May
Driving the Van
I felt pretty good for most of May, and I got to do a lot of fun stuff. I finally got to experiment with driving my van.
Gus removed the passenger seat, and we rigged it so I could transfer to the driver's seat, and I took an exploratory trip around the parking lot.
And I did some practice transfers .
Later, I went out on the road and drove to Gus's house for dinner. Gus accompanied me as a chaperone, but I did all the transferring and driving unassisted.
We uncovered some possible challenges during this excursion . Notably, if I make a sharp turn to the left, I tend to fall out of the seat to the right. Overall, however, the experiment was a great success , and it gave me a lot of confidence that I will end up menacing public roads eventually.
Willie Nelson
Back in March, I learned that Willie Nelson was coming to play a show in Cary with Alison Krauss, and I thought it would be a good excursion if I could find some friends to go with me. I invited Cullen and Caitlin, and we bought tickets for the May 5th show. The show ended up being postponed until May 19th, and Gus and Uyen were given tickets, so they came too.
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| Fun times |
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| Who invited him? |
The weather was perfect, and I felt really good. We all had a great time. It was nice to get out of my apartment for an evening, and the show was fun. I always enjoy Alison Krauss, but the reason I wanted to see the show was to see Willie Nelson before he dies. I always wanted to see Johnny Cash, but I never got to.
It turned out Willie Nelson doesn't really sing anymore so much as stand in front of a band and recite lyrics, but the man is a legend and I guess he can do what he wants.
Memorial Day Cookout
In the month of May, I made friends with a couple here in my apartment building. On Memorial Day weekend, they invited me to grill some fish with them on the communal grill down by the playground. Philip is from Florida, and knows something about seafood. He picked up some red snapper at Whole Foods, and prepared it with some marinade. He grilled it whole with the head and skin on. I had never had fish prepared like that, but it was some of the best fish I have ever had.
The next day, we grilled hamburgers. They were made with special corn fed ground beef from whole foods, and they were the most flavorful hamburgers I have ever had .
It was really nice to have some friends in the building here, but unfortunately Philip and Wendy purchased a house and moved away in early June. It might actually be for the best from a weight gain standpoint.
Amy and Joe's Party
My friends Amy and Joe threw a big party Memorial Day weekend, and I decided to go. Gus and Uyen were nice enough to transport me, and the party was in the driveway so I didn't have to worry about getting inside their house. They did a pig pickin', and there was tons and tons of food.
The weather was great, and a lot of my friends were there. It was another had a really great time.
June
To Bed
In May, I had a lot of fun, and I spent a lot of time out doing stuff. Too much time I think.
The pain in my butt when I sit on it had been worsening all through May, and by early June it was unbearable. I could not sit up for any length of time, and I couldn't imagine sitting on a car seat when the fancy air cushion on my wheelchair was so painful. I decided I had to stay in bed until it got better. So that's been my June.
It's really frustrating because I felt like I made actual progress in May, and this feels like a big step backwards. I feel like I'm just laying here watching my life pass by, powerless to do anything about it. Fortunately I like sleeping, so its not all bad.
Not sitting up means it's almost impossible to type which makes it very difficult to post to the blog which is the main reason I haven't posted anything in so long. Right now I'm lying on my stomach, using Google's (awful) voice recognition software to painstakingly piece this post together. I'm fixing all the mistakes with one finger. It's excruciating. I've been working 4 hours and counting.
The good news is my butt is definitely improving, but very very slowly. I have no idea how much longer I'm going to have to stay off it, but I'm going to try to let it heal as much as possible. I don't want to have to do this again.
I think the cause of the problem is twofold. I think I injured my butt sitting on it too much, but I also think I got a little more feeling back in my lower extremities. When I say that to people they always ask if that isn't a good thing, but I think it's a very bad thing. All paraplegics have pressure issues with their butts, but they can't feel it so it's easy to live with. If they could feel it, they would be miserable all the time.
I've been wondering if there are any surgeries to disconnect your spine since I think I would be a lot happier if mine had been broken properly, but I doubt anyone will do that.
So that's what's going on with me. I'll write again when I feel better and can sit at a keyboard. Now I'm going back to sleep.
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| Willie is the blur to the left |
It turned out Willie Nelson doesn't really sing anymore so much as stand in front of a band and recite lyrics, but the man is a legend and I guess he can do what he wants.
Memorial Day Cookout
In the month of May, I made friends with a couple here in my apartment building. On Memorial Day weekend, they invited me to grill some fish with them on the communal grill down by the playground. Philip is from Florida, and knows something about seafood. He picked up some red snapper at Whole Foods, and prepared it with some marinade. He grilled it whole with the head and skin on. I had never had fish prepared like that, but it was some of the best fish I have ever had.
The next day, we grilled hamburgers. They were made with special corn fed ground beef from whole foods, and they were the most flavorful hamburgers I have ever had .
 |
| Phillip and me down by the grill |
It was really nice to have some friends in the building here, but unfortunately Philip and Wendy purchased a house and moved away in early June. It might actually be for the best from a weight gain standpoint.
Amy and Joe's Party
My friends Amy and Joe threw a big party Memorial Day weekend, and I decided to go. Gus and Uyen were nice enough to transport me, and the party was in the driveway so I didn't have to worry about getting inside their house. They did a pig pickin', and there was tons and tons of food.
The weather was great, and a lot of my friends were there. It was another had a really great time.
June
To Bed
In May, I had a lot of fun, and I spent a lot of time out doing stuff. Too much time I think.
The pain in my butt when I sit on it had been worsening all through May, and by early June it was unbearable. I could not sit up for any length of time, and I couldn't imagine sitting on a car seat when the fancy air cushion on my wheelchair was so painful. I decided I had to stay in bed until it got better. So that's been my June.
It's really frustrating because I felt like I made actual progress in May, and this feels like a big step backwards. I feel like I'm just laying here watching my life pass by, powerless to do anything about it. Fortunately I like sleeping, so its not all bad.
Not sitting up means it's almost impossible to type which makes it very difficult to post to the blog which is the main reason I haven't posted anything in so long. Right now I'm lying on my stomach, using Google's (awful) voice recognition software to painstakingly piece this post together. I'm fixing all the mistakes with one finger. It's excruciating. I've been working 4 hours and counting.
The good news is my butt is definitely improving, but very very slowly. I have no idea how much longer I'm going to have to stay off it, but I'm going to try to let it heal as much as possible. I don't want to have to do this again.
I think the cause of the problem is twofold. I think I injured my butt sitting on it too much, but I also think I got a little more feeling back in my lower extremities. When I say that to people they always ask if that isn't a good thing, but I think it's a very bad thing. All paraplegics have pressure issues with their butts, but they can't feel it so it's easy to live with. If they could feel it, they would be miserable all the time.
I've been wondering if there are any surgeries to disconnect your spine since I think I would be a lot happier if mine had been broken properly, but I doubt anyone will do that.
So that's what's going on with me. I'll write again when I feel better and can sit at a keyboard. Now I'm going back to sleep.
