Recovery

“I am freakin old!”

I recently ran across this video that shares my religious beliefs, & I thought was neat, & wanted to share:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5xnJU0-N58

It occurred to me that things I’d normally blog about, I have written to my son on his mission instead, so I need to “catch u up.” For instance, I never mentioned a big milestone: that I got a PHONE! Yes, u read that correct: I got a PHONE! An iPhone to be exact…it’s pretty cool! My eyes still have double vision, but I assume the eye muscles have gotten stronger so my eyes line up better & I can read smaller font…Pretty cool! I never thought I’d be able to see or speak well enough to have a PHONE!

My phone is really more for texting, but I can do phone calls (preferably Facetime, so u can see my mouth, but I have done a few calls on speakerphone!). I can type on it, but it’s tough. So, it’s synced w/my iPad, where I can respond to texts.

The hardest part is hearing it ring, & NOT ignoring it, because ever since 2004, I have been ignoring phone calls! The 2^nd hardest part is finding it in my wheelchair bag! (My phone is not big & easy to find, like my iPad! & my wheelchair bag has gotten bigger, so I’m like an old lady frantically feeling around my bag/purse, for my phone!)

Anyway,this last week, it suddenly became tough to read my texts—whether it was on my iphone or my ipad…so I went to the eye doctor, & I am officially old: I need bifocals…My shirt today agrees: instead of reading, “I am freakin cold”, it reads, “I am freakin old!”

Tuesdays Rock!

The day of the week that I am grateful for is Tuesday: on Tuesday I get to do my favorite therapy–horse therapy, I get to hear from my son on his mission (it makes me so happy!), & I get to spend time with my husband (usually a lunch date, but it may include going places together). It is by far the best day of my week!

Speaking of horse therapy, when I started it, I got so tired from the workout, that it wiped me out the entire day! Unfortunately, I can’t sleep in the daytime, but once I had the strength to lift my iPad, I’d just sit & listen to an audio book. My horse therapy days quickly became my “audio books day”, cuz that was all I could do!

However, last year, I discovered the secret to regain my strength: don’t know if u’ve ever seen the cartoon of Popeye, the Sailor Man (I swear he’s in toonland at Universal, & he’s on you-tube). Anyway, I used to laugh at how when Popeye was tired, or getting beat up, he’d find a can of spinach, eat it, & his muscles popped out & he re-gained his strength—all from a little can of spinach! It seemed ridiculous! But I found out there may be truth to it, cuz my green supplement (that has spinach in it) really does make me stronger!

I believe that cartoon was created with a stroke victim in mind: spinach not only helps him, but he also can’t seem to use a side of his face, & talks pretty bad, like me! And if u want to hear what I mean, here I am, counting as I do knee bends on the tilt table:

https://youtu.be/VSICDo7oJmw

blessings

I heard this song a few years ago, & it has become a favorite…just wanted to share

https://youtu.be/XQan9L3yXjc

Often, my blessings & “tender mercies” are so small when they come, I do not see them until they start to pile up. In fact, I can’t tell u how often I think things, & think, “now how am I going to share that?!?”–& then someone says it for me!

Horse Therapy

Just sharing: In a little over a week, I am starting horse therapy again! I’m sooo excited! Horse therapy is out every summer, & my core gets weaker during those months, so I can’t wait to start back! (It was at the Abilities Convention that I learned how to find horse therapy: I was told to google/look up something like ”professional association of horsemanship international PATH international equine therapy”.)

About 4 years ago, before I started horse therapy, I checked out standing w/c (wheelchairs). It was awful, because I needed re-adjusting once I stood, so not only was it uncomfortable, but I also needed so much help to stand that I lost what little independence I had! Standing felt a chore, & not fun at all!

When I tried the standing chair this summer, it was a 100% different experience! My core was SO much stronger, so there was no re-adjusting needed. If I get a sanding w/c, I could actually use the feature of standing to stand up whenever I want to, & drive around! The idea of a standing w/c actually is fun now!

Horse therapy has also helped with my anxiety & my speech, so I look forward to how another year will help me!

An article about where I do horse therapy: http://hillcountryview.com/2016/08/the-magic-of-horses/

P.S. If the link works, I’ve added some new traditional scrapbook pages for Zach & Jessie’s albums.

my speech

A few weeks ago, we went to Utah, & I saw my husband’s family. Usually when I visit, they comment on how much I have changed, but it had only been about 3 months since I saw my husband’s parents, so I didn’t think they’d see anything different—I sure didn’t feel like anything had changed! However, my Father-in-law said he saw MAJOR improvements in my speech, which shocked me… I thought there was none!

Thursday night we had several people at our home: some who don’t know me really well, mixed w/others who do know me well. It was cool, cuz I could talk to anyone! I don’t think I was understood 100% of the time, but there were times when I knew I was understood, since they responded to me! It’s exciting to reach a “new level” with my speech!