While taking breaks in order to give my foot and knee a rest I have started adding Personalized Hourglasses to my Hourglass store.

I expect to be able to add them a few at a time so many it will take several days for me to finish because there are so many.

The prices shown include the hourglass, typesetting of personalized messages and custom laser engraving on both end-caps. As you can see from the example the detail from images to laser engraved finished product can be rather remarkable.

I will work with you and will laser engrave the hourglass of your choice in house allowing me to have total control over the quality of the finished product.

Not that it is wrong; we tend to take everyday activities for granted.

Few of us can remember when we learned to walk, but if something happens to prevent us from walking most will likely remember vividly the event and time.

I do.

At 2:00 in the afternoon on August 27th of 2004 while attending IWF2004 in Atlanta my left arch collapsed. I was not able to walk.

This was particularly scary for a number of reasons. I was over 800 miles from home. My car was parked 4 flights of stairs and 3 blocks away. I had to get back to my hotel, to the airport and then home. How I accomplished that I do not have a clue and today it really doesn’t matter.

Three surgeries and several braces later I am walking again. Although I am a bit slow, my balance has improved and I am getting around pretty well.

Although I am done with PT as I have reached the insurance limit, my PT Julie gave me a home exercise program that I do continuing to build strength. I will need to do this on a regular basis in order for balance and strength to continue to improve.

I am in the shop daily now, but will continue to find it necessary to take rest periods to control swelling in my foot and minimize fatigue.

Thanks to everyone for your support.

I am a bit behind on keeping this up to date as I have been pre-occupied with learning to walk again.

Because I wore a brace on my left foot for more than 4 years in addition to the surgeries that I had last October things need a bit of help. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I have been able to walk wearing hiking boots, although a little wobbly, for 3 weeks now.

01/01 -  This will be a laid back day.

Kathi and I will visit her mother at some point, but have no plans other than to take it easy for the rest of the day.

I will be back in the shop Friday morning.

01/02 – I am back in the shop.

My foot is rested after taking New Years Day off. One week from today I will be seeing my orthopedic doctor again. I will learn how much longer I will need the AIRCAST and when I will be starting PT – Physical Therapy.

01/09 – Because of all of the new snow and the traffic that goes with it I will be leaving for my 9:00 appointment with my doctor at about 7:30 hoping for the best.

I made it on time with about five minutes to spare.

After having my foot x-rayed I got a new insert for my AIRCAST as I will be wearing it for at least four more weeks. My doctor is pleased that everything looks good and my foot is healing well, but told me that she does not want to rush things just be on the safe side.

While I would like to get rid of the AIRCAST, I would rather not have to go through the surgery again on my left foot so I will exercise patience as needed.

Dr. Ptaszek gave me  a prescription for PT – Physical Therapy – and I will be starting next week.

I arrived back home just before noon.

01/10 – The snow that started early yesterday morning finally stopped at about 4:00 this afternoon. I do not know what the official word is but we have nearly 12 new inches of the white stuff.

There was no way that Kathi was going to be able to move it all by herself so with her help I was able to get my still swollen left foot in my NEOS by putting my shoe in first and then slipping my foot in.

Two hours later we were done.

I then switched back to my AIRCAST and am walking aided by my crutches.

01/15 - It is now 8 below zero and I am about to leave for PT (Physical Therapy).

That is a little scary as all that I can put on my foot is a compression stocking and my toes stick out from the front of the AIRCAST. I am really not interested in the possibility of frost bite. I have a blanket in the car just in case.

01/16 – Yesterday’s temperature almost seems like a heat wave as it is 17 below now with a wind chill of more that 30 below. The threat of frost bite continues to be a serious threat each time that I must venture outside.

PT went well yesterday.

I will be doing exercises on a daily basis meant to loosen up my ankle and foot muscles. The last time that I walked without out crutches and /or a cast was the morning before my surgery on October 23rd. That was twelve weeks ago yesterday.

This is a long awaited moment.

As my mobility improves I will be able to get a lot more done on a daily basis.

01/21 – I will be off to PT again today for an 11:00 appointment and more treatment to help me get rid of the AIRCAST and back into shoes again. 

The sun is shinning and it looks as though the road is dry so the mid-day adventure should only take about two and a half hours or so.

Thanks for making 2008 a sucess….. good health and prosperity throughout 2009!

Today is Monday December 22, 2008.

The past several months have been especially challenging. Take a few minutes to read my Time Line 2008 entries for more information when time permits.

It is not possible for me to produce or process any more new orders in time for Christmas 2008  delivery. Please accept my thanks to all who have made this a good year for me.

Your understanding and patience are greatly appreciated.

Thank you and ” Merry Christmas”,

Tom

Today is MONDAY DECEMBER the 22nd.

Remember that my hourglasses do not arrive in a container from an off-shore supplier. I make them one at a time in my Des Plaines, IL production studio shop.

For orders placed after Wednesday December 17th it will be necessary to upgrade to FedEx Express Service for an additional charge in order to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas.

If your order is time sensitive please let me know by replying to the email confirmation that you will receive shortly after placing your order. I will do everything possible to meet your delivery requirements.

Don’t be disappointed – PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW!

I am in the process of shipping most orders received prior to December 1st and hope to finish by this coming  Saturday December 20th.

In the event that your order is time sensitive please click this link to  Contact me for help or for answers to any questions that you may have. I will be happy to ship to an alternate address to insure delivery when needed.

In order to have enough production time for personalized laser engraving to allow for Christmas delivery please be sure to submit all materials no later that Friday December 12th.

After that date delivery may still be possible using FedEx Express for additional charges.

12/01 – This is the “Big Day”.

I am off to appointments with both of my orthopedic doctors – First for my knee at 9:45 followed by my foot at 11:00. Before leaving I have to clean about 6″ of snow off of my car to begin what will likely be a lengthy drive to Illinois Bone and Joint because the roads are all snow and ice covered. Because of this I am allowing an hour and a half for what would generally be a trip of about 30 minutes.

The big question now is if I will be able to switch to a walking cast and put my Roll-A-Bout back into storage until later. I will let you know after I get back.

Later the same day: As promised here’s how things went at my two orthopedic doctor appointments earlier today.

My knee doctor gave me a cortisone injection intended to calm things down in my right knee. I should be able to tell how well it works within a few days.

After the cast was removed from my left foot I again had x-rays to check things out. The healing process is going well and I have progressed to a half walking cast. This means that I am now allowed to stand on both feet again for the first time since my October 23^rd surgery, but I will still need to use crutches and my Roll-A-Bout. The next goal will be to move to a walking AIRCAST boot on Friday December 12^th that I will be able to remove for sleep and while in the shower.

In the meantime I will be able to function much better in the shop standing on two feet for a change. It looks as though I will have to wait a bit longer before I will be able to move through my shop in a flash, but what the heck, I can walk again.

12/03 – Being able to stand on booth feet again is great even if it is tiring. If you have ever had to have a cast on one of your feet you know what I mean. I still need to use my crutches to move from one spot to another, but I am getting better at moving around my shop.

Probably the most important issue now is that I need to be extra careful maintaining my balance while moving between my basement and garage shop areas because of the ice and snow. The prediction is for us to get four more inches today.

12/05 – It is great to be able to stand again, although moving around with this cast requires a lot of concentration. I must use the crutches if going more that a few steps. I tire more easily that I would have expected.

My next goal is to be able to trade my cast for a walking boot on Friday December 12^th

12/10 – Snow – More than 4 inches of new snow fell yesterday making mobility with crutches especially challenging. I really hope that I will get a walking boot on Friday as getting around now is not fun.

12/12 – I will be off to the doctor’s office shortly this morning. Wish me luck. I hope to be able to trade my cast for a walking boot today.

Later on the 12th – My x-rays showed that everything looks good so I have progressed to a walking AIRCAST boot. If you have ever had to wear a cast you will understand how happy this makes me . I will get to wash my left foot tonight for the first time in 7 weeks since Thursday October 23rd when I had my last surgery.

I can stand and walk without crutches while wearing the AIRCAST as long as I am not trying to get around in ice and snow or doing stairs. Yes, this makes me very happy!

My next scheduled visit to my doctor is not until January.

12/13 – I discovered a staple in my heel this morning that had been missed on November 5th. Now I know why my heel has been so tender. Kathi, my wife and resident RN removed it for me.

12/15 – It started snowing at about 2:00 PM and we got over 6″ of new snow today. Now I have to worry about keeping my toes dry to avoid the possibility of getting frost bite as they extend out the front of my AIRCAST. For some reason I am beginning to think that I am being tested.

12/17 – I am finding it necessary to rest often in order to elevate my foot to control swelling and pain.

12/19 – More snow. We have over 5″ of new snow since mid-night and it is still falling. I may have to figure out a way to attach a plow to the front of my AIRCAST. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Trust me when I tell you that snow, an AIRCAST and crutches are not a good mix.

12/20 – Kathi and I just spent more than 2 hours clearing snow from our driveway left by the plows overnight. I put a plastic bag over my AIRCAST and plodded away. This could not wait as the temperature is expected to drop to 1 degree overnight and there would be no way to remove it then.

I will be back in the shop in a little while after elevating my foot a bit to calm things down again. I’ve got hourglasses to finish.

12/22 – The pressure is on.

I am scrambling to get the rest of my orders targeted as Christmas gifts off today. If only I could get rid of the AIRCAST and walk on two feet again. That is not to be for at least a couple of more weeks, so I will just have to do my best – onward.

We have gotten more than four inches of new snow since about mid-night. It is expected to continue into tomorrow. I am getting packages ready for USPS Express Mail. I will get them to the post office before the cutoff time, but there is no way to know if they will get out today.

12/23 – Snow, freezing rain, more snow, more freezing rain. That pretty much describes the day. Not particularly friendly to an AIRCAST with an open toe.

Later in the day I missed the FedEx cut after sitting in traffic going nowhere for more than two hours.

12/24 – OK, what next?

After checking at usps.com for the Express Mail cut-off time – it said 6:00 PM – I found the post office locked up shortly after 3:00 when I arrived with a bunch of packages that I had told customers to expect on Friday or Saturday. These are the same packages that I tried to ship yesterday.

12/26 – After canceling the USPS labels that I processed on Wednesday, I am getting everything ready for another try.

I hope be off to the Post Office around noon. This is contingent on getting into my ice covered VUE. State Police have reported that the ice storm that passed last night and during the early morning hours has left the worst icy road conditions that they have ever seen.

12/27 – We had more than a foot of snow on the ground yesterday morning. It is now 59 degrees and there is little snow left as we have already had about 2 inches of rain in less than 12 hours.

One of the good things that happened as a result of the many trips made to northern Wisconsin caring for my mother is that after our flooding last September we stopped in at the Farm & Fleet store in Rice Lake looking for possible solutions for getting rid of standing water in our back yard after heavy rains and melting conditions like we have now.

A helpful young man told us that what is generally done in their area is to place a sump pump in the lowest area of the field and running pipe or tubing where you want to direct the water.

Following his advise we purchased a pump, tubing and everything else needed. I dug the pit for the pump in the fall.

It works.

I was able to get my boot on my left foot early this morning before it started to swelling and got everything hooked up for the first time in less than a half an hour.

The water level is going down in our yard thanks to the pump and we have minimal ground water seepage in the basement. Others  in our area are not so lucky as the Des Plaines River is expected to hit flood stage today and many are filling sand bags.

12/28 – Our pump is still running continuously this morning as it has for more than 24 hours even though our entire back yard is covered with a sheet of ice. The ice has caved in in spots where the water had gone down to a point where it is not able to provide support.

We still have seepage in our basement, but fortunately it is ground water rather than the sewage that we were dealt in September.

The pump started to cycle at around noon. The seepage stopped shortly after.

12/29 – It is 6:30 AM and 31 degrees. It looks as though the pump is taking a break. I plan to leave it in place until sometime in the afternoon to take advantage of the melting that will occur this afternoon when the temperature is expected to reach 43. The high on Wednesday will only be 19 so I must get the hose and pump put away to prevent damage from freezing before that time.

Our basement is dry again and I can start putting things back in place.

12/31 – I made it.

It is New Years Eve and all is well. Things are rearranged in my basement shop area and I am ready to begin the new year.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support throughout 2008. I am ready for a fresh start.