[youtube //www.youtube.com/watch?v=91BbUoMpMcc&hl=en&fs=1]
A day in the life……..
So, I haven’t put up a blog post in a while, and today is a boring day, so I figure writing is a good thing to kill some time. Trust me, I have a lot of time on my hands.
First, let me get some news updates out of the way!
My legs have been approved by insurance. The problem was apparently, any expensive leg is assumed to be an electronic leg with a built in knee. I, of course still have my knees, and a bit of leg left below each.
The reason I need a rather complex and extensive setup is because of the length of my residual limbs. After I got out of the coma my Behcet’s disease flared horribly on my legs. It left large ulcerated areas on my calves. Although my legs were alive all the way down to my ankles, the ulcers required shorter RLs. They didn’t have enough good skin left to sew up, so they had to go higher with the amputations.
Bummer, right?
So, any who, my legs are expensive. My prosthetics people re submitted to my insurance, noted every single nut and bolt, grommets and pins, socket and feet. I got a letter from insurance stating that they indeed think I need this kind of prosthetic. I kid you not, the paragraph describing the legs was five lines long!
So, anyway, my legs won’t be repo’ed. Yea me….. ( honestly, I think my prosthetics people would fight forever for me on this, they are really great people!)
Now, on to a day in the life……
My morning usually begins with a cup of coffee, mostly brought in by my mother, occasionally brought in by my father. Depending on how I slept the night before, I might be up with the sun, or up a little later. I don’t have a clock in my room, there are not enough plug ins for one. Mom got me a nice clock the other day that runs on batteries, but the stupid thing doesn’t keep time!
Anyway, as I have to scrounge for my phone to see the time, I often just instead wait until I hear movement in the house. Then the morning ritual of hollering for mom and asking for coffee. I once hollered for my folks only to realize it was not yet daylight! Glad they didn’t wake up!
So, I get coffee, and then usually toast with pb&j on it. Why not get up and get it yourself, you might ask? Well, mornings are the best time for me to enjoy no sensation in my legs. The moment I climb out of bed and start moving my legs get all buzzy and tingly. Imagine being able to feel the blood flow in your veins, but the blood is carrying and pulling along tiny marbles, which are rolling and bouncing around!
Very frustrating. After coffee and toast, I usually hang out in my bed, checking emails, cruising facebook, or reading for a bit. I usually don’t put my legs on first thing, and my first outing out of bed is in my chair. When you have to go to the bathroom, the chair is much faster than a walker!
After that first outing I might come back and put on my legs, and I might also crawl back into bed. What I have done today, for instance. When the folks are home, I have more of a reason to be out in the house. Today my folks are working, and the house is empty, so the most comfortable place to be is sitting up in bed.
When I get hungry, I fix my own lunch. Usually microwaveable food, as I can’t reach the stove to cook. I have fixed only one meal since I got sick, and that was a pot of chili. My son had to bring everything to the table and put the pot on a chair so I could reach it! My mother had to cook the beef and other things, so I didn’t make everything on my own.
After lunch I might go to the living room and watch TV for a while. By this time I usually have my legs on. I have probably already had a short walk with the walker. I normally can’t sit for more than an hour or two without my knees starting to ache. I am still getting used to having the prosthetics on.
When putting on my legs, there are a lot of things involved. I have urethane liners that are nearly half an inch thick in some places. They look like this:
I have to turn them inside out, then roll them up my leg. Not a problem for some, but with not much in the finger department on my left hand, this is a chore! After I get the liners on, I have to add some spacer socks over the liners, then put on my legs. The whole process now only takes me about ten minutes, and would take less if I asked for help, which I don’t. I like to be self sufficient in some things. 🙂
After I watch some TV, I might go back to my room and hang out. When I get bored I write, such as today. I have been outlining a short story I am going to work on with a friend of mine, and that project will keep me occupied for a bit. (hint, hint, Jenny Jenny!)
I do most of my writing with my iPad. Most all of my blogs are written with a wordpress app, and I have a really good word processor app that I use for other things. The keyboard on my net book computer is uncomfortable to work with now, and I can’t seem to tap the keys properly with my left pinkie. The virtual keyboard on the iPad does very well for me, though.
I spend a lot of time surfing the web on my iPad. This thing is so convenient for lots of stuff, I rarely use my computer anymore. I do a lot of wikipedia reading, as I have always had a love for expanding knowledge. Especially my own! I have no great love for school, bit I love to read!
I am currently researching motorcycles. I love to ride, but am afraid I won’t be able to ride the one I have now. I looked into the spyder reverse trike, but I have found something better. I have found a bobber style bike that is the size of a HD Sportster. It has a smaller displacement motor, so it has a very low center of gravity and is very light. It has a dry weight of less than three hundred pounds, so I think I will be able to handle it without wrecking or laying it over!
Speaking of wrecking, that put me on a search for something else. See, I had a very scary thought. What if I get into a car wreck? In my time in fire/rescue service, I have seen plenty of accidents involving dash board movement. You would be surprised how many times someone has been able to get their legs out from under a dash by wiggling their feet around and squirming out.
I won’t be able to wiggle my feet if I get into a wreck! What if I get into an accident and my prosthetic legs get trapped, in turn trapping me? I went looking for a solution. There are plenty of personal rescue tools out there. I wanted something that would be more tailored to my needs. This is what I found:
If I have on pants, I won’t be able to take off my prosthetics! I have to roll down the rubber and spandex to release the vacuum pressure, and that is impossible with long pants on. This tool would go straight through my pants with a the zipper hook, and also through the rubber vacuum liner. It could also cut through a seat belt.
I could free myself if need be with this if I needed to. Also, it is just a really cool knife. I have always been a pocket knife carrier, they are great tools to have. I now don’t have as much pocket real estate as I once had. I won’t have much use for my left hand pockets, as I can’t grip much with my left hand.
The big finger hole in the middle of this tool is a blessing as well. It assures me a firm grip with my non dominate hand. It comes with a locking belt sheath that rides parallel with the belt. No pocket required. Also, did I mention it was cool? 😉
There is not a fire/rescue operator out there that doesn’t have a million tools, flashlights and knives. We see cool stuff like that and convince ourselves we need that! Whatever “that” may be at the time. 🙄 FedEx says it is out on a truck for delivery today! 
Wow, that was the mother load of all getting of track, wasn’t it? Back to my average day…
By the time my folks get home, I am ready for dinner. I usually do a little more walking after dinner and then hang out with the parental units. We have a center island with bar stool high chairs, and I can sit on those now with my legs on.
Afterwards it might be TV watching or off to my room, as I have an xbox 360 and television there, as well. Sometimes I play games, but I mostly use it to watch movies or listen to music. The last.fm blues and jazz channel is one of my faves. My xbox ID is Smoakeater, add me if you want. I play a mean game of modern warfare, even with only one good hand!
When I finally bed down for the night the prosthetics come off. They are uncomfortable to lay out in. I generally read until I fall asleep, that is if my legs let me. I have had plenty of nights where they kept me up all night long. It is like trying to go to sleep with someone constantly tapping you on the shoulder. Doesn’t hurt, just irritates the hell out of ya!
My legs had settled down for a long time, but lately they are bothering me. My prosthetic guru tells me my nerves are regenerating, and looking for places to connect, and the feeling will fade over time. I hope so!
So, if I get to sleep, I start the process all over again in the morning…..
And that is a day in the life…….
My life 😉
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends….
……….We’re so glad you could attend..come inside….. Come inside….
Karnevil 9. Sometimes it feels apropos to me, and is a really good song by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
Why apropos, you may ask? Because when I blog, I blog about the good things in my head, mostly. I don’t much give you a glimpse into the bad things knocking around in the ol’ noggin. That is counter productive to my recovery, and no fun reading for you.
But, lately, I have had thoughts I can not ignore. Now, before I go any further, I want you to know this post is not a finger pointing session, or a gripe session. This is simply me expressing some of my thoughts.
I recently had a conversation with an old friend. When I was in the hospital he came to visit me. I remember the visit, and some of the conversation. I was still riding the effects of coma drugs like a bucking bronco, so I was loopy. I said some weird things, I know. I was in real bad physical shape, as well.
My old friend told me in our conversation he never came back to visit again because he couldn’t stand to see me like I was. I totally understand. But, he did come to visit once, and I am so glad for that.
That recent conversation got me thinking a bit deeper. You know, none of us like going to funerals, for a lot of reasons. We don’t like to see the pain of our friends or loved ones who survive the loss. We don’t want to say that final farewell. For me, and I am sure a lot of you if you cared to admit it, it is also the thought some day that might be me, or one of my loved ones that wake is being thrown for.
I wonder if that is the same premise behind the reason I don’t get many visitors. Is the thought of seeing me, legs gone and hand a mess, too much of a reminder of man’s frailty and mortality?
I have long since discovered that the looks I can get out in public are not just pity. When I catch someone staring at me and see guilt on their face, I understand. We all feel a certain amount of guilt when we think “I am so glad that ain’t me sitting in that wheelchair.” I personally have felt that guilt. While I was in the hospital in Madisonville, I was told of a poor young woman who had her legs and BOTH hands amputated. I felt so guilty thinking I was glad I still had what I had.
So, I know what it is like to have that “glad it ain’t me” feeling, as well.
Still, I know what I am now is hard to think about for some. I myself sometimes, in darker moments in my head, think of myself as a carnival side show attraction. “Come one, come all! Come see the bearded lady! Come see the two headed cow! Come see the legless man!”
It isn’t pretty, but not all my thoughts are. Do I remind people of their own mortality? Do I make them feel guilty for being glad it isn’t them in my chair? I wonder. I really do.
This whole situation has changed my view on life, and has had lots of new thoughts floating in the morass of my mind.
Case in point: romantic relationships. It is going to be harder for me to find one, with the way I am now. Wait! I know what you are going to say. There is some one out there for me, right? Consider this and flip it over in your own mind to ponder. If you had the option of two different people to date, both having similar qualities, but one happened to have no legs and only one good hand……. Don’t lie to yourself, or me. You know that would make a difference.
Imagine spending the rest of your life with someone with my disabilities. On bad days you would have to prepare and bring meals in bed. Empty bedside urinals. Possibly help with a bed pan. As time progressed and that person aged, using prosthetic legs would become harder, and a wheelchair would be the only option. Imagine being in your later years and helping that person to just go to the bathroom. Lugging that chair around and dragging it in and out of the car for out of the house trips. Pushing that chair around.
Be honest. Don’t lie to yourself. This is what might eventually happen to some woman that got into a relationship with me. That is commitment that most people don’t have anymore. I have seen marriages fall apart over snoring. Really……
I am getting a little off point, here, aren’t I?
I have to tell you, since I have been home I have been amazed at the people who have came to visit me. Of course, my good friends from Evansville come to see me often on their way to the lakes. But the others….
The others that have come to visit, they were the ones that never once made a promise to come visit. They just stopped by. And I was so glad for the company, let me tell you. But I was mostly glad to know that things hadn’t changed. They thought they could just stop on by without a call ahead, because I was the same person I have always been.
Yea, I am different in a physical sense, but I am still the same person, mostly, inside my head. Now, here is the part where I really want to emphasize again that this is not meant as a guilt trip post. Because it is not. I promised myself I would be honest with myself, and you, my readers when I started this blog. That is all this next part is.
So, don’t be guilty as you read ahead, I am not pointing fingers.
Everybody is great over on my facebook page. I get well wishes and comments all the time. I get PMs and emails as well. All upbeat, all happy. These things are so easy. I don’t see any faces when I read emails. I don’t see any pity in the PMs. It is all so personal and impersonal all at the same time.
I have had so many of my friends tell me they are going to stop by to say hello, but never have. I am ok with that. I understand. There is work, there are family obligations. Weekends are meant for catching up on chores not done during the week, and spending time with your family.
I understand. The thought of seeing me is great, and telling me is even better. I understand as well that the thought of seeing me in a chair, or with prosthetic legs may just be more than you can handle. What would you say? What if I caught you staring at my hand? Would I be offended? Would seeing me remind you of your own mortality? Would you feel guilty for being whole while I sat there now incomplete?
The answer to most of those questions would be yes, save one. No, I would not be offended. You would be surprised at what it takes to offend me anymore. I have learned to be very humble since this has happened to me.
But anyway, yes. I understand. I know deep down inside some might see me as that carnival attraction. In the carnival, you don’t have to feel guilt. You can let those feelings of amazement, and possibly horror, cross your face. In the carnival all bets are off. Anything goes and you can stare away at the things you wouldn’t in any other situation.
You don’t have to feel guilty about being normal and whole at the carnival.
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, were so glad you could attend….
Come inside, come inside…..
And I go walking………
…………After midnight…….
Well, not that late, but the song was in my head, indulge me!
So, I am getting up from all kinds of places with the help of a walker. Tall chairs in the kitchen, my wheel chair, the soft low leather chair in the living room. Let me tell you, it feels good!
It is also hard work. I have to get my feet under me, get my balance with my hands on the walker, then swing forward and push myself up using my thigh muscles. That is a hard task when you only have six inches or so of leg below the knee. You can use your calf muscles and feet to help those thighs get you on your feet, I don’t have that luxury.
The muscle I have left below the knee is nothing more than cushion for what is left of my shin bones. Oh, and let me tell you, that is the most freaky x ray I have ever seen. The ends of my bones down there not connected to anything, just cut at an angle and hanging there. Gives we the willies!
Any who….
So, walking. First, it doesn’t hurt my stumps. I have talked to death my vacuum system, so I won’t say too much about it here, but it sure does hold my legs tight, and keeps the end of my legs from touching anything! So, no pain. The actual standing part and walking reminds me of walking on stilts. I can remember my old man making a set for me out of scrap wood when I was a kid. Trying to walk on my legs is a lot like walking on those two by four stilts.
I am so tall with them on, and that is weird. When you spend your life at a certain height, you get used to that perspective. Now, suddenly, I am at least four inches taller, and everything looks different. Really, I don’t know how women can stand wearing high heels. Taller is nice, but it is going to take some getting used to!
I did a video of me walking and you can view it from my video/picture page. I would like to say here that I mis spoke in that video. My prosthetics guy, Matt, told me I didn’t have to show off, meaning, I didn’t have to walk, just get used to wearing them. In that video, I said screw them, I am gonna walk. That came out wrong. I meant screw that, as in not walking when I have legs to play with. I have the utmost respect for all my team of doctors, nurses, PTA’s, OTA’s and prosthetics people. They got me where I am now. So, the words came out wrong.
I was standing on my legs, I was excited and talking faster than my brain can process…lol
So, the walking with the walker. It gets easier the more I do it. I am not really afraid of falling, although I know I will at some point. I will just get back up. I have to watch what I am doing when I am walking in the walker. I don’t want to teach myself any bad gait habits. Gait is a fancy word for stride. If I get to rehab and have to un learn bad habits, I would be very pissed at myself.
I know at least one of the PTA’s and OTA’s I worked with reads my blog. I wouldn’t mind some input on this. Am I going to teach myself bad gait habits this way? I seem to remember somebody telling me that the process was parallel bar training, then walking with a walker later. I skipped a step, is this a bad thing, I wonder?
Well, for the moment, I am going to continue, because I am enjoying myself!
Just for a moment, I am going to spout some TMI. Going to the bathroom. Even when I am in my chair I wear my legs. So, if I go to the bathroom and roll in there with the chair, I can use my legs to help me get onto the toilet stool. Actually, transferring out of my chair to anywhere else is much easier with the legs on. I can get in and out of a car now without the use of a slide board!
Got off track, didn’t I? So, in the bathroom, on the toilet, with legs on. I know going number two with no legs is a chore. You don’t have feet on the floor to keep your balance with, so you always have to hold on to something. Bummer, don’t you think? With the legs on, I can plant my elbows on my knees and relax! That is such a nice thing, knowing I am not going to fall forward off the toilet stool if I relax for a minute!
Also, with the walker, in the bathroom standing up. You guessed it. I won’t elaborate, but it was great, let me tell you. But, remember what I said about being taller and throwing off perspective? Well, it throws off aim, as well! Whoops!
You know, it takes me about fifteen minutes to just get my legs on. I have these thick urethane liners I have turn inside out, then roll them up onto my legs. That takes forever! Remember, I have only one good hand. After I get both liners on I then have to but on “socks” over the liners. These creates an air gap when my legs go into the leg sockets. The socks keep the socket snug, and when under vacuum pressure, help keep my stumps in suspension and not knocking around like a clapper in a bell.
So, fifteen minutes just to get going with my legs on, but it is time well spent. Everyone was worried I would not be able to do it myself because of my bum left hand, but I can. I do. I will.
And I can and I will…..
Keep-a walking, after midnight, searching for you…….
Sing it, Patsy…….
😉
Quickie post
Ok, new video up on my video and picture page. Me up and walking with a walker, and of course Bev, shaking my money maker!
I promise I will have some nice long reading material in the form of a blog tomorrow, I have just been busy!
Well, reading, actually. Found another Black Company book to get absorbed in…lol
New good blog tomorrow, I promise!
Weird and wonderful…
As of the end of the day, today, I have had my new legs a little over two full days. Wow. You know, it is strange, I had legs for thirty seven years, but after only three months without, it is weird having feet down at the ends of my legs.
First and foremost, my brain is tripping out. It has spent three months trying to send nerve signals to feet that were not there. That is what causes phantom sensations. Well, my brain had finally calmed down, but when my eyes told my brain there were shoes down there, the brain said “I knew they had to be there!”
Now my brain is trying to talk to carbon fiber feet. If my brain is an idiot, does that make me one, as well? Rhetorical question, BTW. 😉
So, dealing with itches I can’t scratch again. No biggie. All in all, so far I am well pleased. The sockets fit well, the left being a bit big, but spacer socks make it ok. I have these cool liners that go on my legs, they are like socks, but made of urethane. When they go on, they stick like glue. They protect my skin from rubbing and irritation.
The simple act of walking pumps air out of the system when the legs are fully on, increasing circulation, and holding the leg in place. The circulation makes my legs feel almost normal, and keeps the constant buzzing feeling I have to a minimum. Of course, walking is still a challenge.
Today I walked about six feet with the help of a walker. The important thing is, I got up without any help from anyone. I am getting stronger! I hope to be well ahead of the game before a bed opens up at my rehab place in Louisville.
Getting around is a challenge in my chair, now. I had to put one of the foot rests back on my chair, and that extra length out front makes it a bit hard to navigate! Getting from my chair to other places, though, is a lot easier. I can lift myself much higher because I can plant my feet and use my legs.
Those suckers feel like they weigh a ton sometimes! They are only about ten pounds each, but when you haven’t had calves and feet for a while, the thigh muscles protest! Oh well, they can picket and carry signs all they want, I think the legs are gonna stay!
Sorry, I know this a bit of a shorter blog than normal, but I am wore out!
G’nite, y’all!
Fairly normal post ;)
Ok, so, we all know it has been a big day for me. I am tired and now stretched out in bed and relaxing. The folks have gone to take the kiddo home and I have some Norah Jones cooing softly from the iPad.
Yeah, I like Norah, get over it!
Any who, so, quiet house, relaxing tunes…. Time for a book!
I thought I might tell you about some of my favorite reads and authors, if you are inclined to know. If not, sorry Charlie!
My folks put books in my hand from a very early age. One of the first books I ever remember reading was Stephen King’s The Shining. Mom, of course, had gone through and read it first, and blacked out all the bad words! I have honestly have read very few of Mr Kings’s novels. I am told he writes an awesome fantasy series, but I just have never gotten into it. I did read Dreamcatcher long before it was made into a not very great movie, but the book was darn good.
I generally stick to fantasy novels. Sword and sorcery, or vampires and werewolves on Triumph motorcycles with the Sidhe and fey folk mixed in.
You can’t talk fantasy without the staples. Tolkien and Lewis. Trust me, if you have never read The Lord of the Rings, go pick the trilogy up! The movies were great, but I read those when I was like twelve or so. I am still mad Peter Jackson left out Tom Bombadil from the first movie! Here, hobbits, these swords are for you……
Yea right! Like that is how it really happened! I wonder how many people just did a google search in a new tab or window, wondering what I am talking about? I bet my buddy Pooh Bah and my brother Wes agree that Jackson is a tool for leaving out ‘ol Tom. Ok, bet you are really googling now! Don’t! Read the books, instead.
There is nothing like getting lost in a volume from Tolkien, let me tell you. Go read The Hobbit- there and back again, before the movie gets done and put in theaters, you will thank me for it.
And as for CS Lewis…. He has written some greats, as well. Narnia ring a bell? Go read it! I doubt they will make any more of those movies, so go see how that story ends. For that matter, see how the story begins! Ever wonder how that wardrobe transported them, or why there was a lamp post out in the middle of the woods? I know, and I ain’t tellin’! Go find out. Seriously, parents, those are great for kids and adults, alike. If your a Christian, you can see the Christian and Godly theme much easier in the books. Check ’em out!
Oh, wow….. Norah just started singing “Turn me on,” and man, that girl can rip one out! Kinda jazzy, kinda blues-ey, that is a great song. Makes me wanna……..
Um….. Moving on, then…..
So, for some other great classics, I would suggest Piers Anthony. He has written literally hundreds of novels, but some really pun-ney….. Um, excuse me, I mean funny.(inside joke if you have never read the Xanth series by him) The Xanth series is pretty much all kid friendly, and very fun reads. For a darker, more thought provoking, yet still fun series by him, try out The Incarnations of Immortality. Very good reads! (right, Pooh?)
Some other great sword and sorcery authors, and books, are:
Tad Williams- The Dragonbone Chair series…. I have literally read that trilogy three times! Great stuff!
George RR Martin- Song of Ice and Fire series. Great reads, but very long reads. I think HBO is doing a TV show based on them, now. Jon Snow is my favorite character in that series, with the Bastard Dwarf Prince running a close second.
Recently my younger brother turned me on to Glen Cook. He writes a series called Black Company. I just finished like a ten book series about the Black Company in about a month. Hey, I have time on my hands! What can I say?
If you like vamps and wolves, I have some good suggestions, as well. I am sure we have all seen or heard of the True Blood series on HBO, right? Great show, much better books. They are worlds apart, really. A lot of skin is shown on TV, but in the books, it is not like that. Ms Sookie does not much kiss and tell in the books by Charlaine Harris.
Let me get on a soap box for a minute….
I have started some great series in the urban fantasy genre, and then was irate that I couldn’t even finish them! Great example… The Anita Blake vampire series. First few books were good, a little randy at times, but tolerable. You get sucked in to the story, then, BAMMO!
It goes all soft core porn on you. I put the series down when the author had the main character, Anita Blake, involved in an orgy with a pack of were panthers in a back of a limo. For. Three. Chapters! Really, three chapters of it. Geez, I don’t mind a bit ‘o randy now and again, but get real.
The same author did the same thing in the Merideth Gentry series. Except the main character had her orgy in her bedroom for one chapter with a bunch of fairie men. I won’t pick up that novelist’s books anymore. Honestly.
So, off the soap box and moving on….
Roger Zelazny(RIP) did a heck of a great old school urban fantasy series, The Amber series of books. They were never fully completed, I don’t think, because of his untimely death, but wow, great stuff, nonetheless. He once wrote a novel called Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, that was a fun read!
The author Kim Harrison does great vamp and wolf urban fantasy, and does not go all soft core porn on you. It is The Hollows series. It took her like eight books before she ever wrote a sex scene, and it was only like a page and a half. I swear! Well, at least as far as I can remember, anyway….lol (Jenny, I will try to remember to get those to you, like I said I would 🙂
So, there is a short jaunt into my long library of reading. I hope you found some gems, because they are all priceless to me!
I sure am glad I didn’t throw those shoes away!
OK, this is going to be more of a pictorial blog, as I am too friggin’ excited to type much!
Chairs eye view:
Liners, these keep the legs on while in suction.
Da legs.
The socket where my RL goes… Is carbon fiber.
Left leg on.
Right leg on.
From the front:
From the side:
Yeah me!
Limbo, pain in my butt, angry birds, and other things of little consequence
You know, when you don’t post a blog for a few days, people start wondering why….. Well, nothing much to report….
I am kind of in limbo. Floating in the aether, waiting on my legs to get here. They were shipped late in the day on Tuesday. I didn’t get a tracking number, so I don’t know what the status is. Bummer.
So, here I float, waiting, and waiting and waiting….
I got a start yesterday, when a delivery guy showed up, but he was just delivering a set of gloves I had ordered. Those of you who have ridden mountain bikes with me will probably remember my love affair with Specialized brand gloves. Thin, soft, supple, and really grippy!
Well, I ordered a new pair. I wanted to be able to stuff the fingers with pillow stuffing. You know, so it looks like my fingers are there. When you go out in public as I am, that is the first thing people look at, even before my legs. You might think wanting to hide my hand is silly, after all the things I have written about. Well, I can’t tell who has read what, and I can’t see the looks on your face when you read it.
So, your anonymous to me. The kids in the shopping carts at wal mart, though, aren’t. Their open mouth stares kinda freak me out. The looks everyone get on their face when they see my legs is pity, I can understand that. The looks of near horror at my hand, though…
Don’t get me wrong. My hand looks really good for what it is. You can hardly tell where the suture lines and surgery scars are at. Warren Briedenbach is one of the best hand plastic surgeons out there. He did a good job. My hand is all smooth skin. But still, I get the looks.
Anyway, so I wanted to fill the fingers, right? I asked mom if she had any pillow stuffing, as she is a wiz at sewing, and has all kinds of supplies. No, she didn’t think so, but would go look. There I am, sitting at my desk, cutting wire to make a shape for my non existent finger and thumb, when mom comes back and says she may have just enough to fill the fingers.
I look up, and she has a kitchen trash bag overflowing with the stuff! That bag was bigger than me… Just, enough, aye, Mom?
Any who, I got my glove done.
Ever play angry birds? I have it on my iPad. My brother and sister in law came for a visit, and I got her addicted. Shooting those silly birds from a slingshot at pigs is kinda fun. I try not to play very often, because I can get sucked into a vortex and find myself three hours later still playing!
Anyway, as we sat there at the kitchen table taking turns, I came to a realization….. Angry birds is good therapy for my left hand. Using it to pull back that sling shot on the screen actually loosened up my hand and fingers. I wonder if I can get insurance to pay for the super eagle upgrade? I mean, it’s therapy, right? 😉
And on to other things… There is a chair in my folks living room that has been my bane since I got home. It is the first chair I got into when I got home from the hospital, and it is leather with an ottoman. It took me ten minutes to get out of it back into my wheel chair that first time. I almost didn’t make it, even with a slide board! Freaking chair!
So, the other night I joined the family in the living room to watch TV. Into that chair I got. No problem. I have progressed quite a lot with wheel chair transfers since I got home. This leather chair is not as slippery as the leather couches. So, after an evening of television, moving back and forth in that chair to stay comfortable, I got rubbed raw, on my tail bone!
Still that chair is my bane! Argh! I can’t lay down flat right now because, essentially, I have a freaking bed sore on my hind end. I can get in and out of that leather chair no
Problem now, but it still got me! That chair is just evil…… Freaking chair!
Well, that is about it for this blog, not really much, I know, but hey, not much to report!
Pure unadulterated pleasure! (yes this is a PG rated post :)
I am sure that most of you have known someone, either disabled, elderly, or whatever that has had and used a shower or bath chair. Most of them are little curved seats that sit in the bottom of the tub or shower, and that is just what they tell you to do when your like me.
Let me tell you, it is just a bummer! The shower that my folks set up for me in the bathroom they made for me (yea, my folks are great. While I was in the hospital they remodeled a bathroom into a wheelchair friendly bathroom for me. Did I mention that they are great? You can see that bathroom in one of my videos) is a nice shower. I have a really nice shower chair they got for me. It has a backrest, is slides back and forth and locks in place. A quick plug for the place we got it from, Thrifty pharmacy and home medical in Providence, KY. Tom and the gang up there are great people. Go spend some money with them, you won’t be disappointed with the service!
Wow, I get off track easy, don’t I?
So, anyway, in my shower my folks put one of those shower head on a flex pipe thing so I can hold it in my hand while in my shower chair. Let me tell you, this makes for a totally non enjoyable shower experience! You know after a hard day, or a tough morning when it is hard to wake up, that nice hot shower wakes you up or eases away the pain in those tired muscles?
Try sitting in a chair, worried about slipping off into the floor, when you have no feet. And that’s another thing. I say I have no legs, but of course I do. Mostly I have no feet and calves. Off track again…. Argh! So, in the chair, only one hand with fingers to grip. Here is my shower experience.
Hose my body down, then set the spray head aside…
Lather up with soap….
Hose my body off, trying to get my hind in and everything else while sitting in a chair that I could slip off of…..
Pick up the nozzle again…..
Lather, rinse, repeat…..
I can’t just sit under the hot spray and let it wash my worries and else away like everybody else. When I lather and wash, no spray for me. I get cold while washing, damn it!
Well, I say can’t, but after yesterday, it’s couldn’t. The great people that did my physical therapy taught me to use and get on/off a shower chair into a TUB. We have two step in showers in the house, one of them in my bathroom, the other one in my folks bathroom. So, you know I can get around on the floor, right? Walking on my knees with knee pads, crawling on hands and knees, right?
Yea, you guessed it.!
I had a great freaking shower yesterday! I hands and knees my way into mom and dad’s shower yesterday. I couldn’t reach the shower knob, so mom had to turn on the water for me, but everything else was great! This shower is a tub length shower stall. I could stretch out and enjoy that wonderful spray. No holding the shower nozzle, no getting cold while I washed up, no worrying about falling out of a damn chair while I am trying to wash my hind end whilst sitting down.
I lay there on the floor of that shower, back leaned against the wall with all my muscles relaxed. I was as loose as a rag doll. I shampooed my hair like three freaking times! I am sure there was eye rolling in the house, as I was oohing and ahhing and singing the praises of flowing water as I lay there. Relaxed….. In a shower…. For the first time in four months!
It was in that moment, better than sex. Not as good as sex IN the shower, but you know what I mean, right?
I had to holler at mom a time or two to have her come and turn the hot water up. She would slide the door open enough to snake her hand in and turned that blessed nozzle. I sat in that shower until I ran all the hot water out of the entire house. Did I say it was great!?!?
Only one problem, though. The drain was right underneath me! I would have to check the height of the water, and upon occasion lift one leg or the other to let the water swirl down the drain….
Oh well, nothing is ever perfect!
I am going to ask dad to modify my shower so the flexy nozzle thingy can hang on the wall low, so I can sit in my shower and let the spray be at chest height!
If you can stand in your own shower (yeah, Jennifer, I am totally jealous of Clint’s catfish leg!) be thankful. Next time you step in, adjust the nozzle so it sprays away from you. Step in the spray, then out to wash. Get cold while doing it, then step back in the spray for a quick rinse than out again. You will get an idea what those who have challenges go through. And then be thankful.
If you are a challenged person, such as myself, get some one to help you out. If you have a step in shower where you live, try it. It is better than sex!