Taking a leak

For the first six or so years after my accident I wasn't able to catheterize myself. I had to rely on somebody morning, noon, and night to empty my bladder for me. If my bladder became full at odd hours of the day I had the hope that somebody was around or that somebody was available. At soccer practice I had to hold my bladder till I returned home. When we went on the road for away games I had to wear a leg bag and rely on one of the players to empty it which was always uncomfortable. I arranged for somebody to come to work and catheterize me at noontime but if I had to go before or after I had to wait.

I used to belong to a workout group which consisted of a handful of quadriplegics and paraplegics performing exercises with therapists and volunteers. At this group I ran into a quadriplegic who had similar function to me but was able to catheterize himself. I learned from him that it was possible to catheterize myself using the limited hand function that I possess while using a specific type of catheter. The rest is history.

The freedom that being able to catheterize myself gives me is amazing. Combined with my ability to drive I can go wherever I want by myself and not have to rely on other people. At home if I wake up in the middle of the night I can take care of my own business without having to wake anybody else up. It is amazing how learning what might seem like such a simple thing to some can change an entire life for the better!

Mom

Mother's Day is when we pay homage to our mothers. It is a concrete fact that none of us would be here without them.
Today I am grateful for my mom. She smokes too much, drives a silly yellow mini cooper, isn't the best cook, loves her old black & white movies (TCM is her favorite channel), and has a blind little old dog that wants to rip peoples faces off. What may seem to some as flaws I think give her character. She did cook me a wonderful five-spice chicken meal and something else that was very yummy recently. She is fiercely loyal and very loving. She calls me every birthday, early in the morning, to remind me that I'm not born yet until later in the evening. Then she proceeds to tell me about the labor etc. for about ten minutes as I hold the phone in the air. I get a call later in the evening and she tells me that I can now celebrate because I'm officially born! She was my very first soccer coach and my number one soccer fan for life. She says that she went to every home baseball game when I was a freshman, (not sure about that), even though I rode the bench every game. I was a severe asthmatic when I was a kid and she sat up with me on the nights when I struggled to breathe. When my asthma was really bad she would be the one to drive me to the E.R.. She used to paddle me with a wooden spoon until I got too big (I was a little asshole...now I'm a big one!) One day it broke over my shoulder and we laughed so hard that she wasn't mad at me anymore. She gave me honey and whiskey when I had a sore throat (probably so I'd pass out and shut up!) In 4th grade she saved my life after I cut my hand in half. She wrapped it up, held it up high, and squeezed it all the way to the hospital so I wouldn't bleed out! When I was 19 she gave me her car for Christmas (86 VW Jetta.) In college she mailed me care packages full of goodies. When I broke my neck she quit her job and sat with me every day in the hospital and rehab (a good 3 to 4 months.) We speak french to each other even though it is usually not a very long conversation because neither of us remembers much.
Do you know why I love her the most? Because she is MINE and I don't have to share her (except for my brother and sister in law) with anybody!
Muah! I love you mom!

Dreams

I'm grateful for my dreams - and for remembering them.  They bring me much insight and support for this crazy journey called life.

Beautiful Day?

Okay folks. I am going to say it. Today was a beautiful day! It was in the lower to mid 70s with not a lot of wind or humidity,and plenty of sunshine! It was so nice that I thought I would correct papers outside. I sat outside and corrected papers with my friend Linda. After that we went over some algebra because she had her algebra final today. After a couple of hours I went inside, and later hopped in the car to do some chores. When I looked in the rearview mirror I noticed that my face was the color of a lobster! I have a bright red sweatshirt on and a sunburn to match!

Osama

I am grateful for our government and our armed forces who stop at no lengths to hunt down outlaws bent on killing thousands of innocent people around the world. I think the world is a much better place with Osama bin Laden dead instead of alive or in captivity. If he were in captivity it would be a free for all all around the world for militant groups to take Americans hostage and demand that bin Laden be freed. If he was to go to trial it would give him a platform to incite violence and rally his supporters.
As my friend Amy so eloquently wrote about in her blog it is disturbing to watch people celebrating all over the United States because of the death of a human being. I am satisfied that he can no longer hurt anyone but I am not going to rush out into the street and celebrate. Unfortunately it does say something about the status of humanity in the world today.

Amy says...: Celebrating death?

Time with family

It's so incredibly precious.  I spent one very full weekend with my mother, my sister and my two nieces and we spent as much time having as much fun as we possibly could.  Although it was short and I miss them terribly now, I'm incredibly grateful for the time I had to spend with them!