Nov 11 to Nov 26

Nov 11 to Nov 25

Holly shit it’s the middle of November and it’s dark by 5:30.

Mon Nov 12:  No therapy as it is a stat day. Did my own stuff...1/2 hour on the bike and my exercise routine for about an hour. Went for coffee with Grandpa and got caught in the rain on the way home. Darcy brought over a rain coat and we had some plastic bags to put over my feet and the wheelchair  control. The weatherman was wrong. It was supposed to start raining at noon and it was only 11 o’clock….grrr. Wasn’t too wet but did get a little chilly.

Tues Nov 13: In the pool with Grandpa and Yonna and after stretching, got up and did some walking. I was really tight in the trunk and twisted to the right when I was floating. Grandpa had to keep me straight.  Yonna stretches my legs by getting in between them and pushing them apart to stretch my hip flexors. Sounds kinky eh? It’s not! Do you know how hard Yonna can push? I am supposed to say ‘when’ when it is far enough but Yonna has learned that I shut my eyes when it hurts. I get even if I have a spasm and if she is between my legs it squeezes her ribs. She stretches the hamstrings by holding one leg down with her legs and pushing the other one over her head…yikes!

Wed Nov 14: OT and PT in the morning, again the trunk was tight and we did a lot of stretching to try and loosen it up…didn’t work too well and I was tight for PT. My right leg is the strong one and it started to give out while I was standing…don’t know what was going on there. 

Thurs Nov 15: In the pool with Yonna and Grandpa, trunk was very tight but loosened up a bit. Got some bad news…Grandpa called and said he couldn’t go in the pool anymore as he is allergic to the chlorine. I am really going to miss him as he and Yonna worked very well together.

Had an interesting event on the way home, had a big pee AFTER I got out of the pool…it was a big one more than 600 ml. There was nowhere to dump it. Darcy put the lid on the urinal and put it in the bag, loaded me in the car and took me home. At home the bag came out of the car first as it had been sitting on the back of the wheelchair (note: the back rest comes off to get the chair into the car.) Darcy wanted to know how we got the back wet implying that we somehow got it wet at the pool. It wasn’t until we got into the house that we realized that the urinal was empty…it was strip the covers off the wheelchair back, take the cover off the cushion, change my pants and get everything in the bag and the bag into the washing machine…just another day in the life of…

Fri Nov 16: PT with the physio. Laura works Mondays and Wednesdays but if there is a stat Monday, she comes in on Friday. Did some stretching and got up in the standing table for 15 minutes.

Sat Nov 17: The PSW was here early enough to give me time to go to Karate class. I got to look at and critique some of the katas. I was very nervous about doing it as I hadn’t done kata or instructed for a while. I must learn how to instruct verbally to get across what I want. Demonstrating was so much easier. Then it was off to a Black Belt workout which I just observed the class. Very interesting to watch the Black Belt technique.

Sun Nov 18: Went for a 2 hour coffee break with the guys…almost like being back at work. Did some reading and ½ hour on the bike. Did some more reading. One of my friends who broke his leg is using a bike trainer to recoup and rides most days. Being a competitive nut I challenged him to a competition of total miles per week. We report every Sunday night…I’ll let you know who wins the first week.

Mon Nov 19: PT with Laura. Usual stretching and standing. Good news, I will be getting another hour of OT on Fridays from 11 to 12. 

Wed Nov 21: OT, PT and a massage. First time Jeanie, the massage therapist got me over on my tummy. Jeanie brought a satin sheet. I got on the sheet and rolled onto my right side and she pulled me to the side of the bed. Darcy got the ‘face pillow’ and put it into position. Then Darcy and Jeanie flipped me over and I got a great massage on my back for the first time in a year+.

Thurs Nov 22: Swimming pool with Yonna...stretching, standing.  Stand on right leg and put left back to stretch the quad then switch legs. Mimics walking.

Fri Nov 23: PT at 10 with Emily got there a little late. The ol’ left arm got a workout. Shannon got hold of it and put my arm in positions it had been in for a long time. All this while lying on my tummy with my face in a face pillow.  Felt good as Emily was moving up and down my spine pressing hard on each vertebra. The left arm was much looser than it has been for a while. The pillow is soft material with a plastic base. When they push on my back the cushion moves out and the cheek hits the plastic and my long nose hits the bed. When I get up I have red cheeks and a red nose….just in time for Christmas.

Then off to see Jody in OT. As mentioned, I am now getting an extra hour of OT a week….5 hours of therapy a week...yeehaw. Jody worked on my left arm and again was able to get it into positions it hasn’t been before. That was partially due to the fact that Shannon in PT had loosened it up quite well.

Sat Nov 24: Got to Karate class a little late but got to look at some of Brown belts. This time I looked at them one at a time and it was much easier than working with them as a group.  Thoroughly enjoyed the class. Need to get better with verbal instruction…practice makes perfect…..sooooo be careful what you practice.

The guys came over and cleaned up the yard and the eave troughs…thanks to Nancy, John, Eric, Annette, Chris, Andy, and Roy…the yard looks great. 

Sun Nov 25: Well I got my ass whipped on the bike. Byron did 64.5 K and I did…….45.5 K. Started reading a book about the Second World War written by a man, Charles Kipp who lived about 5 K from here. It is very interesting as he mentions names of people that I recognize and knew of growing up. 

How am I Feeling

I am a year and a ¼ from the accident. I keep reading about you get what you have after a year. I must admit it is a little negative thinking but I may be in a chair for the rest of my life. Those thoughts do occur. I am writing this on Tuesday, Monday I was in the pool with Laura the PT and Emily the PTA. We did some neat exercises that, if I can remember them all, Yonna and I should be able to repeat at least some of them in the Tillsonburg pool. At the end of the session Laura asked me what we were going to do on Wednesday…I had no idea…so it was going to be back into the pool again. At home on Monday afternoon, I got a call from Laura; she remembered what we are going to do on Wednesday. She has asked Janelle a Physio and Barry to assist in getting me up in a platform walker. Since I can’t hang onto a normal walker handle with my left hand, there is an adjustable table/bench that I’ll be able to rest my arms on. 

I am very excited about Wednesday. My goal of course was always to walk, but it seemed to be getting further and further away and the ‘failure’ on the treadmill seemed to re-enforce, in my mind, that walking may not happen. Now on Wednesday, I get to try the platform walker. I have tried my walker at home but have a lot of difficulty hanging on with my left hand. The knee doesn’t straighten all the way so I’m up on my toe.  Perhaps with a physio holding my hip in and keeping my knee as straight as possible….I will be take that step.

Got to be careful not to get expectations too high. I’ll let you know next blog, how it went.

Oh yes the blank page was me learning how to post a blog. We got it there but couldn’t remove it.

Thanks for listening….    

Oct. 26 to Nov. 11, 2012

The last couple of weeks I’ve been getting over the failure to get into the Locomotor Program. I can still get into it if the legs start working a little better and I think the left leg is getting stronger. As I can now stand on my right leg and lift the left foot off the floor. Can’t stand on the left as it needs a lot more strengthening. Thinking about joining a gym but I’d need to check it out to see if I can get onto the machines. The bike trainer here is good but I need more.

Oh yes, on Saturday the 27^th I had my first panic/anxiety attack since the crash.  I had just got off the bike after a fairly hard work out and my nose and sinuses were plugged up and I ate some Halloween candy…and then it started…in the past I’d get up and move around. Can’t do that now.  I got very agitated and had to get out of the house. Wheeled into the garage to get some fresh air and after a few minutes it subsided. I think it was brought on by my stuffy nose, because as soon as my nose cleared up in the garage the attack subsided very quickly. Haven’t had one since but I’ve been taking some decongestants to keep the nose clear.

The CPAP is on every night and instead of the full face mask that eats my nose. I use a small mask that fits up my nostrils. The mouth must be kept shut or it short circuits the air. If the mouth does open it makes a lot of noise that usually wakes me up. Once last week Darcy was up at 4 and my mouth was wide open with the pump going full tilt. She tried to shut my mouth but my jaw was locked open and she couldn’t budge it…hmmmm if I was a kid on a computer ‘budge it’ would  have been ‘budget’…hee,hee,hee! I am getting used to keeping my mouth shut and once the nose adjusts to having the soft plastic nozzles shoved up it. It is the little things that matter, if I can keep my tongue on the roof of my mouth no air leaks out even if my mouth is open. At first we had trouble adjusting the mask and I had to take it off several times (note: Darcy has to put it back on), Darcy was ready to put it where my suppository.

Halloween was good we had about 20 kids, all older ones and I have been eating the left over candy ever since, which is contributing to making ‘my George’ bigger.

Messing with the computer…tried to install Windows 8 but it wanted me uninstall a bunch of apps including my WiFi…which I did and it wiped out my internet. Had no internet for a day couldn’t even read my eBook.  Just thought Windows 8 would miraculously reconnect me to the internet. Called my ol’ friend Kevin who chastised me for trying to do install Windows by myself…he implied That I wasn’t smart enough to do it. Got the Intel driver back and got back online.

OT and PT

OT and PT are getting into a routine. OT works the arm and PT is trying to get me relax my upper body while working my legs. Prone lying to stretch the back out and we also do quite a bit of standing and then weigh shifting from right leg to the left leg.  They are trying to get me to extend my hip and I got a bit of a compliment as one of the physios walked by and said, ‘that’s good Glen, your hip is somewhat extended!’

On Fridays after some stretching I was able to stay in the standing table for 20 minutes.

Yonna Training:

Yonna and Grandpa worked me very hard in the pool with lots of hamstring and quad stretches and lots of standing and squats to strengthen the left leg. I was standing in the pool and falling backwards a bit. Couldn’t figure out why the balance is off. Our diagnosis was that the sensors in my feet aren’t working all that well so they don’t turn on the muscles in my legs to keep be balanced…our diagnosis only. Jack, a friend can stand and walk with canes or a walker but he can’t walk without them. He has no feeling in his feet which would explain hius lack of balance. At home when standing I seem to be able to balance so here’s hoping it is just in the pool…..

 Social Life:

Went to two Halloween parties, (Laura and Jeff’s Engagement Party, Sensei Mark and Kelly’s Party to honour the Karate Club team that went to the world championships),  the Cycling Club’s annual banquet at the Belgium Hall in Delhi. At the cycling club they asked me to give a little talk on my journey since the crash. It is cathartic to get it out there, about the same as writing the blog with the blog it’s just press send and it’s gone.

 Out for coffee with the guys several times which is always good.

Went to Karate class on Sat Nov 3^rd. It was good to see the class working out. As mentioned previously, I’d like to get back to some teaching. I can’t teach new stuff as I can’t demonstrate but I think I could sharpen up some of the basics and Katas.

On the weekends, did a lot of reading and finished ‘The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’, what a great trilogy. Started and finished James Patterson’s ‘Cross’. 

On Tuesday Nov 6^th went to Elmhurst again to have Seniors Brunch with Jack and his wife Beanie….yikes missed swimming for a brunch…can’t be doing that very much. Jack is having nerve pain in his legs and arms and describes it as severe burning and pain pills don’t work on it. He is getting acupuncture. They put a needle in his forehead just above his nose, one in the top of his head and one at the base of his skull. They attach wires to the one in his forehead and at the base of his skull and hook it up to a battery and pulse a current through it. Fortunately I don’t have nerve pain.

My Own Training:

Found that riding the bike hurts my knee. It is very strange as it hurts right where it did before the knee replacement, but it is all metal where it hurts…go figure. Doing some more work on the knee by putting a rope around my foot and pulling to bend the knee as far as it will go. Put a garbage bag on the bed so the heel will slide easily and the pull the foot up as far as it will go. Also doing leg lifts in bed.

Mark, a patient at Parkwood was watching me stand and asked if I needed a walker. The answer was ‘yes’.  He had received it from someone and it became motivation for him to get up and use it. Perhaps it will do the same for me.  I’ll pay it forward when I am finished with it just to keep it going round. I can stand and hang onto the handles but the feet are bolted to the floor.

 How Am I Feeling

Hmmmmm….having another panic attack wasn’t nice…hopefully that was the first and last. I am not really feeling down, I just don’t have as much enthusiasm as I once did. I think it is just that everything is slowing down and the gains are very small now, but still happening. It is good that we are into a routine but it has become a little boring.

Guess the real reason I’m down a bit is because it’s been a year and 3 months since the crash and I was told that the muscle spasms in my stomach and back will probably stay that way. There is a slight possibility that they may taper off….grrrrrr. My back feels like a block of wood and there is a tight band around my stomach….guess it’s time to get used to it.

Thanks for listening….