St. Patrick's Day week…

 Monday was another rainy relaxing day. Susan came in to give me a nice long, relaxing massage. I feel like this pain is never going to go away, although I generally feel excellent after the massage; as soon as I start moving around or eat, the pain comes back, but it's not as intense. Karen came in and fed me; since Susan gets here at 6 AM, she takes Dude out and feeds him… Otherwise, he would just drive us nuts the whole time. It was raining outside, so I opted to stay in bed; my physical therapist really wants me to get up every day, but for right now, with this much pain and it raining outside… The cold really hurts my neck and shoulders. I need to at least start getting up and getting back on the EFS exercise cycle; I need to remember to ask my physical therapist if I can exercise when I'm sore. We decided to get together for St. Patrick's Day dinner; I am the only one in the bunch that hasn't had the vaccine shot yet. I watched TV pretty much all day with a hot water bottle behind my neck; that seems to help. I could see the rumba in the living room cruising around; at first, it scared me because I thought it was an animal scurrying across the floor. I had a doorstop made with Dude's picture, and Karen decided to put it on top of the rumba and let it cruise around; she is so creative! Of course, it didn't last very long because the next time I looked up, the doorstop was gone, but the rumble was still cruising around; thank goodness she got some pictures before it fell off because I look so adorable! Rosa came in and fed the hungry boy, fed me, bleached my tub, wiped everything down, cleaned up the kitchen, and then went home. I spent the rest of the evening listening to a book on audible, and I'm trying to find some excellent podcasts to listen to and get away from watching so much TV. I do like to watch TV until I fall asleep.

 Tuesday was a pretty good day. Cindy came in, fed the hungry boy, fed me, and got me dressed up in my chair. My first appointment today was with a hemoglobin/oncology doctor; why is it the older you get, the more you need a different kind of doctor? Apparently, I am extremely anemic; by the time my appointment came around, I forgot why Dr. Owen's referred me to him. He said my iron is deficient and prescribed iron pills but said if the iron pills didn't work, they had to do some kind of treatment where I had to go in. I can't remember what it was called, but I had to sit there for four hours, so I hope the iron pills work; he said to start off with a low because they will upset your stomach, and since my stomach is already upset, this is not good news. We went to Costco to get some groceries and to see if they had any dessert for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow and, of course, to get some iron pills; I couldn't believe they actually had Clorox wipes… We could only get one, but they are finally back in stock. On our way out we couldn't help ourselves, and we had to get a hot dog, it was so delicious! We dropped everything by the house, ate lunch on the back porch, and then headed to my appointment with Yasel. It was nice to see all of the usual people there, and during our appointment, Roger and Elizabeth came over and said that they are ready to start another support group; so exciting! I personally think that after this pandemic, everybody's going to be ready for a support group in Santa Cruz… And it's going to be there at Dominican rehab, which is a lot closer and nicer to get to. She said we could get together and discuss it, but I'm already excited! Since we started the CCI puppy playdates, I met more people to invite to the support group. What a great day! Cindy took a couple of pictures of Yasel, dude, and me, today; she showed me the best way to support my neck and night… I guess part of why my neck hurts is that it's not supported at night or in my chair. After we left, we went by and picked up Rosa and decided to go downtown to have some coffee at Verb; it was really nice, so we decided to sit outside, and as we were drinking our coffee, one of Rose's friends drove up in a caregiver agency van… Of course, I took a picture for the future and have it as a reference for the support group. We finished up our coffee, came home, and Rosa fed Dude, put me to bed, and then got me something to eat. She cleaned up, wiped everything down, and then went home. My nephew and his wife sent me a video of their little baby and a picture of the storytelling Dragon I sent them, and a plaque stating when the baby was due, so exciting! My cousin Rich sent me a picture of a leg scooter he didn't need anymore to see if I could find it a good home; there's always somebody out there that needs one. I watched TV until I fell asleep.

 Wednesday was a perfect day. Susan came in and gave me a nice long massage, there was a lot of cracking and popping, and she found a lot of tender places, and it felt so great after. Karen came in, and we did some personal care, and I didn't even need to take any gabapentin; my neck and shoulders felt good for the first time in a long time. Angela came by for Dude's spa day; she owns a mobile grooming business and has been coming by to groom Dude for about a year. Before that, her uncle had the business and groomed Robby and Dude for the last several years. After the bath, I was on top of the world until Karen put me back to bed and started rolling me back and forth to get me dressed; that seems to be when it starts hurting, and then for some reason, when I eat… I think because I'm holding my neck up, and that's when he gets fatigued.  Jan and Teak came by for a puppy play date, Dude and Teak get so excited when they see each other, and they are so adorable playing! After Robby passed away, I kept hearing about the rainbow bridge; I had never heard about that before. People were sending me stories, poems, and pictures… I actually found one picture online that I really liked that has to do with the rainbow bridge. My cousin Rich sent me a video of his dogs, they just got groomed, and they look adorable! For the first time in a long time, we are getting together for St. Patrick's Day dinner; my aunt made corn beef and cabbage with baby carrots and red potatoes… Deziree made her killer orzo salad that I love so much! Fred and JoAnn stayed in the house behind my aunt's, and my mom came downstairs, and we had an amazing dinner! They sat at the round table, and I just sent over by the front door, everybody has had their covid vaccines except for me, and I know that Rosa gets really nervous about being around people with or without the vaccines. Hence, I was sure to stay away from everyone else and keep my mask on… It was still nice to catch up with everybody! Rosa came in, and I said goodbye to everybody, and she put me to bed; she was kind of in a rush because she wanted to get back and have dinner with her family. I watched TV for a while, edited some pictures, and listen to an audiobook until I fell asleep.

 Thursday was another relaxing day. Karen came in and fed the hungry kid and then fed me. I got up yesterday, but I wasn't feeling the greatest, my massage therapist wants me to really try to get up every day, so I'm going to do it… I actually do feel better when I get up every day. When I stay in bed is when I usually get a pressure sore and bloated; sometimes, the process of going back to bed just isn't worth getting up anymore. Karen got me dressed and up in my chair, and Deziree, Dude, and I went for a cruise down to the end of the wharf and back… My niece is pretty cool, and I'm so excited to have the chance to get to know her a little better. We came back, and I just kicked back and watched TV until Adriana came in; she fed Dude and then put me to bed and fed me.  Deziree made some mozzarella stuffed tomatoes, so I had that and some more of her killer orzo salad; it was so good! I was craving some ice cream, and I remember that I had bought some vegan ice cream and some vegan cookies from downtown, so after dinner, I had an ice cream sandwich, and it was delicious! When the pictures that came up as a memory on my Facebook page were of Karen, Robby, and me on our trip in 2012 on St. Patrick's Day… We took a trip from here to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where my cousin Kelly lives, it was just Kelly, Karen, Robby, and I, and we had such a good time stopping in the different cities on the way. Adriana did a couple of laundry loads, cleaned the kitchen, wiped everything down, and then went home. I watched TV, caught up on my blog, and eventually fell asleep.

Friday was another relaxing day. Susan came in to give me a nice long massage; it always feels so good and eases my pain for a long time. Karen came in and fed the hungry pooch, fed me, and then we did some personal care and a nice long hot bath.  She showed me a picture of their silly cat every time her husband goes on a Zoom call for work; he's been working at home, he runs into the living room real quick and jumps up on the table, and meows really loud at him… It's hilarious! It's almost like he's saying, "Why didn't you wait for me??" I didn't have anything going on today, and I thought it would be good to give my neck, shoulders, and arm arrest, so I decided to stay in bed; I'm starting to realize that staying in bed usually only makes everything worse, but some days it just hurts too much to get up. I pretty much watched TV all day; on the days that I don't get up, Deziree has been taking Dude out for a little cruise. It's going to be a sad day around here when she goes home. Adriana came in and fed the hungry boy, fed me, did a couple of loads of laundry, wiped everything down, and then went home. I listen to an audiobook until I fell asleep.

 Saturday was a good day. Cindy came in and fed the hungry guy, fed me, and then got me dressed and up in my chair. It's a sad day; also, Deziree is going home… It was a really great visit, and she promises to come back when she can. It will be a busy day, I have two appointments, and I need to go grocery shopping. We went grocery shopping first, and then my first appointment was with Jennifer, my aesthetician, and my second appointment was with Jessica, my hairdresser. Cindy had to take her brothers over the hill to get a haircut, so I just cruise down to my appointment with Jessica; I need to start cruising around more with Dude is getting a little chunky. After my appointment with Jessica, it was a little cold, so I hurried straight home, and by the time I got home, my neck was killing me. As I was coming up my driveway, my aunt and Melia came running across the street to get some succulents, the girls are decorating my aunt's backyard, and it looks awesome! My cousin Rich yelled across the street to see if he could bring his fur babies; I told him that he could if he wanted to watch them because I needed to go to bed. They love to play together; I wonder if they know that they are cousins?? Adriana came in and put me to bed after she fed the knucklehead; he played outdoors while putting me to bed and got me something to eat. She did some laundry, clean up the kitchen, wiped everything down, and then went home. A guy that I went to high school and got reacquainted with years later posted a couple of things from high school; remember the PeeChee folders? Also, the KOME radio station stickers, that brought back such great memories. Since I didn't get to take any pictures this afternoon, I decided to steal some gorgeous ones that friends online posted. I watched a movie while editing some pictures, still trying to catch up on my blog, but I'm getting closer. I eventually drifted off to sleep.

 Sunday Was another day in bed. Cindy came in, fed the hungry guy, fed me, and then cleaned out the kitchen's freezer. I bought a little freezer to put in the garage so I could put some of the stuff in there; now they both are full, I'm going to have to make sure that well my brothers hear we need to take stuff out and cook it. She also found a bunch of vegan ice cream that I bought and even some vegan cookies, I love ice cream sandwiches, and I get the lemon vegan cookie, and then I put blueberry pralines ice cream, and it is so delicious! Karen came in at noon and gave Dude half of his food; we did some personal-care and a nice long hot bath and care about me back to bed. Everything went by really fast, so I have all night to relax and do whatever I want, meaning… Edit pictures, catch up on my blog, and listen to music until my arm hurts, and then watch TV while it's resting. I eventually fell asleep.

A week and 1/2 until St. Patrick's Day…

 Monday was another relaxing day. Cindy came in and fed the hungry pup and then fed me. Unfortunately, she had to go off to work, so it's another day in bed; I think my neck is getting worse from staying in bed. I listen to music and edited pictures until my neck hurt from using my arm too much, and then I watched some TV. Someone posted a picture of the train from Vassano Park in Los Gatos, so of course, I had to lift it; such great memories of that park. I can't wait to get up and get out of here tomorrow. Rosa came in and fed Dude, fed me, bleached my bathtub, wiped everything down, cleaned the kitchen, and then went home. I watched more TV until I fell asleep.

Tuesday was a perfect day. Cindy came in and fed. Dude fed me and got me dressing up in my chair. It was going to be a busy day; I was hoping I would have time to take Dude for a cruise, at least down to the wharf and back, but as usual, I procrastinated, and we didn't have enough time. My first appointment was with my osteoporosis doctor Dr. Previtelli, I thought he would give me another shot, but I guess he just wanted to check in and go over my labs. After we left his office, we stopped and got some coffee and a taco salad and brought them back here to eat on the back porch since it was such a beautiful day. After lunch, my next appointment was with my aesthetician Jennifer; she scrubbed, waxed, and then toned… It doesn't feel the best, but I love talking to somebody and not having to worry if I have stray whiskers all over my face. My last appointment was at Dominican rehab with Yasel; I always look forward to going here because it's so nice to see everyone again, and everyone is so friendly and happy! When we first pulled in, I saw Foster's van, and then I saw a Rogers van; I guess Yasel works with Foster before she works with me, so he's usually just leaving when I get there, but we always have time for a quick hello. Roger was working with Elizabeth. Elizabeth helped Karen with the placements of the electrical stimulation pads when I got my FES exercise cycle… It's always nice to run into people I know. She and Roger came over and said that they wanted to start a support group again and have it at Dominican rehab; I'm so excited! We tried to start one twice before, but I feel like now that we've gone through and are hopefully coming out of the other end of the coronavirus pandemic, maybe people will want to come out and talk about their experiences, there should be a lot of topics coming out of that. She said she wanted to get together with both of us and work out the details; I'm so glad that it's at this new rehab place because the other one was so far away, and the sidewalks aren't really the best on Soquel Avenue. Yasel gave me some more exercises for my neck; I'm so frustrated that it's not getting any better. Next appointment, I want to ask her if she thinks the exercise cycle will help with the pain or do I need to wait until this issue is fixed before I ride again. We picked up Rosa and then came home; she fed the hungry boy, put me to bed, and then fed me. She bleached the tub, vacuumed, cleaned up the kitchen, and wiped everything down before she went home. I was still so excited about starting another support group, I went on Facebook, and I found the page I had made for the last support group, so I am good to go. Now that we started having CCI puppy play dates here before the pandemic, I feel like I know many people that might attend. We're just going to have to invite more people, and the Facebook page is done. While I was cruising around on Facebook, I found a picture that my niece posted of her son, he's growing up so fast, and he is so handsome! I also found many pictures that someone took of the Michael Franti stay-at-home concert, so I lifted those off the Internet; his stay-at-home concerts are always so much fun and full of so much energy. I can't wait until the next one. I watch TV for a while and fell asleep.

 Wednesday was another relaxing day. Susan came in and gave me a nice long relaxing massage every day, I hope that my neck/shoulder/arms will feel better, but they don't…of course, the massage helps, but I can't believe how long this is hanging on. Karen came in, and we did some personal-care; we had to stop a couple of times and massage my neck with the Thera gun… I can't believe how sore my muscles are every time she uses it on me. Finally, it's time for a nice long hot relaxing bath, that always makes me feel so much better! I decided to go back to bed, it's very frustrating because when I get up in my chair, it hurts pretty much all day long, but when I stay in bed, it hurts worse when I get up… My physical therapist says it's good to get up every day, so I'm trying. Today I stayed in bed; as the day went on, I was just watching TV, listening to music, and I happened to look up at the date and realized that today was my spinal cord injury anniversary… 26 years I have been in this big power chair and despite everything else I'm pretty healthy. Rosa came in and fed the hungry pooch and then fed me; I think I'm starting to get my appetite back, and although I love to eat, I love the fact that I'm losing weight. I hope that soon I will be able to get back on my FES exercise cycle, and I know that will help me get stronger. Rosa vacuumed, wiped everything down, cleaned up, and then left. Since Deziree has been here, we have gone on a couple walks, but I have stayed in bed more than I have gotten up; I wish I could get up and cruise around with her every day… She's pretty cool and an amazing cook! I remember a while back when she visited, she made some lasagna and orzo salad that I have never been able to forget; both were delicious! She's made the orzo salad a couple of times, and one night she made some mozzarella stuffed tomatoes… Also super delicious! I watch TV until I fell asleep.

 Thursday was a really miserable day. Karen came in and fed the knucklehead pup. During the night, my bladder leaked all over the bed and all over the floor; I think it ruined my floor. I have been trying to drink a ton of water, but still, I keep getting UTIs. I sent a message online to Dr. Owen's, and she got right back to me and said if I bring in a sample, she would diagnose it and probably send me some antibiotics; usually, that's what she does. Adriana said that she would drop it off, and just as she texted me that she dropped it off, I got a notification of the results; that was fast! I have the best primary care doctor, she always steps up when I need her, and she will even come over to the house and check on me. I read but couldn't understand the results, but I also kept checking the pharmacy I use, and there were no antibiotics. I was getting a little worried because it's getting late and the pharmacies going to close.  Joy came by to take Dude for a cruise; I'm so thankful for her when I have to stay in bed. I found some antibiotics that my primary care Doctor had prescribed in the past and decided maybe it would help me start taking those. I know you're not supposed to, but I really don't want this to worsen. I listened to some music and started an audiobook. Rosa came in and fed the hungry guy and then fed me, I'm still not very hungry, and luckily Heather makes such healthy meals, and I try to make myself eat what I can. I got my butcher box in the mail today; Karen and her husband sent me a coupon for a free box to try it out; everything looks pretty fresh and delicious! I also got my lunacy box; it always has a plant that's good for your health and some rocks and a book that tells you how to use everything and what it's good for; I love the surprise of opening it up and seeing what's in there.  I also got a flag for the back that has a picture of Dude. I listen to some more of my audiobook until I fell asleep.

 Friday was a really great day! Susan came in and gave me a nice long massage; it was a little painful, but she found many pressure points, and there was a lot of pumping and snapping, and after it was done, I felt amazing! We did some personal care and a nice long hot bath, and I can even remember the last time I didn't have to take a gabapentin; I felt great! April from Numotion came by to put my new seatbelt on my chair. Yesterday I went on a cruise with Deziree. I asked her if she had ever been on the beach train, a train that starts at the boardwalk and cruises through the city and then to the redwoods to Roaring Camp Railroad in Felton; when the train gets to Felton, they let you off for about 1/2 an hour to get something to eat or to cruise through the redwood forest next-door which is Henry Cowell. She said that she never has what she loves trains, and it sounded amazing, so I told her I would look into it and see if they are running yet. I cruised to the end of the wharf and back and took pictures and all my favorite places; my camera was working, and it looks like it was pretty straightforward, so I wasn't going to have to do a lot of editing. I decided to cruise down to the boardwalk, and there was the train; I was so excited! Last year I bought a season pass; I met a guy that works on the train and has for basically his whole life, and he told me that as much as I ride the train, I should get a season pass, so I did… And then the pandemic hit. I'm hoping that they will honor my season pass this year; I will definitely be on that train a lot. It was so nice to cruise up and down the boardwalk again and take pictures; usually, there are many people on Friday because everybody starts to flock to Santa Cruz for the weekend on Friday. We cruised home and rested for a bit before Adriana came in to take me to my appointment for my biweekly covid test at the Civic Center downtown. Normally after, we would go get casabirra tacos, but last week, Adriana tried them from a new truck in Watsonville, and she and her friend got really sick, so she said she won't be eating them for a long time. Right now, my brother is here, so I might be able to talk him into driving me to Watsonville to get some, I know he loves tacos, but I don't know if he's eating carbs right now. He's on this new Noom diet, I keep meaning to look it up and see what it's all about, but as soon as I get into bed, I forget. I decided to order Thai food instead, also extremely delicious! We came home, and Adriana put me to bed, did a couple of laundry loads, vacuumed, wiped everything down, cleaned up the kitchen, and then went home. I listen to music for a while, watch TV, and edited photos until my arm hurt… I rested my arm and eventually fell asleep.

Saturday was another restful day. Cindy came in and fed the hungry guy and then fed me; it looks like another day in bed for me. I can't wait until the weather is nicer and I can get up and get out of here again; the cold weather just kills my neck and shoulders. My ever going to get rid of this pain? It's such a pain! I heard the phone ring, and I looked up, and it was Dr. Owen's, of course; I answered it, and she wanted to let me know about my urine sample when I thought I had the UTI… I have the best doctor in the world! She is always there when I need her! Cindy cleaned up, wiped everything down, and then left. I watch TV all day and try to lay as still as possible; this is really hard! Adriana came in and fed the hungry boy, fed me, washed my face, brushed my teeth, cleaned up the kitchen, wiped everything down, and then left. I listen to some music for a while,  played candy crush until my arm hurt, and then watch TV until I fell asleep.

Sunday was a busy relaxing day. Cindy came in and fed the hungry pooch, fed me, wiped everything down, and then left. I took a little nap, and before I knew it, it was noon in time for Karen to come in; we usually give Dude half of his food when Karen comes in at noon and then the other half at 4 PM… It gets really confused and frustrated when Karen comes in and doesn't give him anything to eat. She fed me, and then we did some personal care and a nice long hot bath; I love going back to bed after taking a bath on Sunday evening. I watched TV and rested my arm until I fell asleep.