Thursday, January 13, 2011

Alli, Snow, and Good Friends!



So, the snow just keeps on coming!!!! This was the first time in several years that I've been able to enjoy the beautiful white stuff! My balance is so bad that snow and I just don't get along. But, with about 22" on the ground, it actually seemed to support me better than using my cane!! Besides, I'm having surgery on my left shoulder tomorrow so I figured; "What have I got to lose?" With several months of OT ahead of me, I'm out of the picture as far as snow goes for the rest of this season. And, as my muscles continue to weaken, balance shows no improvement, and not sure if I'm going to have my knee repaired or when that would be.....I don't know if I'll get in the snow again. But, that won't stop me from absolutely loving it!!!!

Right now, my trainer at NEADS, Erin, is helping me nip a couple of negative behaviors in the bud as far as All is concerned. She has been barking, and it is steadily increasing. With the recovery time ahead, I wanted to at least get a handle on it since I will be having others help me walk her and play with her. I still need to be present, the verbal commands will come from me, and when others throw the ball/toy for her at play time, I'll be the one telling her what to do.

Barring any major complications, it appears that sometime around March Alli and I will be going to Texas to meet with a new doctor to get much needed help with my pain, and muscles. We'll be able to do this thanks to The INvisible Project which I was part of. My NEADS classmates, Ellen and Karin, have been to the South Texas Interventional Clinic and have made amazing strides. The doctor, Dr. Rhodes, invented a machine that appears to use electrical stimulation on the nerves to help with pain and muscle difficulties. Ellen and Karin knew that financially it was not a possibility, as we are still struggling to keep Em in school, and so they approached Paul Gileno, the Founder and President of US Pain Foundation to see if there was any possibility that the INvisible Project could help me get to Texas.

It always seems that just when you begin to lose faith in life and the human race, someone steps up to the plate and says......Don't give up just yet. I am continuously warmed by the good deeds of others, and for this reason I try to help where I can and find myself forgetting my troubles and pain while easing others'.

Talk to you soon,
Wendy!