Update:
I’ve made a lot of progress over the past
couple of days. 1) My appetite is
returning. In the hospital I hardly
could get down a couple of bites—now I am eating enough to help fuel my
recovery. 2) I am sleeping better—but
this needs some improvement. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with
my bed and bedclothes sweated through and needing changing. That is a bit disruptive on sleep. 3) I only have pain when we change the
dressing on my stump once a day. That
really gets my attention! It also
reminds me that everything else I feel is discomfort. I haven’t had to take any pain medications or
even Tylenol since I’ve been home. 4) And lastly, I’ve made great strides in my
independence! Yesterday, I mastered
transfers from bed to walker to wheelchair, etc. by myself. I now can get dressed by myself. This all means that I can go to the bathroom
by myself. It has been like adult potty training. Learning to get my pants up and down by
myself while balancing with a walker and getting on and off all by myself. Now that is real living!! I’ve got to say that Mel (my friend paralyzed
from the waist down) has been an inspiration to me. I think, “Well Mel can get dressed by
himself. I should be able to do that too”
And then get it figured out with some trial and errors.
And talk about independence, I woke up early this morning and
laid in bed for a while, my wife wanted to sleep longer, so when I couldn`t lay
there any longer, I got myself up and out of bed. It is a good feeling not to have to rely upon
someone else for your basic needs.
Although when you have to; having someone supporting you is a wonderful
blessing. And my wife has been there for
me every moment I needed her. Thanks,
Sweetie!
Yesterday, I tried numerous times to try to cross my ankles
while sitting in my recliner. That just
doesn’t work with only one ankle and I was surprised each time it failed. It made me chuckle at how comfortable we get
with our bodies and then when they change, how our minds sort of fill in the
blanks for us.
Right now the thing I miss most is going downstairs and
sitting in front of the fire. So I have to use my imagination. But there is nothing like sitting watching
the flames dance and feel that heat soak through to your bones.
A Thought for the Day:
I am amazed at how self-absorbed we can
be. I had my last IV antibiotic
treatment yesterday at 1 p.m. When I got
to the waiting room, I was amazed to see that the Packers were playing. I had totally lost focus and it shocked me
that I had forgotten about a Packers game.
I’ve just been focused upon me. I
know that most of my energy needs to be focused on myself right now; but it
made me wonder how often I have been so self-absorbed that I didn’t see the
needs and events around me. I want to
open my eyes and be more sensitive (as much as a Red/Green kind of guy can). I would challenge you to shift your focus a
bit today too. Really pay attention to
that co-worker pouring their heart out to you.
You don’t have to be creepy but pay attention to the people in the
checkout line with you. Say a prayer for
what you observe that they need.
James 1:19 My dear brothers
and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry…
So bust out of that “Me” focused world that you live in and
focus your attention on others for a awhile.
Discover a whole new world and do your best to make it a better one.
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