Above picture: Gary on the ATV (he's in front)


May 19, 2007

Gary woke up sore, but not too sore for day number two of the adventure!

We got there somewhat before ten-thirty. As Gary pushed his way up the incline in the direction of where the activities he was interested in were being held, he recounted a conversation he had yesterday with his former PT, concerning a man his doctor had wanted him to speak to at the end of Day Program in Dec. The man was down about his condition and dubious that he was going to be able to do transfers and so forth on his own. But apparently, by the end of being an inpatient, he had learned this skill (not sure to what extent, since Gary needed assistance months after he was discharged as an inpatient). The man had also thought he was going to stay in a power chair, but evidently insurance wouldn’t pay for it and he ended up in a manual chair. “I don’t understand,” Gary said as he was puffing up a hill, “why anyone would want to want to be in a power chair unless he was too weak to operate a manual chair.” Gary then stopped and sat with his tongue hanging out, breathing hard. I gave him a look, and we started laughing. There are certainly some situations where he might be tempted to use a power chair!

We headed for the ATVs. All the utility vehicles, which are enclosed and thus offer lateral support, were taken, and there was a line for them. Though those would be safer, Gary didn’t want to sit around and wait, so one of the staff said they’d put him on a 4-wheeler, which is open, like a jet ski but on land, and see if that was a possibility. So they lifted Gary onto the 4-wheeler, and the guy sat behind Gary to provide support and kept his own hands on the handlebars with Gary’s to keep the vehicle steady. I asked how this differed from jet ski operation, and was told this was much more difficult for someone with Gary’s level of injury (and higher), that with the turns he would have a tendency to slide off. The ride is much more rough, less forgiving. Sudden ruts could throw him, since he has no muscles to keep himself upright.

So, they put a helmet on him and he took a slow ride. Which of course didn’t make it as fun as the jet ski! I got a picture of him on the ATV, and I will put it on the blog. http://drpeg2003.blogspot.com/

After his ATV ride, we made our way slowly back toward the bathrooms, where Gary did an IC (while I went to the car and worked on my story), and then we had lunch, Gary in the dining room, me in the van (too long a haul to carry my stuff there), where I also worked on my story some more.

Oh, and I had a question while we were walking around. Why is it that no matter which way we put our name tags on, which hung on a string around our neck (the tag having only one hole punched into it), our names never faced out? No one’s name ever faced out! What made it so the tags always chose to fall face down!?

Anyway, next we were off to the waterskiing site. The special ski was like a wide slalom ski with a frame or “cage for the butt” in the middle of the ski that they plunked Gary down into. His butt was lower than his legs, and the sides of the cage held him firmly in place, though not so firmly that it would keep him in place if he “wiped out.” To start off, they told him to bend forward and hang onto the frame down by his ankles. (His feet were put in a large rubber foot holder similar to what is found on a regular ski.) Once he was “up and running” behind the boat and felt he had his balance, he could reach for the ski rope in front of his feet and pop it free of the slot it was being held in (by a knot in the rope), and then ski along like a seated water skier. A group of volunteers picked him up on the ski (like an emperor in his litter ;-)) and put him in the water. Meanwhile, I went over to the boat dock and got on the boat that was going to tow him. We got situated, and the boat slowly picked up speed and when the slack was out the volunteers let go of his ski, and he was cruising! After only a minute or so, he got brave and reached for the rope, and he was a skier! It was really exciting to watch. We cheered him from the boat, and it was really obvious he was having a great ol’ time – a grin split his face from ear to ear the entire time he was out there! We kept trying to signal him to go over the wake, but he kept ignoring us ;-). The driver was a little “mean,” and gave him some rough water occasionally, and slowed down and speeded up, and curved from side to side, but Gary never wiped out. Oh, importantly for the sake of his mother’s heart, I should mention that the entire time a jet ski stayed close behind him in case he wiped out. Since he had passed the swim test, there should have been no problem if he did wipe out, but in any case, the jet ski would have been at his position in seconds and people would have jumped into the water off it to make sure he had righted himself, and to help him back into the ski. I asked the driver of the boat how often people wiped out, and he said if they were daredevils, they did it often.

Since we couldn’t persuade to get Gary over the wake on his own, the driver did a sharp turn that forced Gary over the wake, and he zoomed over it just fine. Oh, and I should mention that the driver of the boat was a C7 complete – a quadriplegic driving the boat (that made me feel safe ;-)). The guy obviously had fairly good use of his hands, but not for fine motor coordination.

Anyway, Gary never used any hand signals he was given (thumbs up for “go faster,” thumbs down for “go slower,” a slashing motion at the neck for “I’m in trouble, stop,” and patting the head for “I’m tired, take me in”). The people in the boat wondered if he’d been taught the signals, and I said he was, but using them assumed he was brave enough to take one hand off the rope – and it turned out that was exactly the reason why he didn’t use any of the signals! I think he might’ve skied for fifteen minutes or so, and then they headed him toward shore. I saw them toss the rope off the boat, and I saw Gary go down and flip over and try to right himself. A bunch of people then converged on him, so I don’t know if he made it over on his own before they came to help.

Anyway, he said it was a blast, the most fun thing he’d done. And he was so excited about it that he’s thinking of going to a waterski clinic later this summer. Only, we don’t know how far away it is (it’s at Lake Lanier, in Georgia).

Next, we decided to head back to the jet ski and ATV areas to see if he could do one of those again. Turned out there was a cancellation RIGHT THEN for the jet ski, and since on Friday Gary got rated as independent on it, we got to go out by ourselves for 25 minutes! On Friday I only got to be on it a total of 6 minutes! I was a little more used to it, but it was still on the scary side – until I discovered a strap on the seat (either I hadn’t noticed it yesterday or it wasn’t on the jet ski we used yesterday). Well, once I discovered that strap, I was ready to cook! I hung onto Gary with one arm, gripped the strap with the other hand, hugged the seat with my thighs, and told Gary to let it rip – in particular, I told him to aim for the waves. When we would go over some big bumps I would still let out a yell and bounce right up from the seat, but I wasn’t worried about flying off or taking Gary with me as long as I had that strap. Anyway, that was exciting and definitely the most fun *I* had, though a close second was watching the thrill Gary was getting while waterskiing.

After that, I asked if Gary wanted to do anything else. It was only 3 pm and dinner was three hours away (and the Daniels philosophy is, if you’ve paid for an outing, by God you’re going to get all the fun out of it you can even if it kills you.) Gary pointed out we didn’t have all that time to kill, however, since it would take him an hour and a half to wheel back to the van and change clothes. (And that wasn’t all that much of an exaggeration.) So, we went back to the van and he changed, me helping when requested, and the rest of the time I worked on the story idea I had had yesterday. That took us to about 4:20, but Gary didn’t feel like doing anything more. I gave my laptop to him and he read some stuff I had written, while I meditated. Rather, I fell asleep.

That took us to IC time, and then it was off to the steak and chicken banquet before going home. At our table at the banquet was a quadriplegic who had a very high level of injury; he was there with his mother. All I could think of was I was so glad Gary’s injury hadn’t been that bad. I felt terrible, but I could hardly look at the guy – his food falling out of his mouth, him taking agonizingly long to form a single barely understandable word. I kept looking elsewhere so he wouldn’t try to hold a conversation with me. I did exchange a couple of words with him – I asked his mom what the previous night’s social had been like, and he chimed in “Ice cream,” and I repeated “ice cream,” like I was talking to some backwards child. And I’m sitting there thinking, what must he feel, people ignoring him, him not able to communicate very well. I told Gary afterwards that I felt bad saying this, but I was so glad he hadn’t been injured like that, and he said he too had felt guilty but hadn’t been able to look at the guy. And we’re in better position than most to know what his life must be like.

Well, that was the end of our adventure weekend. Gary didn’t want to travel there and back for the Sunday morning activities. He wants to do it again next year, probably try some different activities. But I bet he’ll want to waterski again!

I didn’t get around to typing this up yesterday, and indeed spent much of today finishing fleshing out the story idea from Friday. Then I decided that while I had indeed made the final scene longer and brought together some earlier elements of the story, it was now a boring finish! So, I tossed it out, went back to the old version, cut out ten more lines from it, and now like it.

Oh, well.

May 18, 2007

*Gary’s Big Adventure*

We got to the camp about elevenish. It was not an easy push to get to the registration hall. I joked Gary should get a merit badge for making it, and after taking several rests, Gary joked, “I’m pooped, let’s go home.” In the hall, Gary picked up his registration folder and signed up for a few of the activities (it’s not necessary to sign up for some of them, for example, canoeing, because they figure they have plenty enough canoes to accommodate any takers). For today’s activities, Gary signed up for jet skiing and “Confidence Course,” which involved climbing up a vertical wall and then zip lining from the tower to another tower. Tomorrow he’s signed up to do waterskiing.

Gary asked one of the people doing the registering how far apart the various activities were. The guy said most were fairly close together but that others (maybe the rifle range? I forget) were “a fur piece.” Love those Southernisms.

After signing up, Gary did an I.C., and then it was off to lunch – refried beans and hamburger tacos. In the dining hall his inpatient PT came up to greet us, as did his RT (rec therapist). After lunch, it was time for Gary to change into his swim suit. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t a good place for him to change – since we weren’t staying overnight, we didn’t have our own place, and although he could’ve gone into the “male cabin,” I couldn’t go in to help him, and it would take him too long to change by himself. So, we ended up changing him in the car. Which would have been far easier if my knee wasn’t preventing me from getting in certain positions. I changed too – wore some oversized IVY CREW swim trunks that I had bought him in Birmingham and which he never used, and also a tee shirt. I asked him I looked okay in them. He said I was no more handicapped than anyone else and then talked as if he was making an announcement: “Peg is sartorially challenged.” Funny guy.

Next we made our way to the jet skiing. Unfortunately we listened to the wrong people in getting directions to it (note to camp organizers: make signs!). We traveled down a gravel path, which was quite a challenge to Gary, very tiring. He was not looking forward to coming back on it – that was going to be even worse since it would be uphill! He told me that if it weren’t for my knee he’d be asking me to help push him. I told him I’d been watching him struggle and that if not for my knee I would’ve already offered to help. I did then give him a little bit of assistance.

At the jet ski landing, Gary was required to pass a swimming test. He and I greased him up with sunblock, and then they put a life jacket on him. They wheeled him in his chair backwards down toward the water, and even getting the chair into the water a little bit. Then a couple people did a two-man lift on him and put him in the water – by his intake of breath you could tell it wasn’t bath water temperature! But he said it really wasn’t that bad after the initial plunge. His test was to roll onto his stomach and hold his breath for 20 seconds with his face under water and then roll himself over onto his back. The staff person told him that if he had trouble holding his breath 20 seconds, he could breathe. I laughed at that; the staff person didn’t seem to know why I thought that amusing. Anyway, he passed his test fine – but there was one problem. They didn’t take him deep enough in the water and when he rolled over he scraped his knee. They stuck a bandage on it and told him not to worry, there weren’t any sharks in the lake.

Next he was lifted onto a jet ski, and one of the staff climbed on behind him. She showed him the controls, and the two of them went off on idle until he reached a certain buoy far enough out, and then they zoomed away! I watched a little bit, but they went out of sight for a while and I couldn’t keep track of which jet ski was his. I asked how long they’d be out and was told a half hour. I then wished the van wasn’t so far away so I could get my laptop and start writing some of this and if finished with that, work on my story (I am not one for idle time). But it was too far so I tuned into a conversation being held near me. One of the conversationalists was the father of a young man who was being put on the next jet ski. The son had broken his neck in a motorcycle accident three years prior – an SUV plowed into him, and in fact landed on top of him and they had to call in special machinery to lift the car off him. He regained some use of arms and legs, as is not that atypical of incomplete cervical injuries, but I’m not sure how much use of his limbs he has as I didn't see him moving. He is going to China and having a stem cell operation – $30,000. (When I later told Gary this, he said he would want to wait until it’s more proven a treatment and is afraid such people having it now may be being taken – but on the other hand, are serving as guinea pigs for “the rest of us.” )

I saw Gary coming back in on the jet ski, and I was surprised because his time wasn’t up. Then I heard someone yell and ask if I wanted to ride behind him this time. I yelled, “Sure!” I went down to the water and climbed on. We started going on idle, and Gary told me that he’d gotten up to 45 mph and it was scary-fun when going over the waves at that speed. Then we passed the buoy and took off, and I was . . . petrified when we hit those waves! There was nothing to hold onto except for him – believe me, I kept trying to reach out and grab the handlebars but they were too far away, and there was nothing to grab onto on the seat, and I couldn’t squeeze the seat with my knees like I was on a horse – and I kept thinking, here I am hanging onto him for dear life, and he has no abs nor legs and I’m afraid I’m going to pull him off! But if I didn’t hold onto him as I tight as I was, I was afraid I was going to go flying right off the jet ski! Scary fun indeed. He told me his hands hurt after from gripping the handlebars so tight, and I told him I was glad he WAS gripping them that tight.

When time was up, we went back to the landing. We were at a slight incline, sloping down toward me, and as I started to get off by sliding backwards Gary suddenly falls over backwards and lands on my head! After we got off I asked him what had happened, and he said he took both hands off the bars to remove his life jacket, and as soon as he did, he had the thought, “Oh-oh, I shouldn’t have done that.” I suppose it was a good thing my head was there for him to fall onto.

By the way, saw a funny T-shirt a guy was wearing: “Seen it all, heard it all, done it all. Just can’t remember it all.”

I asked Gary what he wanted to do next. We were right next to the canoeing and kayaking. But he said that after gunning an engine, that stuff was too tame. So we took a leisurely return to the van – fortunately we found out there was an alternate paved route to it! He didn’t have another scheduled activity for over two hours and somehow about an hour and a half of that disappeared while we made our way back, had snacks, and changed Gary’s clothes. (Actually, I wasn’t a complete idler during this time and during his ICs. Yesterday I had jotted down ideas that had come to mind for a different final scene to my mystery story (a scene I had written long before most of the first draft was written and which didn’t quite satisfy me) and I had enough time to sketch it out more fully; I think I like it better than the other versions I’ve had for this scene but won’t be able to say for sure until I get it fleshed out.) At one point we were laughing because someone kind of peered into our van, I guess to see what the interior looked like, but the sun must have been such that they couldn’t see we were in there. At the time, Gary was sitting in his wheelchair with his pants on only halfway up, eating a power bar (to give him the energy to get his pants up the rest of the way, I joked).

He said he was very unconfident of the upcoming “Confidence Course,” since he couldn’t see how he was supposed to climb a vertical wall. Well, they put him in a harness, knee pads, elbow pads, and helmet, then hooked him up to climbing equipment, and he went up a rope hand over hand. Staff members hung onto the other end of the pulley system so he wouldn’t lose any ground. It was a four-pulley system, so at each of his pulls he was in effect only lifting a quarter of his weight – but also only going a quarter of the length he pulled (that is, if he pulled three feet of rope on the pulley, he traveled only 9 inches). There were protrusions with handholds on the wall, but they were of no help to Gary, he said. The guy ahead of him had some use of his legs and used the protrusions to help him climb the wall. There was also a climbing “ascender,” but Gary said it was hard to use – far easier to just climb the rope. Then they attached him to a zip line and sat him on the edge of the climbing platform. He said this was the scariest part, because he couldn’t feel them holding him – though he assumed they were because they’d probably get in trouble if they dropped him. Next he went flying through the air, gravity taking him down the inclined cable. After he had gotten to the top of the climbing tower I had made my way as quickly as I could to the other tower to watch his flight. He went fast! (Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do this.) I had forgotten to bring my cell phone so I couldn’t take a picture, but a staff member did, and hopefully he’ll remember to send it to me so I can post it on the blog.

His old PT was there to cheer him on, and afterwards she asked me, “NOW what are you taking notes on?” She laughed and asked how many memo books I had filled at Shepherd (two or three, I forget).

Next Gary did an IC, and then it was time for dinner, which is probably best not gone into ;-). They told us at the dinner that there were 59 participants, 60 family members, and about 70 staff and volunteers there for the workshop.

There were more activities in the evening, but we went straight home. Sure am glad we’re not in those group cabins – there will be people getting up for 5 am fishing! And we heard the cabins are cold.

The weather was perfect for the activities – it could’ve easily been too hot with the weather we’ve been having lately. And because it hasn’t rained recently, the water was a pleasant temperature, though it might’ve been slightly too chilly in the morning. Which is why Gary didn’t sign up for waterskiing tomorrow until the afternoon. He hopes to ride an ATV in the morning. Golf seems to be only an evening activity, so he won’t do that at all. Rugby is only for the quadriplegics, so he won’t have to worry about that (I guess that’s to make sure the chairs are evenly matched).

We were hoping Gary’s redneck roommate would show up at this, but he didn’t.

The adventure continues tomorrow.

May 15, 2007

Gary is looking forward to this weekend’s Adventure Skills Workshop. He still wakes up at 3 a.m. worrying about the time factor, making it from one activity to the next. He finally decided he’d just do as many activities as he can and not worry if he can’t do all he’d like to do. Then he woke up at 3 a.m. worrying he wouldn’t make it to lunch in time from some activity. I told him to pack a sandwich. :-)

He isn’t sure he’s going to be physically able to do all the different activities. He kept bringing up waterskiing as a case in point. I couldn’t figure this out until I realized he’d forgotten that in the movie we saw of the Workshop while at Shepherd, they show that the waterskiing is done sitting down on a wide “ski.” I started laughing, asking him, what did he think, they expected the paras (paraplegics) and quads (quadriplegics) to stand up and balance on regular skis? In which case they were probably scratching their heads each year why so few people signed up for this activity!

He also isn’t sure about rugby. He thought the quads would have a definite advantage. This got us into some more dark humor laughing, where I commented that yeah, all they’d have to do was aim their three hundred pound chairs at the lightweight Quickie chairs the paras use – but I also noted that once a quad goes down, he’s down! So all the paras would have to do is gang together and take aim at each quad one at a time . . . .

May 12, 2007

I noticed something called “shea butter” (made from the fruit of an African tree) at the local health food store awhile back. Gary has been wanting to try something other than what he’s been using to “grease” his flap. He’s had various problems in using vaseline, xenaderm, Eucerin, and so forth – getting rashes or fungal infections, or the skin looking dry, etc. So we’ve been using the shea butter on it (as it claimed to be good for the skin) and so far it has been working better than the other stuff – the area has been staying moisturized and having no skin problems.

May 14, 2007

Went to the doctor for the results of my MRI. After an hour and a half wait, I got the bad news – torn medial meniscus (knee cartilage). The doctor says it’s not harmful and doesn’t lead to arthritis, but neither does it heal. So the two options are 1) to keep the knee in good shape through rehabbing it, keeping the muscles strong and flexible, and live with whatever annoyances it might cause (he says the pain comes when the piece of torn cartilage gets in the groove of the knee, and it might not always be there – it may just move there when the knee is put in certain positions; unfortunately my pain is pretty constant, and more than annoying, the worst thing being it interferes with getting a decent night’s sleep) or if one can no longer live with the pain or the restrictions of activity, 2) arthroscopic surgery, where they remove the torn cartilage.

The doctor says people usually take 3-5 weeks for recovery from the 30 minute operation and then can be as active as they want; the recovery is from the soreness and healing after the surgery, and it’s impossible to say how long one is going to hurt or how quickly one is going to heal. Gary had this surgery a few years back, and it took him 6 months to recover, so he isn’t advising me to rush into it, and says the surgery is, as understatement, “no fun.” Me, I wish I could hide my head in the sand and have the pain simply go away.

(And FYI, sister Janet, since you wanted details, he says that for particularly bad spells I could get a cortisone shot for temporary relief. He also says the knee doesn’t “miss” the removed cartilage, as only about 10-15% is removed, and so the knee will be no worse off without it.)

Oh my, it’s been awhile. Bet you thought I fell of the end of the earth. I was compulsively trying to finish a project and time got by me. I did take notes of certain happenings on different days, so here they are.

Apr 26, 2007

My knee continues to plague me. I joked to Gary I should drive around in one of those motorized carts when we’re at Kroger – with him in his wheelchair and me in a cart we’ll look real cute going up and down the aisles like a choo-choo train.

Apr 28, 2007

Gary went to a baseball game on Saturday the 28th, meeting up there with Jack Brown. Gary said it was a very exciting game and they had great seats – the area for wheelchairs was right behind the area for the most expensive seats. Jack brought a lawn chair and sat next to Gary.

I had a follow-up appointment with the knee doc today. It did not make me happy. My knee isn’t as good as it was before the physical therapists had me add ankle weights to the first exercises they gave me – that turned out to be too great an increase in exercise, causing the knee to be painful again most of the time. The doctor is going to have me get an MRI. I’m going to continue with the physical therapy, and based on whatever the MRI shows and how therapy goes in the next couple weeks, I’ll either simply continue with the therapy, or . . . consider . . . surgery. I don’t want surgery, but the doctor seems to be suggesting that my knee won’t get to a place where I’ll be happy with it unless I have the surgery (this he said after I asked if with just the therapy the knee will ever get to the point where I can do exercises like lunges again). He told me that if I were a twenty-year-old football player, I would’ve already had the surgery done, and that if I were a sixty-year-old architect, I would probably be happy with where the therapy alone would take it. He said he suspected I was halfway in between the two (I didn’t share my thought that I was sure I was more than halfway).

Just when I was enjoying being able to be more physically active . . . :-(

I was able to get a prescription for a TENS machine, and so now I have this small unit with electrodes that I put around the knee and shoot electric currents around it. The technician said it causes the nerves to “flatten” (his words), so you don’t feel pain. I am suspecting it’s just a distraction device – I don’t notice the pain because my attention is on the pulsing of the electric current :-)

The chiropractor has been doing something similar to the TENS on my sacral region, and she said I could put the TENS electrodes the same places she has been putting her electrodes. Too bad you can’t sit on the electrodes – I’d go around all day with my butt wired.

Gary jokes I should get a bunch of the TENS units and hook them up all over my body. Or maybe that wasn’t a joke . . .

I do know you’re not supposed to put the TENS electrodes around your heart or on your head, but I’m thinking it could only improve matters if I scrambled my brains. (Just kidding.)

May 3, 2007

We are watching “The Men,” about paraplegic war vets. Not absolutely sure of the accuracy, though they said they were going for it. Some of it was definitely overly simplistic (“the patient’s bowel and bladder functioning have now been regulated”). The patients were in their therapy a LONG time (“It’s taken you three years to get to this point”), but evidently that was true that the patients were in the hospital for longer periods then – insurance didn’t kick them out. Also, there was no differentiation between level of injury – everyone we saw had their abdominal muscles and were apparently capable of climbing up a rope.

Of course, I think it was meant to be partly a “message movie,” that paraplegics could be contributing, productive members of society. The doctor portrayed in the movie was evidently based on the real-life pioneer who worked in getting the patients back into functional shape for society. And a group of paraplegic vets in Chicago were pioneers too, taking it upon themselves to push for rehabilitation rather than just being left to languish in hospitals.

***
My sister Janet sent me these pages from a dog and a cat’s diary. I have sent them on to a few people already. Amazingly, the dog people seem to think the entries favor the dog!


Excerpts from a Dog's Diary.....

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 PM - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 PM - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!


Excerpts from a Cat's Diary....

Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling Objects.
They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are Fed
hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for The
rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to
keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of
escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.


Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their Feet.
I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it Clearly
demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made
Condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!


There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I Was
placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I
could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that My
confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what This
means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of My
tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try This
again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and Snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and
Seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The
bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with The
guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My Captors
have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell,
So he is safe.
For now...

May 8, 2007

Gary went to the urologist. Despite the medication that was supposed to make him stop leaking, he never did. The doctor took a urine sample and said he had another UTI. The plan is to knock that out with a rather strong antibiotic, and if it appears again, knock it out again immediately. If the UTIs persist, the doctor is suggesting Gary take a low-level antibiotic daily – from now on. Before resorting to that, Gary plans to looking into which would be worse, to be on the antibiotic continually or to have the UTI continually. There doesn’t seem to be anything he can do to prevent having these infections – he is doing the catheterization for the ICs as he is supposed to. The Bridge Program nurse told him some people are just prone to them.