So 38 years ago I somehow managed to fall down some steps. I don't remember a lot about the immediate aftermath just a lot of pain. I couldn't figure out how if I was paralyzed how I could wake up in the middle of the night curled up like a pretzel from the spasm activity. I can still have the occasional nightmare type flashback to the first few weeks in the middle of the night when spasms get bad. I had to get past that in a hurry because I absolutely hated it when people fed me at first. My first job was to learn how to feed myself again. rolling my eyes at the memories. I tried every piece of gear they strapped around my hand until something clicked. I recently encountered one of my original cuffs in a small box of "treasures". Talk about a ragged, disreputable piece of something. For some reason I didn't have much wrist extension for a long time and remember my first encounters with the e-stim, or whatever they call it now, my wrist extensors were hooked up to. It was so weird watching the muscles that weren't doing much pulse with the waves of electricity. When my hand finally began to come up with those twitches it was a bit mesmerizing. After I got to quit wearing those wrist splints and began pushing my chair on the projection handrims with my bare hands it was a big victory, until I learned how to slow down with friction and learned about friction burns. Then I spent time learning how to put gloves on.
Every time I learned how to do something new I found out there was something else that had to come next. I am sure we all had that experience. I turned 60 this year and graduated into the "Senior" programs. And somehow that has made me reflect so much more than normal come anniversary time. I still learn how to do new things, or how to do things more effectively. This past year I had to move totally into my power chair and that was an adjustment. I am finding out how rewarding it is to talk to newly injured and encourage them in their efforts. I am not as strong as I once was and after years of using minimal gear eat with and do kitchen tasks with I find myself using more equipment. On the other hand even though I am sticking my Listerine flossing tool into an adl cuff I am flossing on a daily basis. Small skin tears that used to heal up in just a few days now take forever.
I missed a transfer last summer and bruised my arse up good and spent nearly 3 months flipping from side to side spending minimal time in my chair. I am lucky I didn't break anything. My legs got extra spastic the first week after that happened and I kicked my chair during the night a few times while it was sitting innocently parked next to the bed. But I spent time thinking about all the incredible things I got to do over the years. I have to say quad rugby was the most incredibly fun and challenging thing I have ever done in a chair. The first fish I caught with my hand strapped to a fishing pole was another I will never forget. Some kids that were fishing nearby couldn't believe I had caught one and rushed over to check it out and took it off the hook for me. They were so nice about it. I saw them fishing several times after that over the summer and we always spent a little bit of time talking. Memories like that far out weigh memories about some of the incredible infections.
Times were not always easy, some I really wish I didn't remember. On the whole though, the good times far outweighed the bad. And I do have some incredibly good memories.
Every time I learned how to do something new I found out there was something else that had to come next. I am sure we all had that experience. I turned 60 this year and graduated into the "Senior" programs. And somehow that has made me reflect so much more than normal come anniversary time. I still learn how to do new things, or how to do things more effectively. This past year I had to move totally into my power chair and that was an adjustment. I am finding out how rewarding it is to talk to newly injured and encourage them in their efforts. I am not as strong as I once was and after years of using minimal gear eat with and do kitchen tasks with I find myself using more equipment. On the other hand even though I am sticking my Listerine flossing tool into an adl cuff I am flossing on a daily basis. Small skin tears that used to heal up in just a few days now take forever.
I missed a transfer last summer and bruised my arse up good and spent nearly 3 months flipping from side to side spending minimal time in my chair. I am lucky I didn't break anything. My legs got extra spastic the first week after that happened and I kicked my chair during the night a few times while it was sitting innocently parked next to the bed. But I spent time thinking about all the incredible things I got to do over the years. I have to say quad rugby was the most incredibly fun and challenging thing I have ever done in a chair. The first fish I caught with my hand strapped to a fishing pole was another I will never forget. Some kids that were fishing nearby couldn't believe I had caught one and rushed over to check it out and took it off the hook for me. They were so nice about it. I saw them fishing several times after that over the summer and we always spent a little bit of time talking. Memories like that far out weigh memories about some of the incredible infections.
Times were not always easy, some I really wish I didn't remember. On the whole though, the good times far outweighed the bad. And I do have some incredibly good memories.
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