Thursday, 30 May 2013

Day 52 - Better!

Days til brace off:  Who knows?

Days til move: A week?  I don’t know.


Well Momma Battoe is headed home tomorrow.  She is flooding the place with tears, which is no surprise if you know her.  She is definitely overprotective but I’ll certainly miss her.  Tony said he’d miss her laugh.  That’s about right.


Yesterday I felt kind of sick most of the day.  I did the treadmill in the morning, another therapy, then after lunch skipped out on pool therapy.  I don’t know what was going on but I couldn’t eat anything and then I was freezing cold for hours.  5 thick blankets couldn’t warm me up.  I clicked update repeatedly on my iPad underneath the covers trying to learn about the Blackhawks game.  It’s impossible to get the game anywhere here, apparently.  Or maybe I just know where to go online.  Around 10 or 11pm I suddenly went from freezing to sweating.  No idea what happened.  They took my temp and blood pressure and nothing was amiss.  Who knows.


I’m feeling much better today.  If you prayed after my last blog, thank you, it worked!  I woke up refreshed, or at least as much as you can feel refreshed here.  Jessica had me in the training shower to do a transfer, take a shower, then re-transfer back to my wheelchair, get in bed, get dressed, get back out of bed.  Check, check, check, check.  

But oh, if only my potential apartment had a bathroom like they have here. We went to check it out today and the doors were getting scraped as I edged my wheelchair through.  Hmmm… also the bathroom required me to back into it.  No idea how I’m going to leap over the back of my wheelchair into the shower.  But hopefully we’ll figure it out.  


I also did another couple laps with the KAPOs today.  Tied my previous record (from 2 days ago) of 840 feet.  I also found out that when my custom ones are finished, I’ll be able to practice with them (with a walker) at home.  That was a huge relief, especially since I didn’t get into the research study.  Sara, my PT, said that what really matters is getting in the walking time.  It doesn’t matter if it’s KAFOs, treadmill, Lokomat… whatever.  So I’m looking forward to completely wearing myself out in those bad boys.


A huge inspiration came later in the day when we got back from the apartment visit.  Amanda and Kristen had gotten to my room at 3:15, and it was 5, but they were luckily still smiling and not furious at me for completely forgetting our meeting time!  Tony had apparently toured them throughout the building for over 40 minutes looking for me.  He’s so awesome.  He only stopped because his own guests arrived.  


Anyway Amanda runs a business that helps business have better social impact (http://www.panzanzee.com/).  Kristen works with her, and also has a non-profit that helps women and girls in Uganda (http://kwagalaproject.org/index.php), and I’m guessing other places, that have been in brothels.  Education, vocational training, counseling, etc.  Anyway she had apparently shared my story with a house of women in Uganda, who then responded with a video of them singing Christian songs and wishing me healing through Jesus Christ.  I was definitely overcome with emotion, especially with the struggles this week.  Thanks, Kristen!  I’ll do my best to post the video but it’s 572 MB, so not sure that’ll fly…


I’ll spare you yet another video of me in KAFOs… I need some new material.  


I thought of something today as I was writing a friend that I’d like to share. We often hear as encouragement, “God has a plan!”  Well, yes, He does.  But I believe it’s up to us to follow that plan.  Or at least try our best to do so.  It’s not going to just “happen” to us.  You know?  I don’t know.  I like it.  


G’night!
Chip

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