Anecdotes related to Amelia's recovery.

 

9/26/09

I entered the Cascadilla Hill Climb today http://flcycling.org/?page_id=15  a bracketed- 2=people-at-a-time double elimination  race up a 1 mile lovely hill in ithaca-- I got through 3 waves- won one; lost one,;and won one, and then had to quit & go home for: a) my L shoulder hurting too much from the bumping around and b) nature calls(constantly these days...) c ) fear of my battery running out and me getting stuck on the hill. But the story is still "I beat Glenn Swan!" - the person I beat in my 3rd round, who is  a local bike shop owner & world class racer! Here's him on his exterracycle puling his 1 year old daughter up the hill in a trailer:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jsalazar1978/20090926?feat=directlink#5385828685233295618

Here's me in one of the photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jsalazar1978/20090926?feat=directlink#5385828718141502658

I beat glenn Swan=Yahhoooo!!!!!!!!!!At the start I told him"Heres how it's gonna go- I'm going to let you win today, but in 5 years I want a rematch when I'm back to full strength, you're 5 years older, and your daughter has 50 more pounds on her" At the end i said "I didn't holf up my end and let you win, but I still want that rematch" When my sister comes in a couple weeks we're making a trike video and I'll let you know when it's posted

Photos are up here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bikeithaca

Amelia-

 

9/1/09

Had my first ride with the disability bus" Gadabout " today., and the driver was super nice, On the way downtown to pool therapy, the van was super hot, and we had a pick up & drop offi n Cayuga Heights where the streets are all winding & twisty and hilly, and the driver didn't quite know her way, and so we kept stopping and turning,and curving,  and... yep, you guessed it- I puked in the van! all I'd had for lunch was 2 pears and they came up (what a waste of good fresh fruit!)then I leaned out the window nd finished puking on someone's driveway-- oh well!  Anyway the driver was super nice and we got to talking, and her sister had a brain stem stroke at age 45 and  now she's completely back to regular she was also very active pre-stroke it took her a year to walk normally again. That's great because I've been settling in for a -3 year journey, so, mentally, a year sounds like heaven. I'm doing better at really believing in my head **and** in my heart that I'm going to get everything back to normal, and if my attention to detail and efficiency and math skills come up a little short, then, (as my friend Denice said (I'll be just at a normal human level in those areas, and OK!)Here's the timeline I've come up with, and my neurons had better cooperate or they'll be left behind crying all alone!

2009 recovery year ; back to work and to driving sometime in the fall

2010 recovery year, walking normally (e.g.,  not like Frankenstein or with significant limp); using my L arm & hand

2011 recovery year, going on short runs again.... L arm and hand up to full coordination & basic strength again; swimming laps & riding my bike on  short easy rides

benchmarks for full recovery-  my left and right limbs can do exactly he same movements with the same amount of control & coordination. And finishing the localYMCA's May  "baby tri" triathlon in 2 hours like I did this year.

2012 half marathons

2013 half marathons

2014 marathon year, some short triathlons

2015 triathlons, including a half ironman

2016full ironman year in July at Lake placid, NY ; and I've got 2 friends talked into doing this with me; watch for the stories& photos in Runner's World mag and triathlon mags. Better yet, come up to Lake placid for a vacation and watcgh me cross the finidsh line, and run2-3 miles of the marathon with me:) :) :)

I tell ya, the universe had better cooperate with this plan!!

 

7/21/09 Tuesday

One of the jobs in speach therapy is to give you tasks that require your attention and see how well you do. Most of these tasks (like take a newspaper article and cross out all the "a's") are tasks which on a good day would lead Amelia to poke her eyes out in protest before voluntarily completing them. Recently the speach therapist has concocted tasks which carry a modicum of interest and purpose, which is much appreciated. For example, today I got online on her computer and researched and answered questions about the Tour de France. What a big difference making the tasks interesting has been to Amelia.

 

7/18/09 Saturday

Today was " Harr Potter day" it took 80 mins to get there cuz the Boston"T" is hard to s\access. Elevators, when they exist are all down a hidden narrow stinky hallway that is hard to get to/hrough.And the  trains are a foot above the platforms and the little electric ramp extension requires an employee w. ID card. Oliver did the heavy lifting and pushing  but he repotrts I did very well

 

7/16/09 Thursday

I was signed up for windsurfing but didn't go. they took one look at how wesomely powerfl I am and decided the wind was not strong enough. so I went for a tandem kayak ride which was pleasant( hough painful ojn both arms...  and cute Ross wasn't close enough to swat his butt again so when I saw him i just said "Ross you haven't calledc, I'm hurt! (see the anecdote from boating dau for the back story)

Onre wek to go and i get sprung on ?Friday the 24th. I am going to dance out the door!MY LOA tomorrow to see Harry Potte is in the bag; so I'll be off for a few hours as of 10 am......

Cronie (Oliver's mom helped me gewt my spoon ring off mu left hand- it was gettib=ng to tight due to swelling)or maybe due to all the ic cream and apple pie! 

 

7/14/09 Tuesday

Hard work today,i did lots o' squats in PT (my sister inlaw Heidi was visiting and I made her do them, too, so that when I straightened up early)5 second hold instead of 8) I could say"well Heidi  was looking tired so I wasnted to go easy o her I, of course could hold 3 uinches above the chair for 2 minutes, if they want me to.then, good& tired, Iwent biking for an hour on a quad-cycle tandem recunbent w/ the handsomeBritish recreationaltherapist(RT) ,Rich. weather was perfect dor this therapty so... many thanks to all thoose who are praying for me and/or have their entire church praying for me- dn't know if you askrd specifically for good weather on recreation days, but that's what the BigGuy decided I needed and it was sSWEET to be ou in the nice sun & warm temps, pedaling away.  Oliver aptured me on video saying " Ok we can get a tandem recumbent" but I want it n record thsat i tillL much prefer pounding my shiny new red Felt upright  on  KLIGun Hill after work.:) Tomorrow RT is taking us to trhe zoo (kids & Oliver & my friend Tonya  coming, too) and Friday I go windsurfing- seriously!  when I run the Boston marathon on the Spaulding charity team, I'm raising funds to enhance/ expand their adapive sperts progrm, it's geat as it is but I imagine they always have equipment needs..... and abs *everyone* in rehab should have the joy of windsurfing on the river..... or  downhill skiing. or playing rcaquetball or tennis.

 

7/13/09 Monday

my good friendTonya arruived and as always it's good to see her. nothing fun/ funny today .But I did srand ar rhe ciunter and make vbix-mix blueberry muffins today. I asked for a LOA to go see Harry Potter and rhe doc said er'd try to get it OK'd- said he has to document a spwcific therputic goal; how about keeping me from poking my eyes out after spending 24 hrs a day in this damn toom? " "byuild confidence fur community re-entry" is how they put it.....

 

7/9/09 Thursday

Moving Amelia from the outrigger canoe into a sailboat, TR staff Ross was standing over Amelia, leaning over to help transfer her over. Oliver is taking pictures, saying, "I would take a movie, but all I'd get is Ross' butt." (Oliver was sitting on the outrigger's spar to keep it from tipping over, so he couldn't move.)

 

Ross said, "People pay extra for that."

Amelia responds, "Really, what's your night job, Ross?" People laughing the whole time.

 

Minutes later, Amelia, Ross, and another therapist are on the sailboat. Ross is standing right in front of Amelia, bent over to pick something up. His behind is right in front of Amelia's face, so of course she reached up and slapped it! And apparently not for the last time...

 

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Amelia to PT: Someone stole my arm and replaced it with an exact likeness. The engineers did a good job making a convincing fake, but it's still not mine, and I want mine back!

 

7/8/09 Wednesday

Amelia's rules: Cry as much as you'd like. Eat as much as you'd like. Say no to to as many nurses' routines as you'd like to decline. Especially the more personal it is.

 

7/7/09 Tuesday

Ths is a funny story I use every dsy. When my PT wants to use the hemi bar and practice walking she says"Now, let's go to the bar" I always gigglew/ glee and tell her she's my fsvorite cuz she takes me to the bar fo therapy Also promised to visit Boston some weekend and really make her take me to the bar when she gets off work.although... last word from the doc was "no alcohol while my brain injury is recovering"... it's OK, I only cried for an hour.. and then the staff psychologist signed me uo for another group therapy-- somethiong about 12 steps, so I figure it's morePT and walking practice!

 

7/6/09 Monday

Wisecrack of the day:Amelia is hanging from the Locomat's harness with the robotic legs velcroed onto her hips and legs.

Amelia turns to Jean, deadpan: Does this contraption make my ass look fat?

Everyone in the room cracks up!I crack myself up! I laughed so hsrd I cried....!- Amelia

 

7/3/09 Friday

Peter was riding on Amelia's lap in the wheelchair, back to the room. Three minutes later, Peter has climbed in bed with mom, to snuggle.

Nurse: You have such sweet grandchildren.

Amelia: I don't have any grandchildren. Peter here is only nine.

Nurse: Where's the father?

Amelia: Down the hall.

Nurse: Oh. (Finally dawned on nurse that Oliver was Amelia's husband, not her son.)

 

7/1/09 Wednesday

4th day in row, good bowel movement- an accomplishment in itself, all things considered.

This time, though, after working particularly hard, when she stood up, Amelia got out of breath and starting sweating a lot. With therapist's help, she flopped into her wheel chair- and passed out. Her pulse was 37. And the blood pressure of the attending therapist was likely over 137!

(All seems OK now, fortunately.)

Amelia to doctor following incident: If I get that hot and sweaty, and that out of breath, I want to have been running first. 

 

6/28/09 Sunday

Amelia, lying on back and working on lifting her left leg toward Laura, Jean said: "Better watch out. She might kick you in the face."

Laura: "I'd like nothing more than for you to be able to kick me in the face, Ames!"

Next thing you know, Amelia is kicking toward Laura's face with her right leg.

Lesson: Be careful what you wish for and be specific!!

 

6/25/09

Amelia notes that back in CMMC (Lewiston, ME), when she first started to receive blood thinner injections into her belly, she had requested that they be made in a sequence that would approximate a smiley face. Alas, she lost track during the various hospital transfers, and is thus left with a random pattern approximating a pin cushion.

 

6/25/09

Amelia working hard not to hit the left wall while steering her wheel chair down hall ways. During OT, she nust chase posted numbers in the correct sequence down a hallway.

OT, while posting numbers out of sequence: Stop peeking!

Amelia: Hey, whose the one with the disability here?!

 

6/25/09

Amelia writes friend: 2016lake placid ironman so we have 7 years to ge vready  yaa??http://www.ironmanusa.com/

 

6/19/09 (Friday)

Location: MGH, Boston, MA

Amelia immediately stuck out her tongue after following doctor's request to smile during exam.

Doctor: How did you know I was going to ask you to do that next?

Amelia: It's like you all went to the same stroke seminar.

(Yes, her condition is regularly, methodically being tracked!)

 

6/17/09 (Wednesday)

Location: MGH's ICU, Boston, MA

PT: Please wiggle your left fingers.

Amelia's response was to reach over with her right hand and wiggle her left fingers. Ta-da!

 

6/16/09 (Tuesday)

Location: CMMC's ICU, Lewiston, Maine.

Context: Doctor's last update with Amelia before she's transported to Boston's MGH.

Dr. "Any last requests before leaving for MGH?"

Amelia: "Tell them at the Lab that I want my blood back."