Finally

I have been behind in my writing these past couple of days. Working through emotions about not going back to work, dealing with an incredibly tired neck that will not allow me to sit up and write and just being plain busy. I am like a retired person who has an appointment and then *poof* the day is gone! (Sorry Mom and Dad, Mary and Bill). A few significant baby steps have happened in the past few days, and all the baby steps add up to make a difference. Finally.

Monday was our "Family Meeting" where my family, the Parkwood Yellow team, Rehab First team and my legal council all came together to discuss what's next. The "it's all about Julie" talk was about 45 min, then we got to ask our own questions, which was nice for us. Solving some things that we identified as puzzles, more than problems. Because that is what our life is like now. A puzzle that has been dumped on the floor, you have no lid to look at and some of the pieces fell through the vent in the floor, never to be seen again. We have hired a few good people to help us put this puzzle together, but we have no idea what the image will look like when it is all done. And about the world of insurance...let's just say my eyes have been opened.

Wednesday was the day of all my follow-up appointments at Victoria Hospital. Plastics liked the look of my forehead, agreed that my nose is a bit crooked and wanted to make sure I could breathe through it. All good. The trauma team wanted to know that my lungs were clear and that the chest tube sites had healed well. Also, all good. Then we saw Dr. R. my spinal surgeon, super nice guy. He asked me if I would be doing cycling safety advocacy in the future, and he offered to help - even giving me his personal email address - Jane says Drs never do that! He was impressed by my rapid healing (on my forehead) and, after looking at my x-rays, said my vertebrae had healed well too. And I quote "you heal well". Which means...drum roll please...that I get to start taking off my brace!! Around here they call it "brace weaning" and by day seven I should be brace free. Here is what brace free will mean: I can get into the pool, I can have a shower, properly. PT and OT will be way more difficult because I will not have a brace to "keep me upright" and the truth about my lack of abs will come out. Scary. I will have to do more too, like learn to do my own catheter and dress the lower part of my body.

The other two bits of progress are that I have got an upgrade of wheelchairs. Now I have an electric chair that has a tilt mechanism which is essential for the low blood pressure days. The electric part of it gives me freedom. I no longer need someone to push me, I can go outside and I don't have to wait for company. Also, in the transportation vein is that I don't need to use the sling and the motorized lift to get in and out of bed any more! Yahoo! I am doing a sliding transfer from bed to chair and back again. I just need someone to supervise my feet and make sure they are where they are supposed to be.

And today, Friday, this just in...I got to do my bathroom business in the bathroom! I won't say more than that except that a tiny part of my dignity was restored today. I also tried reading again today, and with my new dollar store reading glasses and a large print book, it went okay. Note: this sentence was attached to the previous two for a reason. These things all take time...

Stay well, my friends.
Julie