I was seeking inspiration in a glass of red wine while posting this blog but unfortunately Val threw it on the floor. Ironically this makes her the first person to still red light on the carpet in the new Apartment. Whatever, you know what I mean :-)
The last few weeks have been ridiculously busy and I have been exhausted at the end of most days and sometimes in the middle of them. I am now regularly (i.e. more than once) putting in more than three kms active peddling with my legs and ten kms (on resistance level 3) with my arms on the Motomed. I also do modified yoga with Tracy for two hours on Mondays and Wednesdays and an hour plus of hydrotherapy on Fridays. Pretty good for a quadriplegic, I reckon :-)
We have recently found a number of other wonderful looking rehab machines online at Hocoma.com and easystand.com . I want all of them, and have requested prices for some. Pricey little bits of equipment! This, in conjunction with the great results I am getting from my current exercise regime, has got me thinking that maybe I should start a new and innovative "PhysiYoga" clinic. I am sure there should be some government grants available in addition to research and development tax deductions. Hopefully these will include business class airfares to the USA and Switzerland to check the equipment out :-). I've even looked at properties that may be suitable for such a venture. What do you think, Folks? Townsville could be the new SCI Rehab Centre in Australia. :Perhaps I should approach Mayor Jenny Hill and see what she thinks........
It has also been a busy time socially, with outings for Tracy Armstrong and Dave Shorten graduations, St Patricks Day and Friday afternoon drinks at the wonderful Touch of Salt. I also had a lovely visit from Margie and Ralph, they must have enjoyed it as they are coming back again in April. Russell and Colin are coming to visit this weekend (Easter), so I can have a slightly early celebration with them for Colin's milestone birthday. We hope to do this at Larissa's on Saturday afternoon in her new outdoor entertaining area. Last time I visited the outdoor entertainment area a very cut lizard stuck its head up to say 'hello' to me. A moment later I realised that it was a lizard without legs - ie, a snake. Hopefully he will not join the party on Saturday.
While I am here I may as well confess to a few less worthy practices: yes, that's right, I have bitten ALL of the nails off of my left hand. AND watched all of "Justified" and ALL of Season One of the Walking Dead. Seriously, though, "Justified" is completely justified and the best TV series I have seen in quite a while. Equally as good as "Game of Thrones" and "True Blood" in my book. And will you all please hurry up and watch it so we can discuss what happens in Season Four??
I think one of the truths for people in wheelchairs is that you can never have enough velcro. Last week I managed to throw my phone on the floor in the bathroom. Val kindly came to the unit to pick the phone up and give it back to me as there was a high risk that I would drive over it if she didn't. Shortly after she left, I scratched my eyebrow and somehow threw my glasses on the floor - right next to the wheel! I immediately rang Val only to discover her phone ringing on my kitchen table. I have since obtained velcro for the phone but I am reluctant to stick any on my head to keep the glasses there.
Scrabble Club is going well and will be held at my apartment this week. I hope my luck from the weekend holds out as Val gave me two 500 plus games and the lovely "outgazes" for 126 points (not on a triple triple :-( ). I wish I could be playing in the Nationals this year, but it is a little too early. It won't stop me obsessively checking the results on line and cheering on my friends. Good luck in particular to Helen Maurus, Ryan Anderson and Naween Fernando: may the blanks be with you! I would wish this for Alastair Richards but he is too good to need it ;-)
Darrel has been outdoing himself lately with delicious meals. My latest favourite is the crab, coriander and cashew spring rolls. We have also had some lovely meals out together most recently at Longboards (the mini fish tacos rock) and Yum Cha at Benny's. We still haven't used our gift voucher to Watermark so there is more to look forward to in dining in the near future.
I would like to close this blog by wishing you all a happy and chocolate-filled Easter.
xxx
Sent from my iPad
Monday, 25 March 2013
Thursday, 7 March 2013
A year or so later
A year and three days ago my life and I changed dramatically. I should probably have reflected and written a serious post on this but chose to exercise instead :-) I will do a serious reflective post one-day - getting stronger is top priority at the moment (Yes, I have watched all of Justified).
On Monday I achieved a new personal-best on the leg bike – 2.3 km! After that it was time to switch to the arms, so I got Katelyn to set me up on resistance level III before she headed off to the shops. I thought it would take her about half an hour. Once you're strapped in you just have to keep pedalling or let the bike pedal for you, so I just kept on pedalling until she got back nearly 45 minutes later. Result - another new personal-best 7 km!
After that I had little nap :-)
Fortunately the nap and Tracy's enthusiasm got me through two hours of yoga/physio that afternoon. We have managed three afternoons this week which in addition to the bike most days is lot! There is a photo up on Facebook if anyone is interested in seeing what we have got up to.
If you are on Facebook you should also check out the short video of a spider that I have shared, it still makes me laugh and I have watched it at least a dozen times!
On Monday I achieved a new personal-best on the leg bike – 2.3 km! After that it was time to switch to the arms, so I got Katelyn to set me up on resistance level III before she headed off to the shops. I thought it would take her about half an hour. Once you're strapped in you just have to keep pedalling or let the bike pedal for you, so I just kept on pedalling until she got back nearly 45 minutes later. Result - another new personal-best 7 km!
After that I had little nap :-)
Fortunately the nap and Tracy's enthusiasm got me through two hours of yoga/physio that afternoon. We have managed three afternoons this week which in addition to the bike most days is lot! There is a photo up on Facebook if anyone is interested in seeing what we have got up to.
If you are on Facebook you should also check out the short video of a spider that I have shared, it still makes me laugh and I have watched it at least a dozen times!
It was Cali's 15th birthday on Tuesday but we celebrated a little early (Monday night) at my place.
Cali looked lovely and a good night was had by all.
Cali looked lovely and a good night was had by all.
I will be finishing off the weeks exercise with hydrotherapy tomorrow, hopefully it will be enough to work off Norms seafood lasagne - yum!
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Julie Brice, Chip Hunter
On the weekends my carers work from 730 - 11 AM and then 7 PM to 9:30 PM, so unless I have organised something with friends I have eight hours by myself during the days. On Saturday I hadn't organised anything. I had a snack before Miriam left and thought that it would tide me over till Larissa arrived at 6 PM. When Larissa arrived she was surprised at the amount of crumbs on the floor until she saw the Twisties packet on my lap. Then she was surprised at the furniture arrangement.
Darrel had left an open packet of chips on the middle of the coffee table, to get to them I had to push the couch out of the way up against the windows and manoeuvre the chair close enough to the table that I could grab them. This took a few attempts and I moved the coffee table in the process. The next test was getting the chips to my mouth. I had about 50% success rate so there were quite a few on the floor for me to drive over...
Fortunately there was no lasting damage to the furniture or the carpet:-)
I am Julie Brice, Chip Hunter.
Darrel had left an open packet of chips on the middle of the coffee table, to get to them I had to push the couch out of the way up against the windows and manoeuvre the chair close enough to the table that I could grab them. This took a few attempts and I moved the coffee table in the process. The next test was getting the chips to my mouth. I had about 50% success rate so there were quite a few on the floor for me to drive over...
Fortunately there was no lasting damage to the furniture or the carpet:-)
I am Julie Brice, Chip Hunter.
And now I'm tired…
This morning I got back on the Motomed bike and cranked up the saints "know your product". During my half hour on the leg bike I managed to pedal 2 km. All by myself. Without any help from the machine or any breaks :-) So I will attribute this new personal-best in part to the saints awesome album.
I also managed 6 km on the arm bike while listening to rancid "Life won’t wait", an apt title.
This comes on top of a day with no hillbilly heroin (endone) yesterday - the first of such days I've had in quite a while as my shoulder pain has been bad.
I have a feeling it's going to be a good week :-)
I also managed 6 km on the arm bike while listening to rancid "Life won’t wait", an apt title.
This comes on top of a day with no hillbilly heroin (endone) yesterday - the first of such days I've had in quite a while as my shoulder pain has been bad.
I have a feeling it's going to be a good week :-)
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Drainage systems
This blog contains stories about wee and catheters and maybe somewhat distasteful. Read at your own risk...
Unfortunately I cannot transfer in and out of my chair, nor can I self catheterise as I do not have enough hand function which resulted in my agreeing to a SPC (Suprapubic catheter - Basically a tube stuck through my abdominal wall into my bladder).
I use a valve at the end of the catheter when I need to pee and have a system setup in my chair that it drains through the footplate. The chair also allows me to elevate my feet so that wee can discharge straight into a toilet bowl. So yes boys I now prefer toilet seats to be left up!
The system works really well provided there is enough room for me to manoeuvre the wheelchair. It doesn't work for standard sized toilets as I can't get through the door, nor will it work if there are steps on the way to the bathroom.
So, if I am out and about and need to use the facilities and there is no wheelchair friendly bathroom then I shall retaliate by peeing in the car park or on the lawn. If I come to visit and you don't like your neighbours I can irrigate their nature strip:-)
You have been warned…
Unfortunately I cannot transfer in and out of my chair, nor can I self catheterise as I do not have enough hand function which resulted in my agreeing to a SPC (Suprapubic catheter - Basically a tube stuck through my abdominal wall into my bladder).
I use a valve at the end of the catheter when I need to pee and have a system setup in my chair that it drains through the footplate. The chair also allows me to elevate my feet so that wee can discharge straight into a toilet bowl. So yes boys I now prefer toilet seats to be left up!
The system works really well provided there is enough room for me to manoeuvre the wheelchair. It doesn't work for standard sized toilets as I can't get through the door, nor will it work if there are steps on the way to the bathroom.
So, if I am out and about and need to use the facilities and there is no wheelchair friendly bathroom then I shall retaliate by peeing in the car park or on the lawn. If I come to visit and you don't like your neighbours I can irrigate their nature strip:-)
You have been warned…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Are we there yet?
Any errors or spelling mistakes in this blog are the fault of voice to text :-)
I promised myself last night that I was not allowed to start watching Justified season three until I had done a blog, so this may be short and sweet as I need to see what happens next! The blog ends suddenly again as there is a flaw in this site or more probably a flaw in my understanding of it.
The apartment is starting to look a lot more like home. Kylie and Ron have hung up most of my pictures, Shaun and Ron's outdoor setting has been delivered, I have a TV in my bedroom, and a working fridge for wine on the balcony. A pantry has been organised and should be delivered in a few weeks and the sound system has been installed. There is only one area that still needs to be tidied up and then I have to get onto a dreaded task – organising my tax from last year.
It was lovely to catch up with Margie and Ralph last week but we didn't bother to try my pool experiment. We wouldn't have had time in between long lunches anyway :-) I've realised there is no way to avoid a fixed hoist so that is another task to add to the list...
I've been playing a fair bit of Scrabble lately including a tournament that was held at the aeroclub on 10 February. I came third but still managed to lose 16 points from my rating. Surely the Scrabble study should pay off soon… Another tournament was organised for this weekend but has been cancelled due to lack of interest.
I've rearranged some of my carer hours to give me more time for exercise and have been back on the motomed bike this week. I achieved a new personal-best today – 1.05 km of active leg exercise (ie me actually riding the equivalent of this distance rather than the machine just pedalling it for me). I think I can thank the new sound system and ”Rage against the machine" for extra motivation to pedal the machine:-) Tracey Armstrong will be helping me with the project walk at home program 3 times a week as of next week. I will also be starting hydrotherapy with NQ Community health in a few weeks.
I met up with a local boy who had attended project walk in the states last week. He had a great deal of praise for that program but thought that the Sydney branch was worth a try as well so I am no further along in the decision-making process.
I promised myself last night that I was not allowed to start watching Justified season three until I had done a blog, so this may be short and sweet as I need to see what happens next! The blog ends suddenly again as there is a flaw in this site or more probably a flaw in my understanding of it.
The apartment is starting to look a lot more like home. Kylie and Ron have hung up most of my pictures, Shaun and Ron's outdoor setting has been delivered, I have a TV in my bedroom, and a working fridge for wine on the balcony. A pantry has been organised and should be delivered in a few weeks and the sound system has been installed. There is only one area that still needs to be tidied up and then I have to get onto a dreaded task – organising my tax from last year.
It was lovely to catch up with Margie and Ralph last week but we didn't bother to try my pool experiment. We wouldn't have had time in between long lunches anyway :-) I've realised there is no way to avoid a fixed hoist so that is another task to add to the list...
I've been playing a fair bit of Scrabble lately including a tournament that was held at the aeroclub on 10 February. I came third but still managed to lose 16 points from my rating. Surely the Scrabble study should pay off soon… Another tournament was organised for this weekend but has been cancelled due to lack of interest.
I've rearranged some of my carer hours to give me more time for exercise and have been back on the motomed bike this week. I achieved a new personal-best today – 1.05 km of active leg exercise (ie me actually riding the equivalent of this distance rather than the machine just pedalling it for me). I think I can thank the new sound system and ”Rage against the machine" for extra motivation to pedal the machine:-) Tracey Armstrong will be helping me with the project walk at home program 3 times a week as of next week. I will also be starting hydrotherapy with NQ Community health in a few weeks.
I met up with a local boy who had attended project walk in the states last week. He had a great deal of praise for that program but thought that the Sydney branch was worth a try as well so I am no further along in the decision-making process.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Moving
As usual this blog is brought to you by voice to text...
My apologies for the lack of news lately I have been busy moving and unpacking. That's right, I have finally moved into the Dalgety!!! We moved out of Clark Street over the Australia day weekend ~ by we I mean that Kylie and Val did an amazing job organising removalists and furniture deliveries as well as unpacking and helping to organise the kitchen etc. Shaun and Ron were also fantastic helping with the unpacking and organising and Shaun helped Darrel assemble the bed. Ironically we all get to do more of this in the near future as Shaun and Ron are moving into my Flinders Street apartment and I am becoming caretaker of their outdoor setting:-)
My physio plans have fallen by the wayside over the last two weeks. The first obstacle was a blister on my leg the size of a 50 cent piece that became infected. It has cleared up now but looks like it will leave a lovely scar. The second obstacle has been unpacking and trying to understand some of the new technology that Ron has installed for me:-) The new voice controlled TV is communicating with the washing machine, I think they are planning to elope. The OT is coming back tomorrow to try and get things to talk to my phone, the door installer is also coming back so that we can enter new pins to open the door. I love what you can do with the new technology but it sure can drive you crazy until you are used to it:-) Still on the to do list are TVs for the bedrooms and Sonos Music system
I finally got stuck into one of the hardest unpacking jobs Yesterday - The culling of the clothes and shoes:-(On the plus side if I achieve my goal of walking again in five years I get to buy new stuff :-) there are 2 1/2 packing boxes of clothes and shoes in various states of repair that will go to the salvos in a fortnight so if you think I've thrown out anything you might like you should come and have a look :-)
Last weekend I achieved some more firsts - rolling to the motor boat club to listen to Jeff Johnson and band and wearing a pair of jeans for the first time since the accident. The first achievement was fun (even more so when you count buying a new shirt on the way). The second not so much so as the jeans were decidedly tight when sitting up which was exacerbated by a lovely lunch at Gyo. All this while poor Darrel was slaving away over a hot fishing line to catch me some Sashimi grade tuna:-) And Spanish mackerel and Trevalley and Cobia...
I have still managed to find time to play scrabble amongst all of this :-) Our club is having a tournament this Sunday so I have stuck the three letter words list up in the bathroom with good intentions but I keep getting distracted by series one of Justified:-) That show is seriously addictive.
I am expecting my first visitors next week, Margie and Ralph are flying down from Cairns. I am secretly planning to enlist them in an experiment involving the mobile hoist and the swimming pool:-) If it works it should save me about eight grand(The cost of a fixed hoist) - Fingers crossed!
I am pleased to report that the wax pot which is located one block away did a great job on my fingernails, toenails, eyebrows and eyelashes. I think I have found my new beautician :)
Val is here for a game of Scrabble so I will sign off now. There will be a housewarming once I have my paintings up, will keep you all posted,
love from me
I finally got stuck into one of the hardest unpacking jobs Yesterday - The culling of the clothes and shoes:-(On the plus side if I achieve my goal of walking again in five years I get to buy new stuff :-) there are 2 1/2 packing boxes of clothes and shoes in various states of repair that will go to the salvos in a fortnight so if you think I've thrown out anything you might like you should come and have a look :-)
Last weekend I achieved some more firsts - rolling to the motor boat club to listen to Jeff Johnson and band and wearing a pair of jeans for the first time since the accident. The first achievement was fun (even more so when you count buying a new shirt on the way). The second not so much so as the jeans were decidedly tight when sitting up which was exacerbated by a lovely lunch at Gyo. All this while poor Darrel was slaving away over a hot fishing line to catch me some Sashimi grade tuna:-) And Spanish mackerel and Trevalley and Cobia...
I have still managed to find time to play scrabble amongst all of this :-) Our club is having a tournament this Sunday so I have stuck the three letter words list up in the bathroom with good intentions but I keep getting distracted by series one of Justified:-) That show is seriously addictive.
I am expecting my first visitors next week, Margie and Ralph are flying down from Cairns. I am secretly planning to enlist them in an experiment involving the mobile hoist and the swimming pool:-) If it works it should save me about eight grand(The cost of a fixed hoist) - Fingers crossed!
I am pleased to report that the wax pot which is located one block away did a great job on my fingernails, toenails, eyebrows and eyelashes. I think I have found my new beautician :)
Val is here for a game of Scrabble so I will sign off now. There will be a housewarming once I have my paintings up, will keep you all posted,
love from me
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