First Day Back in Therapy -

Yesterday I started therapy back up for the first time since I think April 2014.  I'll be going 2-3 times a week at Norton's Rehab Center in Louisville, Kentucky.  I'm pretty excited about it.  They are somewhat overshadowed by but no less qualified and able than Frazier's Rehab in Louisville.  Frazier's gets all the funding by the Reeves Foundation and have had breakthroughs in a couple studies.  But for basic therapy, Norton's is equally as good (supposedly).

Yesterday I had my assessment test, similar to what I regularly did with Tiffany and Walter at RIC.  I still can't step up with my left leg, however when I tried I was able to lift it off the ground an inch or two and hold it there.  So there is hope!!!  I still can't stand from a chair without using my arms to push off, but it is far easier.  I'm hopeful that at some point in the future I will cross the breaking point and no longer need to use my hands to stand.  Overall my back, while still weaker than before the accident, is much stronger than it was a year ago.  Especially my upper back.  My lower back has a ways to go, still.  I don't know if the fact that there is a titanium cage in my lower back has anything to do with it.  I don't think so.  It is just atrophied from barely using it for so long.

There were two pieces of the test that I passed with flying colors that I couldn't do a year ago.  One is to turn in a full circle - 360 degrees - without the use of crutches or anything.  I think there is also a test to do in under a minute because when I started turning without too much trouble using baby steps, Kara, my new therapist, said, "We should have timed this..."  But I was able to baby step my way fully around!  Cool...

The other test was to pick up an object from the ground from a standing, unassisted position.  Kara had me pick up a magic marker.  I put my left hand on my left leg (Louie) to steady it, but otherwise was able to bend over, pick it up, and return to standing straight up without terrible trouble.  I mean, it was HARD, but I was able to do it!  So...yeah... progress.

I will try and get a video and/or some pics once actual therapy starts.  I should have gotten one of me turning and picking up the marker.  Oh well.

Dear Lord, thank You for the healing I've experienced to date and for the progress I continue to make.  Please allow these new therapy sessions to yield fruitful results.  Heal me, Lord!  Let me be fully healed.  But also, thank You for strengthening me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can go about life with confidence and ambition, moreso than I've ever had before.  Please help everyone with their own personal struggles and journeys.  Strengthen us all and make us resilient, wise, and confident in the paths You have laid out before us, regardless of what they look like.  Amen.

I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas and holiday season no matter where you are in the world.

Chip

Kyrgyzstan Part II: Nature Exploration

We are having tons of fun here!  

And it is way more beautiful than I would have ever imagined once you get out into nature, which is the vast majority of the country.  After a couple more interesting stops in the city, Stephen, Leah and I headed out for a tour of a few cooler places surrounding Lake Issyk Kul (Hot Lake), which is one of the largest salt water lakes in the world.  Here is the story in pictures.

Similar to underground walkways in Chicago, this pathway was how to cross one of the busiest streets in Bishkek.  I was shocked to see it jam-packed with vendors selling all assortments of merchandise: sunglasses, shampoo, art, etc.  My picture does not do a good job of showing that.  I think that girl was annoyed that I was taking a picture.

I caught the changing of the guard!  They walk slowly back to their... barracks(?), goose-stepping it in style.

The next day we began our trip.

On the 4-hour drive to our first stop, we occasionally had to deal with herds of cattle or sheep. 

This is the yurt camp where we stayed the first night.  You can see the mountains in the far background.  Yurts are like fancier versions of tee-pees or huts.  They have a somewhat complex latticework holding them up, while being layered in what I guess used to be sheep's hide, but now is very, very thick wool or cotton.

The entrance is through small wooden doors.  Then a giant hide flap folds over those to keep the heat in.  They reminded us of Smurf huts.  We met a few others staying in the camp including a couple guys from Slovakia and a girl from Vienna, Austria.  We got to know each other over a traditional community-style dinner in the dining yurt.

This is what the dining yurt looked like inside, kind of.  I didn't meet these people.  I stole this picture from the internet.

We slept in a yurt like this (also stolen from internet).  The blankets were surprisingly thick, heavy, and very warm.

All those wooden supports meet in the center at the top of the yurt.  The sun shining through the opening (this one is covered) is the basis for their flag:

The next day we explored a really cool nature park.  This was one of several connected rock formations.  We even saw some mountain goats walking up those cracks.

We had to wait while a pretty large horse drive (80-100 horses!) moved past us down the mountain.  All summer, livestock grazes on the hills higher up the mountain.  They head down to the valleys and plains for the winter months.

Some semi-domesticated turkeys, clearly not intimidated by us.

We stumbled upon this cool area fairly high up the trail and decided to stop for lunch.

I couldn't believe I was looking at this while eating lunch.  Ridiculous.  The grass is short from all the animals eating it.  Cool huh?  No mower!

I think the dogs just wanted some of our food.

My favorite pic from the trip.

We were sitting on yet another rudimentary bridge.  They were all pretty sturdy but I still help my breath every time we crossed one.  We saw one made out of an old shipping container.  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  Sorry.

This is another park we went to on the trip.  One thing that stood out was all the golden aspens we saw everywhere.  This picture doesn't do it justice at all.  Up close and caught by the sun, they looked like glittering gold leaves.  Really cool.

Back in Bishkek!  Last night Stephen had hockey practice so I went to check it out.  I think he's the one in the back in yellow.  Fun times.

I head back to Cape Town tomorrow morning.  It's been a really awesome stay here.  The best part has been catching up with Stephen and Leah.  Bonuses include seeing awesome nature, meeting Russians and Kyrgyz and being able to at least start conversations with them, and learning about the culture and history of this town.

My secondary goal of testing my ability to get around in a 3rd world country has certainly been achieved here.  I am very happy to see that, while I clearly can't do everything a typical person could do, I can manage alright... ESPECIALLY when I have awesome friends to help me get around everywhere.  I see no reason why I would be unable to travel to pretty much anywhere.  People everywhere I go are consistently willing to help me whenever I need it.  Here in Kyrgyzstan, random strangers have carried my wheelchair up a flight of stairs, helped me out of cabs, retrieved my crutches for me, etc., all while barely being able to communicate with me.  I'm increasingly convinced that people are inherently good with good intentions.  We may get side-tracked with selfish motives or ambition, but overall I think people want to do what is good and right.  

Dear Lord, thanks for this awesome experience.  Thanks for Stephen and Leah for helping out so much and being such great friends.  Help me to continue to live my life unrestrained by my physical limitations.  Let me remember that when we partner with others, we can always accomplish more and that when we partner with You, we can accomplish the most.  Guide us in all we do.  Remind us that ambition without concern for Your will is a chasing of the wind.  Everything we do that is not for You is meaningless.  Please keep healing me, and heal everyone else, too.  Help everyone through their personal struggles and remind them that keeping You close makes life so much easier.  In Your name, amen.

Cheers,
Chip

PS - I set my mom up with a blog.  She e-mails prayers ALL THE TIME to the family.  Typically they reference bible verses and quotes from authors and pastors.  I thought it was with sharing with everyone else.  If you want to check it out, here it is - http://battoeprayers.blogspot.com/

Chip Goes to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Where???)

Greetings from Kyrgyzstan!

If you just want to see my walking progress, scroll down to the bottom for a video I just uploaded to YouTube.  There are some other videos on my page if you're interested.

Quick Acupuncture Update- I have been 6-7 times (the acupuncturist and I disagree) now and it is hard to say whether or not it is helping.  What I can say is that is less painful every time.  Dr. Lang says this is because at first my body basically thought it was being attacked and now it is better at accepting it.  It seems that there is a possibility that it is improving the feeling (sensation) in my legs and also helping with some bladder stuff as going to the bathroom is less urgent.  It also seems like I spasm less and have less tone in my legs.  But I am not being too scientific about it all so I don't know if I'm experiencing placebo effect or not.  I'm on break now while traveling.

I decided to use the free time I have to visit Rebecca's brother Stephen and his wife Leah in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  I'm currently here in Bishkek.  I figured it would achieve a few things:

Reason 1) To see Stephen and Leah, who were my friends in Chicago well before I knew Rebecca and the reason I met Rebecca (by singing at their wedding).  Stephen and I met in our church small group there and found out we had a decent amount in common.

The three of us on top of a lookout point overlooking the city.  Unfortunately it was extremely windy and Bishkek was cloudy.  Still fun, regardless.

Reason 2) To see if my desire to travel to exotic places in the world is unrealistic given my condition, making being in unaccessible places depressing and not worth it - OR - if I would be able to manage it well enough to enjoy it.

Reason 3) To learn about a new and interesting culture, see the sites, and typical other things tourists do.  (see exotic places referenced in #2)

This is Kyrgyzstan in relation to China and other 'stans:

It used to be part of the USSR.  It's one of the 'stans, which you probably already realized.  There are about 5.5 million people in the country, which is about the size of Nebraska in terms of land area.  Most of it is mountainous, with some as high as 26,000 feet.  Major horse country.  Horses are everywhere, with more when you leave the city.  The people here are REALLY nice, and look somewhat Mongolian (hopefully that is not a bad thing to say).  The accessibility is atrocious.  I would say that if you are confined to the wheelchair to not come here.  I am lucky that a) I can walk (slowly) with crutches, b) I have great friends in Stephen and Leah that help me get around and act as my chauffeurs, and c) I am not shy about telling people to, "Help, please?" or, "Get out of the way, please!" or anything else where shy people might have issues like trying to talk to a taxi driver that doesn't speak English.  I can say these things in Russian, now, which helps a lot.

In the first week here I took 10 hours of Russian.  I can now say the basics, understand their completely confusing alphabet, and some other basic things like somewhat understanding a menu (not really) and ordering food.  Helpful.  For taxis I just get in and hand the guy an address and say, "Cto com?" (pronounced "shtow sohm," and meaning 100 of their currency) which is right now equal to about $1.43.  That gets me most places.  Well, Stephen and Leah get me most places.  It's very cheap here.  Most meals are about $2-3.  Pretty good food, too.  Imagine what you'd get mixing Chinese, Turkish, and Russian foods together, then throw in the occasional horse meat, and you can almost taste the food here.

Russian teacher #1: Tatiana

Russian teacher #2: Lojamal (or something)

Stephen and Leah have moved here to join up with an agricultural business focused on chickens, chicken feed, and eggs.  Leah also works at a medical clinic here.  A huge reason they chose this area is because after the Soviet Union fell, most of the educated Russians left the city (brain drain), leaving the Kyrgyz to fend for themselves.  This is similar to what I saw in Maputo, Mozambique after the Portuguese left and, to a lesser extent, what is happening in post-Apartheid South Africa. There is a huge lack of know-how here, especially in business, government, and health care.  In other words, everything.

Here are some pics I've taken so far here:

This is a monument to honor the revolution(s) here.  They have had some serious political issues, including a revolution in 2005 and another in 2010, with the latter climaxing when the corrupt President holed up in the government building with snipers on the roof shooting at protestors below while he escaped out the back.  Sounds like something out of a movie and it's surreal to see where it all transpired, just 5 years ago.  

There are two of these making up two sides of "The Square," which is the center of the touristy part of the city.  Behind me in this picture is the museum, giant flag, and statue I will show below.

They have a changing of the guard every hour, all day, similar to England.  They are guarding the flag.  I haven't caught them changing, yet, and don't care enough to sit around and wait for it.  Maybe I'll get lucky soon.

Most cars here are pretty... economical.  But then there is a huge disparity in wealth with essentially no middle class.  There are Range Rovers, BMW and Lexus SUVs, and then the occasional collectors' car like this one.  The owner claimed it was from 1921.  I didn't have the heart to tell him he was a few decades off.

This used to be a statue of Lenin, but after the Soviet Union fell they replaced it with a warrior from their culture from many centuries ago.

Lenin, demoted to the rear of the museum instead of the front.  They gave him some flowers to ease the blow.

To me it's really interesting that they didn't tear down the statue of Lenin like many other countries did at the end of the Cold War.  Because of the previously mentioned "brain drain," and the fact that the cold war was their most prosperous time, they have a certain nostalgia associated with the Soviet era.  Pretty interesting.

Russian beer at an Indian restaurant.  Sorry I clipped your face, Leah.

Here I asked for whatever was the popular local dish.  It turned out to have horse meat in it.  It wasn't bad.  Just kind of chewy, similar to venison, so I was already suspecting.  I was giving the thumbs up for another reason.  Not for horse meat.  Beef is better.  Lazy animals taste better.

Leah filmed me walking around and going down some stairs so I could meet a goal issued to me by Tom Trimmer.  I am definitely still improving, thank God.  Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W9umqQw1Ek

Dear Lord, thanks for the continued progress in my spinal cord recovery.  Help me to stay motivated and to not take too many "easy" days.  Thanks for strengthening me through this experience in Bishkek.  Thanks for always being there.  Please guide me in all I do.  My life is Yours to do with whatever You wish.  Help me to understand what is for You and what is selfish.  Keep me humble.  Fill us all with the Holy Spirit.  Calm our hearts and our minds so that we don't continue to make the same old mistakes.  We are human and therefore broken.  Help us.  Continue to heal me.  Thanks for everything.  In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Challenge: Every day for the next week, when you wake up or while you are in the shower, tell God three things that you are thankful/grateful for.  If you are not into God for the moment, then just tell somebody.  At minimum tell yourself.  Why wait for Thanksgiving?  It's been proven to improve your level of happiness to do this.  Plus it's just a good idea.  If you are married or whatever, say it to each other, or go around the table at dinner with your family.  I have been trying to do this and it typically puts me in a good mood.

Chip

The Acupuncturist

Hi!  Well it's been a while (months) since my last blog.  It started feeling egotistical to both blog and write my book so I pushed pause on both.  It felt and still feels like it is presumptuous to share anecdotes from my life unless they are somehow worthy.  I have no idea what makes something "worthy," but I believe today definitely hit the mark.  Before that, here is a quick Chip-style bullet update on things:

• I now only uses canes around the house.  This is harder but keeps me from getting lazy and keeps me working.  
• I have been working out at a gym called B.U.C. Fitness Club a lot.   They have posted a few videos of me on Facebook and Instagram (most recently Instagram) working out.  They love a) that a guy in a wheelchair still hits the gym hard and doesn't make excuses, and that b) it demonstrates how versatile their gym and equipment are.  
• Rebecca and I headed to the US in June for her brother Chris's wedding to the lovely Emily Franklin.  Awesome wedding including a surprise visit by the Chick-fil-A cow during the reception.  I stood as a groomsmen and sang during the wedding and it went well.  After that we headed to hang with my family in Kentucky for a bit.  There I discovered that Norton's Healthcare's wheelchair center in Louisville is vastly superior to RIC's outsourced wheelchair clinic.  New wheelchair arriving soon!  Possibly sad that I am excited about that.  Also, I sang (the same song as at the wedding - Groban's You Raise Me Up) for Father's Day at church.  People seemed to like it.  
• I got my work visa (finally) here in South Africa.  We'll see what happens now.
• Other various travels and happenings.  Also I brewed some beer which is now carbonating or something.  I don't expect it to be good.

Chicken cow with the bride and groom.

That's in Annapolis.  I'm the guy with the crutches if you are slow.

Our little family.  Tucky is now 62 lbs.  

So back to today's story.  For my birthday a couple weeks ago, one of my gifts from Rebecca was a massage.  The guy had me in agony for a good hour and then recommended an acupuncturist.  The idea was that, "Who knows?  Maybe it will help?" but actually I had already researched acupuncture for spinal cord injuries a fair amount.  There was lots of promising evidence around it, but almost all of it was for people that got acupuncture early on (when you are recovering anyway).  But still, who knows?  

I had my appointment today with Dr. Lan here in Cape Town.  Highly recommended from Daniel the masseuse (Daniel is actually highly educated so I don't mean to infer anything there).  It didn't make me feel better that Dr. Lan's establishment was designated half to acupuncture treatments and half to Kung Fu training.  But I suppose that might seem normal in China.  I remained open-minded.  

I walked upstairs and waited my turn.  Dr. Lan saw me in his office, which was not much more than a desk in the corner of the waiting room.  I knew from the previous patient that everyone else could hear nothing I said to him, but everything that he said to me.  I told him about my condition and he promised me that there was a high likelihood of him helping, that he had helped countless stroke patients, people with sciatica, etc.  Okay, sure.  Let's do it.

He took me into a room where two other guys were already all pinned up and lying/napping on tables.  They seemed peaceful.  Promising.  It seemed slightly like an opium den or something but I let that thought go.  He directed me to sit in a chair so that he could begin on my... scalp?  Okay... Next thing I knew he was sticking pins into my head.  "What you consider pain, I consider energy. Take deep breaths."  It still hurt.  8 pins later, I imagined myself looking like Hellraiser.  

I apologize if that grosses you out.  Also I promise it wasn't that bad.  Also to be clear, that's not me in the picture.

He said, "I am just going to stimulate things a bit now..." and proceeded to wiggle around all the pins in my head, two by two (because he has two hands, you see).  Thank you for that, Dr.  He put two more in my neck and I headed to the table.  

I laid on my back and he stuck a few pins here and there.  Tricep, forearm, elbow, the fleshy part in between thumb and index finger, and then onto my legs.  I should point out that I was wearing a UK sweatshirt (go Cats!) and jeans and he put the pins straight through my clothes.  That was interesting. So anyway, a couple on the outside of my knees, then on my shin muscle (I know that has a more scientific name), then a few around each ankle.  Ralph (my right leg) did not like this treatment one bit.  He proceeded to buck the good doctor away.  "Are you okay?" he said.  I responded, "Yes, I don't think my legs like this very much."  I kept spasming until he was done.  Louie was surprisingly calm for once.

As soon as he left, Louie started acting up.  The spasms hurt about 10x more than usual because of those stupid pins digging into the involuntarily flexing muscles.  I resisted the urge to call him back in to take those things out.  When my legs crossed each other (they tend to do that), the ankle pins went this way and that.  It didn't feel pleasant.  I reached down to fix it only to find that moving my arms caused the pins around my elbow to hurt pretty badly.  And oh, that's right there are still a bunch of pins in my head.   

At that point, about 10 minutes into the hour session, I tried to remember when something had hurt so much.  It is not my habit to whine about pain so please don't think to yourself, "Pfff... this guy!"  I decided to start counting the seconds in between spasms to figure out how many spasms I would have in the hour.  I averaged about 18 seconds.  So something like 180 spasms for the hour.  The median was definitely 17 seconds.  I ran out of things to compute.  Then I started thinking about the hilarity of the whole situation and how I should probably blog about it.  Half of this was already composed in my head while I was in there spasming around with pins poking out of me like an idiot (including this sentence).  

About 40 minutes in, I was amazed at how my body had gotten used to the pins and pain.  They say that humans have a remarkable ability to adapt to any environment or situation.  I even started dozing off, incredibly, in the ~18 second windows in between spasms.  Then instead of thinking about the pain I just vaguely acknowledged it and went about mentally composing my blog and thinking, "How did I get here?"  

I have my next appointment on Saturday.  I am not looking forward to it.  But I'm gonna give it another shot.  Stupid, you say?  Well if something has a 1% chance of helping me improve my condition,  I will probably give it a try.  If there was research that said getting punched in the face for an hour straight was linked to spinal cord recovery, then I would probably inform Rebecca that I had found a new way to resolve our conflicts.  Too dark? 

Wish me luck.  I hope everyone is doing well.  I miss everyone back in the states.  

Dear Lord, please give me patience, strength, wisdom, guidance, compassion, and laughter.  Let me live my life the way You would like me to live it.  Thank You for my countless blessings.  Keep me humble.  Give me perspective and remind me how easy I have it.  Thanks for everything.  Keep healing me.  Please fill everyone with Your Holy Spirit and guide us in all we do.  Let us not take life too seriously.  Help us to live and love like Children, as you intended.  In Your name, amen.

Until later...
Chip

PS - I am probably starting a real estate investment company at some point.  It will be in the US but possibly spread elsewhere.  If you have any advice about that, let me know.

Happy Easter!

It's been a while since I've blogged about our life here in Cape Town.  There have been some really cool things going on here, keeping me busy.  3/31 is also a special day.  It is the anniversary of my parents (42 years this year!) and also the anniversary of my accident.  Let's focus on the good things that have been happening and not the fact that Kentucky lost in the Final Four.

In mid-March, I had a balancing/strength goal of standing unassisted and lifting my wheelchair up to my shoulders.  When I tried, I realized I could go further, and waited until Rebecca got home to attempt to lift it over my head.  This might sound silly or pointless, so let me explain.  I read a blog (similar to this one) of someone injured a couple years before me.  After a little over a year, he posted a pic of him holding his wheelchair over his head.  I thought it was really cool and also symbolic of conquering the injury.  So I wrote it down in my goal book.  That was roughly 5 months after my injury.  Here is the video Rebecca took, just two weeks shy of my 2-year anniversary from the accident.  If you follow from Facebook you probably have already seen this -

Click HERE to see me lifting my stupid wheelchair over my head

I am posting YouTube links because I don't think the last videos I put in the blog were very good quality.

My good friend, Eric Mortenson, came to visit for a couple weeks just after that.  I used his visit as my opportunity to get out and do touristy-type things.  Some of them were tame, like going to the Two Oceans Aquarium here.  Pic of Eric inside the Nemo exhibit below.  It looks like a bunch of cartoon Nemos with Eric's head Photoshopped in, but I assure you it is real.  There was a place to crawl under the tank and into the middle.

We went to see the touristy things in town like this, went to a few cool restaurants at night, had beers on the balcony watching the sunset at night, and generally had a great time.  We took a day trip to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, having a great lunch at the Two Oceans Restaurant overlooking the junction of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.  Pretty cool but slightly pricey.  I mean pricey for South Africa, meaning instead of $5 for a sandwich, there were no sandwiches at all and Sea Bass pulled straight out of the ocean was $12.

The view from the restaurant looks like that.  Pretty hard to be upset about anything looking at that.

Eric spent a few days hiking the Garden Route here, which is pretty awesome from the look of his photos.  He's a semi-professional photographer (no, the pic above is not his) so looking forward to seeing some of the shots he took.  I will share what I can.

We also went paragliding last Saturday, which was totally awesome.  I was really happy when the company told me that my disability wouldn't be an issue.  Still, when the day came, I was skeptical, and warned, particularly, that my left leg had a tendency to stick out straight which might be problematic on takeoff and landing.  "No problem!  We will just strap your legs so that they stay bent.  Okay?"  Okay!

Click HERE for the video of the last two minutes of me paragliding.

Click HERE to see Rebecca scream.

The next day, Eric decided he hadn't had enough of an adrenaline rush.  He left at 4am to join a group of people to go cage-diving with great white sharks.  I'm not joking.  He said it was awesome and there was a spinal cord injury on his boat that also went cage-diving.  What are the chances?  Obviously it was a sign that I should also go diving with great whites!  Right??? I plan to go in the peak season in a few months.  So if you come visit, these are the kinds of things you can plan on doing!

In other news, Rebecca has been running half marathons.  She ran the Milkwood Run a few weeks ago.  It's a half marathon on the southern peninsula.  A few thousand people.  She came in first for women.  If you don't believe me click here.  Here's a pic they took of Rebecca in the middle of the race.  This must have been at least halfway through because there is nobody even close to her.  Not only did she win, but she got a PR (Personal Record) at just under 1:29.

After spending the night in a place trying to copy everything Winnie the Pooh (seriously, complete with 100 acre woods and Eeyore's shack), we took some pics on the awesome coastal drive home.

She ran her second half marathon of the season yesterday in the Two Oceans Half Marathon.  She got another PR at just under 1:28.  There were something like 13,000 people and she finished 22nd.  This one had a bunch of Kenyans running for hefty prize money, so she is very happy about how she did.

That's the meat of what's been going on here.  I've continued to look for work, but at the same time a work visa is still at least two months away.  I'm having a hard time believing that writing a book will amount to anything much.  So my efforts there have slowed considerably.  I'm looking into potential businesses to start (if you have any ideas let me know!).  Also considering going back to school, however if there is a good enough business to start I think I'd rather do that.  Rebecca is kicking butt (heinder for you Maiers, my apologies) in her classes.  The end of the semester is here which can be stressful.  So prayers for my next steps and for Rebecca's finals would be appreciated!

Lastly and most importantly, HAPPY EASTER!  It is crazy to think that a mere 1973 years ago (give or take a few years), Jesus was crucified and then vanished/ascended into heaven.  Have you ever thought about that magic act?  I think it makes sense since (sense since... hmm) He also magically appeared in Mary's womb.  Magically appear, magically disappear.  Seems consistent to me.  Also to consider that if God and Jesus are one in the same, then it was God - not just a guy named Jesus - that allowed himself to be killed (his mortal flesh, anyway) by the people that had up until then been following Him.  If you are God, why would you go through all that?  Something to ponder.

Dear Lord, thanks for going through all those trials and tribulations for us so many years ago.  It is as hard to grasp as it is hard to keep in the front of our minds.  Don't allow me or anyone else to get caught up in the simple frustrations of our lives and forget what really matters.  You are incredible!  As much as I may feel all "high on my horse" at times, we both know that I am nothing without You, and truly nothing compared to You.  In Your name, amen.

I hope you have a great Easter!

Chip

The Running Man

Let me just talk about someone else today instead of talking about myself, which I could take a break from anyway.

My dad has really gotten into running.  He started a few years ago, just running a mile at a time.  Let me point out two facts:

• He started running at about 62 years old, after not running, really, his entire life.
• In doing so, he has lost about 70 lbs., ridding himself of all kinds of medications including some because he was borderline diabetic

Clearly this picture is AFTER the weight loss.  

When I was hurt almost two years ago, I had three registrations to races that would be going to waste:

• The Shamrock Shuffle 8k - one of the largest around and Chicago's kickoff to the racing season, with about 40,000 runners
• The Soldier Field 10-miler - on the lakefront and you finish on the 50-yd line of the field where the Bears play, seeing yourself on the giant Trinitron - really cool
• The Chicago Marathon

The Shamrock Shuffle was a week after my accident.  Rebecca ran under my bib along with a whole bunch of supportive friends with shirts they made that said things like "TEAM BATTOE" and "RUNNING 4 CHIP".  It was really cool.  My dad mentioned that he wished he could have run with the team.  He went out to see if he could run 5 miles, which was the farthest he had run at that point.  

       

      I said, "Hey dad, why don't you run under my bib number for the Soldier Field 10-miler?"
     "Um... don't do that to me, Chip!  I have never run more than 5 miles!"

     "Well it's up to you.  Just saying, the bib is going to waste if you don't use it.  Rebecca wants her own bib for that race."  I think I said something else to get his goat like, "You have to run because I can't."  I knew that would do the trick.  

He ended up training for and running the race, going twice as far as he'd ever run before that.  It was almost 2 month after my accident.  At the age of 63.  He is a champ.  Also, I finished the last mile or so with him, with some help from Leah, Rebecca and Stephen.  That's Leah pushing me there.  I am hiding the massive brace underneath my sweater.  You can see the front bar of it kind of pushing through.  That was really, really cool to do with my dad and friends!

Since then, he's gone on to run many other races, join a running group in Louisville, and in general become addicted to running.  He runs miles a day with our dog Tucky.  Last year he ran the Triple Crown of races in Louisville, which included a 5k, a 10-miler, and a half-marathon.  

This year, he has decided to once again tackle the Triple Crown.  Saturday was the first race, the 5k.  He has been training in the cold to be ready for the race, which is really no big deal for him, anymore.  Before the race, he felt some pain in his chest.  He made some circles with arms and shook it off.  Not long after, the race started.

He said in the middle of the race he still felt "funny".  But he kept running, anyway.  He went faster than normal, breaking his personal record for a 5k.  Go dad!

At the lunch after with his running team, someone pointed out that he looked kind of pale and sick.  She is a nurse, so asked if he was okay.  "You know, I felt funny before and during the race.  Not sure what's up."  She asked a few questions as she was trained to do.  Next thing, he was rushed to the hospital.  

It turned out my dad had had a mild heart attack either before or during the race.  Naturally, he went on to heedlessly finish the race like the wild Battoe man that I know and love.  

After some tests, they considered him to be pretty stable.  So he was kept there in the hospital for days waiting to get a heart catheterization, while over and over again, more urgent cases were prioritized ahead of him.  Yesterday about 4pm, he finally went in for his.  They found two large arteries on the left side of his heart with 90% blockage.  Those received stints.  The rest of his heart was remarkably undamaged from the heart attack.  His color quickly returned and he said he now feels better than ever, aside from bruising and soreness from the surgery and laying around in bed for days.

The doctor attributes the great results to his increased physical fitness.  There is a rehab program prescribed to him for the next 6 weeks or so, which apparently for him is just procedural, since it is less intensive than his usual workouts.  Everyone else is suffering from obesity or other causes commonly found alongside heart disease.  

So I am very proud of my dad for learning new tricks as such an old dog.  Starting running several years ago - and I will reiterate IN HIS 60'S! and overweight - could have possibly saved his life this weekend.  Nice work dad. I love you.  

Dear Lord, thanks for my dad and for watching over him this weekend.  Thanks for Rebecca, too, and for my whole family, that always comes together in times of need.  Thanks for keeping us calm and bringing others together in prayer for something like this, so that we can handle it all knowing that Your Will will prevail, and that regardless of what happens, it is supposed to happen.  Thank You for this life.  Never let me lose gratitude for it.  Keep me humble.  Give us all strength and healing.  Thank You for everything.  In Your name.  Amen.

Call your mom or dad if you haven't recently.

Much love,
Chip

Therapy Update

I can't believe we are nearing the end of February and that Rebecca and I have already been in Cape Town for one and a half months!  Time is flying by.

Several folks have been asking what's new with my therapy other than the pool update.  Also that I upload a video after saying I could walk in the pool.  So that's in here, as well.

In short, I would say that the majority of my therapy is practiced by living life every day.  I try and add little things here and there, so that when you put it all together, it is enough to have me tired at the end of the day.  If I find myself not doing enough, I do more straightforward workouts like squats and lunges, or just walking outside for a ways.  I will give the last few days as an example.

Friday when we joined some friends for dinner out, I walked using my AFO (ankle and foot) braces and my crutches.  It is definitely more of a workout than the wheelchair but also way more practical.  Everywhere we go here has stairs at the entrance, stairs going up or down into bathrooms, streets on hills, etc.  Example - At the nearby coffee shop, Bootlegger's, I can't go to the bathroom using the wheelchair.  It makes it hard to take advantage of their awesome happy hour, since I have the bladder of a 3-year-old.  Motivation to walk more.

I've mentioned the pool therapy, however I doubt that will continue since the water is getting too chilly.  Cold water is annoying, sure, but it also causes my legs to spasm and for my tone (stiffness) to increase.  On Sunday, for instance, Louie especially had a hard time getting in the water.  As soon as the toes touched the cold water, the whole leg snapped back as if I had held a match to it.  Thankfully I have figured out a way to mimic the pool therapy at home, using crutches.  I crouch in the same position (you will see in the video) and use my crutches as absolutely as little as possible.  I don't mean that they aren't touching the ground - just that I'm not putting much weight on them.  This forces my leg and back muscles to work harder.

Lately, thanks to my goal accountability partner, Tom Trimmer, I have been doing a lot of pushups.  The goal was 500 for the first week.  I'm up to 80 in the morning and 80 at night and hope to continue to improve.  After putting my shoes on (can't do pushups barefoot - toes smash into the ground = pain & spasms!) I use the walker to drop myself down onto my knees.  I lie down on my stomach, wait until my leg muscles chill out, then do 40 pushups.  Then rest a few minutes and do 40 more.  Repeat at night.  It really helps getting the blood pumping in the morning.  Makes me more productive throughout the day.  If you don't have a goal accountability partner, you should get one.  Really cool.

My shower here is a walk-in, raised 6" off the ground (common here).  Something to do with the plumbing.  So each morning I step up into the shower using the hand rail the landlord installed for me.  While showering, I try and stand without leaning against the wall too much to further practice balance.

In the apartment I don't use my braces and never use the walker (except for pushups).  This allows me to work the finer muscles in my ankles and feet.  There is also a 5" lip going out into the balcony area which I try to throw Louie up onto to get him to practice stepping.  I don't say "step" because that would be inaccurate and too generous.  Someday...

Each day I spend at least 10 minutes out on the balcony meditating.  First, at least 3 minutes thanking God for everything for which I am grateful.  The next section (3-4 minutes) is inviting the Holy Spirit in to help me with everything in life, to renew my ambition, drive, and purpose, and to align my will with God's.  I finish it off with 3 things I want to accomplish that day.  I got this from Tony Robbins podcast interview with Tim Ferris a few months ago (also thanks to Tom Trimmer) and it works really well and also relieves me of stress.  You don't have to do it from a religious standpoint.  I just made it that way.  Tony says, "Trade in your expectations for gratitude and your life will drastically change."  I totally agree.

Another example of finding workouts in the day-to-day - yesterday we had a lot of pots and dishes to clean thanks to our joint effort at making lasagna (and then eating it).  I made it a workout by doing the dishes while standing unassisted.  If I start to lose balance, I just grab the sink for a second or lean against the sink while scrubbing.  Then when those are done I bend down and load the dishwasher.  Sounds simple but it works my back out a lot, which is still weaker than before the accident.  It also helps my balance.

I've been trying to eat right, too, since adding weight doesn't help my legs walk any better.  Rebecca tends to ignore this by continuing to buy sweets and make brownies.  Actually I laughed as I wrote that and she asked why I was laughing.  When I told her, she reminded me of how much I like the custard pies they have here.  Yes, that's true.  Guilty.  All the more reason to not buy them, Rebecca!!!

There are a lot of other little things - bending down to turn off the fan each morning, standing while I work on my laptop if I feel my legs getting stiff, efforts to stand faster and sit slower... just lots of little things that add up.  I can always do more, though.

Okay here are a couple videos of me "walking" in the pool.  If you look close you can see my legs through the water.

Here is one from mid-December.  I am working towards being able to lift the wheelchair over my head.  I saw a picture of a guy doing that and thought it was awesome.  I can't quite do it, but this shows my improvement in balance.  The wheelchair weighs about 30 something pounds.

I can also load the wheelchair in the back of a car and then walk around with my crutches now.  Also I can drive an automatic car now that my right foot has regained enough fine motor control.  Have I mentioned that???? That was definitely a great day!  I'm not awesome at it so I drive slow like an old person.  In fact, I do lots of things like an old person.  Me and old folks get along great, now.

Dear Lord, thank You for the progress and the healing You have given me so far.  Please let it continue.  Also heal all the other disabled folks out there, along with anyone enduring suffering.  Let them come closer to You in their suffering so that it is easier.  Remind me (and everyone else) daily how much I have to be thankful for.  In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Have a good week -
Chip

Valentine's Day Weekend

"When Cupid knocks at your door, there's no need to run!" - Andre 3000 of Outkast singing "Happy Valentine's Day".

I was extremely fearful that Valentine’s Day didn’t exist in Cape Town, since it I thought it was a US, Hallmark holiday.  However, I just read on Wikipedia that it has been around forever and started when a couple Christian martyrs, both named Valentine (or Valentinus) were executed for marrying Roman soldiers and preaching in the name of Christ.  That was over 1500 years ago.  Not a Hallmark holiday after all, it seems. 

Antique V-day card.

Like all men, I was anxiously awaiting Valentine’s Day.  I couldn’t wait to think about how I was going to show Rebecca how much I lover her.  Yeah right!  Valentine’s Day sucks.  I have never liked it.  Not only do flower shops decide to make everything 300% its normal price, but also restaurants are kind enough to offer expensive price fixe deals for you!  How nice!  Considering how the holiday has turned into an opportunity to pamper all the women out there and nothing to do with Christianity, which is why the original martyrs were killed, they might be upset if they saw what was happening!  All you women totally deserve to be pampered, though.  So don’t misunderstand me.  Men are oafs that would probably not survive a week if it weren’t for the wonderful women in our lives.  So thank you all for keeping us around!  You are in sad shape if you are a man and only showing your woman how much you love her one day a year!  So I was soooo happy when I saw all the Valentine’s Day displays in the stores here.  It is alive and well in South Africa. 

The really good news about the holiday is that it gave Sammi and Chad an excuse to come over from Pretoria to hang out all weekend.  They flew in afternoon and left Monday afternoon.  Rebecca was in class all day so I tried my best to prepare the apartment for guests.  The biggest challenge we had been avoiding was to move the double beds from the guest room into the master bedroom, and the queen (which is more like a wider-than-normal full size bed) from the master bedroom into the guest room.  The two doubles pushed together turned out to be way roomier than the so-called queen bed.  I decided to tackle this project myself.  It took me about 2 hours of sweating, slowing pulling around mattresses a few inches at a time while in my wheelchair, screwing and unscrewing bed frames, but was finally and happily able to get the job done!  Rebecca came home and said, “Chip??? How did you do this??? Did you get help?”  Nope!  “Show me how you did this!”  I told her it would have to remain a mystery and she would have to consider me a little less helpless!  Definitely a good feeling to do a man’s job again (not that women can’t do it – just that the man should to save the woman the trouble!).

We went out to dinner at a nice Greek restaurant Friday night with Sammi, Chad and a couple other friends. Saturday we drove out to Stellenbosch to go wine tasting in the country.  It’s only about an hour from Cape Town.  The weather was incredible.  The country is even less hospitable to me than the city, so I just took my crutches and got plenty of walking in.  According to my FitBit, I walked over 6,000 steps on Saturday, including 6 flights of steps and quite a bit of standing around.  We stayed at a bed & breakfast Saturday night.  Sunday we started all over again driving around and tasting great food and wine.  We even met up with a tour group consisting of some exchange students in Rebecca’s program from the US.  All in all a great and exhausting weekend!

This is a pic of the countryside in the wine region here.

Now it’s Monday and I’m back to trying to find a job.  I’ve been focusing more on that then writing the book for the moment.  However, I do have a few chapters completed.  The more I look into the job market, the rougher it seems.  They are still reeling with the aftereffects of apartheid here, including things like not allowing foreigners to buy land and further limiting how much business foreigners can do, what jobs they can take, etc.  Honestly that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  So starting a business here right now seems like a terrible idea.  I had hoped to somehow get involved with the townships and shantytowns and helping a non-profit educate or train those groups.  But it seems that traveling to both the non-profits and the townships are extremely difficult for me.  For example, I went to one non-profit called the Scalibrini Centre, which was down a commercial street.  The sidewalks were far worse than the already difficult main streets.  3 separate times in the span of a block I had to get assistance from a passerby to make it over a giant hole or over a steep slant to avoid from flipping over.  Doing that on a daily basis seems ludicrous, so I didn’t pursue that. 

As a quick side topic - the general treatment of the disabled here is somewhat of a double-edged sword.  On one hand, people are often coming up to offer assistance.  They are all very nice about that.  On the other, the reason they are offering assistance is because they consider me fairly helpless.  They often comment how they are surprised that I am out and about on my own.  I see other people in wheelchairs being pushed around the streets.  And there are even “homes for the disabled” here, where spinal cord injuries and other handicapped folks are just living through life without hardly ever venturing outside.  I've reached out to a few of them to get involved and encourage them to get out and be active.  We'll see how it goes.

Back to the job scenario – it seems that Cape Town is largely driven by real estate and tourism.  There are other jobs, but they are very specific and not really hiring.  If they are hiring, then I still don’t have a work permit.  Once I do, then they have to be able to justify to the government why I am being hired over every other citizen in South Africa.  Most of the jobs that fit my criteria are in Johanessburg.  There are scenarios where it might make sense for me to go there and work while Rebecca stays in school in Cape Town, but they don’t seem too appealing right now.  On top of all this, the pay scale is quite a bit different than the US.  Admin assistants here make a whopping 80,000 rand a year, or about $7,500.  A YEAR!  That’s crazy.  Management positions pay $30-40k, even in larger, corporate positions. 

So I’m strongly considering focusing on the book for now and not getting down about the job market until I actually have my work visa.  I should have that in another month or two!  I also have a business idea I'm developing that takes up a little time.  

Definitely a different world here!  But we had a great weekend and I am going to keep enjoying it as much as I can. 

Dear Lord, keep me positive.  Please allow me more weekends like this Valentine’s Day weekend.  It was awesome!  Fill me with the Holy Spirit.  Guide my actions, thoughts, and decisions.  Use my life to accomplish Your will.  Help me to understand the path You’d have me take.  Thank you for this great experience.  Thank you for Rebecca, for my great family, friends, and this life.  And thanks for Tucky.  In Your name, Amen. 

Have a great week!
Chip