Mar 3 to Mar 16, 2014

Mar 3^rd to Mar 7^th: It’s been sort of a hard week both physically and mentally. Monday started out great and I had a great workout in the pool. Lots of stretching, walking and I walk up the steps and out of the pool. Tuesday morning, before the pool, I did my workout in bed and decided to do some crunches. I did 3 sets of 15, 15 straight up, 15 with legs to the left to get the obliques and 15 with legs to the right. Repeated that 3 times. All was well until I tried to get up on Wednesday morning. The PSW really had to work to sit me up. My stomach muscles went into spasm and all my chest muscles as well. It became quite painful and when the chest tightens it squeezes the breath out of me. Now this happens when I stand to get into bed and getting into the car. By Friday it was starting to ease off a bit. Lying still at night also helps but as soon as I move they tighten up.

On Wednesday, we had made arrangements to visit Jody, my Occupational Therapist at Victoria Hospital who is suffering from cancer. We were to meet her husband Bruce in a waiting room on the 5^th floor. We arrived at 1:30 and Bruce said we’d have to wait as the palliative care Drs. were going to go over the end of life with Jody and Bruce. I really didn’t know what our visit was going to be like as Bruce said her life expectancy is down to weeks. They have taken her off the chemo to give her body a rest.  They think the chemo has arrested or stopped the cancer in her lungs but it’s not doing anything for the cancer growing in her brain. She’s had the maximum dosage of radiation in brain and it hasn’t stopped it.

Jody helped me a lot in Parkwood, she is such a caring person. I would have my scheduled hour with her at 10 to 11 and then she would ask me to come back for ‘Glen’ time at 4 to 5 o’clock. She did that on her own time. She played a huge role in my recovery with her sense of humour getting me through my depression. It must have been very difficult for her investing so much of herself in me. I was a real mess. The first time I met her she said I would get full function back in my right hand and that was when it wasn’t moving and I had to be fed. That gave me a lot of hope. I remember when I was released from OT after 5 months of treatment, the tears in her eyes when she gave me a hug and said I had graduated.

When we got to see Jody, the tears welled up in our eyes and then there was the smile that I remembered. We had a very good 20 minute visit and went through the spring seed catalog picking out flowers to plant in the spring. I should have purchased a T-shirt that said...F#$% Cancer when I had the opportunity

On Wednesday I also found out that Dawn, my artist friend’s mother, Marj had passed away. She had been suffering from a disease similar to ALS. I never met Marj but we had some great chats on Facebook. She was one tough lady and gave me a lot of encouragement.

Sat Mar 8^th:  Saturdays the PSW is here by 6:30, which is great, all ready to go by 7:30. The stomach is still tight but the muscles don’t contract and squeeze the breath out. My back is still very tight and feels like I’m wearing a steel straight jacket.

Had a good karate class, they had a good workout and I was able to walk for the first time in a week and the chest didn’t tighten up. I was thinking while watching the class that I could do a Kata, Heian Shodan. Perhaps I’ll try next Saturday...hmmm...a goal! 

Sun Mar 9^th: Well I was very uncomfortable all day and had a lot of muscle tone. My stomach was bothering me. Went for coffee with the guys and once again solved the problems of the world...but nobody listens.  

Rode the trainer for 20 minutes and got 5.9 k. That was the first ride since Tuesday and it seemed to tone me up more. I get this pain on the right side of my tummy where my intestine is located. I am starting to think I am impacted again...you know full of it.

Mon Mar 10^th: Even more uncomfortable today. Lots of muscle tone in back, stomach and legs. Hard standing. Went to the pool and did a good hour workout despite the muscle tone. Got home and started painting. Stomach was sore so I quit. Getting frustrated as I was trying to paint thin tree trunks and branches and my jerky hand couldn’t make thin lines. I’d start thin and my hand would move and leave a big gob of paint. 

Muscle tone kept getting worse and my stomach was hurting. Had a BM that I thought would help but it didn’t. Got into bed and my stomach was hurting. Dozed off at 9 and woke up before 11 and that was it. Pain in stomach kept me awake. Finally at 3 I woke Darcy up and talked her into taking me to the hospital because I thought I was impacted. She didn’t think I was. 

Got there and waited for the Dr. and she felt my stomach and thought I was full and ordered a couple of enemas. Had both of them and nothing happened. So they sent me home with the instruction to take more laxatives. Got home at quarter to 6. Still no sleep. Darcy was right! Oh this should be in Tuesday’s log...so...

Tues Mar 11^th: ...So...now Dr. Steen has a theory. When they put the 2^nd enema in, there was a couple of big farts and the pain in my stomach subsided considerably until I got home. As I write this I am getting bloated and I can hear gas moving around. The muscle tone not only affects my “muscle” but it also affects my intestines. My intestines are so tight I can’t fart. Gas builds up in my intestine causing pain and bloating or the medical term is diverticulitis. It is not only causing muscle tone but my ears are numb and ringing and my nose is plugged up.

 I am supposed to go to Parkwood for therapy but don’t know what to do. I went. Stephanie loosened me up a bit and me lying on my side over a roll to stretch me out. She did her usual knee in the back and pull my shoulders back. I was still very toned and even my legs were toned up, both calves and quads. The  legs stared toning up about 3 weeks ago. Did several sit to stands which didn’t work too well because of the tone. Did some stepping up on a box both in front and to the side. This helps improve my balance especially when I fall off and catch myself. It was time to walk. When my legs are toned it is difficult for me to lift and bend the left leg. To compensate, I lean way over to the right and actually hike up the hip to lift the leg. Needless to say this screws up my stepping.

 I take very short steps and particularly with my right. I don’t stand on my left long enough as my brain doesn’t trust it enough as well as the hip isn’t too flexible. In the pool I take longer steps as the buoyancy overcomes some of the problems. 

Walked twice with the walking pole, the first time about 15 m and the 2^nd time exactly 10 m. There is a 10 m strip on the floor and it gives me a goal on every walk. I could feel the ol’ bod toning up with every step. Then it was time to walk with no pole and I did 2x10 m and 2 sidestepping for about 5 m. To stretch the legs out I stood in the standing table for 10 minutes. The ol’ body was really toned up now. On the ride home it tightened up more as every bump in the road, and there were lots of them, caused everything to tighten more. At home did the usual stuff, had lunch and got on the computer. That’s when it really started to tighten. My back felt like bands of steel. My nose closed completely. My ears were vibrating and ringing. My legs were rock hard and burning. Got off the computer and had Tylenol and 2 hydromophone and had a meltdown. I couldn’t lay down, stand up or sit in the chair. Finally I managed to sit on the bed and Darcy rubbed my back. After about 15 minutes it started to ease off or the drugs started to kick in. I was exhausted and wanted to sleep but couldn’t because my nose was plugged up.

I can’t sleep with my mouth open as it dries out faster than normal because the meds cause dry mouth. I’ve tried Biotene spray but it lasts about 10 minutes. Managed to lay down in bed and watch some TV. There was a very good soccer game on. Don’t usually watch soccer but this was a Championship round and the play was fast and furious, quite enjoyable actually. Hockey players could learn a lot about taking dives from these guys.

Fell asleep at about nine and woke up at 10 for a pee and had an accident. Darcy had to change me and the bed. Did fall asleep again but woke up at 2 for another pee...gotta stop drinking! Woke up at 6 but it seems I should have been awake earlier as I had peed the bed. That is the first, and hopefully the last that I don’t wake up for a pee. 

Wed Mar 12^th: Still very tight when I woke up, particularly my back and legs. Even lying in bed all night didn’t relax it. Did the exercise routine at 10 and that didn’t loosen things up. Went to the pool with Yonna and she mention how tight I was when she tried to stretch my legs. Did lots of stretches and took it easy so I didn’t tighten anything up. I am rock hard sitting here typing this blog and I am sweating and my eardrums are vibrating which is very uncomfortable. The sweat is probably from the energy expended from the ultra-tight muscles. I am even taking tranquilizers to help me get through the day, which I don’t like doing but you gotta do what you gotta do. Muscles are so tight now my ribs are squeezed together and it is painful.

Thurs Mar 13^th: Still very tight but decided to go to Parkwood anyway. Stephanie tried to loosen me up and it helped a little but as Stephanie said we are treating the symptoms and not the cause. I need to see the Dr. We tried to get an appointment but he wasn’t available. 

After some stretching I did a couple of walks and that toned/tightened me up again. Stephanie doesn’t want me to come in next Tuesday if I am still toned up as I can’t do any therapy in this condition. Must find out what is causing the tone. 

Since the roads are so rough and the bumps cause me a lot of grief, we took an alternate route home, south on Highbury to St. Thomas then across Ron McNiel to Tillsonburg. The roads were a little smoother and I think that will be the preferred route. It’s actually a bicycle route home from St. Thomas. Still all toned up and stayed that way ‘til bed time. Seems to ease off a bit when I am in bed.

Fri Mar 14^th: Still a mess when I got out of bed. Called the Dr. but he was gone for the day. Did exercises at 10 and went to the pool at 11:30. Darcy did some stretching but it didn’t help much. Did my normal stretching once I stood up and worked on the stairs but I didn’t push too hard. Did some walking sideways and only 2 actual walks of about 20 m each. In the deep end did 5 0minutes of water walking, 5 minutes of bring knees up as high as I  can and 5 minutes of s0plitting legs apart. I usually do these exercises with a lot of force but today just did them very ea0sy. Didn’t walk out of the pool as that would have tightened me up even more.

Painted a bit but it is frustrating as I try to dab paint on the canvas to make leaves but my hand dabs too hard and I get big blobs of paint that don’t look like leaves at all...grrrr!

 

The only good thing that is happening is the BMs seem to be working. The nose starts to plug up   at about 3 and  is really plugged by 6 but after  the BM at 8, the nose clears up and the tone subsides a bit. This is what leads Dr. Steen to believe that it is something to do with the bowels. I get the pain in the right side tummy over the large intestine. When I bend forward there is a lot of pressure on my groin and it feels very uncomfortable. 

Sat Mar 15^th: Beware Caesar, it’s the Ides of March! But not only should Caesar beware, there are 9 other bad things that happened on the Ides of March: Of course, Caesar’s assassination topped the list. Other events:  a raid on southern England in 1360; the Samoan cyclone in 1889 that killed 200 sailors in the Samoa harbor; Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated his throne in 1917, which ended a 304-year-old royal dynasty; the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939; a deadly blizzard on the Great Plaints, leaving 60 people dead in North Dakota and Minnesota as well as six in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; a world record rainfall in 1952 on the Indian Ocean at 73.62 inches in 24 hours; the cancellation of the Ed Sullivan Show in 1971; the NASA report that the ozone layer over the northern hemisphere has depleted three times faster than anticipated; and a new global health scare in 2003, which soon became known as Sudden Acute Respiratory System (SARS). Hmmmm...seems I have a lot of time on my hands, eh?

Karate class was excellent and I did some of the drills in my chair as I can kick a bit and do blocks and punches with my right arm. The left can do a bit as well.  It did tighten me up. After class it was off to Tim’s, it is amazing to see how many people are addicted to their cell phones and must use them while engaged in conversations at the table. Seems people are becoming more dependent on them and the little beeps they make stimulates a happy spot in the brain similar to the little beeps on slot machines that get people hooked on gambling. Wonder what it’s going to be like in 10 years when there will be no conversation as everyone will be addicted to the phone. Perhaps in 10,000 years we’ll evolve and lose our capacity to speak as we won’t need it anymore. Seems these devices are messing up kids brains as well and interfering with brain development. It’s recommended that kids under 12 shouldn’t use any electronic device. And then.....there is driving and texting/talking on the phone. Just heard that 2 friends of mine do it constantly. If you drive and text or talk, don’t do it, it is very dangerous and in some places it has taken over from impaired driving as the leading cause of traffic fatalities...just sayin’! Okay, I’ll get off the soapbox.

Tightened up a lot in the afternoon. Seems sitting in the chair painting or typing doesn’t help. I can’t ride the bike or do much walking as that increases the tone and tightens me up so much I can’t have a BM. Went to bed all toned up and...

Sun Mar 16^th: ...Woke up very toned up! Did an hour of exercise before going for coffee with the guys at 10:30. The longer I sat the more toned up I became. Got home at noon and I was like rock all over. Nothing I can do loosens it up, as Stephanie said I am just addressing the symptoms when I really need to find the cause. It becomes very uncomfortable when my neck tightens up, the ears go numb, the ears ring and the ear drums start to vibrated very rapidly. That’s when I have to take a ‘relax’ pill to cope. The tone started to let up a little by 5 o’clock but still not enough to do anything.

How am I Feeling?

Used to be that too much exercise gave me muscle tone. Now, I am not going to the gym, not riding the bike, not doing as much walking at therapy or at home and I have more tone than ever. Used to be that a urinary tract infection would do it and a round of antibiotics would fix it. I don’t have any symptoms of a UTI. There could be something  going on with the prostate but how do you tell if that is happening other than a biopsy. I am at the maximum of the anti-spasmodic drugs and I know that SCI patients after 20 years or so get baclofen pumps to inject the drug right into the spinal cord. Not something I am looking forward to. My muscle tone never used to get this bad after exercise. 

Perhaps, it is the progression of the condition or maybe there is something else going on somewhere that is causing all this tone. Problem is none of the Drs. know what is going on, I guess Dr. Steen has to figure it out himself. I will start with my bowels as they are central to everything even in able bodied people. I think the first thing I will ask for is a colonoscopy to see if there are any problems up there. I know my butt tightens up and it is painful and that may cause the tone and then it becomes a vicious circle tight butt...pain...more tightness...etc. Just don’t know what to do and I certainly do not want to sit in bed all day.

Thanks for listening...

Feb 17 to Mar 2, 2014

Mon Feb 17^th:  Remember that good resident I saw last Friday, well he had a cold and now I got it. Started as a scratchy throat last night. Had a bit of an anxiety attack last night at about 11 o’clock, for 2 reasons. One, I knew I was getting a cold and Two I had a pain in my tummy that was causing all sorts of muscle tone. Got up and worked on the computer, turns out the tummy pain was gas and several good flatulencies solved the problem. Now today my throat is sore and my nose is plugged up. I will have some problems if it goes into my chest. My chest muscles are so tight I will have trouble coughing stuff up. I did go to the gym with Keith and did a light workout. Was cold when I got home and I’m now writing this with a warm electric throw over my legs.

Well the light workout did me in. I started tightening up. First my legs and then my back went rock hard. Don’t know if it is all from the workout, or as the cold settles in, it could be causing some problems perhaps the same as a urinary tract infection does. I had a meltdown at about 7 o’clock and went tearing around the house in my wheelchair. Had to take a ‘relax’ pill and I finally was able to settle down. It’s just a horrible feeling when all the muscles are tight and there is nothing we can do to relax them. In addition my nose was plugged all day and I had to breathe through my mouth. Along with the dry mouth from my drugs it means I must sip water all day. Had to take a couple extra Hydromorphone pain pills to help me ‘relax’.

Given all my muscle tone caused by working out I think I will stop going to the gym for a while at least until this tone dissipates.....grrrrr

Tues Feb 18^th: My nose had cleared up overnight and I was able to sleep reasonably well from 9 to 1 and then I was awake for the rest of the night, good thing the Olympics are on. My nose did open up and stayed that way until I started moving around in the morning. Perhaps the stuffy nose is not cold related but my ‘normal’ stuffy nose from my tone. As I sit here at 9 AM I can feel my body tightening up.

I’ll skip therapy today because of the impeding cold, my throat is sore and my voice is ‘husky’. I have an appointment with the Dr. Potter today which I will cancel. Double...grrrrr! We have a sign on the door to tell people with colds they can’t come in. We let the night PSW know that I  had a cold and I would wear a mask if she wanted me to. She said it wasn’t necessary as I wasn’t coughing or sneezing. 

A rest day just did some stretching and weights and walking before bed. The pain pills were good yesterday but they cause constipation, there was no BM. Which means.... 

Wed Feb 9^th: ...diarrhea in the morning. I was able to hold off until 6 AM. Darcy got to sleep in a bit. The PSW arrived early and she took over the duties from Darcy. Offered to have me wear a mask and she said it wasn’t necessary. Another quite day, got into bed to stretch and do the weights on my arm at 9:30 and fell asleep for 1½ hours.  Not surprising as I was nodding off at the computer. Darcy had a lot of running around so I was on my own for the afternoon. 

We are trying to get my chair set up right. The back needs to be moved forward. We tried folding a sheet and putting it on the back. Every time I moved it would fall on the floor. Darcy got some foam and cut a piece to fit under the cover on the back. It is too thick and kills my back. Can’t get a piece of the foam removed until Darcy gets home. I’d like to get out of the chair but I had a pee and I can’t do my tear away pants up, if I stand to get into bed my pants will off...lol. I’m stuck in the chair. The ol’ back is on fire. Don’t want to take pain pills ‘cause I want to poop tonight. Darcy got home a little after 5 and it was out of my chair and into bed with some hydromorphone and stretching the back eased off a bit. The tone in my legs doesn’t seem to want to go away and I’m chalking that up to the cold although it was there before the cold but not as intense. 

I was supposed to go to see the Habs Old Boys play the Oxford All Stars on Saturday night with my friend Scott. Guy Lafleur is the coach. Don’t think I should go with this cold. Still got 3 days...we’ll see. Just don’t want to spread this cold around. 

Watched some of Canada vs Latvia, sure hope Canada is sandbagging, waiting for the Gold medal round. A hot goal tender doesn’t help either, after the 2^nd period, shots were 31/12 for Canada. The lesser teams play the same, collapse all their players in front of the net and there is no room to get the puck through. The corruption saga continues with the dance competition. The Russian and American judges are in cahoots and the Americans and Canadians have the same Russian coach...go figure! L’equippe Magazine knew 2 weeks ago that the fix was in, Russian to win the team skate competition and the Americans would win the dance competition and it happened. 

My nose is stuffed up all day but for some reason it clears up at night which allows me to sleep. Have no idea what’s going on. I just keep thinking that all those little bugs are multiplying in my lungs. Oh yeah had a wonderful big BM...LMAO!

Thurs Feb 20^th: Woke up at about 5 with a clear nose. Started moving around with PSW to get me into the shower and the nose plugs up. Beginning to wonder if this is a cold or I have something else going on. We know that exercise brings on a stuffy nose, it’s like tone in my nose and my ears get a numb feeling and across the end of my nose feels numb. I don’t have a fever and I am no blowing my nose at all. I’m not coughing. The only symptom of a cold I had was a sore throat and that could have been from it drying out. The only thing we have changed is my cushion positions on the chair which causes me back pain. Hmmmm...let’s see...exercise and pain cause tone. Changing the chair causes pain and may cause a stuffy nose.  Solution, test the theory by changing the chair back the way it was and see what happens...the science model....test the theory and evaluate.

Fri Feb 21^st: Same thing again, nose clears pp at about 1 AM and plugs up again once I start to move. Since this muscle tone is everywhere, it would be reasonable to assume there is something going on in my lower abdomen. I have been told that tone is cause by visceral problems... I get pain in my lower abdomen that could be intestines, bladder or prostate. I have an appointment with a Dr this afternoon. My Dr is away and I’ll be seeing a Dr. that doesn’t know me and will have no idea what to do with me. 

My experiment has shown so far that resting does not alleviate my tone or my stuffy nose. I did one walk on Thursday afternoon that tightened up my legs. Since my nose was already plugged up it had no aft on it. Today I did stretching and right arm exercises stayed in bed to watch the hockey game...rah Canada! Did a few stands at 3:45...we’ll see.

Explained to him about my condition and that an infection can cause tone and that I have a pain in my lower abdomen. He thought maybe I have an infected prostate and prescribed an antibiotic. Note my nose was still plugged up and he seemed to understand the tonal overflow.

Went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription and as the antibiotic he prescribed interacts badly with tizanidine an antispasmodic that I take. They tried to call his office but he had already left for the hospital. No antibiotic ‘til Monday. Nose cleared up as usual at about 1 AM.

Sat Feb 22^nd: Woke up with a clear nose and it didn’t plug up when I started moving around. Went to karate class and no stuffy nose. After class we went to Woodstock with some friends to look at bikes at Pedal Power. No stuffy nose. Went out for lunch and got home at 3ish and had my drugs. Was working on my computer, my tummy started to hurt and my nose plugged up. 

Started thinking about what happened last night. I know this is probably too much info but I had a big BM  and my stomach pain went away. It’s not the prostate, it’s my large intestine giving me the problem. Hopefully tonight the BM will alleviate the stuffy nose again. It happens every day at about 5 to 6 pm some stuff moves past a certain spot in my large colon and I get the stuffy nose response. If it stays there, I have a stuffy nose for a longer period...Dr. Steen’s diagnosis. It worked after the BM no stuffy nose. 

Sun Feb 23^rd: Woke up very stiff with legs tight and upper body tight. Got back into bed to watch the hockey game and kept dozing off and I missed all of the goals. Good game from what I saw of it. Now what am I gonna do now that the Olympics are over?

Didn’t do much all day. Went out for coffee with the guys for a 2 hour chat at McCafe. No bike riding all week which is disappointing as Byron and I had agreed to ride at least 20 k per week in our trek across Canada. Did one walk during the day but my legs are so toned up it is hard to lift them, particularly the left one. Did the usual walk at night before bed.

Mon Feb 24^th: Pretty much the same as Sunday, still toned and the legs are very tight. No gym and no biking as I trying to eliminate everything that causes tone. Did the stretching routine in bed and then off to the pool.  A good workout in the pool but it didn’t alleviate the muscle tone anywhere.

0Spent the afternoon trying to paint clouds, can’t seem to make them look fluffy. They just look like blobs of paint. Very hard getting used to painting with acrylic as they dry very fast and there is no blending of colours. Even when you mist the painting with water they dry out quickly. Very frustrating....grrrrr! 

The Dr. called and wondered if I could get off tizanidine...but I can’t. I am now on penicillin 3 times a day for a week. We’ll see if that does anything for the tone.

Tues Feb 25^th: Back to physio after a week off.     Stephanie listened to my stuffed up nose story and she just shrugged. As usual, I was very tight and she spent some time loosening me up. Did sit to stands, stepping up on a 6 inch step with the right foot which puts all my weight on my left leg and standing on the sponge pad to help with my balance. I was still tight and I walked to the standing table which was about 18 m away. Stood in the table for 10 minutes. Then it was up and walking.  A couple of walks with the walking stick and a couple without it. We walk now until I can’t lift up my left toe which is usually 10 to 15 m and then I sit for 2 or 3 minutes and it’s off again.

I was toned up after the walks but my nose didn’t plug up on the way home. I didn’t get stuffy until about 5:30 and it cleared up after the BM. Again no biking but I did do the walk before bed. I don’t understand the stuffy nose. It used to be after exercise, then it’s with the intestine thing, I don’t really know what is happening. Just play it by ear and see how it goes.

Wed Feb 26^th: Again stiff when I woke up. Usually in the morning the PSW helps me sit up on the side of my bed when I go for a shower. After the shower and after they dress me I’m a bit looser and I’m able to sit up by myself with a bit of a struggle. This morning I need help both times. No gym again just to keep the tone down.

Went to the pool with Darcy, Yonna is still away. Had a good workout for a little over an hour. Walking in the pool is getting better and several people commented on how well I was getting around. As mentioned my steps in the pool are more than twice as long as they are on land. The buoyancy helps a lot and I’m not concerned about catching my toe. On land I step with right, put the pole down and step with the left and pause to make sure the toe doesn’t get caught. In the pool even if my toe gets caught I have no fear of falling. For the most part in the pool I am on my toe so it can’t get caught.

Thurs Feb 27^th: All ready to go to Parkwood. The white out started at about 9:30. Linda arrived from Simcoe and she said the white out didn’t start until the out skirts of Tillsonburg. Listened to the news and there were lots of accidents and the OPP was telling people to stay off the road. We agreed called Stephanie and had a cup of coffee with Linda. Seems it cleared up quickly but it was too late to go. Wanted to go as we were going to visit Jody my Occupational Therapist who is have a very rough go with cancer.

Went to the pool again and had another good session. Did lots of walking. It tightens me up a bit and that damn lower left back starts to hurt and I have to stop and stretch it out. An observation at the pool. There are usually 15 to 20 seniors in the pool broken to 10 to 15 ladies and 5 to 10 guys. Hate to admit it but the ladies are all doing little programs or doing lengths while most of the guys are sitting in the shallow end gabbing...how times have changed! 

After being exposed to Olympic Hockey the NHL really isn’t that exciting any more. Shot the puck in, slam the guy who touches it into the boards and try to pass it to one of your open guys. Not real exciting.

Fri Feb 28^th: Oh yes no BM last night so on the John at 6 AM. Wore Depends all day and no pool....grrrrr! No accidents all day until I got the sup in and I waited too long. Finally the Depends were useful. I really don’t know how those people at the Casinos wear depends and sit at the slot machine for 24 hours. The gambling addiction must be as bad as the smoking one.

Tried painting again and this time it worked, I painted over the last painting with white and yellow ochre and I‘ll start another painting as soon as it dries. Beats buying a new canvass.

Sat Mar 1^st: Holy shit it’s March and we still have 2 feet of snow around. When is it going to end? Made a bet with Grandpa Bob that there will still be snow around when he gets back from Florida at the end of the month. Pretty safe bet I’m thinkin’.

Saturday Karate Class and during the class, I remember I was going to attend the public speaking competition where Ashely was speaking and her topic was me. She finished 3^rd...Well done Ashely!

Read an artist’s book on how to paint a landscape forest scene, it sounds so easy. I will try the forest scene on my newly painted canvass board. I put some paint retarder init  to slow the drying down.

All the paint is in the paint box which is supposed to slow the drying process. My painting table is low and when I paint I am hunched over in my chair. Linda brought my 4 wooden blocks which should raise the table about 6 inches. We’ll see what that does.

Sun Mar 2^nd: A quiet day. Just went for coffee with the guys. Rode the bike and did a total of 12.4 K for the week. Not holding my end up very well as we were supposed to ride a minimum of 20 k per week. Did 2x10 minute sessions with a 3 minute spin in between and at the end for a total of 5.9 k.

How am I Feeling?

I start thinking that I am not going to get a lot better than I am right now and then I look at what I am doing in the pool. Walking around without any assistance and doing a good hour of exercise and from time to time walking out of the pool. Overland walking has also changed a bit. At Parkwood, I’m walking almost unassisted with Stephanie or Darcy just holding onto the belt, just in case.

Now the things I don’t understand. What has happened to the Dysreflexia? Not that I miss, but it would appear that it is associated with intestinal impaction. All the laxatives seem to have taken care of that. I don’t understand the muscle tone. Whenever I do anything I tighten up. Exercise in other people reduces muscle tone. Walking, riding the bike and lifting weights all tighten me up. Sometimes if I overdue, particularly with the weights I’ll have an anxiety attack when all my muscles tighten up. Just don’t know what is going on there and the docs don’t seem to be any help.

Thanks for listening...