life / medical nonsense

hip nonsense

• by kerri

This began as an Instagram post that became too long for Instagram. Here it is, with only slight edits from that format.

Well, might as well update on doctors appointment 3 for the week since that’s how things unfolded.

Kerri sits in doctors office with painting of a blue dog behind her

Backstory: my right hip has been messed up since I was born. It’s essentially dislocated (severe hip dysplasia, per my reading perhaps better described now as congenital hip disease, specifically high congenital dislocation) and being held in place by scar tissue as I understand it, with other structure-y issues compounding this. 

It took 30 years for it to start hurting unless I was in a plane seat (it actually probably caused my knee pain before the actual problem joint started hurting). This was initially understandable after waking a LONG distance… until it started hurting for weeks at a time. And then last weekend I walked ALL OF 2 KILOMETERS and it hurt for 5 days after, including most of the time when sitting/lying down which was new. I am not in a ton of pain and it eased up, mostly, minus some surrounding muscle pain with movement and continued increased “clicking” feeling. (Except then since my appointment I walked more and the actual joint hurts again. Great. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

But it was quite distracting, especially as 80% of the time I move even slightly something clicks inside my hip, which I am pretty sure is not great. 

So I went to see my family doctor. He is aware of my hip stuff but I showed him a picture of my 2018 hip X-ray on my phone and his reaction was along the line of “Yikes” (not necessarily a good reaction, but a funny one!), and a brief discussion that, no, basically there is no real femoral head. 

Xray of right hip anterior view. The femoral head is significantly flattened and essentially absent
The head of the femur is generally the “ball” in the ball and socket joint of the hip. There is no real femoral head present, which a previous radiologist described as “flattened”.
It is dislocated and articulating with what is called a “false acetabulum” – I could tell you what but I failed anatomy twice.
X-ray image from a different angle
Lateral view of head of femur which is flat when it should be… very round.

The good news is he agrees I’m not in hip replacement territory yet. The surprising-to-me news (given I grew up constantly seeing orthopedics as a kid) is that ortho possibly won’t see me until that time comes. 

The question I had is basically what can we do so I can, you know, *do things* and not make my hip more garbage for days/weeks after—and hopefully in turn delay hip replacement as long as possible.

So back to X-ray I went. Once he gets that report and if it looks like we expect it to (AKA doesn’t look remarkably worse than before or anything?), he will probably refer me to physiatry to see what they can figure out. Physiatry (physical medicine & rehabilitation) hasn’t ever been mentioned to me—probably due to the next paragraph—so I’m curious to see how that goes.

The good-ish news: I’ve now had a second doc tell me their surprise at how well I function once they see how bad my 3 affected joints actually are. Similarly, the x-ray tech came out of the booth evidently having looked at my scans and said she was shocked I made it 30 years without hip pain… so something went right along the way!

This isn’t quite how I expected this appointment to go but I’m definitely happy with how it went. I’m, as always, super pleased with my family doc and how whenever I approach a problem with “Do we need to address this?” he either has a great explanation for why not to, or takes the concern seriously and makes a plan to do something! I presume we will confirm next steps next week—I may not have any more solutions today but hopefully some are coming. 

And I guess, shout out to the scar tissue holding my hip together for 31 years? 

EDIT: I wrote most of this on Friday. It is now Monday as I finally post it here, and I have since learned that apparently when you are not in peds orthopedics/a grown-up/not in sport medicine, you get to know nothing about your x-ray until the radiologist sends a report to the doctor about it? Clearly I have been spoiled by my 14 years of pediatric orthopedics visits and the sports medicine clinic where they show you the x-ray and then wait for a report from radiology. I knew I wasn’t going to see it Friday (I should’ve asked the technologist, I suppose!) but who knew it could be many days? (Everyone who has had normal person x-rays ever, apparently, that’s who.)

life

how to: alt text on social media

• by kerri

Sharing pictures on social media is fun–but did you know that people who can’t see can still enjoy your fun photos with their ears?

Some social media platforms have built-in artificial intelligence that can attempt to detect what is in a photo, but it results in some pretty generic–and often very wrong–descriptions. Plus, it’s more fun to get to describe the photo in your own words. “Dog” or “Two people at a medium distance” leaves a lot to be desired when it could be “Murray, a black lab guide dog in harness looks towards the camera appearing to be smiling” or “Two people at a medium distance ride bikes in a field.”

Basically, why should you enter descriptions in your photos? So more people can have FUN and be included, that’s why.
So let’s get started.

What is alt text?

Simply put, alternate text is a simple description of what’s in your photo (or any other image). Screen readers will read the alt text, but it’s hidden within the code of a website, so it’s not visible to sighted people (unless, like me, they know how to poke around VoiceOver or JAWS).

How to use alt text on Twitter

Twitter window with photo uploaded of a turkey inside a hospital reading turkey inside hsc. an arrow points to the alt button.
  • When you add a photo on Twitter, two bubbles pop up on top of the image – +ALT and a paintbrush (edit).
  • Click +ALT.

Text box to enter alt text is shown. Words typed are Write the things about the photo
  • Describe your picture.
  • Hit Done.

Yep. It’s that easy.

How to use alt text on Facebook

Facebook create post window with a photo of Kerri's office studio with microphone, pop filter, laptop and textbooks visible on a shelf behind. The Facebook text field reads 'say something about this photo...'
  • Upload your photo as usual and hit the … [more] button in the top right.
Same image as above is darkened with a menu above with the options Remove photo, Edit photo, Make 3D, Edit alt text and Cancel

Click “edit alt text” and describe.

How to use alt text on Instagram

Instagram is the least user-friendly of the three social media options I’ll cover today, hiding the alt text in a weird place. But, at least you’ll be able to find it. As well, the Android app may be a little different but it does exist there, too.

Image of a photo upload on Instagram with text typed that reads 'power outage ice cream'. Under account and upload options. At the bottom, Advanced settings is circled by hand in green.

Upload your photo as normal, then hit Advanced Settings near the bottom.

(Yes. I know. This placement is horrendous, give me a direct button, Instagram!)

The advanced settings menu featuring the Write Alt Text option

Scroll to the bottom of the advanced settings menu and hit Write Alt Text under Accessibility.

It’s not that bad, but it’s still clunky.

Image of my friend's dog Abbey who is medium-sized and brown and white, she is gazing toward the camera. Anyways, the whole point here is that I am telling the sighted peoplewhere the Edit alt text button is, it's circled in green.

However, if you’re EDITING a post rather than adding it fresh, this will pop up with a very easy-to-find “edit alt text” button.
Unlike Twitter where you can’t edit anything, you can also add alt text later on Facebook if you forget.

PS. Isn’t my friend Katie’s doggo Abbey cute?

How to use alt text on WordPress

For our last instalment, the platform I’m writing on right now, WordPress.

Image of the field in wordpress where alt text is entered.

Add your image to wordpress and go to Edit or to your Media tab. In the right-hand menu, enter the alt text in the provided field.

Yes. It was indeed that easy.

If like me, you often upload photos to an external source, you’ll have to go into your code editor to add the alt text.

Alt text away!

Okay go have fun while making things accessible and inclusive!

Need help? Tweet me @KerriYWG

(Also yes, somehow all the other images on my blog are broken. I don’t know what happened, but it’s a fascinating irony I guess for all the images to be NOT VISIBLE while writing an alt text how-to, to just underscore how potentially annoying it is to know you are missing part of what is out there!)

life / pandemic

day 365: march 14.

• by kerri

A year ago today I went to Costco. We had a birthday party for my grandma’s 85th birthday.

We had four travel-related cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba. Four.

We debated canceling the party, but didn’t. My mom, aunt and I went to Costco, picked up a cake, and saw a guy wearing a full face respirator mask.

I mean. We thought that was a bit overboard. We were just there to check out if they’d restocked all the toilet paper and other stuff that had sold out with people lining up like mad on the infamous Friday the Thirteenth. (They had. It was pretty uneventful.)

I had not really considered that’d be the last time I’d go to the store for a few weeks, never mind a whole year.

First my doctor’s assistant asked if I was self-isolating. I was. Then my doctor told me to self-isolate. She’d semi-revoke that 3 months later, probably realizing the length of the situation at hand was potentially interminable, but it’s been a year and I’m still avoiding the general public, mostly because I don’t have to go anywhere. Severe asthma may not be as big of a risk factor for severe COVID outcomes as once thought, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not one. If I don’t have to go anywhere, why risk it?

It’s been a year of learning, of scientific innovation, and of science finding better answers—sadly causing some to lose faith in science because the evidence changed, or finally feeling emboldened to show their true colours because of widespread “acceptance of pseudoscience and conspiracy theories taking even deeper hold as people lived their lives online. PSA: Science can change our opinions, that means it’s working. Masks help. Vaccines work and help more.

(And if my vaccine has a microchip in it, I just want it to have debit, thanks!)

It’s been a year of outdoor visits with only a few friends. A year of FaceTime, Facebook, and Zoom catch-ups. A year of reconnecting and probably less losing-touch than I’d have thought—aside from a couple people I’d begun to reconnect with, we’d sadly already lost touch. At least we are now rarely at a loss for conversation, with the weirdness of COVID-life always a fallback option. And of course, a year of Guide Dog Murray visits every month or two that really help speed a week along.

I need more hobbies I’ve discovered. I’ve tried jigsaw puzzles thanks to Lana and I don’t hate them like I thought I would. I still haven’t baked any sourdough yet, but I’ve made bread. And cake. And hand pies. And ice cream—a lot of ice cream.

Hand pies made today: National Pie Day 2021

At some point last spring I pulled my Nintendo 2DS out. I tried Animal Crossing: New Leaf, eventually getting a Switch Lite for the full pandemic experience of New Horizons. That held me for about 8 months but I’ve now moved onward to Pokémon, at least for awhile. The video games though have, perhaps unexpectedly, led to reconnection with several people, for which I am grateful.

I’m past ready for the unprecedented to be over. I’m sure we all are. To be a year in and still know going to a restaurant like we did just over a year ago is quite a long way off (at least it is for me) is rather bananas.

It’s been a weird—and in ways wild—year. And there’s at least hope in sight that things may return to some sort of normal during 2021, and more-so, for 2022 when maybe we can see people’s full faces again.

Kerri wearing pink jacket and blue Winnipeg themed face mask

And as always; thanks, science. Thanks doctors and nurses and researchers. Thanks all frontline and essential workers. It’s been a year, and I hope you all know how much we need and appreciate you.

Oh, and I wonder if that guy in Costco with the full respirator is still wearing it or if he’s downgraded to something else.

life / pandemic

day 67: six-feet-away birthday.

• by kerri

Here I am, twenty-nine.
I’ve not quite moved to “social distancing” proper yet—and I likely won’t for awhile. I’d say I’m still closer to something resembling self-isolating, but given I saw a friend today, outdoors, I’d not say I’m quite there still, either.

The pandemic birthday.
Michelle in Singapore and Elisheva in Israel sent birthday greetings before midnight. On Sunday, Guide Dog Murray came back to visit, so just after midnight I took him outside and we went to bed. I woke up to Murray sniffing my face, to more texts and Facebook posts and messages and tweets (and LinkedIn messages – I love y’all but that’s a weird function of LinkedIn?), and went back to sleep after taking the pup outside.

My aunt, Linda, gave me an ice cream maker last week – she could not wait any longer to give me my birthday present as she’s had it since like January. So I got up eventually, after cuddling with Murray on the bedroom floor (prepared nicely for him with foam puzzle mats, pillows and a blanket), and made ice cream.

Then I groomed Murray and brushed his teeth and made him all fancy puppy to see his Daddyface AKA Steve. 

The people who make it special
But first, lunch with my mom, grandma and other aunt, Karen.
We took Murray for his last visit of the visit (weird?), to have Subway and Jeanne Cake squares in my grandma’s back yard. I mean, Murray wasn’t having Subway or cake. The weather was perfect, though, and despite putting Murray on his long tie down he didn’t really go anywhere except briefly getting somewhat “stuck” (confused) under a picnic table, he didn’t really wander anywhere—as he tends to if he’s on a tie down.
We visited awhile, Murray got his goodbye pats, and then we went to take him home, with a detour to pick up Steve, wearing masks in the car, and going to the park for cupcakes (for Steve and I) and coffee (for my mom and Steve). Amusingly, I handed Murray’s leash back to Steve as we headed across the park, Steve using his cane, and as soon as we sat down he handed Murray’s leash back. Hello, isn’t this dog bored of Small Fry by now?

We ate cupcakes (second cake of the day), watched the geese (note: geese are terrifying), and saw the physical distancing enforcers wandering the park in their vests once. They didn’t talk to us as we sat on either end of a bench and on a lawn chair. Eventually, we put our masks back on and got in the car to take Steve and Murray home, thankful for the visit and having Murray over for 4.5 days to shift my focus from pandemic/work/Animal Crossing to a better set of Murray/work/Animal Crossing (and I think I played less Animal Crossing, honestly – in exchange for playing with actual doggo animal?)
It was one of the most “normal” things I’ve done in the last 3 months, a lovely visit with one of my favourite people and my favourite dog—and still, so, so abnormal. So abnormal I haven’t done those things for months. That I still haven’t gone into a store. That everyone is positioned so strategically, clearly differentiating couples and families and those who don’t live together.

I got home to find a text from Kayleen confirming I was home. At 6:55 – 15 minutes ahead of schedule – a bag from Stella’s Bakery appeared at my door, containing a piece of chocolate tort and a slice of chocolate cake. There was another, yes, another cake in my future so I held off, but damn, does getting cake from a friend delivered to your door make a person feel special! (I hope we are actually able to go places with a more reliable sense of safety for Kayleen’s birthday in August – even if we still have to stay 6 feet apart).

My aunt, Linda (of the ice cream maker gift!) came over for a visit, cake and home-made ice cream. (She also left with homemade strawberry sorbet – talk about a great gift, it’s been used twice already since I got it on Monday!). Cake #3 of the day was Jeanne cake but with strawberry curls. The cake was super cute, but I’ll admit the chocolate ones taste better. Also, a few hours after this I’ve eaten a few bites of cake #4, Stella’s torte, and cake #6, Stella’s chocolate cake, but I am still very full of other cake and also pizza despite it nearing midnight.

Oh yes, while my mother put candles in the cake, there was no lighting or blowing out of candles. Because honestly, why did it take a global pandemic for us all to figure out that eating a cake someone has breathed all over is kind of weird?  

While opening some gifts from my parents, Daryl called. This led to the delightful missed call of Daryl leaving his “lounge lizard” version of Happy Birthday on my voicemail, which I will tomorrow figure out how to rescue out of my phone somehow. Daryl’s mom and I share a birthday, and this year he got to sing for me on my birthday as he did for her for many years which is super special! Of course, this little surprise on my voicemail meant my mom also got to enjoy the recording, exclaiming “You have such NICE people!!”

Yes, I sure do, don’t I?

Looking… somewhere.
So. Twenty-nine.

I’m not at all sure what I’m looking for this year, or what it will bring. I do know twenty-eight led me to many amazing people and things, including Kayleen and working with Deb and Daryl. 

Given the state of the world right now, I’m certainly looking ahead but to an unclear spot on the horizon. I don’t know what this year will bring and I’m not going to try to guess. I hope for more stability. Twenty-eight was a pretty great year, and despite its uncertainties, I hope twenty-nine is similar, bringin friends new and old, new opportunities, and new puppies.
Okay, honestly, I’d be cool with more of the same puppies… or puppy.

12 of 12 / life / pandemic

12 of 12 – may ’20, lockdown edition (day 57)

• by kerri

The last time I did a 12 of 12 was in 2016. I may have been one of the last hangers-on of this thing I learned of through my friend Mike. 12 of 12 was a thing where we took, for months on end, 12 pictures on the 12th day of the month and blogged them. (This is my 26th 12 of 12 on this site, and I did others on old sites. I kind of can’t believe it.)

So at 12:23 AM I texted Mike my first picture and said “12 of 12 lockdown edition, you in??”

I got a text back at 12:24 am: “Let’s do it.”

12:23 AM

Good night. Had to show off my awesome dinosaur bedding, purple blanket from Steve, handmade octopus from Keri-Lynn (who swears she will never make another so I feel special), and guitar my cousin Dean made me long ago. Oh and the decorative painters tape that’s been on my walls for years.

9:38 AM

Morale boost flying across the country. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds took to the Manitoba skies this morning. Great view from our deck on Manitoba’s 150th birthday.

10:47 AM

Little Animal Crossing before I get to work. Got bored of the Trudeau press conference today which means the options are either work or video games.

12:30 PM

Editing my fourth-ever podcast for work. Still needing to google things to remember how GarageBand works.
Also I need to clean my MacBook screen.

1:08 PM

I was going to listen to a live recording of the Rational Security podcast because I’m a giant nerd, except it’s not til tomorrow and I have another Zoom scheduled then. Whoops.

2:01 PM
 
The video version of the podcast above. Little did I know at the time I’d have to do the tags all over again on both YouTube and Facebook because I didn’t update the title in the video intro and had to fix it, export it, and re-upload it.

6:27 PM
Happy birthday, Manitoba. My province is 150 today.

7:39 PM

We got a grocery pickup slot today. Giant strawberries that are delicious!
(If you care about our level of pandemic, yes, we are disinfecting most packaging, such as the strawberry clamshell I placed my strawberry atop.)

8:24 PM

Giant strawberries. Tiny watermelon. 

10:29 PM

Actual footage of my expression when I realized I bought this tropical shirt on the island twice.

11:59 PM

I love having cute CNIB Guide Dogs on my kitchen calendar! Hiya, Potter!

—–

Thanks for joining in on a slice of my lockdown life. Check out what Mike was up to (his is a lot more interesting, and pretty, than mine!).
Anybody up for a 12 of 12 resurrection? If so, I hope June is a bit more interesting! 😉