Thanksgiving Day, or Dia de Gracis in Spanish, is upon us in the U.S. The special day of the year set aside especially to give thanks for God's blessings. It seems that many stores are trying to cut the holiday short and have people go shopping, but some are still honoring it.
No matter what circumstances someone is in, there is always some reason to give thanks. Life is often difficult fr various reasons, but we can be thankful for life itself and those around us. All the caregivers I have been blessed with throughout the life I've been given have helped me in every way possible and I'm thankful to have them. I'm especially thankful for the parents and family I've been given and all the help and frustrations they have gone through with me.
Despite days sometimes being too busy, I'm thankful for the work I've been given and the opportunities to go and speak. I'm also thankful for the volunteer activities I've been given both at church and the many years at CHAMP Camp.
There are groups that try to stop it, but I'm thankful for being able to freely, and openly, worship God in this country. I'm grateful for the ability to worship at church and study God's Word and study through multiple Christian organizations.
Even with all the trouble they've given my family this year, I'm thankful for funding that has allowed me to be home and active. I can be thankful that God has a plan for the life He has given me. I learned Monday that if I got my own insurance, it would not cover my needs, especially nursing.
My parents can't continue to pay so much to stay on my father's insurance; so we don't know what the future will look like. If I do have to go to a care facility, I'm thankful that there are a couple places in Iowa that may take me.
As you go through the next few days, be certain to stop and be thankful for what you have. No matter if you're living the quad life and have a body that doesn't work or some other circumstance, we can always give thanks.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Switching Up
Along with all the insurance trouble this summer, I also had changes in nurses. A long time night nurse had family trouble and took an indefinite time off to deal with it. She has since moved on to other work. Therefore, a new night person started in June. For ease, let's call this nurse Judy (not her real name).
Living in small town Iowa, nurses sometimes have to travel quite a ways to come and work with me. However, Judy actually lived close by and didn't have to drive very far. My nursing agency had wanted to shift her over to me from another client for a couple years, but it didn't work out until this summer. Judy has been doing very well with all my cares and has a great personality. Unfortunately, like many nurses, she is starting to get near retirement age.
The physical requirements of staying up and working nights have not gone well for Judy, and she has told the agency that she needs to go back to days. That means she'll be no longer working with me. Due to this development, another nurse was sent to train last night and is scheduled to come again tonight.
It's rare to find someone so quickly, so that was a good start. So far, she seems to be learning everything well and I hope that continues tonight. When she trained with Judy last night though, mom said the first question was how to get on days. Hopefully that won't be needed, but we'll see.
Caregivers through the nursing agencies seem to be hit or miss for how long they stay. I've had a few that stayed for several years, but others just a few months or weeks even. Getting used to a new person's mannerisms and how to work with them takes a while. With switching them up frequently, that gets to be a real challenge.
Hopefully this trainee will work and be able to come for several years. As with everything else, time and patience will tell. It's just a regular part of the quad life.
Living in small town Iowa, nurses sometimes have to travel quite a ways to come and work with me. However, Judy actually lived close by and didn't have to drive very far. My nursing agency had wanted to shift her over to me from another client for a couple years, but it didn't work out until this summer. Judy has been doing very well with all my cares and has a great personality. Unfortunately, like many nurses, she is starting to get near retirement age.
The physical requirements of staying up and working nights have not gone well for Judy, and she has told the agency that she needs to go back to days. That means she'll be no longer working with me. Due to this development, another nurse was sent to train last night and is scheduled to come again tonight.
It's rare to find someone so quickly, so that was a good start. So far, she seems to be learning everything well and I hope that continues tonight. When she trained with Judy last night though, mom said the first question was how to get on days. Hopefully that won't be needed, but we'll see.
Caregivers through the nursing agencies seem to be hit or miss for how long they stay. I've had a few that stayed for several years, but others just a few months or weeks even. Getting used to a new person's mannerisms and how to work with them takes a while. With switching them up frequently, that gets to be a real challenge.
Hopefully this trainee will work and be able to come for several years. As with everything else, time and patience will tell. It's just a regular part of the quad life.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Mountain Seed
In my daily readings, I have been in the New Testament for about a month. I'm currently near the end of John in the morning and halfway through Acts in the evening. If you look back to early August's post, you will remember my schedule.
The first four books of the New Testament go through Jesus' time on earth and some of the miracles He did. The apostles were also enabled to do some as well. When the Holy Spirit was received by the apostles, and Paul, a number of miraculous healings are again recorded. In the two thousand years since then, I've been curious if some of these abilities have been passed down or if it was a one time thing.
Jesus said that if anyone has faith the size of a mustard seed, he can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea. I haven't found any pesky mountains in my front yard lately, so I can't say I've wanted to move any. However, I believe mountains don't necessarily need to be made from dirt and rocks, they can be things that must be overcome in life.
My own personal thinking is that the power given to the early church following Christ's resurrection was a one-time thing. You occasionally hear about faith healers today, but any I've seen are in it for the money and could likely be labeled as more anti-Christs.
Having the ability to go out and boldly proclaim the gospel and back it up with miracles would be great to see. Really, people going out and just being bold for Christ and His word is great to see and hear these days. Unfortunately, I don't see these abilities returning until the return of Christ.
Just some random thoughts I've had the last few weeks. This coming week looks to be the first signs of winter, we'll see what comes by the next entry.
The first four books of the New Testament go through Jesus' time on earth and some of the miracles He did. The apostles were also enabled to do some as well. When the Holy Spirit was received by the apostles, and Paul, a number of miraculous healings are again recorded. In the two thousand years since then, I've been curious if some of these abilities have been passed down or if it was a one time thing.
Jesus said that if anyone has faith the size of a mustard seed, he can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea. I haven't found any pesky mountains in my front yard lately, so I can't say I've wanted to move any. However, I believe mountains don't necessarily need to be made from dirt and rocks, they can be things that must be overcome in life.
My own personal thinking is that the power given to the early church following Christ's resurrection was a one-time thing. You occasionally hear about faith healers today, but any I've seen are in it for the money and could likely be labeled as more anti-Christs.
Having the ability to go out and boldly proclaim the gospel and back it up with miracles would be great to see. Really, people going out and just being bold for Christ and His word is great to see and hear these days. Unfortunately, I don't see these abilities returning until the return of Christ.
Just some random thoughts I've had the last few weeks. This coming week looks to be the first signs of winter, we'll see what comes by the next entry.
Monday, November 3, 2014
52 Plus a Few
Last October, I said I would start doing weekly updates. It has now been over a year and I've managed to make an entry at least once a week. At first I didn't think I could write so much and keep it somewhat interesting, but here we are.
The insurance trouble this year helped for a few weeks, but that has only been about seven of the posts. A lot of days, and weeks, are pretty much the same, but I'm realizing I do more activities than I thought. There have been several weeks, like this one, that I have had no idea what to write about, but something has come up for an idea.
I am currently planning on continuing the schedule, but I have no idea what it will be from one week to the next. I have been busy for the last few weeks, so it may generate a few tales to tell. One of which was Friday.
This was my first time speaking to nursing students. I had two classes of about thirty students each. They were not the bouncy kids I'm used to, but it was still fun. These classes were first year nursing students, so everything was new to them.
Going over the changing technology in wheelchairs and going from the vent to the DPS was fun to share. I showed a few pictures and the zip line video from camp and a few looked like they may be interested. I'm hoping to be able to go to more classes at this school in the spring as well as another school or two. Maybe I can get a schedule going of grade schools in the fall and colleges in the spring. If web work is slow, that will give me a few things to do at least.
A bit of a program note that I don't get notification of comment posts. Therefore, I only see them when I'm here once a week. I'm not ignoring anyone, I just don't see the post. We'll see what comes up next week.
The insurance trouble this year helped for a few weeks, but that has only been about seven of the posts. A lot of days, and weeks, are pretty much the same, but I'm realizing I do more activities than I thought. There have been several weeks, like this one, that I have had no idea what to write about, but something has come up for an idea.
I am currently planning on continuing the schedule, but I have no idea what it will be from one week to the next. I have been busy for the last few weeks, so it may generate a few tales to tell. One of which was Friday.
This was my first time speaking to nursing students. I had two classes of about thirty students each. They were not the bouncy kids I'm used to, but it was still fun. These classes were first year nursing students, so everything was new to them.
Going over the changing technology in wheelchairs and going from the vent to the DPS was fun to share. I showed a few pictures and the zip line video from camp and a few looked like they may be interested. I'm hoping to be able to go to more classes at this school in the spring as well as another school or two. Maybe I can get a schedule going of grade schools in the fall and colleges in the spring. If web work is slow, that will give me a few things to do at least.
A bit of a program note that I don't get notification of comment posts. Therefore, I only see them when I'm here once a week. I'm not ignoring anyone, I just don't see the post. We'll see what comes up next week.
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