can, don't go overboard, appreciate what you have. Of course, my case of ALS is lucky -- very lucky. For most people it's not a question of containing the dandelions in the front lawn, it's an issue of how soon the sink hole will consume the house.

On the other hand (ha!), my left thumb no longer does the "thumbs up!" sign. That appears to have happened after the ceftriaxone, but not, I think, as a result of it. I assume that the disorder has several pathways to mess you up, and glutamate is just one of them.

I think I've turned the corner on the cold. I had phlegm this morning, and I'm not all better, but after my shower I was not so exhausted that I just had to lie down for half an hour, like I was yesterday and the day before. Left grip is back to 49 (43, 49, 40), right grip is at 89 (89, 84, 85), and inhale is 4490.

I've developed a new metric, to measure duration of one-legged balancing. I recall thinking about this at the time I was diagnosed, but at that time I felt that it was too tedious: I was able to balance for such a long time on both legs, that waiting for failure would be too much. It did not occur to me to set an upper bound, a point at which the duration of balance would be judged "good enough." Well, now I have settled on a method of taking this metric: Using any footwear you like, balance on one leg until the other foot (or your hand or the back of our skull or what have you) comes in contact with something else. No balance poles or other balance aids are allowed. The maximum time to record is 30 seconds. Record this as the duration if you exceed it. You only get two tries for each leg, not three. I wish I had been doing this all along, because I'd like to have data to compare to now, the post-ceftriaxone period. The reason is that I have perceived that my ability to balance on my left leg has improved. It's currently 5.5 seconds on the left and 30 (or more) on the right.

The chiropractor says my scoliosis has not changed since last time. She did notice tension on the right near the hip. I notice that too, when I push my son to preschool in the jogger stroller. I think my right side is doing more work. So I have tried to make the left side do more.