You Get What You Get

I guess it's time to update my blog so here goes.

Overall I'm doing pretty well.  I think my flexibility has pretty much stabilized.  It's okay I guess, but not where I'd really like it to be.  I have an appointment with Dr. Dahners this week, and I rather expect it to result in more surgery to free up my right hip a little more.  I really don't like the idea of more surgery, but if there's something in there he can remove that will make me more flexible, I think it's important we get it out.

In the last couple weeks, I have been experimenting with sleeping on my stomach.  It's a real pain to get rolled over and comfortable, but it really helps to rest my butt and lets me sit up in the wheelchair comfortably for longer during the day.  Pain in my butt from sitting up continues to be a substantial problem for me, but this definitely helps.  I do worry about my arms falling asleep while sleeping on my stomach.  That is something that has happened to me in the past (pre-injury) where I would wake up with no feeling in either arm.  In the past, I could use my legs to roll around and restore circulation, but if it happened now, I'm pretty sure I'd be stuck there until someone eventually broke into my apartment and found me?  I'm going to try to avoid finding out.

Lately a couple things have happened to me that were pretty disappointing.  My van died several weeks ago (2 or 3), and is still in the shop.  My mechanic has had a hard time finding the problem.  He thinks it is an electrical short somewhere, and those can be murder to track down.  So for several weeks I have been denied the use of my van.  Fortunately, I have had the use of my friend Cullen's old '97 Camry.  I have enough flexibility now to transfer into the passenger seat but my transfers are not elegant or confident so every trip takes a lot of time loading and unloading.

Further complicating my transportation situation, Gus has been busy with family obligations for the last 2 weeks, and will be most of the next week at least.  I've been extremely lucky to have his nearly constant assistance for the last year, but I've come to rely on him heavily.  In his absence, it has been a lot more stressful trying to get to appointments and the grocery store, however when dealing with disappointment I remember some advice I got from Evelyn.

Feel free to use that.  I think it's brilliant. 

Fortunately, my friend Tobi has been taking up a lot of the slack while Gus is gone.  She has taken me to several appointments already and is signed up for 2 more this week.  I'm very grateful to her and her family for making that happen.

I've been seeing a therapist to help me with the tendonitis in my thumb and wrist.  So far it doesn't seem to be helping, and I think it's actually getting worse.  That's just another fun thing I get to deal with.  It's still a serious problem for me, and I don't know what's going to happen with that, but as Evelyn says, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit."

Anyway, in more positive news, I have had some fun the last couple weeks.  I got to have some meals with some people, and yesterday, I went to see a movie with Cullen and Mike and Sue.  It was an older theater, and the wheelchair seating was in the very front and would have been very uncomfortable.  We decided it would be better to sit up in the seats so Cullen and Mike relocated me.

Flattering

It's good to have friends.

My Art

When I first moved into my apartment, my sister bought me some supplies and an instructional video so I could learn how to make balloon art.  She thought it would be something fun I could do to entertain kids.  I thought it was a nice idea, but that I'd probably never do it.

Then this week, I got bored.

My Art

So now I know how to make your basic animals.  Dogs of several types, giraffes, swords in 2 varieties, love birds kissing inside a heart, and a teddy bear holding a tulip.  I'm particularly proud of the kissing birds inside the heart.

These are some other things that I think I can make, but I haven't really practiced.  A pig, a T-Rex, a bunny, a couple types of hats.  I can also make a big flower and a tiny mouse.

I enjoy making the sculptures more than I thought I would, and kids seem to like them.  Evelyn asks for one pretty much every day now.

It wasn't really that hard to learn.  There's really only 3 or 4 basic structures.  There are more complicated sculptures than the ones I know, but even those are really just elaborate combinations the few basic steps.  The hardest thing about it is figuring out how much of the balloon to leave uninflated.  Every time you do a twist, it pushes the air down, so the more twists you want to put in a balloon, the less air you can put in it.  If you put too much, it will pop, and not enough will leave a tail at the end.  I've discovered that some small children really don't like it when you pop a balloon loudly.

So that's what I've been doing with my time this week.  I guess now I'm available for parties.

Exciting News!

If you know me well, then you know how exciting the following news is to me.  There is a new building going up right across Davis Drive from my apartment with the following sign out front.

Yo Quiero Taco Bell

So excited.