Craft Beer Coach is Back

If you follow me at all, you have probably noticed my nearly null presence on Twitter for the past week. The last you heard from me I was preparing to write a wonderful post on the sublime experience at The Festival US.

Well, there was just one pesky, relatively minor knee surgery to get through. That was a week ago.

There were complications of the "blood clotting, and then traveling to the lungs" kind. Two days of normal post surgery pain followed by a weekend in the hospital.

If you must know, the knee is coming along just fine. It's an unexplained calf pain that had me near tears at many points and got me to the ER a few days ago....only after my wife pushed me to contact my Ortho doc. But the calf pain seems to have saved my life. Although there is some question about whether the calf pain is the result of the clots, it led to the discovery of clots in my calf. And those led to the discovery of small clots in my lungs. Yep. A few pulmonary embolisms. They are small and pose little threat now that I am well into a blood thinning regimen. But a minor knee surgery with unexplained calf pain basically saved my life.

There is some speculation that maybe I was taking the blogging lifestyle a bit "too seriously" and that could've had the clots forming before the surgery due to long hours sitting and nothing replacing the exercise I used to get when I was commuting to work. Just speculation but feasible given I don't leave the house before settling down for a day of craft beer blogging.

For the most part I am back. Going to make some changes to the daily schedule. Take a walk before sitting down to work. Get a new office chair. Sit in it for an hour tops at a time. Use the adjustable work station I had built to balance sitting vs standing (I built it but have not used it...and my wife has been on my case about that for good reason).

Psst...Gentleman. If you have a dedicated lady in your life nagging you about your health, listen to her.

Late yesterday are the first days I really feel less limited in mobility. I am down to using 1 crutch for the calf pain. Next is 6-9 months of a blood thinning regimen to prevent further clotting and help the body get rid of the present ones. This includes weekly blood monitoring for now.

Now the craft beer tie in- I will be able to drink in strict moderation in about 2 weeks. Alcohol does have an effect on the blood levels being checked but dosing can be adjusted accordingly.

So I kindly ask you to refrain from tweeting any tasting notes or pictures of frothy-headed golden to amber, or red to jet black fermented beverages for the next two weeks. Whataya say?

Just kidding. Enjoy your imbibing responsibly and I look forward to joining you soon.

My first test? I am off to finally creating a post about all of the wonderful beverages I sampled at The Festival US. Right after a walk.