Update:
My family and I just returned to Wisconsin from a week-long vacation in
California. We were visiting my son in
Burbank where the daily high was in the 60’s (and they were complaining about
how cool it was). The high here in
beautiful Fall Creek is supposed to be 27 today (at least the snow has ended
for now). Welcome back to reality!
I had hoped that the nerve block I received a few days before departing
for California would allow me to walk while we were on vacation. The block only partially worked. I was able to wear my prosthesis and stand
for short periods of time; but I was unable to walk. Having the prosthesis on made transfers from
my wheelchair easier and cut down on the curious stares that I received while
in my wheelchair.
Despite not being able to walk and being stuck in a wheelchair, I had a
great time vacationing. I tried not to
let my disability limit me or stop me from enjoying myself. I even went on a horseback ride! I cannot put weight on my prosthesis without
pain; but with lots of help I got on the horse and went on 90 minute ride
overlooking Burbank! I was able to take
a boat tour whale watching and saw whales, dolphin and a sea lion. I went on the Hearst Castle tour. My wife and I got to see the kitchen (which
wasn’t on the tour for everyone else) so that we could avoid stairs. After the tour we went to the beach where
elephant seals were congregating. I went
on the Warner Brothers Studio tour (which was a little more complicated
transferring from my chair to the golf cart over and over). I took an afternoon going through a small
part of the Getty Museum. The only
drawback to viewing art from a wheelchair is that the lighting is set in such a
way that there was a glare on the paintings at my viewing level unless I was at
least 10 feet away. One of my favorite
things was to go to the beach in Malibu.
I wanted to get my feet wet in the Pacific Ocean (I’ve been to the
Atlantic and the Gulf before; but never to the Pacific). I gave my prosthesis to my daughter for a gag
photo of her dipping my toes in the water. The beach we stopped at wasn’t too
wide, so I decided to force my way across the beach on my wheelchair. It took a while but I did it! A stranger lent his assistance to my son and
daughter as we worked to get me back up the sand to the concrete. We did a lot of things while in California and
I enjoyed them all!
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| wheelchair-sized porta-potty in CA state park |
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| Hearst Castle |
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| Dining Room in Hearst Castle |
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| Hearst Castle |
I’m thankful for all the extra work that my family put in loading and
unloading my wheelchair out of the car and helping me up hills. Everywhere we went people were very eager to
help accommodate me as best they could.
As a manual wheelchair user, I do have to state that I HATE hotel
carpeting! That quality carpet and
padding make it softer to walk on but really make using a wheelchair more labor
intensive. I’ve found that most handicap
rooms are not designed for those in wheelchairs needing more clearance. My hotel room was beautiful; but I am
thankful to be home where at least I am used to the slightly inconvenient
quirks of my house.
Getting on and off the plane turned into the greatest adventure! A regular wheelchair is too wide for the
airplane aisles, so at the door of the aircraft I had to transfer to an aisle
chair. It is an extremely narrow little
wheelchair with lots of straps to keep you on it while they squeeze you down
the aisle to your seat. That meant that
I had to be loaded first and unloaded last on each flight. I figured that I got my money‘s worth for my
ticket since I got to spend over an hour longer on the plane than anyone else
on the flight. LOL. On both flights they moved my assigned seat
forward so that they wouldn’t have to take me so far back on the aisle
chair. On our return flight I was right
behind first-class and I had over two feet of leg room! Score!!! That was very nice. On the flight out to California, my leg and
sciatic nerve were really “singing” to me because I couldn’t stretch out. On one flight after arrival, apparently they
forgot I was on the plane waiting for the aisle chair so I could deplane. I had fun chatting with the stewardesses,
watching people clean the plane, and maintenance man working on a balky
overhead compartment door. My daughter
who was waiting for us at the gate said that they were starting to pre-boarding
passengers for the next flight when someone ran off the plane to stop them. “We
still have one passenger on the plane waiting for an aisle chair!” My daughter
said that sent people scurrying around to get me off. I’m glad they did, I really didn’t want to go
to Dayton Ohio (their next destination).
If it had been to Miami, Florida, well, then I’ll just stay on the
plane, thank you very much!
We got to meet a number of Joshua’s new friends, people from his new church
home, and some people he works with. I
was able to see the apartment where he calls home. His apartment is on the second floor of the
building and there are no elevators. I
really wanted to see his apartment, so I crawled up the two flights of stairs
to get there. I feel sorry for the guy
who met me coming down the stairs as I crawled up. My son was down the stairs and out of sight,
folding my wheelchair to carry it up when the guy saw me (without a prosthesis)
alone on the stairs. He was obviously
surprised when he saw me crawling and probably thought the Zombie Apocalypse
had finally begun. “There goes the neighborhood. One zombie moves in and suddenly the building
is full of them!!” Ha! Ha!
I’m supposed to contact my doctor in Rochester, MN today to let him
know how the nerve block worked. I have
no idea where we will go from here. My
prosthetist is already thinking about a different socket design to see if that
would help me. She is thinking that an
elevated vacuum system might work better for me. I currently use a pin system. The vacuum system has a built in vacuum that
removes the air to secure the prosthesis to my leg. That changes how the weight load is
distributed and may help relieve the pain I have.
We’ll see what the next plan is and how it works for me. There are no guarantees and there are no
obvious physical reasons for the pain I have, so it seems to be down to guess
work and trial and error for any solution.
I’m not ready to give up the dream of walking again just yet, so all I
can do is soldier on. I’ve learned not
to set my hopes too high while at the same time, maintaining hope. It’s hard when time after time nothing seems
to help. “This is it! This is going work! Nope! It didn’t work after all.” I know it isn’t due to the quality of care
that I am receiving. I’m just an especially
unusual case. This situation has drug on
now for over a year. I do hope that we
stumble upon a solution that works soon!
A Thought for the Day:
One
lesson that is continually pounded home for me is that my value and worth are
not dependent upon my ability to walk or to work. For most people, our identity is wrapped up
in our job and accomplishments, the things we can do. I think that most of us have an innate desire
to contribute. We think that our life
matters because of what we are able to do.
There may be some truth to that; but the reality is that each of us matter
just because we are! You and I are no
less a person because we can no longer do a task that we used to be able to do. If our personal value was truly dependent
upon what we can do or accomplish, then older people, those with a crippling
illness, those with a physical, mental, or emotional limitation, as well as the
young, would all be considered worthless.
Our society contributes to this inaccurate concept of value. Athletes are valued by how well they play. Celebrities are rated on how beautiful they
look. The media makes them spokespeople
to endorse products and political views. We listen to those who are wealthy or
who have made a mark on society. We fawn
over those who have made it and ignore those who have not. Cheerleaders and jocks are usually on the top
of the heap in high school. Even the
church elevates those with large congregations to stardom. We need to wake up! These people are not necessarily brighter or
more capable to offer their opinions. In
fact if you look at their lifestyles, we shouldn’t be listening to many of them
about anything. It isn’t
accomplishments, ability and wealth that really matters. It’s character, courage, a spirit of
determination, compassion and selflessness that are important. The people who challenge us to do our best,
to learn, to grow, to overcome are those who deserve our gratitude. The people who strive to do whatever they can
(no matter their limitations), those are the people to respect and emulate. The
people who make us feel good; who make us sense our worth, and help us become
better people should be idolized.
So a smile and hug that a little child gives makes them a valuable part
of society. The prayers or kind word
from a grandparent or the little old lady who lives next door makes them
important. Even the life of a crotchety,
old bum can be used to help us develop into a better person ourselves. Their contribution may not be direct; but it
doesn’t mean that it is less necessary for our lives.
The bible says that we were created in the image of God and therefore
each of us is important and of value. It’s
easy to forget that or overlook it. It’s
good to remind ourselves of this fact.
It’s true of others and it’s true of us as well. Our society may try to tell us differently;
but that doesn’t mean those voices are correct, no matter how loud they may
shout it.
So for this day, do the best you can on whatever you are attempting to
do. Remember you are valuable and
important no matter what you can contribute.
Be the best person you can be and realize that for today, that is
enough.
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