Torque is bad.
That may surprise those of you who are still driving muscle cars (anyone else remember what a muscle car is?), where I think torque was prized because you could go from 0-60 in 30 seconds or something. But in the medical context, torque is the lateral strain placed on core muscles by such activities as, say, golf and kayaking. Because my abs are still recovering from the June 25th surgery, my surgeon said today that I should not engage in activities requiring lateral abdominal strain for at least another couple weeks.
On the other hand, he did clear me for swimming and biking. Above all, he said "listen to your body."
The surgeon, Mark Callery, was our first stop of the day. In the afternoon we visited the Dana Farber Comprehensive Cancer Care Center for another opinion.
I remember when I was as young as five years old listening to appeals from the Red Sox urging fans to contribute to the Jimmy Fund, which helps to support the Farber Center. I think the phrase "not in my wildest dreams" is appropriate here to describe what I thought of my chances of ever availing myself of Dana Farber's services.
The basic message from the Farber docs we talked to was essentailly that there is nothing new under the sun in terms of proven new treatments for pancreatic cancer. This makes the option of getting standard chemo in Albany followed by the "cyberknife" procedure back here in Boston sometime this fall look more appealing.
We have an appointment with the "cyberknife" guru tomorrow morning, and we hope he presents a compelling picture of its potential effectiveness.
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Hey Jay. It’s great to get caught up with the blog after some work travel and vacation.
ReplyDeleteI remember muscle cars. From those who know I grew up outside of Detroit, we might hear the chorus “duh.” So prominent were the cars, that even my staid midwestern parents drove them…for a time. Of course, this was back in a time when company cars were as common as the office water cooler (also not so common anymore). As the youngest child, I was heartbroken over my bad luck and bad timing. I had only part of a year with the V-8 Chevy Nova coupe both my siblings had the opportunity to drive. Having barely gotten over the loss of the Mustang, I was really looking forward to that Nova.
Then I get my drivers license, and by year’s end the new car arrived: a fourth generation Chevy Nova…a six-cylinder sedan. A four-door…jeez…
And I’ve been thinking about muscle cars lately, too. A little over a week ago, I rented Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino in my Chicago hotel room. Wow. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about the film. I had cause to think about the cars again this past weekend, camping with friends at an outdoor folk music festival. The festival didn’t depart from tradition in delivering a deluge of rain and mud, requiring some extra muscle to free our Prius from the grip of the latter.
The rear wheel drive Nova coupe likely would have gotten stuck too. But we would have looked very cool…
Above comment from me, Patti Jo
ReplyDeleteJay,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you could write!
Seriously, cool stuff and a great read. Thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date with our favorite grumpy reporter.
You are amazing in recovery. What a great family you have. Any idea who the father is?
As for your stroll down old fart lane, I remember GTOs. My uncle had one and I don't think it could go under 90 mph. My father used to say it could pass everything but a gas station _ and that's when gas was 29 cents a gallon.
We borrowed it once to go to the Adirondacks in the late '60s and a 2.5 hour trip was over in well under two hours.
I reluctantly went golfing for the first time in two years last week. I believe the last time I assaulted the links was with you at your course. Frank Eltman and I played at Saratoga Lake Golf Club. I think you'd like it a lot, so greens fees are on me when you're ready.
Please let us know when the Jay Tour is coming to Albany. It will be great to see you again.
..gormley