Foot Op 2 (hopefully better than the first one)

Well Monday is rapidly approaching, and I’m preparing myself for the second op on my left foot after the outcome of the first one wasn’t up to my surgeons high standard. Currently my big toe is almost underneath my second toe, such is the severe angle it’s at, of course because of this the removal of the bunion from the first op has had no impact at all. Not only that but the metatarsal head on the second toe has popped it’s head below skin level, probably feeling left out.

I’m hoping they’ll be quite drastic on Monday, as the similar op I had on my right foot several years ago has been great, so I’m going to ask if they’ll do what they did to that one.

Films: The Incredible Hulk

I went to the cinema on Wednesday (thanks Orange!) with my friend Steph, I was not expecting a great deal from this film, having seen the trailer for it when I went to see Iron Man a few weeks ago. My low enthusiasm for the film was also influenced by the 2003 film.

Well I’m glad to say I was surprised, and I found the Hulk an enjoyable comic book movie, at no point was there any “get on with it” moments and there a few references to the old Hulk TV series for the older geeks to spot, there was also a bit of humour sprinkled in too which is always welcome in films of this genre.

The film developed the characters well, which helped you build your feelings for them. The acting was good, with Liv Tyler being the weakest performance in the film. The was a few references to other characters too, which tied the whole Marvel thing up very well. One of the biggest criticisms of the 2003 hulk was the poor CGI, which was in the mould of the Scorpion King in The Mummy 2, looking very dated compared to other films of it’s time, the CGI in the new Hulk movie was good, while not on par with Iron Man, it wasn’t awful.

So if you’re a fan of comic books and super hero movies then go see the Hulk, it’s closer to the original and it’s an enjoyable time while you’re there

Bionic people… There’s a lot of em about

As I’m currently waiting for more upgrades, it was good to see an article in the Daily Mail about another lady with RA and all of her bionic joints, and I feel it can only go to raise the awareness of how nasty RA really is. Often when people ask why you’re walking with a stick and you tell them you have Rheumatoid Arthritis, they often only really take in the word Arthritis and usually reply with “Ohh i have a bit of that in my thumb” while I wouldn’t wish any form of arthritis on to anyone, the differences between the various kinds make a huge difference to quality of life and treatment options, employers and people in government don’t seem to understand the devastating effect any long term condition can have on people.

But I digress, the Daily Mail article tells the story of Eileen and all the joints she’s had replaced due to her RA, and it’s very similar to the future that I have due to the damn disease. Having had a new left hip joint at the age of 29, three foot operations so far (with the 4th one next month) a ruptured tendon due to the RA in my left hand put right, needing both shoulders replacing at some stage and possibly new knuckles, and of course the new knee which should be done before the end of the year, Eileen and I have a lot in common.

The new treatments that have become available ofter the last 5-10 years are making huge strides in helping to prevent people having to undergo joint replacements and ultimately improve their quality of life, that coupled with improved surgical techniques in joint replacements are giving people back a portion of their lives they thought were lost forever.

While I often make light of my RA, there’s no doubt that it really hammered me, and continues to do so. Many of the things that I loved are now simply happy memories and while my current RA drug Enbrel has meant I wake up in the morning reasonably pain free and with little joint stiffness, the damage caused over the years means that I have a number of ops ahead of me. Once my foot and knee are done, I’m really looking forward to getting out into the big wide world, as almost 12 months largely stuck at home does have an impact on you, and if wasn’t for my friends Debbie, Donna and Steph getting me out and about now and then I think I would have gone even more crazy than I was already.

My best wishes go to Eileen, and the thousands of other folks out there who are, for what ever medical reason, the Bionic people that were once only in the domain of sci-fi fantasy.

EU Commissioner’s response to Phorm

Last month I emailed Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for information society and media with my concerns regarding the Intra ISP Spyware system Phorm Webwise. I have just had a reply from Commissioner Reding’s department, and it confirms what we’ve been saying all along, that Phorm is illegal under EU law. A number of other anti Phorm campaigners have had the same reply after expressing their concerns.

The Comission is aware of the activities of the company Phorm in the UK, concerning the analysis of internet traffic for advertising purposes, the agreement between Phorm and major internet service providers in the UK and the concerns that have been raised about the effects on privacy of these activities. Privacy and the protection of personal data are fundamental rights of the citizens of the EU. They are enshrined in articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and also protected by the European Convention on Human Rights and the related instruments of the Council fo Europe, to which all EU Member States are signatories.

The general principles of personal data are defined in Directive 95/46/EC and complemented and particularised for electronic communications by Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications (ePrivacy Directive). The ePrivacy Directive obliges Member States to ensure the confidentiality of communications and related traffic data through national legislation. In particular, they shall prhobit listening, tapping, storage or other kinds of interception or surveillance of communication and the related traffic data by persons other than the users without their consent, which must be freely given, specific and informed indication of the user’s wishes. The data concerned in this particular matter i.e. the content of search queries, constitute communication within the meaning of this Directive and the URLs used in the packets constitute traffic data. This data should therefore be protected appropriately.

The responsibility for the enforcement of national legislation transposing EU Directives is with the competent national authorities. The ICO, the UK data protection authority, has issued several statements concerning Phorm. According to press information, the ICO is also investigating in at least one case, where a formal complaint has been made concerning alleged trials of Phorm technology by BT in 2007.
The Commission services will continue to follow this case and possible similar developments and take appropriate action, should the need arise. The Comission confirms its commitment to the protection of privacy and security of electronic communications as one of its top priorities.

I will be sending a copy of this to my MP, and several of the other organisations I’ve been in touch with regarding Phorm.

Phorm CEO shows his true colours

While BT prepare for their intra ISP based spyware system “Webwise”  trial to begin, the Phorm CEO has made another of his wonderful foot in mouth moments. This time showing what a caring member of the human race he is.

Speaking to the Pittsburgh Tribune in an article about behavioural targeting web users the head of the spyware firm tells them.

“The problem for newspapers is that a story headlined ‘Two Dead in Baghdad’ isn’t very product-friendly,” said Kent Ertugrul, chief executive of Phorm, a behavioural targeting company working with British newspapers. “But if you know who is looking at the page, that’s where the opportunity is.”

So death, pain, suffering and misery are all ok so long as this stinking weasel and his advertising buddies can make a profit out of it. I don’t think I need to add any more. his words speak for themselves.

Spanner in the works?

While yesterdays news about needing another foot op came as no surprise, it does throw the plans I had into disarray, I think I’ve spent more than enough time stuck at home and was planning a few trips to see friends and maybe even over to Europe once I’d got my passport.

The idea of another foot op before the new knee going in isn’t doing anything to my overall mood at the moment. When I was still working I loved the travelling, and the people interaction, the great times I had biking through the wonderful British countryside, I guess i’m partly to blame myself by never having any driving lessons, otherwise a car would have got me out and about.

A friend on the NRAS forum summed it up perfectly when she said recently that she would be lost without her computer, as all her friends live in it.

How true.

New hospital plans afoot

Hi folks,

Just got home after an eventful morning.

I managed to see Mr Thomas today, and not one of his team, he had a chat with me at first about my RA and how I was coping with things, and then asked to have a look at my foot, as soon as i took my sock off he said “ohh, that doesn’t look right” he felt the underside of the foot and said that the metatarsal heads on the left side were much better, but then added “but I’m pissed off with your big toe and first toe” he felt underneath and found the other protruding metatarsal head. He said that often they straighten then fuse the big toe in position if there is good movement in the other joint of the big toe (which I had) but he said he doesn’t like to do that with RA folks in case the other joint seizes up and leaves you with your big toe sticking in the air.

He then mentioned that he’d like to put it right, and do it before my knee is done, as he said that the knee would be another 3 months or so, but he could get me in to do my foot soon. He mentioned that it might shorten the forefoot which is what they did with the same op on my other foot and I said that having had that done I was more than happy with it.

He then said that I was to be a guinea pig for a new computer program that will be used in the pre op assessment clinic. He had problems logging into to the new system ( I was to be the first in the UK to use it) so he asked that if it was no trouble could he get a new x-ray of that foot?

I headed off to X-ray and after a short wait had the foot done and headed back to clinic. I went straight back in with Mr Thomas, and I was popped on the now working computer questionnaire. He asked for my feedback once I’d completed it.

It was easy to use, but I did say that there should be an option for RA on the list of ailments, he said he was amazed it wasn’t on there and would get that included and that they’re also hoping to tie it into the medication database so they know what meds you’re on.

They then wanted me to go to the Pre Op assessment clinic for the once over, but it was oversubscribed so they said I could go home and they’d call me in for the assessment (as they did for my knee).

So an eventful morning, but Mr Thomas saying it wasn’t right just confirmed what I’d thought, it was good to see him again, and I mentioned he did well on telly

I’m in need of some lunch a few cups of tea and some pain killers, so i’ll catch up with you all after I’ve recovered.

New Pooter!!

I’ve finally got my new PC up and running, and all I can say is what a difference, it’s a lot quieter than my old machine (even when I tried the case fans on turbo). it’s fast and given me some new resolution options (a new 22″ widescreen monitor would be a nice addition now:)) I must say a big thanks to my friend Dave and Debbie who popped over and helped with the more tricky assembly.

Now I just have to get all of my software installed and copy all my old documents over from my back up drive. One of the RAM sticks seems to be dead, so the machine is currently running on half power with only 1Gb of ram onboard (the faulty one has a lifetime warranty from Crucial so I’ll get that replaced) At first the UGuru was reporting some impossible CPU temps, but after a bios update this was resolved and it’s now running nice and cool.

The only other thing that threw me was when I went to plug in my trusty old Laserjet 1100 printer, and then noticed that the backplate has no parallel port. Fancy leaving my reliable old workhorse printer out of the equation. I’ve order a USB to parallel lead to solve that problem.

I’ve stripped my old pc down and found an infestation of dust bunnies inside the case. So the mainboard is out and all the other bits, I’m going to steam clean the inside of the case to remove any stubborn bunnies and then rebuild the old machine. I’ll use some canned air on the 8cm fans giving them a good clean, and some sewing machine oil as it’s ideal for the high speeds that the fans may operate at. I’m hoping to remove the CPU heatsink and remove the thermal paste with some of the highly recomended Akasa Thermal Interface cleaner once this is doen i’ll put some new thermal paste on and pop it back together.

Air bags for bikers?

It was the latest Moto GP race today, this time from Le Mans in France, so far the previous races have been great to watch with a different rider winning the first 4 races of the season. Prior to the live coverage the BBC showed a piece about the D-Air system being developed by Dainese.

While something similar to airbags mounted in the tank area have been talked about before, trials showed that riders actually ended up with more injuries, the same as the ill fated leg protectors. The D-Air system inflates and protects the head and neck area and from what I saw it could be an interesting development in rider safety, not only for GP riders, but I’m sure the technology will filter down to normal bike riders too. You can see a video of in it in action on the D-air link (above) or in this Youtube video

In the Moto GP race today Valentino Rossi put in a great display, and was dominant after a four way tussle for the lead in the early laps. The most amazing performance came from Jorge Lorenzo, he came from nowhere late in the race to grab a stunning second place, even more amazing when you realise that Lorenzo rode through the pain barrier after he had fractured both of his ankles during free practice for the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago, and suffering another crash in practice at Le Mans on Friday injuring his shoulder.

The next race will be from Mugello in Italy on the 1st June, and the coverage of the races will be shown on the BBC as follows:

Saturday 31 May

Qualifying
1245-1400, BBCi and BBC Sport website

---

Sunday 1 June

125cc & 250cc races
0945-1215, BBCi and BBC Sport website

Race live
1230-1400, BBC TWO and BBC Sport website

MotoGP Extra
1400-1430, BBCi and BBC Sport website

Ohh the knee…

Well it seems I’d forgot to publish this, it’s been sitting in my draft folder since last week.

I got to see my surgeon last Wednesday, regarding the condition of my knee, on arrival at the hospital, I headed down to the clinic only to be told fresh x-rays were needed, so I headed off to X-ray (which is quite a walk from the clinic’s even if your mobility isn’t impared).

When I arrived at X-ray there was an unusually large number of people waiting, and although some clinic days can be really busy, the waiting room was standing room only. I learnt from one of the staff members (as I’m a regular most of them know me on first name terms) that one of the X-ray rooms was out of use, so although they had plenty of radiographers the loss of a room and the equipment was taking it’s toll. After a wait of about 45 minutes, I finally got called in, and had a few x-rays taken, one weight bearing (poor knee!) one side view and another that I’ve not had before one taken while I was sat on the bed with my knee raised and through the knee joint while I held the plate.

As the X-rays are now digital, it was just a case of getting dressed and heading back to clinic. I got back and saw the surgeon straight away. he brought up the new X-rays on the screen and it showed that virtually all the cartilage had eroded due to my RA. He said that due to my age, that if I were to have a new knee now I may need it replaced at a later date, but that to have it done now would elimate the pain, and return my mobilty to normal, as it’s not been right for well over 18 months, this will be wonderful. I said I was aware of the possibilty of needing it replaced later in life, due to having a similar situation with my left hip. I was unsure why he brought this up, as I’m well known to the staff there, I did wonder if he was trying to delay the surgery, as we have decided in the case of both of my shoulder joints.

So I asked him what he would do in my position, and he gave me a resounding, “ohh I’d have it done now and worry about that when the time comes, claim back your life now.” So I need a trip to the pre op assessment clinic, for a check over and he told me that the op should be withing 14 weeks.

So I’m now on the countdown to getting my bionic knee and hopefully once that is sorted I can go on my travels, I’m planning a European Tour and I may even get some T-shirts printed up with some dates on the back

I’ll keep you all posted (if I don’t forget to actually publish it this time).