2017 Continued…

Not much has changed since this post on May 14, 2017. Click here for a refresher. 

My site that got infected in February has still not healed completely. It has gotten a lot smaller but it will not come to the surface, it does not want to close for some reason. Slow healing is one of the perks of being a quad. In the meantime I am still on bed rest except for one or two days a week. During those days I can get up for 2 1/2 hours. During those 2 1/2 hours I need to tilt back in my chair every hour for ten minutes. I try to make the most of my time being in the chair and doing it Clint style. But I have behaved for the most part.

You would think being laid up this long that the time would drag on. But for some reason it seems like it has gone fast. I imagine that is a good thing. But there are a couple reasons why I believe this has happened.

I can't thank home health enough for what they have done for me. Not only the medical stuff but just being there when I need them. Home health has been coming to the house at least once a week and up to three times a week depending on the orders they get from my providers. They have been with me through the whole process since February and will be with me until I am healed. I don't know where I would be without their help. Having to do all of this in the hospital or rehab facility would suck.

I started physical therapy at home in September after my left side kidney stone removal surgeries. They usually beat the hell out of me in surgery so the Sanford caseworker put in the referral for therapy. Also, being on this much bed rest is tough on your joints and muscles. Atrophy sucks.

Before all of this started in February, I did physical therapy for about a year and a half for pain that was in my neck and shoulders. Along with getting rid of the pain we worked on strengthening. If you have noticed I haven't used my head rest on my wheelchair in over a year and a half. But the bed rest these last eight months has reversed what we gained from the previous sessions. With the help that I have been getting from PT twice a week, the discomfort from being in bed so long has greatly diminished.

We are very lucky to have these types of services available to come directly to our homes in our area. I don't know what I would do without home health and physical therapy. They are truly lifesavers.

20 year class reunion. Just the cool kids.

But being laid up this long has also sucked. I have missed a lot of stuff. Two of the biggest things I have missed has been just being outside and everything that encompasses, plus going to baseball games. I haven't shot my crossbow or any guns this summer at all. I believe I only made it to one baseball game. Go Indies! I really miss not being out hunting. Bow season started this year September 1. I haven't been out once. I hope to get out during the peak rut in November. I also got out to the shooting range a couple times but would've liked to have gone more. That place doesn't suck. Cherish the small things, don't take them for granted.

A couple good things have happened while I have been dealing with this. I have gotten a lot of writing done, which is always good. I have shared most of them on my blog or on Facebook. About a quarter of the stuff I have written I don't think I will ever share. Another good thing that has happened is that I was offered a writing gig for a new hunting product coming on the market early this winter. I have been and will be writing blogs for Safeshoot. I am hoping this will turn into something bigger in the future. And of course the pickup happened. I will have a full blog on that within the month.

This is by far the longest I have ever been laid up for any reason. I guess my body just can't handle what I could do when I was younger. When I look back I can't believe some of the stuff I have been able to do being a quad. I don't know how I got through college being in the chair that long every day. I don't know how I got through some of my hunting and partying adventures being up in the chair hours on end. But I am glad I have been able to do what I have been able to do so far. This isn't the end but I guess I'm going to have to learn not to push it as much. Getting old sucks. But I guess it beats the alternative.

Again, I do not want any sympathy. That is not the reason why I wrote this. I wrote this just to show what it takes to be a quad and to live life. Everybody has problems, able-bodied or not. It just depends on your perception and attitude of life. Ulcers are just a part of life for a quad. Especially if you are out and about as much as I am. But that's the price we pay for trying to be normal. Hopefully the next time I write about 2017, I will be all healed up and on the road to becoming me again.

June 22 - urologist appointment, kidney stones are back

July 15 - mingle in Fingal, I partied. Thanks Paul and Dana.

August 21 - tube placement - nephrolithotomy

August 22 - kidney stone removal

September - started physical therapy again

September 16  - 20 year class reunion. Wasn't that a party…

October 6 - started wound vac again

October 13 - went for a rip in the pickup, Clint style

October 24 - tube placement - nephrolithotomy

October 25 - kidney stone removal

October 26 - hopefully go home

The Future - who knows…

Thanks for reading and thanks for the support, Clint.