Missing Summer Start

Summer officially started on June 21, but the weather in Iowa has generally been very pleasant for several weeks. This is the time of year I look forward to the most, but I feel like I have already missed a significant amount of it.

Part of what I enjoy during warm months is getting out on the deck at my house and sitting in the sun. After a few minutes of sitting directly facing the sun, I reposition so that my face and upper body are in shade. I bake my legs and feet, at least, for about 45-60 minutes and soak up my surroundings. Getting vitamin D naturally is great for your health in many ways, as well as just getting out of the house. I am careful to limit my time so I don't get burned.

Unfortunately, I have only been out on the deck 3-4 times this year so far. Spring was relatively cool and didn't allow for much time outdoors. Also, I only have one regular caregiver who is comfortable with getting me in my chair. She is also the one who goes with me on all my adventures (appointments). I have had several speaking engagements the past few months and I didn't have time to sit outside.

For the last few weeks, I was also dealing with UTIs and some of the treatment I was doing didn't allow me to easily get up. Now, my dad has been working on the deck by replacing boards, washing it, then applying stain. With large holes where rotten boards removed, I didn't think it was safe to navigate around them. Thankfully, work on the deck is nearly complete an my school visits are now complete. If it doesn't get too hot, I see more deck visits in my near future, finally.

Living in the upper Midwest, it sometimes seems like we have a brief window of opportunity to enjoy time outdoors in summer warmth; at least warmth as considered by the quad life. Whatever I am able to do, I'm thankful for the life God has given me and the opportunities to enjoy His creation.

A Fair Visit

As many Iowans, I make sure to visit the Iowa State Fair annually. A few years ago, I experienced some accessibility problems with parking. Since then, I have mainly had the same issues and have had to work around it. However, I don't like to let accessibility issues slide, especially when it may impact others.

In 2019, I wrote to the fair to let them know about parking problems, but it didn't receive much attention. Last year, I noticed some improvements on the fairgrounds, but more that needed work. Therefore, I composed another letter, but with more backing.

I am now in my fourth year in the Olmstead Consumer Task Force, and was recently elected to be vice-chair. Instead of sending the letter on my own, I included the task force as well. After several rounds of edits and approvals, it was sent to the Iowa State Fair. This time, they were happy to hear from us and wanted to meet in person to discuss changes.

On Friday, two other team members and I gathered at the fairgrounds and talked with their new CEO. We addressed several issues such as parking, restroom availability, bench access, and more. It felt like we were important and the offered suggestions would be addressed and hopefully improved.

With this year's fair less than two months away, it's unlikely any of our suggestions will be implemented this year. Thankfully, we were told that our timing was good as next year's budget is being considered and what to include.

I'm very thankful for all that I have been allowed to do. I do not like to complain, but want to try and make activities like the fair accessible for everyone. I will have to wait and see what changes, if anything, come in 2024, but I hope this quad life can help others.

Another Off Week

Almost every week, I write these entries on Friday or Saturday and schedule them to release Sunday afternoon. I  try to make it sound like it was written on Sunday, but primarily so it makes sense when you're reading it. I did the regular routine last Saturday, scheduled the release date, and didn't think of it again.

Friday, I received an email from a friend who said she missed my blog post and hoped I was okay. I promptly came here to look, and saw I scheduled last week's entry to post on June 11 instead of the 4th. I corrected the date, but it was an indicator of how the week went.

Monday morning, I received confirmation that I do have another infection. I started on another antibiotic that night, but with a stronger dose than what I had a few weeks ago. That restarted my routine of trying to take more probiotics to counteract negative aspects of the medication.

On Friday, June 9, I visited with a new doctor at a new location west of Des Moines. My caregiver and I looked at the directions, but briefly got turned in the wrong direction after picking up lunch. Eventually, everything worked and I saw the doctor for a regular annual visit. However, it took about four hours to have a five minute conversation. That's fairly typical with my specialists, but it feels like a waste to the day.

Yesterday, I ended up in Des Moines again, but in the ER for four hours. The second round of antibiotics isn't going over well with my digestive system. I went to check on some concerns my night nurse had, but thankfully it wasn't an issue. However, I now have more things to drink in order to get everything moving again.

Tonight, I'm scheduled to preach for another congregation. Thankfully, it's a recycled sermon that is familiar, but I pray no other problems arise to hinder being able to serve. Some days, or weeks, the quad life gets to be challenging and the last few have been along that direction. I'm thankful to remember to look to God in all situations and pray that everything goes well.

Too Much Talking?

Memorial Day has passed, along with the unofficial start to summer. That does not mean my spring schedule of speaking has stopped though, but a decrease is in sight. Since last week's post, I have spoken to three classes at two different colleges. Tuesday was an EMS class followed by respiratory therapy students and Thursday was another EMS class.

I have always said that I don't care what school I'm at, I just want to help students for their future careers and hopefully help patients. I have spoken to EMS students for several years, but Tuesday was my first time at that particular college. My normal presentation takes about an hour, and that is what I told the instructor. When the usual finish time came, I somewhat breezed through my final PowerPoint slides to get them covered in my time slot. After the students had a 15-minute break, we then went on for another 30 minutes.

When I start my presentation, I always say I welcome questions at any time. This particular class fully took me up on the offer, as well as the instructor. I was very glad to see they had concern for patients and wanted to ensure best practices in etiquette as well as patient care. It was great to see and is what I would like all classes to do, but I wasn't prepared. After nearly 90 minutes of talking, I had a ten-minute break to have a 3 Musketeers lunch before starting another hour-long class. This one wasn't as interactive as the first and I showed a little more video than I usually do. After I was finished, my voice and throat were sore and very ready for a break.

Thursday's class was also good at asking questions and learning what they could glean from my experience. With Tuesday's class in mind, I covered a few extra items to try to preemptively answer questions and save some time and voice. This morning, I also filled a local church's pulpit by covering the entire service, not just the sermon message.

Along with this, I'm still battling an infection and am now having quite a few problems. I'm thankful I can be used by God to serve Him and have an active quad life. This week, I'm only scheduled for a doctor's appointment and no other outings. I'm looking forward to the break with time to recover and get caught up on other work. I only have one more college class coming and two evening church services. I will see what comes up next and continue to serve as I can.