Category: Pitfalls and Progress

Well, of course, I am back from my trip! We cut it a bit short, as it was raining and cold every night in the mountains.

I drove about 12 hours to Dallas, TX, to my friend Kristal’s house. The drive was nice, no serious problems. The roads in TX are a bit of a mess. The interstate highways have no fencing in between the roadside and the access roads!

That means sneaky-sneaky cops!

Let me illustrate…..

================= Interstate===============me, not speeding========
——–side of the road, NO FENCING!————
==============frontage/access road======== cop clocking traffic==========

That is just not fair! Really!

I didn’t get pulled over once on the trip… Kristal, though…. Sorry doll! My out of state tags did you in!

Any who…..

So, we left Dallas and drove up to Amirillo, TX. From there we went up through New Mexico to get to the mountains of southern Colorado.

We stayed a few nights in the Rockies, but had to give up the ghost… The ladies in tents got rained out, rained on, and cold to the bones in their tents. I camped under my truck camper shell, so I stayed dry, and mostly warm.

We were all ready to bail, though. It was a great time, and the mountains were beautiful, but it was just to bad a weather to stay..

We packed up, ( I say we, it was all Kristal packing up my stuff, thanks sweets!) and drove back to New Mexico and camped for the night in a Motel 6.

We all played some euchre, (yay! Kristal finally got to win a round! Sorry, Jenea… You will learn, Darlin’) and then took off the next morning for TX.

Kristal was able to get a flight to Utah, and I am glad she did. I took off for home, as I ain’t getting on a plane right now with prosthetic legs!

I didn’t get to meet Brian and Nancy, but I already think a lot of them for hooking Kristal up and getting her to the Best Friends shelter!

I did get to meet Meghan and Becca, and ladies, you are top notch! I am very glad to call you friends!

I know this is not near enough of an update, and I didn’t even think about getting out the camera, but I am wore out from my day today! So, sorry 🙂 I will write a longer blog for ya later!

N

Or, if you have read the book and know the title… I’m Gone to Texas….

Or I will be in a few short days! I am going with some friends out West, and will be gone for a few weeks… We are going to Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Utah.

Not in that order, of course 😉

But, before I tell anymore about the trip, how about I give you some updates!

First off!

New sockets! As of yesterday, I have new sockets. These are a departure from the old sockets, fo sho… See, the old sockets were like a well fitting pair of work gloves. Big, thick, well padded, and great for the everyday chores.

The new sockets? They are like a set of hand made Italian leather driving gloves. Small, close fitting and curve hugging.. I only need to wear my liners and a thin sheer nylon sock over my liner for these to fit.

Wow, is all I can say. The downside? I have only a few days to learn to walk in these new sockets. Every major socket upgrade comes with a learning curve, and these have a real hairpin turn for a curve. :/

I couldn’t really walk in then much yesterday, as I over taxed myself walking the Louisville riverfront during a photo shoot.. Yea, a photo shoot. My prosthetics people asked me to do some photos with a professional photographer for their website, and of course, I agreed!

But, as I am apt to do, I overdid it. The photographer was named Andrew, and was a great dude to work with. If you read this, Drew, feel free to make a comment with your business info in it below, I don’t mind giving you a bit of free advertising space 😉

So, anyway, I did the shoot on my old sockets, and was worn out by the time I was ready to try the new sockets.

Poor Tommy, one of my leg guys, spent like an hour or two working out the kinks or adjusting my new legs to a perfect fit. Anyone who knows how I get when I am frustrated will understand what poor Tommy went through. (Yea, Jenny Jenny, it was one of my cussing and grumbling fits lol)

So, I made it home, came in the house and crashed out… It was a long drive, and a long, yet productive, day.

I haven’t gotten back up on my legs yet this morning, but I will when I get done posting this blog…

So, back to the trip.. Umm, a good friend is having her birthday celebration as a trip this year. She doesn’t usually celebrate, but this year she is going overboard, and invited me along. The invite came in February, and it has been a shining star for me to gaze at, and a reason to push myself to get better! I want this trip!

I am going to forgo the wheelchair, and do this without. It is going to be a test to my stamina, and my will power. But I will do it! One of the places we will be going is the Grand Canyon, and I want to stand on the edge, raise my voice and say “Fuck You, World! I am still alive, and I am still standing!”

When I do that, I will probably get some complaints from other campers, but I give not two scheisse about it. I need to do that, for me 😀

Anyway, I will be leaving out very early on the 6th, or very late on the 5th, and am going to be driving to Texas.

I will have limited Internet access, but will try to throw up quick blogs when I can to document the trip. I will be avoiding facebook like the plague, and the only posts their you are likely to get while I am gone are the auto update of my blog.

Why no Facebook? For the same reason I won’t be answering my phone… This is me time, to the max. I will be hanging with good friends.. Camping, mudding in the truck, having a few choice beverages, helping out some animals in a shelter, and seeing the West in all it’s glory!

Josey Wales didn’t update his FB and stay on his phone during his trip, so why should I?

Wish me luck, this is going to be an awesome, scary, great time!

Neil

So, yes, it has been a while… I have heard from quite a few people lately that I need to post some thing new…. Well, here it is!

I haven’t really posted anything because there has been nothing to report. That has changed in the past few days, though.

Let’s see, happenings…..happenings….

First, I got my fingers a while back. I had to send them back :/

Long story short, there was a goof somewhere, and I was shorted a few fingers. (pun intended) so, I sent them back, and they were adjusted and mailed back to me. I have an index finger, middle finger and thumb now.

The thumb didn’t really help me much, more if a problem with my hand than a prosthetic design problem, and I still didn’t have a ring finger.

So, off in the mail again they went this week. I am trading the thumb for a ring finger! I have a stationary thumb setup that works for me, and with four fingers to go with, I should be good to go!

Next up on the news list, I bought a truck! Yea, i know, i have one already, but the folks were apprehensive about me driving a stick shift, so I got an automatic. I also got a set of hand controls for it, to further ease minds, and I have been driving the hell out of it!

Oh, a quick picture of it…

Also new on the news front… My leg has healed enough so I can start walking again!

It has only been a few days, bit I am already getting a feel for it once again. Being down so long, I lost some strength, and will have to work hard to gain it back, but I am no stranger to hard work and challenges!

I will say this…. One of my socket list items is driving my stick shift truck again… Well, mark that off the list! I drove it just fine, and really feel I wasted money buying an automatic just to make someone else happy, but oh well.

I still drove my little stick shift 4×4!

Next up on the list I think….

Motorcycle, baby!

Thank you to all my friends and loved ones, once again, for all your support! Without you pushing me forward, I don’t know I would have the courage to keep it up!

Oh, and by the way, RoC represent! (inside joke, if you understand it, great! If not, don’t worry 😉 )

Stay off the sidewalks….. Guess who is driving again!

Well, today is memorial day. I am sure many of you are at the lake, fishing, BBQing, motorcycle riding or many of the other things associated with this day. This day that marks the beginning of summer!

This is also the day to remember those who have fallen. Don’t ever forget that.

This day is about remembering our soldiers who gave their lives defending freedom. Some in some far away sandbox, some closer to home. They were all our soldiers, though. I think we forget at times this is more than just a three day weekend, or reason to party. You can count me in as one who sometimes forgets. But today, I am remembering.

Perhaps it is because I have been on one long miserable three day weekend from work since i got sick. Holidays don’t mean as much when you don’t look forward to the time off to spend with family. That is what holidays are about, mostly. Family, friends and loved ones getting together to celebrate life.

Just don’t forget that someone might not to see their soldier on holidays ever again, and don’t let that sacrifice go unnoticed. As you are spending time today doing what you love, remember the soldiers, and their loved ones. This is their day of memorial.

Now, on to an update!

So, I got new, smaller sockets. They have mostly sat idle on my prosthetics, as my left leg still has a tiny spot on it. It is so close to being healed, but not quite yet. Every time I get on my legs I set my little bad spots back a day or so. The right leg is completely healed, and it gets old sitting around, but I have to be patient.

I have to spend most of my time lying back, as sitting in the wheelchair too much makes my back not want to be straight. I have mentioned before that too much of a seated position shapes your back that way, and that really bites the big banana, ya know? But, I do what I must. I still do my leg excersises, but that only goes so far without a real workout.

Oh well, I have gotten used to playing the waiting game.

My prosthetic hand should be ready any time now. It has been a month or more since i had the hand casting done and my contact at Didrick Medical tells me it should take four to six weeks to make. I am hoping for the former, as I want a freaking opposable thumb again!

When my left leg heals, I am going to be working very hard to get on my feet again. Later in the month of June there is going to be my high school twenty year reunion. I may be missing some body parts, but I still have all my hair!

I would really like to go to this on my feet, and not in a wheelchair. We shall see.

Speaking of my hair… Since I got sick, the sides of my head have started going salt and pepper on me. More pepper than salt, but it is noticable! ACK! Oh well, at least I know someone who can fix that, if it gets too bad 😉

Well, that is all for my blog today. Have a great holiday, just remember why we have it, ok?

Well, today is Sunday. This is my second morning home from Frazier Rehab. I have to tell you, it is good to be home again. I haven’t done a whole lot walking-wise since I have been back, as the doctors and therapists all told me to take a few day long break.

While at rehab, they worked me to death! We had a limited amount of time and a maximum amount of training to go through. I woke up every morning at rehab sore and hurting, and ended every day going to bed early. I am sure you could see the fatigue in my face on my video blogs!

so, the couple of days break was called for! I have sore and stretched tendons in my right hand, and it hurts like a beast at the moment. I had this while in rehab, but copious amounts of pain meds kept the worst at bay. There is no taking a day off because you hurt at Frazier!

My right knee also hurts, as it got really overworked. Most afternoons I would spend my OT time working on loosening up my left hand and practicing picking up smaller and smaller objects. I just couldn’t do two walking therapies in the afternoon, I hurt too much for that. So, OT was for my hand, and PT was for walking.

My right hand and wrist are hurting a bit at this very moment as I am typing. Pain meds are starting to dull the ache, so I am OK for the moment. Speaking of typing…

We stopped by Best Buy in Evansville on the way home. I picked up a few things I have been wanting to get, one of which is a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad. I will talk a little more about the other things I got in a bit. This keyboard is awesome! It is, of course, an Apple keyboard. There is a keyboard dock that is made just for the iPad, and I agonized over which to get of several good iPad compatible keyboards.

I settled on this one over the others because it runs on its own battery supply. The iPad specific keyboard looks much the same as this one, but it runs off the battery power of the iPad itself. The iPad keyboard also limits the iPad to portrait style viewing only, and I like to use my iPad in landscape mode. Also, I already have a very nice leather binder/holder thing my folks got for me for Christmas, and it holds up my iPad at just the right viewing angle. It also has a long slot in the front that this keyboard happens to fit quite nicely into, leaving the whole setup quite like a laptop when in use.

This is what my keyboard looks like:

Notice there is no key tray. The keys are set into a aluminum plate, and are spaced just a tad bit further apart than a regular keyboard’s. This makes it great for my modified typing style I use now with my left pinkie finger. The keys are also raised just a bit more than regular, which also works well with my new typing style.

Overall, I am well pleased with it. There are, however, a few kinks that take some getting used to. The iPad’s on screen keyboard auto corrects every typo, as well as magically correcting “i” into “I” for you. It also automatically capitalizes the first letter of any word after a period. My new keyboard does not do these things. i have to pay attention when i am typing a bit more. see what i mean? 😉

The benefits most certainly outweigh the detriments. The traditional “F” keys at the top run my iPod app, volume, screen brightness and a few other nifty tidbits. Not all of these F keys work, though, because this is not a true iPad specific keyboard.

Another great thing about this is that I no longer have to take extra steps to get special characters. Here is an example:

!@#$%^&*()_+

T just typed all those just by hitting the shift keys and all the number keys. To use this on the on screen keyboard, you have to tap a sequence of keys just to get to the special characters, and most of the time the on screen board jumps back to the regular keyboard after every special character. So, this wireless keyboard is the bomb diggidy for using special charters.

Last, but not least, this new keyboard has a tab button, and arrow keys. No more tapping the screen to move ahead or back to correct an error or jump to a new typing field in a website sign on screen.

Well, now that I have reviewed my new keyboard, on to other things!

I also got a home wireless adapter while at Best Buy. What this does is extend an ethernet cable to anywhere else in the house without running wire everywhere. A good example of a use for this is:

Your kid has an xBox and uses a wireless wifi adapter to get online. Your kid complains because it is not fast enough to play certain games online. You use a set of these things i got to get an ethernet cable plug in close enough to the xBox to jack directly into the router. All you do is plug these two adapters into the wall and plug ethernet cables into them then, presto, instant hardwire ethernet connection!

That example is not based on my kiddo, of course, he doesn’t complain much about anything. He is a good kid!

I also bot a bluetooth headset for my phone so I can have my good hand free from holding a phone while I am talking on it. I can use my left hand to hold the phone to my ear, but I have to basically keep the phone to my ear by applying constant pressure and keep the thing pushed up to the side of my head. So, a BT headset solves some problems for me.

On a different subject entirely…..

When I started this blog/website, I really didn’t know what I was aiming for. Maybe a place for my friends and family to keep up with my progress, for sure. A place to share my thoughts and experiences, of course. Maybe a few other things..

I want to keep this always a place for my loved ones to check in on me, but I also want to expand a bit. See, when I was in the hospital, right after my surgeries, i had no one to talk to that had been through what I have been through. In a crowded hospital I felt alone at times, because there was no one that had been where I was at.

A good example of this happened while I was in rehab. I had a great therapist that was reviewing bathroom and bathing stuff with me. I told her how I preferred to sit in the bottom of a shower to bath as opposed to sitting in a shower chair. she seemed a bit perplexed at the thought! She could not understand why I would not want to use a special chair that was made for a special needs person such as myself.

She could not get how it might be uncomfortable to sit in a freaking chair to shower! She had trained people for a long time to do things the “accepted” way that she could not fathom doing it any other way. Now, don’t think i am complaining about her, she was awesome in most everything! She was the therapist that got me started o the hand therapy that got my flexion back. 🙂

Regardless, she was not an amputee, so no matter what, she truly could not understand what it is like to be like this.

Also, while I was up at Frazier, I got to help out a new amputee. He was two floors above me, and had just had surgery for a left below knee amputation. The doctors and therapists all asked me to go talk to him. I was excited to help, let me tell you. We had only one conversation, but i got to talk to him and his wife, and show them the entire setup for my legs. I even took one off and handed it to him… lol

I wont use his name, but he does have this website address. If you read this, my friend, I want you to know it was an honor to come talk to you and ease your wife’s mind!

keeping all that in mind, I am going to start a new section here at Two Feet Shorter dedicated to just info for amputees and their family and friends. I want help from my family and friends, of course! If you would like to be a contributor to this new section as a writer, please comment below letting me know.

I want perspectives and thoughts about being a close friend or family member to an amputee. What thoughts crossed your mind, how you dealt with things. I want contributors that can and will write in such a way that friends or family of new amputees might get a little hope and comport knowing they are not the only ones feeling the things they are feeling.

I now know a few amputees myself. I have some old friends from back in the day who are married and he is a single below knee amputee. I think they will know I am pointing at them on this! (catfish leg, hint hint!) Also, my new friend I made on the tenth floor at Frazier. If you read this my friend, and would like for you or your wife to contribute, please let me know!

I also have therapists and prosthetists who occasionally read this blog, if any of you would like to contribute, please do.

I don’t want one single new amputee to have to go through the fear of the unknown. I don’t want new amputee’s family and friends feel helpless from not knowing what to do or say, or worry because they don’t know what the future might hold!

Help me, my friends and family, to help others. There can be no greater cause or goal in this world than the simple thought of helping others.

How ’bout it? Who will help? Just comment here to let me know! (Also, please make sure that comment is here, and not on my FB page! I want to keep Two feet Shorter a separate thing from FB)

Thanks all,

Neil