Leg-a-versary!

Today, March 19th, is my Leg-a-versary.

It's hard to believe it's only been one year since I received this leg. I still can't believe it took so long to get one but at least I can proudly say I put it to the test once I did. Here's a few photos from my leg's first year:

Meeting Meyrick

I was having a busy day today renewing my Canadian license, taking care of a passport issue, gorging myself on Sugar Crisp cereal and guzzling A&W Root Beer (small comforts of home) when the thought dawned on me that I should swing by the fantastic new Innovative Fitness location in Port Moody to meet Meyrick Jones face to face!

For those who are just joining us, Meyrick has been an inspiration to my whole family ever since my Dad met him at a road race, two days before my last operation. At the time, he graciously offered to help me "get my feet under me" again. It took some time before I felt ready to contact him (several weeks after the surgery) but once I did, I found him to be chock full of information and support.

In a classic "it's a small world" act, some friends back in Victoria, Shannon and Cliff, sent out a DVD of Meyrick's interviews with Cliff's brother who is doing his prosthetics apprenticeship, not knowing that I was already in touch with him. It was a welcome gift as the video clips weren't posted to YouTube for some time after that.

Meyrick and I have continued to stay in touch and I really respect his opinions on life, my recovery and fitness in general. I posted an article on swimming that he and I collaborated on when I was still on crutches and trying to find some cardiovascular activity.

Meeting Meyrick in person confirmed something that I always knew: he is a truly genuine, nice guy!

As short as it was, it was absolutely awesome to finally meet, shake his hand and check out his new gym in person. The facility exudes Meyrick's own passion for elite sport and fitness.

Next time I'm on the continent, I'll definitely take some time out to plan a horrendously long hike with him so I can pick his brain a lot more! Thanks for everything Meyrick.

*note: this post has been back-dated to the intended post date due to a technical issue encountered on initial attempt.

Lovin' Las Vegas!

I'm travelling again for work, this time doing a limited "tour" of North America.

Is there any better way of getting over your jet lag than stopping off in Las Vegas for a few sleepless nights of fun? I think NOT!

Since my itinerary doesn't include a stop-off in Ontario and only includes a limited amount of time in Vancouver, my Dad and Sister came along with their partners and my Uncle & Aunt!



New York, New York


Caesars Palace


Paris


The Venetian


The Bellagio


The Luxor


The winning smile!

True Story

I had an Orthopaedic review with the surgeon today to assess my "level of impairment". I was shocked to learn they weren't testing my blood-alcohol level for a "high score" -- awkward!

Instead, the surgeon concluded that my leg is indeed not growing back. I know, it surprised me too, however, he required an x-ray to confirm this little "hypothesis".

I went up to the ex-ray room and found a very surprised looking x-ray tech who managed to stammer "OH! I've never done one of YOU before!"

One of ME? Ohhh kaaay! I think at this point I said something like "Well, I AM pretty unique, thanks for noticing!" though I don't think she heard me as she flustered around clearing the x-ray table.

From there the conversation went something like this:

Tech: Sooo umm... is that like ATTACHED? Or does it come off?

Mike (staring incredulously): It comes off...

Tech: OH. So do you usually keep it on for x-rays?

Mike (laughing nervously): No, I don't think the metal or carbon fibre would photograph well and I'm pretty sure you're only interested in what's underneath it!

Tech: Yeah, that makes sense! Do you know what position to hold your... LEG? for the picture?

Mike: No I don't, sorry... maybe just shoot it like you would a normal leg?

Tech: OK, yeah! That makes sense!

I left that day feeling that we had both learned something: she learned that prosthetic limbs are NOT permanently fixed to the human body through painful bolts or magic glue.

I learned that common sense and higher reasoning is not a pre-requisite of getting into x-ray school!

Technical difficulties

It's been a quiet month (march) for publishing posts but believe it or not, I have been writing them. I've been on the road for work and have been using an app on my phone. Unfortunately, when it came time to publish them, my settings had been erased.

I've been horribly lazy about fixing that. That said, I have indeed fixed it and set several posts to automatically publish over the next few days, back-dated to the day of the month they were written on. I've also back-dated this post to ensure the newer posts show above this one on the site.

Mandela said...

"There are few misfortunes in the world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill."

South African Safari, Pilanesberg

After a seven hour drive back to Johannesburg yesterday (having also completed a very full eight hour day on site), today was a good day for some R&R. I went up to Pilanesberg to take a game drive!

Like the Ngorongoro crater, Pilanesberg was formed when a giant volcano expanded without exploding, building pressure and finally collapsing in on itself, creating perfect conditions for a large concentration of wildlife.

I had an excellent day spotting three white rhinos (but not getting a good enough shot off with the camera before they lumbered off), several elephants, a giraffe, impala, warthogs, zebras, wildebeests, a big male lion in the grass, monkeys, hippos and even a family of banded mongoose (related to the meerkat).

Here's a few of the better photos:


Mother Zebra with her little fella.


A family of three white rhinos!


A family of elephants going for a drink. There was five of them!


A herd of blue-gnus / wildebeests.


Musina, near the Botswana and Zimbabwe border, is where I was working this week. It's a fantastic little village on the edge of civilization and home to the diamond miners. Hundreds of people from Zimbabwe flood into Musina every day to purchase fuel and food which have become somewhat of a luxury in their country. Hundreds of donkeys and mules flood into Musina from Botswana because they have nothing else to do for fun.


I'm off to bed, thanks for reading!

South Africa

I am in South Africa today on the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from prison. That's not why I came, I just think it's a cool fact!

I came to Johannesburg for work and am currently doing the long trek north to a remote but well known diamond mine near the border of Zimbabwe, just outside the little town of Musina. Seven hours in the back of a 4WD might not be your idea of fun but at least I'm getting to see the rich diversity of the country.

Johannesburg is one the largest cities in the world that wad not built on either a river or a major port. It was founded during the gold rush of the late 1800's when a local land owner was climbing a ridge to survey his property and kicked a big 'ole shiny rock that turned out to be gold. The area exploded with prospectors. Once diamonds were found near Kimberley, the British decided it was time to colonize, by force.

Sadly, this lead to the invention of the world's first concentration camps during the Boer war. The Brits decided they needed a way to conquer the sparsely populated countryside and cut the supply of food to local militia resisting the colonization. As a result, they rounded up women and children from the farms and stuck them in camps to "concentrate" the population. Outbreaks of disease were largely ignored and millions died.

The history here runs deep and every group has their own story but years of economic isolation during apartheid has lead to significant technological advancement in this country. For example, SA guards the secret of turning coal into petroleum. Afterall, a country must have oil even if they can't pump for it and no one will sell it to them. The process is a heavily guarded secret.

They've also completely cornered the market on diamonds and platinum with a new patent being filed every single day in those industries for the extraction of the precious commodities.

All in all, I think this is a really interesting part of Africa!



Update: we have arrived at the lodge which is absolutely awesome. The food is great and we each have our own hut. On turning in for the night, I had to kill several large bugs who were mounting a counter attack on the giant spider who lives above my bed... At least the spider looks relatively friendly and keeps to his side of the room ( top corners of thatched roof ). I named him fluffy... he's hairy and the size of a small dog. Sure hope he doesn't get hungry.


-- Mobile post

Epictetus

Heard a great quote today I thought I'd share:

You have two ears and one mouth; use them in that proportion. - Epictetus


-- Mobile post

Presenting in Paris

Things are going really well this week and we've been very busy!

I had thought I'd be giving one presentation to 500 people. Turned out they wanted more effective/intimate group sizes so while the 500 people part hasn't changed, they've been arriving in groups of 10 over two days!

My rough daily schedule has been:

1:30am: find bed under pile of notes and cables having completed revision list of the day.

Horrible reality siren at 5:30am (alarm), doze (10 min), wake up in panic at the time, quick shower (10 min). Answer emails (30 min), review demo script and pack demo gear (15 min). Suit up (5 min), admire how dashing self looks in suit (10 min) while putting on stupid tricky cufflinks (5 min). Elevator ride from 30th floor (5 min due to commuter traffic), arrive at breakfast meeting 7am.

Review daily agenda and implement new last minute changes to suit audience segment of day (30 min), arrive at venue and set up gear (10 min).

Smile.

Give demo and presentation (10 min) to groups of 10 people, answer questions (5 min), repeat indefinitely until dinner break.

Note to self that I haven't gone to bathroom yet. Briefly excuse myself and enjoy 5 minutes of solitude.

Arrive at dinner meeting. Review day, take notes, chew, swallow, begin alterations to demo based on daily feedback.

Repeat.

All in all, I wouldn't have it any other way, this has been a lot of fun. You know I love an audience!


-- Mobile post