I had another physical therapy appointment this morning at Duke Sports Medicine for my strained muscle. It's getting better, thank goodness. I got some more stretches to try between now and my next appointment on Friday.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with a plastic surgeon about my broken nose. Since it's at Duke South, I'll be able to walk to the appointment, which helps a lot. I googled the doctor I'll be seeing, and found this interesting (to me) Q&A about him:
Q. Where did you go to med school? Undergraduate school?A. University of Berlin and Munich, Germany
Q. How long have you been a Duke physician?A. Since 2000 with a 1.5 year break to complete PhD thesis at the University of Heidelberg, Germany
Q. Where did you work prior to coming to Duke?A. Attending Surgeon and Plastic Surgeon, University of Heidelberg Germany
Q. Have you received any awards or honors? Do you sit on any boards or journals? If so, please list them along with a brief description.A. Reviewer for Plast Reconstr Surg since 2001
Invited Visiting Professor:The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Canada), Topic: “Noma – Reconstructive Opportunities” June 2001
Two-time participant in the Biomedical Sciences Exchange Program (DAAD sponsored) between Germany and the USA
Third place residents competition: Erdmann D., Zamboni W.A., Hussmann J., Bergman B.A., Cooper M.D., Smoot E.C., Russell R.C.: Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment improves the outcome of Streptococcal myositis in mice. Annual Scientific Meeting Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, June 1995, Palm Beach, Florida
Best poster award: Sundin B.M., Erdmann D., Moquin K.J., Young H., Georgiade G.S.: Vascular delay in unipedicled TRAM flap reconstruction of the breast: a review of 76 consecutive cases. 70th Annual Scientific Meeting American Society of Plastic Surgeons, November 2001, Orlando, Florida
Best paper award European Federation Societies Hand Therapy, Colditz J.C., Erdmann D., Levin L.S.: Lumbrical tightness: testing and stretching.Congress EFSHT, May 2002, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Best paper award American Society Hand Therapists, Colditz J.C., Erdmann D., Levin L.S.: Clinical implications of differential testing and stretching of the interosseous versus the lumbrical muscles of the hand.Annual meeting ASHT, September 2002, Ottawa, Canada
Best video award American Society Surgery Hand, Heitmann C., Erdmann D., Germann G., Levin L.S.: Intrinsic flaps of the hand: anatomical study, clinical applications.ASSH Annual meeting, October 2002, Phoenix, Arizona
Best scientific paper award World Society Reconstructive Microsurgery, Heitmann C., Khan R., Erdmann D., Levin L.S., Klitzman B.: Sutureless anastomosis of a vein graft using magnets.Kongress World Society Reconstructive Microsurgery, June 2003, Heidelberg
Q. What led you into the practice of aesthetic surgery (or the field in general)?A. Basic and fundamental techniques of Plastic Surgery are applied in Aesthetic Surgery
Q. What are your areas of specialty and how have things changed since you entered the field?A. All aspects of aesthetic surgery including liposuction and post-bariatric surgery (gastric bypass procedures); and general reconstructive surgery including microsurgery.
Q. Are you involved with any clinical trials or research studies? If so what are you examining?A. ‘Engineering’ of new bone tissue (animal studies); outcome after repair of decubitus ulcers (pressure sores); bone grafts for spinal fusion, and others
Q. What is the focus of your current research?A. Clinical outcome studies; ‘engineering' of bone tissue
Q. How will your research contribute to the field of medicine?A. Improvement of current operative techniques and postoperative treatment; replacement of lost bone due to operative resection (e.g. after tumor removal) or trauma
Q. What are some things you’ve discovered during the course of your research?A. Expression of ‘growth factors’ in tissue, many other
Q. In a couple sentences please describe what you love about your work.A. The two most important things for me in life are (1) make other human beings happy and (2) be happy with yourself. My profession certainly helps me to achieve both every day.
Q. Do you have any special stories to tell about your experience as a physician?A. I participated in several Interplast missions to third world countries providing plastic surgery to children and adults with severe congenital or acquired deformities of the face, trunk and extremities. I enjoy the happiness and gratefulness of the patients and I feel very lucky to live where I live and to be in an environment like Duke.
Q. What do you think sets Duke Aesthetic Center apart from other Aesthetic practices in the area?A. One of the rare Academic Aesthetic Centers in the country, higher safety, profound training of surgeons
Q. Do you have any personal hobbies or interests that you would be willing to share?A. I like sports like working-out, soccer, swimming, tennis; I like to spend time with my family and children; history and arts
OK, it's me again. I'm intrigued by the fact that one of his specialties is post-bariatric surgeries, since I've lost a lot of weight and will be losing more.
I spotted this little vehicle to the left, which was barely big enough to sport the website for Myers Motors, on the way to work this morning. Turns out it's an electrical "car" with three wheels! It's a cute little thing, isn't it? I would be concerned about safety, but for economy, it sounds hard to beat.
I took a self-portrait this morning, so that I could remember what it was like to have the splint and tape on my face, and I took another one after I got home. It's a big change, and it's also a reminder of how I didn't bother to wear make-up (what was the point?!) or fix my hair during these nose splint days. Simplicity was key, and actually washing and drying my hair daily was ordeal enough without adding hot rollers to the mix. 
In addition to returning to exercise, I'm going to reschedule my physical therapy appointments, make an appointment for a new hairstyle, and think about getting new glasses or contacts. I'm ready for a new look, though anything is an improvement over the masked nose look!
I just noticed an article on Yahoo about the various celebs and politicians that Obama, Clinton, and McCain, can call cousin. I find this stuff interesting, how people are connected, and it's part of why I'm interested in genealogy. I started working on my family tree some seventeen (count 'em!) years ago, thinking I'd be finished with the tree by Christmas for my parents' Christmas present that year. Funny thing is I've never stopped, at least not for too long.
Since I fell and broke my nose (with accompanying facial scrapes), then had it reset and added the nose splint, I've been a little grumpy, though I've tried hard not to let it show in public. While many co-workers noticed the initial scrapes (so they knew I hadn't gotten plastic surgery after the nose splint appeared), and all have been sympathetic, it's been interesting to interact with the general public and observe how others react. A rare few customer service people have gone out of their way to give me an extra smile and say they hoped I'd feel better. Most have looked away like they're trying not to notice this big white bandage in the middle of my face! Many of those people I've exchanged money with recently (I go to the same grocery store a lot for little things--I'm not very good at shopping for a week's worth of groceries) have no idea how making eye contact and giving me a smile when they handed me the receipt would've lifted my spirits over the last couple of weeks. This particular grocery store I go to has little bells at each cash register for people to ring when the cashier gives good customer service, and I've been looking to ring that bell. Haven't yet.
I had my appointment yesterday afternoon, and no suprisingly, it was all about the nose. (So I didn't get to talk with him about a post-weight-loss tummy tuck or anything like that!) I'm going under general anesthesia at Duke Hospital tomorrow to have my nose reset, packed, and splinted. I was able to have my pre-op appointment by phone this morning, and I'll call this afternoon for my operating room appointment. Fun, fun!
This morning I listened to a delightful NPR podcast, the "Story of the Day" from yesterday, about Harriet the Spy, a very cute book written by Louise Fitzhugh and published in 1964. If you have a few minutes to listen, check it the podcast here.
Yesterday I visited Earth Fare, which bills itself as a "healthy supermarket." There's a store in nearby Brier Creek, so I was eager to see how it compared to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, which I've been to recently. I found a few goodies at Earth Fare, including some Westbrae Natural Stoneground Mustard with no salt added (woohoo!) and some Eden's Organic Beans (with no salt added) in cans, and a book called The Runner's Yoga Book, which I'm going to order online. But all in all, I found Earth Fare's prices to be more expensive (especially compared to Trader Joe's), and the staff not as friendly as at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
