I'm in extreme pain all the time now. My right hip won't bend like it would just a couple days ago, and it the pain is about as much as I can stand. Sitting on the couch or even lying down doesn't give relief. Sitting in the wheelchair is excruciating. I have to slouch and I can only do it for a few minutes at a time.
It came on so fast, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. It seems to be getting worse by the hour. I'm not going to be able to take care of myself at all in a matter of days the way it's progressing.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thanksgiving
Last weekend was Thanksgiving, and my brother flew into town and drove me up to my sister's place in Virginia for the event. For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving has always been at my Aunt Koral's house in Maryland, and many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins attend. Since I wasn't able to get up there this year, a lot of them agreed to come down somewhere I could go.
Jonathan and I drove up midday Thursday. We had a little time before dinner, so I got to see my family for a little while before the rest of the guests arrived.
The food was delicious, and I really enjoyed the company. I got to spend some time with my favorite aunts and uncles who I haven't seen in a while. I want to thank everyone for coming to see me. It made my Thanksgiving very special.
After everybody left, I spent the night in the guest room in the basement. That worked out quite well. The bed was comfortable and easy to transfer to. The bathroom worked out fine, and we really didn't run into anything unexpected.
Friday, Jonathan and I stayed through lunch. The weather was fantastic, and we all spent much of the day on the deck.
Jonathan and I got back to my apartment Friday evening, and unpacked my stuff. We had time to go get a delicious dinner at Tribeca Tavern, watch a bad movie and go to bed. Jonathan's flight left early on Saturday, and I was sad he had to leave so early. I hadn't seen him since the start of rehab, and I enjoyed spending time with him.
Unfortunately, after Jonathan left, I noticed my hips giving me more trouble than usual. I think my HO has been progressing, and in the time from Saturday to Monday, the pain in my right hip has gotten much much worse. It's pretty excruciating when I sit in my wheelchair. I used to have some pain when sitting in my wheelchair, but now it's almost intolerable. It feels like someone is stabbing a white-hot screwdriver into my hip joint and trying to pry it apart. It used to be that I could get relief from the pain by sitting on the couch, but even that hurts now. The pain even takes a while to subside when I lay down in bed.
I think my hips have also gotten less flexible than they were just a couple weeks ago. I feel like I can't sit up as straight as I used to be able to, and I have to curve my spine to compensate. This leads to pain in my lower back. Whenever I lift myself up, my spine audibly pops back into place. That can't be good for it.
So I'm worried that I may be alarmingly close to the scenario I have been worried about where I can no longer take care of myself. If I can't sit up, I can't do anything for myself. I can't get out of bed, I can't go to the bathroom, I can't feed myself. I don't know what to do. If I'm going to be in this much pain, it's going to be hard to get anything done even if I can physically force myself into my wheelchair.
It figures, I just heard that IBM will allow me to continue to work part time on long-term disability, and now I'm not sure if I'll physically be able to do it.
Jonathan and I drove up midday Thursday. We had a little time before dinner, so I got to see my family for a little while before the rest of the guests arrived.
 |
| A pretty good turnout |
After everybody left, I spent the night in the guest room in the basement. That worked out quite well. The bed was comfortable and easy to transfer to. The bathroom worked out fine, and we really didn't run into anything unexpected.
Friday, Jonathan and I stayed through lunch. The weather was fantastic, and we all spent much of the day on the deck.
 |
| Good times |
Unfortunately, after Jonathan left, I noticed my hips giving me more trouble than usual. I think my HO has been progressing, and in the time from Saturday to Monday, the pain in my right hip has gotten much much worse. It's pretty excruciating when I sit in my wheelchair. I used to have some pain when sitting in my wheelchair, but now it's almost intolerable. It feels like someone is stabbing a white-hot screwdriver into my hip joint and trying to pry it apart. It used to be that I could get relief from the pain by sitting on the couch, but even that hurts now. The pain even takes a while to subside when I lay down in bed.
I think my hips have also gotten less flexible than they were just a couple weeks ago. I feel like I can't sit up as straight as I used to be able to, and I have to curve my spine to compensate. This leads to pain in my lower back. Whenever I lift myself up, my spine audibly pops back into place. That can't be good for it.
So I'm worried that I may be alarmingly close to the scenario I have been worried about where I can no longer take care of myself. If I can't sit up, I can't do anything for myself. I can't get out of bed, I can't go to the bathroom, I can't feed myself. I don't know what to do. If I'm going to be in this much pain, it's going to be hard to get anything done even if I can physically force myself into my wheelchair.
It figures, I just heard that IBM will allow me to continue to work part time on long-term disability, and now I'm not sure if I'll physically be able to do it.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Culinary Delights
The Ravens just won a close one against the Steelers, so I'm in a good mood, and I may as well update the blog.
I had a pretty good week this week. The week itself was just like every other week lately, so I don't have much to say about it. I got up, did some work, hung out with Gus and Evelyn, and generally followed my normal routine, but I also had some dinner visitors that really made the week memorable from a culinary perspective.
Monday, I went to a place called Sushi Iwa with Gus and Uyen and Evelyn. I love sushi, so it was a good experience, and it was a little different than Thai's Noodle where I usually go. Variety is always good, and it helped me confirm how good the sushi is at Thai's Noodle.
Tuesday, my old roommate, Julie, took me to Outback. That was awesome because I hadn't had a steak since my accident, and I'd been craving it. There are better steaks, but you really can't go wrong at Outback. A memorable meal.
Thursday, my friend Katie, who you may remember as the occupational therapy student from rehab, came by and we went to Bonefish Grill. Gus had been talking about rare ahi tuna steak on Monday, so I had been craving that. Nobody does seafood better than Bonefish, and I was thrilled with the meal I got. I think it was the most memorable meal I've had since I left the hospital.
Friday, my friend Jimmy came by for the evening and brought Five Guys burgers and fries. Those are some of my favorite foods, and I was sad when they were gone.
So I had some good company this week, and I got out of the apartment quite a bit. And I ate REALLY well. On the whole, it was a good week.
Unfortunately, I am concerned that my HO is getting worse. I think my right hip is losing the already minimal flexibility it has had. It now hurts a lot more than it used to just to sit in my wheelchair, and that's new. I'm not sure what I can do about it though, so I'll probably just continue to ignore it until I physically can't sit up anymore.
This week, my brother will fly in on Wednesday, and drive me up to my sister's place in Virginia on Thursday. That should be an interesting experience. Wish me luck.
I had a pretty good week this week. The week itself was just like every other week lately, so I don't have much to say about it. I got up, did some work, hung out with Gus and Evelyn, and generally followed my normal routine, but I also had some dinner visitors that really made the week memorable from a culinary perspective.
Monday, I went to a place called Sushi Iwa with Gus and Uyen and Evelyn. I love sushi, so it was a good experience, and it was a little different than Thai's Noodle where I usually go. Variety is always good, and it helped me confirm how good the sushi is at Thai's Noodle.
Tuesday, my old roommate, Julie, took me to Outback. That was awesome because I hadn't had a steak since my accident, and I'd been craving it. There are better steaks, but you really can't go wrong at Outback. A memorable meal.
Thursday, my friend Katie, who you may remember as the occupational therapy student from rehab, came by and we went to Bonefish Grill. Gus had been talking about rare ahi tuna steak on Monday, so I had been craving that. Nobody does seafood better than Bonefish, and I was thrilled with the meal I got. I think it was the most memorable meal I've had since I left the hospital.
 |
| Mmmmm... |
So I had some good company this week, and I got out of the apartment quite a bit. And I ate REALLY well. On the whole, it was a good week.
Unfortunately, I am concerned that my HO is getting worse. I think my right hip is losing the already minimal flexibility it has had. It now hurts a lot more than it used to just to sit in my wheelchair, and that's new. I'm not sure what I can do about it though, so I'll probably just continue to ignore it until I physically can't sit up anymore.
This week, my brother will fly in on Wednesday, and drive me up to my sister's place in Virginia on Thursday. That should be an interesting experience. Wish me luck.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Work
It's Saturday again, and I'm going to finally update my blog while I watch a meaningless college football game.
My mom wants me to go up to my sister's house in Virginia for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make sure I'll be able to get in to the house and do all the things I need to do. So Gus and Evelyn and I took a road trip up there on Thursday to examine the facilities.
Overall, it's pretty good. I can get in the basement easily, and with my new wheels I fit through all the important doors. I can get in the downstairs bathroom, and I can get in the downstairs bedroom. The downstairs couch is pretty low so if I transfer on, I can't get back off. I can't reach the sink because I can't roll up close enough, but I expected that. I took my commode that goes over the toilet. To get it to fit, we had to lower it significantly. That makes the transfer pretty sketchy, but I guess it will work.
To get upstairs, I can go out the downstairs door and roll around to the front of the house on the street. Unfortunately, the driveway in front of the house is incredibly steep so I can't roll up by myself. And once I get to the top, there's still a big step up to get in the house. It would be nice if there was a ramp, but Gus proved he can lift me up one step if we're careful. I find that technique pretty scary, but I guess I don't have a choice. The upstairs couch is also too low. So Thanksgiving should be interesting.
The other thing that happened this week is I found out that IBM may not let me continue working part-time when I go on long-term disability (LTD) in December. I've been on short-term disability (STD) since my injury in April, and I started working 3 hours a day back in August. Doing some work gives some structure to my day, and gives me a little bit of social interaction every day, and I didn't realize how important it is to me until they told me they might take it away.
I'm still waiting to hear whether IBM will let me continue to put in some hours while on LTD. If they won't, then I'm going to go crazy while I wait for my HO surgery. I'm still hoping they might be able to do that in January, but there's no guarantee. It might be May or even later. There's no way to know yet. I can't imagine doing nothing while I wait. I will literally go crazy. So I'm holding my breath. Hopefully I'll find out this week.
My mom wants me to go up to my sister's house in Virginia for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make sure I'll be able to get in to the house and do all the things I need to do. So Gus and Evelyn and I took a road trip up there on Thursday to examine the facilities.
Overall, it's pretty good. I can get in the basement easily, and with my new wheels I fit through all the important doors. I can get in the downstairs bathroom, and I can get in the downstairs bedroom. The downstairs couch is pretty low so if I transfer on, I can't get back off. I can't reach the sink because I can't roll up close enough, but I expected that. I took my commode that goes over the toilet. To get it to fit, we had to lower it significantly. That makes the transfer pretty sketchy, but I guess it will work.
To get upstairs, I can go out the downstairs door and roll around to the front of the house on the street. Unfortunately, the driveway in front of the house is incredibly steep so I can't roll up by myself. And once I get to the top, there's still a big step up to get in the house. It would be nice if there was a ramp, but Gus proved he can lift me up one step if we're careful. I find that technique pretty scary, but I guess I don't have a choice. The upstairs couch is also too low. So Thanksgiving should be interesting.
The other thing that happened this week is I found out that IBM may not let me continue working part-time when I go on long-term disability (LTD) in December. I've been on short-term disability (STD) since my injury in April, and I started working 3 hours a day back in August. Doing some work gives some structure to my day, and gives me a little bit of social interaction every day, and I didn't realize how important it is to me until they told me they might take it away.
I'm still waiting to hear whether IBM will let me continue to put in some hours while on LTD. If they won't, then I'm going to go crazy while I wait for my HO surgery. I'm still hoping they might be able to do that in January, but there's no guarantee. It might be May or even later. There's no way to know yet. I can't imagine doing nothing while I wait. I will literally go crazy. So I'm holding my breath. Hopefully I'll find out this week.
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