Month: June 2024

Knots Repertoire

Found a few more knots to add to the repertoire. Ive been sitting here in hospital catching up on my three favorite channels, Ochoco Bushcraft, OutPour Outdoors and The Bear Essentials, discovering SHORTS!. I mainly used Double Fishermans and Double Sheet Bend for joining two pieces of cordage together however DJ from Bear Essentials has introduced me to the Zepplin Bend due to the non binding qualities.

Tensionless Hitch for when you cant remember a Siberian hitch for setting up ridgelines. A variation on the round turn and two half hitches with 5 round turns.

Truckers Hitch improvement using an Alpine Butterfly.

Taut line hitch variation from knot master

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7EiT1mDa3w&list=LL&index=15

Blog Update 14 (follow on from 13)

Well Almost 6 weeks in hospital. I get kicked out for the bed every few weeks and I’m back in de-saturating to 88% oxygen within two days. CT clear, all the other tests clear. luminex for rejection clear, clots, inflammation levels 2.6, etc. The latest theory! After 16 days with COVID last year, HMPV Virus this year and now Pseudomonas and pneumonia now the smaller parts of the lung (alveoli) have developed scar tissue. The doctors are now talking about permanent assisted oxygen when under physical stress. Great, eight weeks ago I was outlasting 25 year olds at the gym. Im 54.

Having already been on permanent oxygen for 12 years of my life. 2 before the first transplant and 10 after phoning the doctors and saying something was wrong and being told it was all in my head and the next week trying to be stabilized for bronchitis obliterans at 25% lung capacity. I’m not exactly in a good head space when dealing with doctors who say they don’t know what to do.. Dumbarses! I can go on nebulizer antibiotics that are generally used for treating CF patients to halt the Pseudomonas however they’re not subsidized by the government other than for CF therefore cost a small fortune and I have so far been turned down twice by the hospitals infectious disease section. Fukers.

So I’m up at 4am not being able to sleep, doing laps of the ward to avoid people on one liter of 02 trying to build up my strength and lung capacity until the 02 drops to 88%. My knee hurts so much I’m on the verge of taking enough endone to drop a small horse. Then bike in the afternoon doing the same thing. The only thing that kept me alive the first ten years post transplant was my GP and doing the exact opposite to what the specialist said. Ive been told I’m terminal eight times now. I like being a pain in the arse and proving the doctors wrong.

So life is a little up in the air at the moment. I don’t know whether to accept, fight or adapt. May have to sell the van or at-least find some where to plug into power over winter until I get get a room or a house and I hate living in houses after being stuck on a 9 meter 02 hose for 12 years. I need to be outside. If worse comes to worse I may be selling a vast collection of knives in the next few months along with some very specialized camping / bushcraft equipment that I had to import myself. Will have to see. Things like this do rearrange your head to what is important.

I only had the second transplant and went through a living hell of multiple operations, learning how to walk again and living in a shithole area surrounded domestic violence and crackheads to be able to look after my animals and they’ve all gone now. I’m fighting just out of habit after 20 years of this BS…….

EDIT 27th

Well I’m glad a few mates reminded me how much of a stubborn SOB I can be. I do like proving doctors wrong. Been pushing myself the last few days on the bike and laps of the ward and off the 02 and stabilized at 94% at rest and 90% under exercise. Still a lot of work to do but not on a hose. However another bad infection and at the moment I’m border line.

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