I have not posted in a while. I needed some time off. Amie, my sweet friend and hearing ear dog passed away on June 13. She was such a big part of our family; her passing hit us all pretty hard. I wrote many tributes to her already in my blog, you can read them here and here. Amie, we miss you terribly.
Two happier items to talk about. My band played another event on Saturday July 21st. We raised over $800 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. This time I really got the sound right. I had all the settings tweaked really well so I could hear exactly what I needed. Moreover, what pleased me most was my ability to keep playing the correct parts when our singer deviated from the song. I was able to hear that we were not at the part of the song I expected and still played correctly. In addition, my guitarist was able to glance over at me and mouth instructions. It was such a massive confidence booster to know that we can screw up but still recover without anyone in the audience even knowing it. For more information on how I play live music with my hearing loss click here. Also, this link here talks about how I keep the beat.
Also, I continue to improve my health. I started in March at about 260 lbs and I am now 221 lbs. I continue to run, work out, and avoid eating most things that are white (Salt, sugar, starch-filled things, white bread, white pastas, creamy things etc). I blogged about the weight loss here.
I will be back to regular blogging again soon. Meanwhile, here is a picture of me on the far left in the black t-shirt with some friends at my Saturday event. Next picture is with my wife enjoying the vineyards of Niagara region.
Cheers!
Hanging out with friends at the MS Fundraiser I did with my band Below the Belt. Thats me on the left in the black v-neck.
Enjoying time at a vineyard in Niagara Region with my lovely wife.
Deafened But Not Silent. 
So sorry to hear about Amie’s passing. How old was she when she died? I remember meeting her for my first time in 2004.
Interesting “avoid the white food” concept. Hopefully that doesn’t apply to delicious things like mushrooms, onions, etc.
By the way, have you ever heard of Precision Nutriton and/or its Lean Eating program?
Hope you’re still enjoying weightliting. Since I started doing it in 2010, I’ve really enjoyed it and now consider it as an important way to keep sanity in my life.
Hi Jonathan. Thanks for the comments.
Amie was just 1 month shy of her 15th birthday when she passed away. She had a good life…
My rule is “If it is white, worry”. Its just my way of avoiding bad things in my diet as most white things are in fact kinda bad for you. True, the rule is not perfect as onions are great. Personally, I really hate mushrooms and other fungi so no loss there.
I am doing more cardio than weight training. I really should add more weight training. That’s my goal for the next couple of months…to add more upper body muscle mass.
Glad to hear you are doing well Jonathan. I recall seeing you in the spring in Belleville…you are looking ripped!
15? Wow, she definitely lived a good long life. Well done, Peter.
Thanks for the “IIIWW” story. I’m trying out this IIFYM, if it fits your macros, idea these days.
Weight training would be great for adding upper body muscle mass, increasing your metabolism rate in general and throughout the day, and increasing your strength, endurance, power, etc in whatever cardio you do.
As for cardio, ever heard of HIIT (high intensity interval training) or intervals? They give you the best bang of your buck. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-hiit
Whatever you do for your exercises, we can’t outdo a healthy way of eating. It’s sometimes hard for me to believe that 80% of our health comes from our eating, while genetics and exercises make up the other 20%.
Thank you for your compliment. You saw me in the midst of my preparation for a competition that I did in mid-May.
Ok I’ll bite. What does IIFYM mean?
I actually do try to do HIIT. I start with 5 minutes easy running to get warmed up, then I keep bringing with heart rate up to about 90% for a minute and a half, then back down to 75%. Keep doing that for the duration of the run. I do 5K runs on weekdays and a 10K run on the weekend.
Good stuff.
IIFYM = If it fits your macros.
I like this write-up on IIFYM because Mike, the writer, is forthcoming with the pros and cons of this way of eating. I’m not yet a fan of it, but I’m learning how to use it as a tool. My coach introduced me to it by the way.
Sorry to hear about Amie.
So great however to hear about your musical talents. My grandfather was profoundly hearing impaired and still led and played in the marching band in his little town in Italy. I never saw him in action, but my dad says he was pretty good, always able to keep time with the music. It can be done and done well.
And glad to hear about your avoidance of all things white when eating. I’ve been trying a similar thing, I’m following Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live diet, he also says nothing white, but he’s referring to refined carbohydrates like flour, cereal and pasta, not onions, and sorry to say, he’s a big fan of mushrooms, and any other veggies you can get in your diet. It gives me a lot more energy eating this way, which comes in handy when you’re hearing impaired and trying to live in the hearing world.
I have a question that sort of relates to hearing dogs. I’m allergic to dogs so unfortunately that’s not an option for me. I wonder what other hearing impaired people do if they live alone like I do and can’t hear the fire alarm if they have their hearing aids off at night? I live in an apartment. My audiologist has some devices in her office that I could buy, but wondering what you recommend, or anyone else who’s reading?
Hi Rosetta,
Thanks for the comments about your grandfather. Thats cool.
What about a standard poodle as a hearing ear dog? They don’t shed so perhaps that will work.
I used to have a smoke detector that was attached to a pillow vibrator. But that was years ago and cant remember that brand. I would do a google search on this and see whats out there. But basically the sounds I think you need devices for are the smoke detector, the alarm clock for waking up, and perhaps something for the door knock.
Thanks Peter, I saw something at my hearing aid supplier’s that might do the trick. It’s amazing what’s available these days. Thanks again, I’m really enjoying your blog.
Excellent! What is the device that you saw?
I don’t have the name yet, I saw it in passing one day when I was in the office, so now I’ve asked them to get back to me with some more info. I’m also talking to a fire and safety organization, and my building manager is talking to the fire dept. This has to be an issue I’m thinking, especially with an aging population living in apartments. I’ll let you know what I find out.
Thanks Rosetta!
Hello Peter
We are really sorry for your loss and our thought are all with you, knowing how important she was in your life.
All the best from the 4 of us.
Cécile, Arsenio, Mattis & Simon
Tanks Cecile and Arsenio. Congratulations again on the new addition to your family!
Hey Peter, I think I’ve found some devices that will help me hear the fire alarm or smoke detector at night. I’m buying a Sonic Alert alarm clock that’s equipped with a remote receiver on the back. Then I’m also getting a Sonic Alert sound signaler that you plug into an outlet near the fire alarm and smoke alarm and it’s able to transmit the sound to the alarm clock, which then wakes me up with a bed shaker. It might take a bit of calibrating once I get everything up and running, but it’s a solution and together will probably cost about $200. I found them at the online store for the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
http://www.widhh.com/
I live in Vancouver in Canada so I’m going to pick them up in person, but I am told they ship as well.
The Fire Department in the county where I live provides free smoke alarms for Deaf/HOH people. Maybe yours does, too.
Thanks Cynthia, that’s a good thing to know. I have a smoke alarm and a fire alarm, it’s the alerts I was having trouble with as I don’t hear them when I don’t have my hearing aids on. Since I last commented, I found another even better solution, a fire safety company is coming to install a strobe light instead, no fussing with sound alerts this way.
Strobes are fine when you are awake, but not when you are sleeping. You need something tactile to wake you. See this link: http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/95/32/1/pdf/bowman.pdf.
Thanks, this is getting way more complicated than I thought. I’m back to the tactile devices now, fortunately, I’ve found some local organizations that can help. Thanks for the tips, it has been helpful!