Just the Facts

It's been a long time, hasn't it?

Sometimes this blog feels like work, and this is one of those times.  Here's what happened.  I had an experience that really deserved a thorough write-up on the blog, so I wanted to wait until I could really write it up properly.  I wanted to have time to get my ideas organized, and then make it entertaining, and then edit it until it felt good.  But before I got around to it, something else happened that also deserved a detailed retelling.  And then I was putting off twice as much work when the next thing happened, and now I find that I have about 5 or 6 things that I want to write about in detail, and there is no way that's going to happen.

So I'm just going to hit the bullet points so I can get caught up.  I'm short-changing my readers, but as Evelyn says, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit."

New Friend

A couple weeks ago, I met a guy who lives about 45 minutes north of here, who has almost the same exact injury that I have.  He was injured falling off a ladder less than a month after I had my injury (on my birthday no less).  He also has HO, and we have talked on Skype a couple times, and we also met in person at the SCI BBQ.

His name is Jarrad, and it's nice to know someone in such a similar situation.

Cripple Picnic

The North Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association had their annual Fall BBQ on Saturday, October 5th.  Gus and Uyen were able to take me.  It was a lot of fun.  It was the first time I was able to go to one of their events since I was in rehab.  I met a bunch of people with different levels of injury, including Jarrad.  There was one 24-year-old guy there who was a quad, and had very little use of his hands, but he was still pushing a manual wheelchair, and was able to drive, and was working full-time, and made me feel generally pretty bad about what I'm not yet able to do.

Before the BBQ

When we arrived, and before the BBQ started, Uyen wanted me to pose for a picture.  I thought that was silly, but I obliged.  I figured I'd take a bunch of pictures once the party started.  As it happens, I forgot to take any pictures, so it's good I have that one.

Another thing I learned is that, in spite of what I had been told (repeatedly and recently), I do have to go to the DMV and get an endorsement on my license to drive with hand controls.

Egg Project

I spent a couple hours one day making 6 omelets to freeze.  It's important for me to eat enough protein to avoid skin breakdown, and they tell me eggs are the best source.  I learned how to make them when my mom was here, and I learned that they freeze and reheat pretty well.

Finished product

The mess

I'm really delighted with how they turned out, and I'm looking forward to a week of delicious breakfasts.

Hand Cycle Clinic

The NCSCIA held their biannual hand cycle clinic last Friday.  I've been wanting to try out hand cycling again for a long time, and I finally got to try it out.  It was challenging to find a ride, and I almost didn't get to go, but Brittany was able to come pick me up and take me.  It was a lot of fun, but I'm definitely not in shape to do much of it.  I rode for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, and when I was done, I thought I was going to die.  It didn't help that I tried to get cute on the first of my 2 laps and did it in a higher gear than maybe I should have.  I almost couldn't finish the second lap.  I looked really good on that first lap though.

The only (terrible) picture I took at the clinic

What I learned about hand cycles is that they are extremely hard to pedal, even harder to steer, and if you get up any speed, they'll tip over in a heartbeat.  I didn't crash one, but it seemed pretty obvious to me that they aren't terribly stable in a turn.  Still, I may end up with one of these one day.  There aren't a lot of ways for a paraplegic to do cardio.

Visit With Titus and Brittany

After the clinic, I did some shopping with Brittany, and then I had dinner with her and Titus up in my old neighborhood.  I hadn't seen those guys in a while, and I got an extremely pleasant surprise.  Titus's brother David, and his wife Brianna, who are also friends of mine, just moved back to Raleigh from Texas, so they came to dinner, and now I have more friends in the area.  Hooray!

New Heel Sore

I've been dealing with a pressure sore on my heel since my last surgery.  It hasn't been fun.  On Monday, I discovered that I've got another one right next to the first one on the same heel.  I got this one just from sleeping.  I've been wearing the boots to protect my heels, but apparently they don't work properly in the position I like to sleep in.  It's very upsetting.  As easy as it is to get these things, and as long as it takes them to heal, I'm thinking that I will always have them for the rest of my life. 

My bones trying to escape

New Haircut

Uyen's sister, Dianne, has been in town for a week or so, and she is a cosmetologist, so she came over last week and gave me a haircut.  It's a good haircut, and it was free, so I'm happy.  My hair is dirty most of the time, and the longer it is, the nastier that feels, so it's really nice to have short hair right now.

Surgery Recovery

I guess I'm just about recovered from that last surgery.  I definitely have a lot more range of motion than I had before the surgery.  I'm not sure I have as much as I want though.  I haven't really done any testing of my range of motion because the surgeon told me not to.  They don't know for sure, but they suspect that stretching may encourage HO to regrow, especially in the weeks after surgery.

So I've been trying to baby my right hip.  Just from daily use, I know it bends farther, but it still hurts to bend it very far, so I'm not sure what to do about that.

I'm supposed to do some outpatient rehab on it, but I really need to start driving because nobody I know is going to be able to give me rides for all the rehab I need to do.  So I'm not entirely sure how we're going to proceed on that front.  There has been some talk of getting a PT to come to my apartment and help me work on car transfers.  That would be a good start.  I should probably try to start that sooner rather than later.

The End

And now I'm going to bed.  I have to wake up early tomorrow to go to the wheelchair store and get some new brakes installed on my chair.  My old brakes barely work anymore, and I'm hoping these new brakes make my life a lot easier.  We'll see.