Back to School

I graduated from high school in 2000 and college in 2003. After earning my Associate's degree, I took a break from school for a couple years before returning to work toward a Bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, health problems and school availability prevented me from finishing. However, I also took a few online courses of creation apologetics and outreach.

Therefore, it has been at least 15 years since I have taken any type of formal classes. The bug has often gnawed at me to take a course in something, but I didn't let it bite. Well, that has changed and I can now say I am a student once again.

In a few days, my main caregiver will work her last day until near the end of the year. That means I will likely have a lot of extra time laying around in bed. Other than binge on YouTube, I signed up for a 12-week course from The Expositor's Academy. I applied last week Saturday and received my approval on Monday. Since then, I have watched five of the half-hour lectures and started reading one of the required books.

Normally, I prefer physical books that I can see and touch. However, that requires someone setting up my book board, putting clips in various configurations, and then clipping pages as I progress. It works, but I need to have help and I try not to make my parents come back and forth that often. Fortunately, I was able to get two of the three books electronically so that I don't need extra help. Now, I just have to read them.

The next item on my list is a book quiz, but I can't tell anything beyond that. Therefore, I presume I need to read the entire book before continuing. It feels odd just to sit here and read when I have work to do, but it is what's required.

My schedule says I need to be finished by September 10. I'll need to figure out how to do my final preaching assignment, but I have ideas for that. So, I'll see if this old quad can learn new tricks, but I have enjoyed it so far. Hopefully assignments will be kind, but I'll find out soon and test my memory.

Dreaming, then Thinking

It has been a slow week in the quad life. With the holiday week, not much for web development was needed and I don't have a lot of other projects going on. Dad was also not feeling well for several days and we therefore just stayed home by ourselves on Thanksgiving. When I have slow days, or not even, my mind wonders and I start to dream.

For at least a year, I have been listening to a weekly podcast called Transformed, with Dr. Greg Gifford. He is a Biblical psychologist with the Master's University and covers various topics each week. I have learned a few things from this resource and it has also jogged my mind.

I have had some people ask me for help when dealing with anxiety or other issues. I like helping people and pointing to God's Word for assurance. I've also heard my book has helped some readers see life in a new way. Therefore, what would it take become an actual counselor and be able to use the experiences God has given me? It's still unopened, but I already have a book on my shelf about counseling from a Biblical perspective.

This week, I browsed through the website for the Master's University and looked at the requirements for their counseling degree. It is available completely online and covers several areas I would enjoy learning about. I nearly clicked the button to receive more information, but then I actually started thinking.

My latest college courses were over 15 years ago and likely no longer applicable to transfer credits. Taking classes part-time would likely require six or more years to complete the course. I will be celebrating another birthday soon, and I would be nearing 50 by the time I finished. At that point, even if I was still living at home, I would likely not be able to make much use of my new skills.

Therefore, like many things, it will remain a dream of something I may have enjoyed doing, but wasn't in God's plans. No matter the case, it's still somewhat fun to dream and look at using the time I've been given for God's glory.

Upgrading Skills

Like many students, I attended college immediately after high school. Thankfully, I was able to earn my Associate's in Information Technology in 2003. A few years later, I returned to school to try to get my Bachelor of Science, but had to stop about halfway through the program due to health needs. I briefly tried online college, but quickly learned it wasn't worth the effort.

Therefore, it has been around 15 years since I have done anything in the formal education. I have done several online courses in creation science and read about upgrades for web technology, but not much. A few months ago, I received a message from my cell phone provider that I could get 60 days of free courses through a program called Upskillset. I looked through the course offerings and didn't find any that sounded interesting except one, graphic design. It's no secret that I am more of a web programmer than designer, so I thought I would give it a try.

Word Art

Since March 30, I have been trying to take 2-3 classes per week in graphic design. The program covered three programs from Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I knew the very basics of Photoshop, nothing of Illustrator, and haven't touched InDesign (or its predecessor) in over 20 years. For the most part, I would say it has been a fun exercise in learning the programs and thinking a little differently than I normally do.

The course has you watch a video for 45-60 minutes that shows different techniques and make different projects. You can either follow along, or make your own project after the lesson. I mainly worked along with the video and did a fair amount of pausing and restarting. After completing 16 lessons, I created word art, flyers, a magazine cover, a magazine, mood boards, and a few other items. Unfortunately, some of the lessons required A LOT of clicking to produce an item (such as artwork) I never foresee needing. I mainly just watched those for information and tried to learn new techniques.

A test/assignment was available after every two classes. I was studying more to learn programs than tests, but didn't do as bad on them as I expected. Now that my free time is complete, I don't plan to pay a hefty fee to continue through the remaining 16 lessons. However, it has been a fun challenge and time to learn.

On this Memorial Day weekend, I'm thankful for those that have given me, and others, the freedom to do things such as take classes and work independently. I'm also thankful that God continues to use me and allow me to learn and see this world He has given in new perspectives.

Returning to Study

In July and August, I got used to working a lot while preaching several weeks in a row. When I was finished, I enjoyed the break, but missed having goals to work toward. Therefore, last week I returned to something I haven't touched in several years, Spanish.

When I received my diaphragm pacemaker in late 2010, I had to relearn how to speak. A few months later, I purchased a language learning program called Rosetta Stone and picked Spanish. I took over three years of it in high school, but never did very well. As the number of Spanish speaking people increase in the U.S., including in healthcare, I thought it would be a good language to learn.

The program works by showing pictures and associating words or phrases with them. Depending on the activity, you either speak, write, or choose the correct picture. As you progress through the program, it increases your vocabulary, but also continues to review what has already been learned.

My first time through the software, I got through the first major section and was somehow suddenly propelled to the most advanced learning. I struggled through this for a while an couldn't return to where I should be, and eventually stopped.

A few years later, I took it up again and started from the beginning with the hardest course possible, reading, writing, and speaking. Once again, I got through part of the opening level, but then started struggling with it, especially the writing. I figured I have enough trouble with writing English, Spanish was going to be any better. I pushed through for a while, but eventually quit in frustration again.

Now, I have been working on it again for less than two weeks and it has been going quite well. The program has five main sections, each divided into four subsections. Those also have different goalposts of gradually increasing vocabulary and reviewing new terms. This round, I'm only doing speech and not typing. However, I also started making my own Spanish dictionary. I know I can likely purchase one for very little, but it has been helpful to review and do it on my own.

So far, I haven't progressed past my previous attempts. I do feel much more motivated this time though and am enjoying it. Unfortunately, I have very little need to use Spanish or opportunity to practice, but I never know what God has planned for me next. Maybe I will get to speak with people who do not speak English well and I can help, I pray I will keep at it no matter what comes.

I am scheduled to preach again the last two weeks of October and have started work on sermon planning as well. It feels good to have an active quad life again, but not too much.

Six Years and Four Minutes

In July 2015, I first used an FES bike for my legs. Since then, I have regularly used the system and written about on here before. In the nearly six years I have biked, my legs have pedaled over 1,450 miles over hundreds of sessions. Those numbers are impressive and I'm very thankful God has allowed me to do it. However, I have been concerned about other results during my times on the bike.

As a review, the bike provides electrical stimulation to my leg muscles through pads that are placed on them. A motor in the bike moves the pedals while giving stimulation. If my muscles react strong enough to the provided pulse, the motor turns off and my own body does the biking on my own.

Early in 2021, I had a number of times during my 30-minute ride that I would go for a full minute or more on off the motor. My legs responded to the stimulation correctly and were able to bike without the motor taking control. It also meant for nearly 29 minutes I was just along for the ride, but it was at least something. Unfortunately, my legs have gone lazy the last several months and only done 7-30 seconds independently each time. Biking is still great for circulation, some muscle building, and bone maintenance, but it's best if my own muscles can put forth effort and also burn calories.

Thinking to my bike history, it has been 3-4 years since any of my stimulation settings were adjusted. On Thursday, I connected with a remote support therapist from Restorative Therapies (the bike manufacturer). The physical therapist took my history, connected to my bike's computer, and made a few changes. She slowed my speed from 40 RPM to 32, increased the power going to the electrodes, and other adjustments.

As I watched my legs slowly go in circles, I noticed the computer recording much more power coming from my muscles. At the end of the 35-minute ride, they had gone for 2:55 without the motor. On Friday, the time increased to 4:04 without assistance. Both of these times are new records for me in the years I've been cycling. I now go about 0.2 miles less per session with the decreased speed, but I would rather have quality than quantity.

Even though we live in a sin cursed world that includes disabilities, God has not abandoned us. I'm thankful He has provided technology like this bike to help with many areas. I look forward to this week's biking and to see what results come. After years of occasionally burning 0.1 calories, I may even double that amount for a full bite of ice cream!

Fuzzy Wuzzy

Most winters, I try to become a hermit and stay in as much as possible. January hasn't been too bad so far, but I'm still minimizing my time out in the cold. Since I wasn't going to be seeing a lot of people or have any school talks, I decided to try an experiment.

Ever since my teen years, I have always shaved my facial hair and not let it grow. I've been hearing a lot about beards lately for some reason and wondered how mine would grow. Starting on January 2, I stopped shaving and just let the hair grow. A few people said it would start to itch, but it never came up. I attended a visitation on the fifth, so I shaved off what grew for a beard and tried again after the eighth. This time, I was able to go the full week without shaving, and I started to notice some

changes.

If I have an itch by my eyes or nose, I usually blow at it to see if I can get rid of an offending hair or skin flake. On Thursday, I did my regular routine, but not much breeze got to my target. I tried holding my stick differently, different angles of attack, but nothing helped. After too long of a time period, I figured out my mustache had grown out enough to block my hot air.

For the beard, my caregivers first noticed a bald spot under my chin. After them touching it, the area feels like where I used to rub my chin on my vent tubes. Driving my chin control chair with the extra hair also started tricky with my controls sliding off my skin.

After nearly two weeks of growth, I went ahead and shaved it off again and went back to my normal look. Feeling a smooth chin again and having a clear path to puff is a nice feeling. It was starting to feel warmer, which I liked, but I don't think I'll try it again any time soon.

Having fun experiments in the quad life helps to break up the regularity from day to day. I don't have anything else in mind, but I'll see what is in store for another week.

New Wheels

Power wheelchairs are supposed to last about five years. Since I got my Action Arrow chair in about 1996, it has filled its life expectancy and then some. With parts getting hard to find and it starting to show its age, I started the process of getting a new chair eight years ago.

After looking at several options, I found one that I thought would work. However, after five years of frustration and finally legal assistance, that chair is gone and I started again early this year. I'm happy I can finally say I picked up my new power wheelchair last Thursday. It has been a long wait, but this looks to be a good improvement.

My dad is extremely good with fixing things, especially wheelchairs. Even with my three decades as a quad, this is only my third power chair. This is the first chair I've been able to choose the color, so I got midnight blue. Not much of it shows, but it is there. Another first for me is that this setup does not have a place for a ventilator.

It has been nearly three years since I used a vent outside my home. Therefore, I decided to leave this attachment off and shorten the total length. I still have my old chair with the vent tray if I need to go back on it, but I pray that won't be needed. The trick now is to figure out where to store my portable suction and ambu bag, but we'll figure it out.

Saturday, dad and I took the chair out around town for some testing. It worked well on the bike path, but the settings still need some adjusting. The biggest relief is that it fits well in our church elevator, with a few inches to spare! After years of having to push against the doors to fit in, it will be a nice change.

There are still a few things that need work, so I won't be fully switched for a little while, but this is definitely a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, after getting home from Saturday's testing, dad noticed something leaking from the back of the van. Further investigation found that the rear axle needs work and it isn't going anywhere. Therefore, this week's upcoming bike ride and meetings are likely not going to happen unless he can get it fixed quickly or find something I can fit in. Church today was via radio and likely will be via computer tonight.

I am thankful to be seeing an end to all these years of working on a new chair. Now if the other wheels I use to get around cooperate, I will have well functioning transportation all around. Fortunately, we didn't have problems while we were out or when it was just my caregiver and I. We'll see what the next week brings in the quad life.

Botox

When most people think of Botox, images of celebrities getting rid of wrinkles come to mind. While this is one use of it, there are other ways it's used.

My Diaphragm Pacemaker System (DPS) has an external box that makes the system work. It connects to a port on my right side, just below my ribs, that goes to the implanted wires that cause me to breathe. This is all fine and good, until something hits the plug on my side. A frequent culprit for this action is my right arm during a muscle spasm.

The spasms are pretty well controlled through other means for the rest of my body, but my arm coming in contact with the plug can, and has, have major problems. I keep a pillow between my arm and side most of the time, but this doesn't always work. That's where Botox comes into the picture.

Botox blocks the nerve signals from getting to muscles. When used for cosmetic purposes, a few CC's are injected to relax the muscles and reduce wrinkles. In the case of controlling muscle spasms, a much larger dose is given, I had 700 CC's injected in the muscles in my right arm six weeks ago.

Using Botox for spasms is common, but it takes six weeks to reach its full potential and needs subsequent booster shots every three months. Since my treatment, I've noticed a great help in reduction of movement in my arm. The times it does vibrate it mainly goes out, not in towards the plug. I can't say I notice any wrinkles in it either.

Sometimes in the quad life you need solutions to unique problems, this is one of the solutions. Continuing to breathe with the DPS with a calmer arm is a great feeling. We'll see what comes next in the quad life.

Morning Catches Evening

In high school I started to read the Bible mostly every night, but slowly. I just one chapter every night, no matter where it ended. After graduation I increased to two and eventually three chapters at a time. This is a habit I continue to follow today, nearly fifteen years later. There are nights I miss, if I'm too tired or we get a late start for some reason, but I generally get my nightly reading in.

A few years ago, a friend wanted to get into regular Bible reading and maybe we would get the Bible read in a year. I did a little searching and found the reading plans at Bible Gateway. We looked over the options and picked one, but we were already behind starting in February. Simply reading two days' worth at a time would get us caught back up though.

Unfortunately, the busyness of life got to my friend's schedule too much and I lost my reading partner after a couple weeks. I didn't see a good reason not to continue, so I just keep going with online reading in the morning and the physical Bible before bed.

After the first year, I encouraged another friend to read along with me online and it proved to be a learning experience for both of us. We did different plans for three years until I took 2013 off to read daily articles by Answers in Genesis. However, I took up the morning reading routine at the beginning of this year.

My nightly reading started with Genesis 1:1 in early December 2013, with my morning reading doing the same on January 1. I have stayed about the same distance apart in my readings for several months, but my morning reading has been catching up to nights since June. It looks like this week, in the last half of Isiah, my morning plan will catch, and pass, my night schedule.

The NIV Bible was revised in I believe 2011, and that is the NIV that Bible Gateway uses. I don't like how some words are translated, so I switched to NKJV online. My Bible is the 1984 revision of the NIV, so it has been interesting comparing the translations. I also have a hard time concentrating when reading and my mind tends to wonder off. Going through an area again has been helpful for spots I missed as well. By next week, it looks like my morning will be in the lead, and we'll see what else comes up in the quad life.

Flat, Sideways World

Trying to accommodate a body that I can't control or really feel can be a challenge, especially when dealing with major skin problems. However, it is something that comes with the quad life and must be done. A few weeks ago, I started getting a headache and very stiff muscles after sitting for a short time, so I took the clue that I need to try to get down even more.

Fortunately, last month was very slow for work, only totaling nine-hours, but I still had things to do. Laying flat on my back or on my side for a couple hours is a great opportunity to nap, but I can only do that so much. With necessity being the mother of invention, I have learned that old quads can learn new tricks.

Reading a Magazine

While laying on my side, my nurses and I have worked it so that I can read a magazine, book, or run a Kindle with a special mouth stick. I have never been much of a reader, but these last few months have seen me doing a lot. A magazine I subscribe to comes quarterly, and I used to barely finish one before the next one came. With the latest issue, I finished it well over a month before the next one comes and have started on a few books I've had for a few years but haven't touched. Learning to read at an angle took time, but I'm pretty used to it now. Maybe pressure sores are the key to finally getting me to read. Laying flat has also produced new tricks.

When on my computer, like right now, I'm usually sitting in my bed or my chair. However, I'm now also working on it while flat. I started out by just watching episodes of Macgyver and having the keyboard within reach to change episodes when one finished. That developed into adding my wireless mouse in the mix and learning how to work it while flat. I try to do as much as possible via keyboard and have learned a few more keyboard shortcuts, but it does work. Instead of just watching TV episodes or movies I can also play a few games and email people.

The only remaining problem is being able to see what I'm doing. When I'm flat, the computer screen is past my feet, so at least five feet away from my face, further away than my nearsightedness lets me read. In bed, I'm usually fine without my glasses, but they may become an addition to the laying flat routine. I've learned even if you can't move or lay in a good position, you can still do things if you really want.

DPS

A little over a week ago, I had surgery in Chicago. Surgery was to implant electrodes in my diaphragm to allow for the diaphragm pacemaker system by Synapse Biomedical. Since then, I have made good progress in switching from the ventilator to it, or pacing as it's called.

After 25 years of using a ventilator, breathing via my nose and diaphragm is a very different experience. It's great being able to smell and not have the constant noise of the ventilator around. When I go without tubes, I love being able to look down at this body I have and just see me.

Talking is different while pacing though. I'm used to being able to continuously speak without hesitation and not need to wait for air. While pacing, I can keep my breath as long as I want and talk, but I haven't mastered talking while inhaling. Granted, I've basically had a week's practice, but it's an item I'll need to work on.

I have figured that if I increase three hours per week, I'll be off the vent during the day by the end of 2010. It's an ambitious goal, but one I want to work toward. Yesterday, I did go over three hours total and am very close today in early evening. We'll see if I can keep up the pace for the several weeks and if I can meet my goal.