October 16, 2006
The termite inspector guy came today. He said it is carpenter ants that are burrowing into our wood columns on the back patio. I guess the wood has been softened by water damage, and that attracted them.
Gary found out the results of the study of the traffic intersection where his accident took place. It claimed that the traffic count is not high enough to warrant a traffic light there. I guess we’ll have to wait until the population of the area increases or someone with influence is in a bad accident there.
October 17, 2006
Gary said he read one of my recent blog entries and noticed I said our joint “leisure time” consists of grocery shopping. He said I should add in our periods where I help him stretch and give him a bath, since we also listen to music and talk during those times. That certainly *is* more relaxing than going up and down grocery aisles ;-). He said there is another half hour after dinner and before our evening routine that we could use to watch TV. We thought about watching last year’s “24" (we’ll have to start over), but since that would take us 48 days of watching it straight through, maybe we’ll start with movies. :-)
I had to go to the dentist for two fillings. It was a much easier experience than last time, for some reason – the area numbed up better (I have to use carbocaine, a less effective numbing agent but one that doesn’t affect me as badly as some of the newer ones). I didn’t even feel like biting his hand off this time. Unfortunately, however, they took a full set of x-rays and discovered two more cavities! Grrrr. I guess I am going to blame all the stress of the past few months for causing my teeth to rot.
As of today, I have just been supervising Gary with his transfers (crouching at ready in front of him) instead of having my hands on his hips. He is still getting too close to the edge of the bed for us to feel comfortable with my leaving the room while he does it, but this is progress. I think it’s partly psychological that he doesn’t get as far back on the bed when I don’t have my hands on him, because I haven’t been giving him any lift at all.
October 18, 2006
Blackjack brought in a critter today (chipmunk), which surprised the heck out of Gary and me. He’s never brought in anything before, and we didn’t think he was fast enough to catch anything. Luckily, it went out the kitchen door, which Gary had opened, while I was off after a towel (I was going to ask Gary if I should use a bowel – oops, I mean, ‘bowl,’ Jamie – but by the time I got back, the beastie was out of the house). Blackjack then ran after it , but he stopped when I yelled at him in a voice of reprimand and let me pick him up and take him back into the house – Tigger would have had no truck with that. It probably helps that Blackjack is not much of a meat eater – he’s never interested when Gary has chicken or fish, whereas Tigger is right in Gary’s face. I’m wondering if Joe had a similar experience.
Next, Tigger had a dead beastie on the patio, but we shut the doors and I got it in a grocery bag (and into the trash) before Tigger could bring it into the house. But then he did later bring one into the house (dead, fortunately). And I found another dead one right outside the side door. Hmm.
Today I was sick from yesterday’s anesthesia – felt like poison was circulating in my body, making my body hurt and making me feel sick to my stomach. I don’t know if it was such a good idea to make my appt. to have the other two teeth filled tomorrow. But if I didn’t do it then, it would be over a month before I could get in. *Sigh*
Gary went to his first graduate council meeting. The LETA bus let him out right in front of the building, so that was good! And he said his push back to the math building was no problem – said it was downhill all the way, and he made it in twenty minutes. He said a fast walk would take someone fifteen minutes. He then said he could have made it in fifteen, but he’d been being careful because it was new territory. He then imitated going back in fifteen, saying, “‘Whee! Look, no hands.’ Crash.”
Which reminds me. I was a little perturbed with him Monday when he called from school saying he needed me to help him in the door when he got home later in the day. He hadn’t doublechecked his tip bars after the therapist put them back on after therapy, and first they had fallen off when he went to get in the LETA bus, and then when the therapist put them on, she put them in too far. You might remember that that is exactly what the therapist at Shepherd had done, and when Gary went into a wheelie with them like that, he overbalanced and landed on the back of his head. Gary insisted that I didn’t need to come to the university to put them in right, that there were no places between school and home where he was going to need to do a wheelie (whereas at home, he needs to do a little one to get into the house). I worried some about that until he got home. I had told him to get someone to accompany him to the bus when he left school, but since he said “I’ll think about it,” I’m sure he didn’t.
October 19, 2006
Back to the dentist for the other two fillings. I always wonder why at the end they ask you if your bite feels all right, when by then you can’t feel much of anything (maybe I should have said, “Let me bite you and I’ll see”).
Next it was off for a massage. Not that I purposely timed it that way, but it was a good way to start getting those anesthesia toxins dumped into the lymph system. On the other hand, that can sometimes make me feel pretty sick, but as of Friday morning, I don’t notice any increase in the ill effects of the anesthesia. Fingers crossed.
Later in the afternoon on Thursday I took Gary to his appointment at an office of the Department of Vocational Rehab in the next town over. The woman Gary saw is going to hook him up with a person from the Lakeshore Rehabilitation Facility in Birmingham. Evidently this person specializes in the “adaptive drivers evaluation” for those with SCIs and head injuries. Based on the evaluation, the guy will recommend a vehicle for Gary, along with what modifications should be made to the vehicle for his particular case. Based on our income, we will most likely have to pay for the modifications to the vehicle ourselves, but it is possible it could be presented as a “RAVE” case (“Retaining A Valued Employee”) through the university, and if so the Dept. of Vocational Rehab would pay for the modifications. It wasn’t clear what the likelihood of that is – I guess we’ll wait and see until after the evaluation.
By the way, if you are telling someone an anecdote, after fifteen minutes, it is too late to say, “To make a long story short.” We could have been done with that appointment a lot sooner ;-). The woman was very helpful, however.
The termite inspector guy came today. He said it is carpenter ants that are burrowing into our wood columns on the back patio. I guess the wood has been softened by water damage, and that attracted them.
Gary found out the results of the study of the traffic intersection where his accident took place. It claimed that the traffic count is not high enough to warrant a traffic light there. I guess we’ll have to wait until the population of the area increases or someone with influence is in a bad accident there.
October 17, 2006
Gary said he read one of my recent blog entries and noticed I said our joint “leisure time” consists of grocery shopping. He said I should add in our periods where I help him stretch and give him a bath, since we also listen to music and talk during those times. That certainly *is* more relaxing than going up and down grocery aisles ;-). He said there is another half hour after dinner and before our evening routine that we could use to watch TV. We thought about watching last year’s “24" (we’ll have to start over), but since that would take us 48 days of watching it straight through, maybe we’ll start with movies. :-)
I had to go to the dentist for two fillings. It was a much easier experience than last time, for some reason – the area numbed up better (I have to use carbocaine, a less effective numbing agent but one that doesn’t affect me as badly as some of the newer ones). I didn’t even feel like biting his hand off this time. Unfortunately, however, they took a full set of x-rays and discovered two more cavities! Grrrr. I guess I am going to blame all the stress of the past few months for causing my teeth to rot.
As of today, I have just been supervising Gary with his transfers (crouching at ready in front of him) instead of having my hands on his hips. He is still getting too close to the edge of the bed for us to feel comfortable with my leaving the room while he does it, but this is progress. I think it’s partly psychological that he doesn’t get as far back on the bed when I don’t have my hands on him, because I haven’t been giving him any lift at all.
October 18, 2006
Blackjack brought in a critter today (chipmunk), which surprised the heck out of Gary and me. He’s never brought in anything before, and we didn’t think he was fast enough to catch anything. Luckily, it went out the kitchen door, which Gary had opened, while I was off after a towel (I was going to ask Gary if I should use a bowel – oops, I mean, ‘bowl,’ Jamie – but by the time I got back, the beastie was out of the house). Blackjack then ran after it , but he stopped when I yelled at him in a voice of reprimand and let me pick him up and take him back into the house – Tigger would have had no truck with that. It probably helps that Blackjack is not much of a meat eater – he’s never interested when Gary has chicken or fish, whereas Tigger is right in Gary’s face. I’m wondering if Joe had a similar experience.
Next, Tigger had a dead beastie on the patio, but we shut the doors and I got it in a grocery bag (and into the trash) before Tigger could bring it into the house. But then he did later bring one into the house (dead, fortunately). And I found another dead one right outside the side door. Hmm.
Today I was sick from yesterday’s anesthesia – felt like poison was circulating in my body, making my body hurt and making me feel sick to my stomach. I don’t know if it was such a good idea to make my appt. to have the other two teeth filled tomorrow. But if I didn’t do it then, it would be over a month before I could get in. *Sigh*
Gary went to his first graduate council meeting. The LETA bus let him out right in front of the building, so that was good! And he said his push back to the math building was no problem – said it was downhill all the way, and he made it in twenty minutes. He said a fast walk would take someone fifteen minutes. He then said he could have made it in fifteen, but he’d been being careful because it was new territory. He then imitated going back in fifteen, saying, “‘Whee! Look, no hands.’ Crash.”
Which reminds me. I was a little perturbed with him Monday when he called from school saying he needed me to help him in the door when he got home later in the day. He hadn’t doublechecked his tip bars after the therapist put them back on after therapy, and first they had fallen off when he went to get in the LETA bus, and then when the therapist put them on, she put them in too far. You might remember that that is exactly what the therapist at Shepherd had done, and when Gary went into a wheelie with them like that, he overbalanced and landed on the back of his head. Gary insisted that I didn’t need to come to the university to put them in right, that there were no places between school and home where he was going to need to do a wheelie (whereas at home, he needs to do a little one to get into the house). I worried some about that until he got home. I had told him to get someone to accompany him to the bus when he left school, but since he said “I’ll think about it,” I’m sure he didn’t.
October 19, 2006
Back to the dentist for the other two fillings. I always wonder why at the end they ask you if your bite feels all right, when by then you can’t feel much of anything (maybe I should have said, “Let me bite you and I’ll see”).
Next it was off for a massage. Not that I purposely timed it that way, but it was a good way to start getting those anesthesia toxins dumped into the lymph system. On the other hand, that can sometimes make me feel pretty sick, but as of Friday morning, I don’t notice any increase in the ill effects of the anesthesia. Fingers crossed.
Later in the afternoon on Thursday I took Gary to his appointment at an office of the Department of Vocational Rehab in the next town over. The woman Gary saw is going to hook him up with a person from the Lakeshore Rehabilitation Facility in Birmingham. Evidently this person specializes in the “adaptive drivers evaluation” for those with SCIs and head injuries. Based on the evaluation, the guy will recommend a vehicle for Gary, along with what modifications should be made to the vehicle for his particular case. Based on our income, we will most likely have to pay for the modifications to the vehicle ourselves, but it is possible it could be presented as a “RAVE” case (“Retaining A Valued Employee”) through the university, and if so the Dept. of Vocational Rehab would pay for the modifications. It wasn’t clear what the likelihood of that is – I guess we’ll wait and see until after the evaluation.
By the way, if you are telling someone an anecdote, after fifteen minutes, it is too late to say, “To make a long story short.” We could have been done with that appointment a lot sooner ;-). The woman was very helpful, however.
posted by Peg Daniels at 9:00 AM
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