Saturday, March 27, 2021

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.





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