The Whole Story

We have a good family friend who is a renowned reconstructive surgeon and wound specialist. Let's call him Doctor D. On Sunday night I ran into Dr. D's wife and daughter at church. They both took one look at my leg and said, "That looks infected. You should come over to the house and let Dr. D clean that."

This sounded like an extremely painful idea, so I hemmed and hawed for a little while, but in the end when the wife and daughter of a renowned reconstructive surgeon and wound specialist tell you your leg looks infected it's best to listen.

So at 9pm on Sunday night in the middle of Dr. D's kitchen, while his kids cleaned the dishes and entertained me with bubbles, I had my wound cleaned and disinfected. I should probably mention that all of Dr. D's kids are over the age of 22.

This probably sounds a lot worse than it was. Dr. D put some numbing cream on my leg which kept the pain to a minimum and he was remarkably gentle, considering he was using a scalpel and a tongue depressor to scrap away all the scabbing, dead skin and dirt.

He put me on antibiotics and some heavy pain killers and sent me home. Don't worry I didn't take the pain killers until I got home.

Yesterday my leg was doing much better. Unfortunately my tummy was not so happy. I had a bad reaction to the pain killers and was stuck on the couch for most of the day. Luckily I had 12 hours of X-Games coverage on Tivo to keep me company. and a wonderful wife to make me breakfast in bed.

My mother was kind enough to play chauffeur for my follow up trip to Dr. D yesterday afternoon. This time we went to his office.

So the good news is I will be just fine. I have a follow up with Dr. D on Friday, but the healing from Sunday night to Monday afternoon was already starting to look good. I am not to worried about my leg taking a turn for the worse as long as I take care of it.

The bad news is, no strenuous exercise for the rest of this week. Which means no running, no power walking and no strength training of the lower body.

This is going to be a big test for me. In the past this is the kind of thing that would derail me for good. I am determined to not let that happen. I will continue to eat well this week. I will do my crunches and I will try to add some low stress upper body work out to at least keep a minimum of exercise going.

I'll be bummed if I don't get down under 250 this week but like we've been saying all along, it's a marathon, not a sprint... this week may just be a bump in the trail.

Thank you very much to Dr. D and the whole D family for taking such great care of me and keeping my leg from falling off.

Tony
8/7: 250.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
30.2 lbs. to go

Freinds Don't Let Freinds Play Softball

And this is why.




We were down by ten runs in the bottom of the 7th. After a rally inning we had scored 6. When I stepped up to the plate there were two outs with runners on first and second. With menace in my eyes I took a mighty swing and fouled it straight back. One more strike to go.

The wind up, the pitch... it's a beautiful line drive down the third base line. The runners were moving like the bogeyman himself was hot on their tail. The play at home was fumbled. I made the split second decision to try and stretch it to a triple. Unfortunately... it was the wrong decision. We lost by two runs and I was left crippled and bleeding in the dirt.

Believe me I know better. My slide was so far from the plate they could have built a three lane highway between me and the bag.

After the numbing effects of Bactine and Mich Golden Light kicked in I was feeling pretty good. But let me tell you, for about an hour and half there I was feeling the pain and it was not good!

The good news? My batting slump seems to be in full retreat. I was 5 for 6 at the plate last night. I'm back baby... just in time for the last game of the season.

I have my first ever chiropractic appointment this morning. I wonder if she can do anything for my leg?

Tony
7/31: 251.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
31.8 lbs. to go

The Slump Is Ended...or at least on hold.

Man did you guys miss a good softball game last night...unless you were there.. We lost by 2 runs to a team that should have killed us, which in my book is a win. We were in the lead most of the game and lost it in the last inning.

I was 3 for 5 at the plate with three great line drives right up the middle. It was such a relief to finally hit the ball. I have felt like such an anchor these last few weeks. Lets hope I can carry it through to next week.

Tony
7/24: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Down In The Slumps

This hitting slump is getting ridiculous! I even hit the batting cages before the game last night, but it was no help. I was 0 for 3 at the plate. Only one of the three was a legitimate hit and even that one was a bad golf swing.

I have got to get out of my head and just start swinging without thinking for a little while. I do think I will try to hit the batting cages again though. If nothing else, it's some exercise. I can feel it in my arms a little this morning.

Which reminds me.

I think it is time for me to start adding some toning exercises to my routine. Weights, sit-ups and push-ups. When I was at my heaviest my skin was stretched to the limit so everything on me was pretty firm.... large but firm. Now that I am losing the weight I am starting to feel all flabby. In some ways I feel fatter than when I was 280.

I am going to try to figure out some new workouts this week and start in earnest after the big party we are throwing this weekend. I'll let you know what I figure out. I'm tempted to buy a bunch of men’s health magazines and try all the exercises, just to see if they work. Could be a fun experiment.


Tony
7/17: 258.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
38.4 lbs. to go

I Know The Face Of My Enemy

It's softball night. Tonight we are having a potluck barbecue. Potlucks and buffets are my most nefarious foes. With their beady little eyes and appetizers and desserts and way too much food. Curse you Professor Potluck!

Tonight I have planned a clever counter strike against these gastronomical nere do wells. Taking a page from my sisters battle plan for last week, I will be bringing a big bag of grapes and carrots to the barbecue tonight. And God willing I shall best this buffet.

The batting slump will most likely continue tonight. We are playing a team way out of our league (pun intended). I'll be lucky to get more than one at bat.

On a completely different note, here is a quick sign of my dedication and maturity.

It was pouring rain when I sat down for lunch today, so I wrote off all hope of getting a walk in and settled in with a good book. About twenty minutes into my lunchbreak the rain stopped. In the past I would have said , "Oh well, I'm already settled in with this good book", and skipped the walk. Today, as a wiser and more mature person, I chucked the book, grabbed my shoes and hit the road. Good for me!

Tony
7/18: 272 lbs.

The Slump Continues

The hitting slump is still in full effect. I was 1 for 3 at the plate last night. Fouled out twice, but that second up... that was a thing of beauty. Blasted a shot right down the 3rd base line and stretched it in to a double. It helped that the other team bobbled the ball, but it was still a good hit. Sadly we lost the game by 3 runs. Still, it was a beautiful night for ball.

Our team motto has always been, "Win or Lose The Beer Taste The Same." As you can image with a motto like that, there is a lot of revelry off the field. Last night was no exception. We were celebrating a birthday last night and the spread was magnificent. Snickers cake, brownies, Boston cream pie and almond lemon bars. I was so tempted, but then I saw my sister, who also plays on the team, sitting there with a giant bag of cut up oranges.

My sister had a baby 6 months ago and is on her own quest to get back to a healthy lifestyle. Seeing her there with that big bag of oranges was the encouragement I needed to skip the dessert buffet.

See, she knew what to expect and prepared herself by bringing along a healthy snack to keep herself from being tempted by all the sweets. It was a good lesson. Thanks Sis.

Now if my sister can figure out how to fix my swing we'd be golden. As my dad keeps telling me, I'm swinging way too fast. I need to slow down and have some patience.

I guess what is true in the batters box is true in life as well. I have to keep reminding myself it's a journey not a race.

Tony
6/12: 280 lbs.