Fall Illness has Begun

I am very blessed in that I rarely get sick. As temps get colder, illness usually increases and we head into cold and flu season. This week, I felt fine as I usually do. However, I can't say the same for my caregivers.

Last week Sunday, mom received a message from my night nurse that he was sick and would not be able to come. We hoped my other night nurse could cover, but we never heard from my agency. Therefore, it was another long night with short sleep for everyone. Monday night was covered, but Tuesday and Wednesday nights also went without help.

In addition to nights, days also had trouble with missing help. My caregiver for Thursday and Friday was also ill and unable to come. Therefore, Sunday through Friday had five shifts open out of a total of nine. Thankfully, my night nurse who was on extended medical leave is back and doing well.

Since we didn't have help Wednesday night, that meant mom and I would have slept in Thursday morning. However, dad was also very busy at work and had something that needed to get finished. Therefore, I got up a little earlier than usual, did a hurried morning routine, and I went to work with him. In our rush to get out the door, we even skipped my usual protein shake for breakfast. By the time we got to lunch, I was getting hungry.

I've been with dad at work a few times. As a commercial printing facility, it's interesting watching folded papers get stacked, stapled, and trimmed to form an information booklet. I try to watch, but stay out of the way as well. For several minutes, I parked by the one nearby window and let the sun warm my face. It felt good, but I was also next to a machine's noisy blower. I battled for a while, good feeling sun vs. noise, but eventually my ringing ears won and I relocated.

Friday and Saturday were very nice days for mid-November in Iowa. Mostly sunny with highs near, and above, 70 was a treat. The two days were spent juggling witch parent stayed with me while the three of us tried to complete our various tasks. Unfortunately, the yard work dad did Friday was hardly noticeable Saturday as leaves kept dropping from trees.

These weeks are the more challenging times in the quad life. We all missed items we had hoped to do, but also made accomplishments. My trach button still feels very plugged at the end as well. The schedule meant my medicine was applied at odd times, but I doubt that would make much difference. I'm looking forward to this new week and hope it will be back to a more regular schedule.

Gift of Christmas

It's the last Sunday before Christmas. Stores have had Christmas displays for several months, but last minute shoppers were out in force this weekend finding bargains. Tuesday afternoon will likely be the same, as some wait to get gifts until the last minute. No matter what material positions are under the tree this year, we can't forget the true gift that was given 2,000 years ago.

Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ever since Adam sinned, death has been a constant for all mankind. Everyone inherits the sin nature, and therefore earn our wages. A simple look at the Ten Commandments, and honestly judging ourselves, will show our sins.

However, the Creator of the universe, the King of kings and Lord of lords, willingly humbled himself and came in the form of a helpless baby. The One who knows every star by name, and had angels announce His arrival, had to be fed, carried around, and changed. Later on, this same Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and made it that His perfect life is seen as ours. This gift of everlasting life is for all who repent of sin and trust in God alone for salvation.

Just like gifts under the tree this Christmas, we can't do anything to merit or deserve them. If we did, it would just be a form of payment. However, in response to this gift, we can show thanks by telling others, giving thanks to God, and doing His will. Unlike material gifts, this one will not grow old, outdated, or appear somewhere else as a white elephant gift. We also don't want to wait until the last minute to receive it.

Every day, more than 150,000 people die, and we don't know when our time will come. Some people say they will repent on their death bed, but they may not get that chance. Don't do like last minute shoppers, today if you hear His voice, don't wait.

I'm thankful for this gift in the quad life and pray it will be the focus of your celebrations this week. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Snow Fish

The mild start we had to winter came to an abrupt end this week. Monday-Friday, Iowa had snow in various amounts. Monday and Tuesday had a winter storm warning with a blizzard warning on Friday. Dad has been clearing snow from our driveway, sidewalk, deck, and roof before having to do more clearing at work. He has been very tired, but keeps going.

My night nurse couldn't make it in Monday night and my Tuesday caregiver was ill and also couldn't come and only worked half days on Thursday and Friday. Therefore, my parents have had a busy week and I'm thankful for their care. In an attempt to make dad's life a little easier, I ended up making for another long afternoon.

A few years ago, my large plecostomus (cleaner fish) died and we quickly noticed my aquarium's algae increased rapidly. Dad purchased more algae eaters from local fish stores, but they died within a week,

or less. A friend, who is really into fish, suggested an online store that he has liked. Therefore, for the first time, I ordered live fish online. Checkout said shipping may be delayed due to weather, and I agreed. With a cold week of snow and next week forecast to be below 0, I guessed it would be a few weeks before they came. My estimate was wrong, they shipped Wednesday and arrived Thursday afternoon.

I kept tracking their progress and the delivery time continued to get delayed. Finally, three hours later than expected, the box was dropped at my door with no knock, doorbell, or other acknowledgement. Thankfully, mom was watching and swiftly retrieved the box from the frigid outdoors. Carefully opening the cold package, she eventually found the bag with very cold water and six objects in it, one that slightly moved.

Over the next few hours, she put the bag in a bowl of warm water to slowly start warming the new arrivals. As she did, movement started to increase and more signs of life appeared. When dad got home, he rearranged the lid of the aquarium so the bag could float on the water. The new fish now all seemed active and alive. Eventually, they joined the other tank dwellers and all seem happy and doing well.

Now, they have been swimming around and seem to be fine. I presume they arrived in some state of hibernation with the cold water and just needed to wake up. It's fun to see how God designed animals to adapt to different scenarios, including cold shipping boxes. Hopefully they do their job and love eating algae.

Living the quad life has unique times indeed. This week, I'll be staying inside. Hopefully it is a little calmer with other activities.

Cold Start

St. Patrick's Day is now behind us, that means my regular time of hibernation has ended. While the calendar says spring is one day away, it doesn't feel like it.

This weekend, a model train show is being held in downtown Des Moines. Advertising said it had 150 tables for vendors along with several train displays. Dad and I considered going yesterday to give support for such events and see if we could find anything to purchase. However, it was the second night in a row of no nurse and wind chills were around -4°F. We would have enjoyed going, but decided circumstances weren't favorable and decided to stay home.

Most years, late March is starting to get warmer and it is more favorable to get outside. Today was forecast to start out around 12° with highs eventually getting into the low 40's. According to dad, the pants I normally wear when preaching are thin and not very warm. As the barefoot preacher, breeze also has easy access to go up my pant legs.

Despite getting new shirts for preaching last year, I have never warn them in public and they still don't fit correctly. Therefore, I continue to only have one shirt/tie combination that I use when preaching and it isn't very warm either. Figuring out how to stay warm, and awake, while in church is a challenge I try to avoid.

Looking at the remainder of the week, I have outings scheduled for three different days. Thankfully, the weather forecast sounds better than today, but still colder than I prefer for going outside. I have wondered if I should delay my end of hibernation longer, but don't want to miss on activities while I can. Two churches contacted me to preach today and it sounded like I was the last person contacted and they were getting desperate. Each one said they knew I tried not to go out in winter and that was why the delay. I'm hoping I'm not the last contacted due to preaching ability.

The quad life is interesting with trying to manage activities and weather. I'm thankful that this week should return to full nursing schedule and will help with having more energy to get things accomplished.

Christmas Reason

Just a short note this week to remember the true reason we celebrate Christmas. It to remember the gift God gave us 2000 years ago in the form of a baby, Jesus Christ. So that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

I'll leave with two videos to watch. This first one is my favorite portrayal of the first Christmas, done by kids.

Second is a reminder of the gift we've been given, and what we must do in response to that gift.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone and we will see what comes next in the quad life.

Heat

With the fourth of July now past, it feels like we're already halfway through summer. That also means the warmest part of the year is at hand. When living the quad life, you have a love/hate relationship with heat, sometimes simultaneously.

Having a high spinal cord injury means you can't regulate your heat or generally sweat. Therefore, my fellow quads and I are often on the chilly side. I have friends that can be in an 80° room, wearing long pants, with a blanket over their legs, and be quite comfortable. So when summer warmth comes, it feels great to have the warmth of the sun on your face and let the rays come at you. However, you can get too much of a good thing.

High injury levels also deal with a dangerous condition called Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD) that if left untreated can lead to a stroke and possibly even death. One of the ways AD can start is by overheating, which is different for every individual. Another friend of mine can be in a 73° room, just wearing his birthday suit, with a cold pack under his neck, and still be hot. I have been on both ends of the spectrum and am not always sure what direction my body will decide to go.

Outside getting some sun.

In my younger years, which is getting to be too long ago, I was always cold. I loved summer temps and couldn't wait for an 80° day and to sit in the sun and bake. Every year I also had trouble with AD, but I learned the warning signs as I grew older and when to find shade and a cold drink. A few years ago though, my body switched temps and I now more of the opposite.

I still prefer warm weather, but I AD much faster than I used to. In early May, I was out watching a parade on a sunny, warm day. Their was a large crowd due to the nice weather and kids were happily running around in just t-shirts and shorts. The high that day was only 70°, but combined with sitting in the sun, I started to AD pretty badly after a fairly short time. In my experience though, it wasn't too hard to remedy.

Now, when I'm outside, I park so that my legs and maybe arms are in the sun, but my head is in the shade. If there's a nice breeze, I can stay comfortable in this position for quite a while, especially if I'm near active railroad tracks. I don't know what the next few years will bring, if I revert back to being cold or not, but it just keeps me on my wheels (or toes) while living the quad life.

Fall

Autumn is in full force in Iowa, as much as I hate to admit it. A lot of people say that fall is their favorite time of year, and I can't blame them for that. Trees turn colors and show a very beautiful part of God's creation. Where I like to go out for rolls (walks), it seems like everything is new again with different color that changes on every visit. For me though, fall means colder temperatures, and a foretaste of what is to come, winter.

It also means an end to my barefoot summer. Last week I went out train watching with my parents and whore shoes all day. It was a grim reminder of the season change and I could tell my body didn't like it. After getting home, my feet were swollen and had several red marks from their experience. The outing itself was enjoyable though, especially exploring roads around the rails we hadn't been to before.

One of these roads had an old wooden bridge on a dead end rock road that went over the tracks. It was a great place to sit because nobody would care that you were there and it offered a bird's eye view of the rails. The only slight problem is that the approaches on both ends were rather steep. This meant that on our return trip over the bridge, the van bottomed out and got stuck. It was a minor problem that didn't take much to get out of, but it made for an entertaining excursion.

The bridge was just outside of Boone, Iowa, the home of the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad. They were using their steam engine last weekend while we were in the area so we could hear when we were in the country. Hearing the lonesome sound of the steam whistle in the distance made it seem like we were back in the days of steam when the Union Pacific Challengers and Mountains would have ruled the tracks. If I can get dad's memory card the videos, with background steam whistles, will be on my YouTube channel.

Speaking of fall, I'm starting to think my health might be doing the same again. For the past few weeks, I haven't been able to keep my lungs completely clear for anything. My nurses have been having allergy trouble, which I may be as well, but it's very odd to be so congested for so long. This week, I've had a few times that I could hardly keep my eyes open. Today is Friday and I have been wanting to get this entry in since Monday. The leaking bladder problems have also returned, thankfully not as bad as last time though.

In my next update, I need to talk about what's going on with my wheelchair. That topic could likely take a few posts, but I'll try to keep it down to one. The next few days look to be warmer again, so I'm hoping to get out and get some sun, barefoot of course, while I still can. Until next time!