Numbering Up

July hasn't been a busy month and it has allowed for a lot of down time and healing. However, I'm not just laying around watching the clock.

This month marks three years since I started using the FES bike. My latest report lists 150 sessions and 439 miles biked. I know a few sessions also didn't get recorded, so actual numbers are even higher. For someone that hasn't walked in over 33 years, I think it's pretty good.

Regular readings

One of the parameters the bike records is how much power my leg muscles are putting into the work. Usually, it just reads 0.0, but it will go up to 2.0 for short stents when my legs are stiff. This past Friday, the reading stayed consistently around 2.7-2.8 for over a minute. That means my own muscles were responding to the stimulation and doing work instead of just going along for the ride.

With getting back to biking, laying flat, and my regular high protein intake, my pressure sores are also responding. Different caregivers give various responses to how they look, but this week both my day assistants said they looked good. The one that worsened last month still has a long way to go, but I'm thankful for any progress. I pray they continue the next few weeks as break time will soon be over.

A couple weeks ago, a church asked me to preach for them on August 5. Unfortunately, the facility is not accessible, so I had to decline. A few days later, I was asked for the same day at another, accessible, church and was able to accept. My own church asked me to preach in August as well and that was decided to be the 12th.

This week, another church in northern Iowa asked me to preach on July 29. It sounds like I can get in without trouble and accepted the invitation. That means I'm scheduled to preach three weeks in a row at three different churches. I plan to preach the same message at two of them, but coordinating everything is getting tricky. I'm also scheduled to work at the Ark Encounter booth twice in August during the Iowa State Fair and to speak to nursing students at the end of the month.

I am thankful to have these opportunities and the break before they begin. Hopefully healing will continue even with a busy quad life. I'll see if anyone else calls this week!