Vote on Capture Minnesota

I could use your votes  at Capture Minnesota. Its a websit run by PBS out of the Twin Cities and features Photography of Minnesota. You will have to regester (it's FREE!) and there are tons of great images. Thank you in advance.

Peter

Capture Minnesota

Would you like to see some great Minnesota Photography? Check out my images and the many other talanted photographers Minnesota has. Click on an image and if you like it click I Dig It.

Where have I been?

It has been too long since I have posted, however I do have an explanation. The events of early 2011 were repeated starting in August 2011. Another trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester this time lasting nearly 3 1/2 weeks they did figure things out and today (March 4th, 2012) I am well on the mend. I just saw a Mayo Dr. (Scottsdale) and she told me that my numbers were headed in the right direction, She also stated that I looked healthy for once.

2012 promises to be a much better year for my health and photography. And yes that is me behind the camera.

Bad Apple

We  (my wife & and I) recently saw a Rhumatologist that I had never seen before, Supposedly a good Dr. as he was guiding a group of fellows at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. He enters the room with little to no knowledge of my medical history, one of the first thing he says is you have had RA for some time tell me about your disease. So we start to tell him about this past winter and how sick I was and that we suspect a link to Humira. His response was basically to suggest I start taking Humira again,  HELLO was he even listening to what we had just said. This Dr was so preoccupied with other things that he did not seem to care about my health. We have bee going to the Mayo Clinic for approximately 13 years and I will say this guys attitude was the Anti-Mayo attitude and the worst Dr. I have ever encountered at the Clinic. I usually do not complain about Dr.’s but I feel like this guy could care less about my life.

Biologics

“Serious infections have happened in patients taking HUMIRA.These infections include tuberculosis (TB) and infections caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that have spread throughout the body. Some patients have died from these infections.” This is from http://www.humira.com/

For about five and a half years I took Humira every two weeks until January 5th 2011. I stopped taking it as I thought I was coming down with a cold. By february 12th I was admitted to the Hospital with pneumonia, and other infections. After seven days in the hospital they discharged me with no answers but a list of tests that they wanted to do on an out patient basis. After running a multitude of testes, the local Dr.’s said that they could not figure out what was wrong with me and suggested that I visit the Mayo Clinic, We had already made an appointment in Scottsdale Az.

While we suspect that this may have in part been brought on by the use of Humira, we can not prove so. I have stopped using this drug as of January 5th. The side affects have scared me away from possible future use of this or any similar drug. At this point with my RA the risk of side affects out weights the potential benefit.

Well I am finally getting back to near normal. The first couple of months of 2011 were spent being very sick and in multiple Doctors offices trying to figure out what was wrong. Eventually I had to visit the Mayo Clinic to find out what was wrong with me, although we may never know what caused it. Long story short my recovery period is a long road but I am feeling better each day.

The Dr.’s. think that I had several things happen at the same time, and my RA most likely had a role in it, possible other factors include a viral infection, pneumonia, bacterial infection, a bladder infection and possible more.

I’m in the process of giving my website an overhaul, I hope to have it finished by the end of the month, I will let everyone know when it is ready.

Recently we were in Lee Vining California, which is on Mono Lake just east of Yosemite National Park and came across this interesting product. ORGANIC WOOD! I did not know there was such a thing as non-organic wood. Who ever thought this one up must be laughing at the gullible consumers thinking they are buying something special.....Come on people think about it.

Thanks to my brother Cole Hawkins for getting the photo. We saw it as we were leaving town.