WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

23 July 2003

I was surprised when I went to fill my water glass last night. The cooler bottle was nearly empty.

Davis has the worst tasting water. I tried for the first six years we lived here to actually get accustomed to it, but I never did. The water is full of boron from the Vaca mountains so it has so many chemicals in it you have to soften it or it corrodes the pipes. Somehow when you add water softener salt to the boron and other chemicals in the water the result is something that I just couldn't drink.  (David, in contrast, who was raised here, never did like anything but Davis water.)

For a time we actually hauled water from Sacramento. Whenever we went to visit a friend, we would take along gallon jugs and fill them with water to keep in the fridge. But that got real old real fast.

I finally convinced Walt that we needed a water cooler. It's been one of the best things we ever got. Sure, we have to pay for water, but it tastes good, is always cold, and, until this accident, I didn't mind hefting the water bottles to change when the time came--that was our agreement.  Walt didn't mind spending the money on the water, but he didn't like changing the heavy bottles.

But with a dysfunctional shoulder, I haven't been able to do that. I asked Jeri the other day if she'd change the water bottle, and she did. That was four or five days ago. With my resolve to lose 10 lbs at least before leaving for Australia, I've been drinking more water than usual. When hungry, I drink water instead. It's been an easy thing to remember to do, since it's so beastly hot and nothing tastes better than ice cold water. I keep water bottles filled in the fridge and just take one with me when I sit down or when I come in here to work.

But when I went to get myself a glass of water last night, the bottle on the cooler was just about empty. That means we've gone through 5 gallons of water in 4 days. That's pretty impressive, given that I drink about 90% of the water around here.

Well, good for me. That was my plan. Increase water intake, because I know that it helps with weight loss. Also, it's a good thing to do when I'm hungry instead of eating--drink water. (The extra energy spent walking down the hall to the bathroom can also count as exercise.)

So was it successful?

Incredibly.

I lost 5.6 lbs today! I wasn't worried. I've stuck with the program pretty much 100% (except for garlic bread at the Italian restaurant--but I think that in the whole scope of points for the week even that came in under the wire). I'm feeling good about that. I promised myself I'd lose 10 lbs before I left for Australia and I'm over halfway there already. Can I make 15? I'm not promising, but I'm sticking with it and am confident that I will have lost at least 10 by September 6.

After WeightWatchers it was time for my doctor's appointment. Things went more quickly today--no lengthy wait for x-ray. I only had to sit there for about 3 minutes before the technician called me in to the x-ray room (unlike last time when it took  about 30 minutes)

Apparently the x-rays look good. Dr. Mitchell grabbed my hand and swung my arm up to almost the level of my forehead to see how far it would go. It was not painless, but it wasn't too bad.

He tells me that the immobilizer at this point is for comfort, and that I should begin to wean myself off of it. He also gave me a bunch of exercises to start doing, all of which are designed to bring mobility back to the shoulder.   I also have an appointment with the physical therapist next week. I don't see the doctor again until I return from Australia.

So I guess I'm on schedule and recovering as well as can be expected. Now I'm at the "active" part of recovery. Up to now it's been essentially me sitting around waiting for things to heal; now I take command and I have to be doing those exercises.

He's also cleared my knee for riding the exercise bike, as long as it continues to feel OK and not feel worse, so that was very good news to hear too.