the sun is shining, the grass is green
the orange and palm trees sway
there's never been such a day
in warm and toasty Tampa Bay ...
and it's December the 23rd ....
but I am not longing to be up north...
ah, sorry for those up in the great white north digging out from the latest nor'easter. Couldn't resist. Up in my old home-state of Maine, the family says they are digging out from 18 inches of snow just from Sunday's storm. They had 6 inches the Friday before, more a few days before that, and now they have another big storm coming on Christmas Eve. Oh, it is going to be a long cold winter.
Up north.
It has been 80 down here for the last couple of weeks BUT there is a chill-a-coming! The temperatures are expected to drop to the mid-70's for the next 7 days. Brrrrrrrrr. I will have to pull out the long pants.
Ok, I have had a lot of people ask me how my HBOT relief is doing. I have been remiss in not mentioning it but a lot has been going on down here.
As most of the readers here know, I underwent a series of HBO (Hyperbaric Oxygen) Therapy treatments in Palm Harbor with Dr Allan Spiegel. His clinic, National Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, is one of the best in the country. The staff is great, especially Dr Spiegel and his HBOT Technician Phil.
I did very well. My CRPS went into about 3/4's remission and that ended in September.
Despite a very severe fall in November that caused issues with my back and new disc issues in my neck, as well as a great deal of extra overall body pain for weeks, and other extra medical issues that I am dealing with right now, my CRPS seems to be doing fairly well. The HBOT is holding in most areas and that thrills me to no end.
The worst places for me are my feet and lower legs, especially left, and my eyes and ears. Those were the places that weren't touched by the HBOT. The areas that were helped by the hyperbarics are doing pretty well.
I was sold on this therapy after I went through it and still am. It doesn't work for everyone and it isn't a cure but the relief I have gotten (I have full body CRPS, true full body, head to toe), has been wonderful.
I may be undergoing some surgery in the coming year and other treatments, not related to the CRPS, so that will be a real test. But the good thing about this type of treatment is that I can always go back for some additional treatments if I need them, and they are non-invasive, AND they help people recover from surgery even quicker.
So that is the update! Thanks for tuning in and have a Merry Christmas from all of us at American RSDHope!
Stay warm :)
Keith
