Some cool natural stuff

I'm back again, and not only do my muscles not feel as soor, but I also have a slightly better range of motion.  The physio helped for sure, but I also stumbled on something else that really helped too.  I forget exactly what I was Googling at the time - I think it was something about baby oil because at that time I was trying to find some way to keep the chlorine from getting to my skin when I go swimming - but while I was surfing the U. of G. I somehow found out that eucalyptus oil and peppermint oil were antispasmotics and pain relievers, as well as having other great benefits.

I'd just bought some baby oil and also had some peppermint oil from the grocery store, so I splurged and bought some eucalyptus oil and vitamin E gel-caps from the drug store.  I mixed some eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil and vitamin E into the baby oil and voila!  As well as a big old oil slick to clean up, I had a body oil that moisturized me, kept the chlorine from absorbing into my skin, and also made my muscles feel good and easier to use - WHOO-HOO!!!  I have to shake the bottle before using it to mix up all the oils, because the vitamin E and peppermint tend to separate from the other oils, but it's worth it.

So then I started putting the eucalyptus, peppermint and vitamin E into my body wash for an extra kick.  This is especially helpful for me on weekends when I don't have an attendant to put the oil on for me.  So, although I don't consider myself a nature buff exactly, it was really great to learn about some of the natural remedies out there.  Here's just some of the stuff I learned so far:
- Olive oil is just as good as baby oil for keeping that nasty chlorine off your skin, and even more moisturizing and better for your skin.
- Vitamin E helps the healing process as well as moisturizing skin.  If you're using vitamin E capsules, just pop them open with a CLEAN pin or paper clip and squeeze the contents into your mixture.  You may have to shake each time to mix well.
- As well as eucalyptus and peppermint oils, grapefruit essential oil is also good for stiff muscles.
- Lemon, lime, and other citrus essential oils are good for cleansing and other stuff, but don't use any more than 2% in your mixture, because they can make your skin photosensitive.
- Essential oils are much stronger than the stuff you might buy in the drug or grocery store, so if you're using essential oils only use 10 drops per ounce of mixture (that's about 0.5ml per 29.57ml).  Otherwise you might irritate or damage your skin.

So I got to say, thanks God, for making all this cool stuff!  Oh yeah, by the way, I now have a funnel, so now when I mix up my stuff I won't make such a big mess and waste stuff.

Another Step Forward - Whoo-hoo!!!

Well I can't believe it.  In early June I started getting physiotherapy and some other stuff I should have had as a kid.  I'm finished sessions with my speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist and social worker now, but they gave me some great info and tips to help me out.  Everyone I've worked with there is great and really supportive!  Thanks guys (you know who you are)!!!

I'm still doing physio, and it's exhausting but I'm actually feeling some improvements.  I've always been used to working my butt off and not getting many results, if any at all.  But since I started physio I've noticed my trunk (torso) getting stronger - I don't get sore as quickly when I'm sitting up or standing, and my upper body doesn't sway back and forth so much when I walk.  That's the main improvement I've noticed so far, but there are others too, and I'm sure there's more to come!  I've been at it for 7 weeks now, and have 2 more weeks to go.

And last year I even got new leg braces that are really supportive and keep my feet nice and straight.  These are custom-made braces from an orthotist (who's also great, by the way), not the cheap off-the-shelfe braces I blogged about in 2011.  These suckers are way better!

So, I'm still tired most of the time and stuff is still hard to do, but now I don't slump as much or get sore so quickly, and my balance is getting better too.  So, any chance I could run a marathon some day, huh?

DUI, WWT and other boners - WTF?

OK guys, I know this is a really old one, but since I haven't written in my blog for a REEEEEALLY long time I had to put this one in now that I have some energy.

We all know how dangerous it is to drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, or even to drive while distracted.  But distracted walkers can get into just as much trouble, and cause just as much too.  I've narrowly avoided head-on collisions with walkers who are clearly distracted, either by phone conversations, texting, music, or just the white noise inside their own heads.  You would think that seeing a blind woman in a power wheelchair, whizzing straight for you, would make you stop and at least try to move out of the way.  NOPE!!!  The blind chick in the power chair is often the one who has to try to move out of the way of the gabber, texter or "iPOD zombie" that's headed straight for her.  (And by the way, thanks to all the people who actually DO try to move for me.)

Earlier this year though, I got my payback, in the form of a news story about a guy in California who was WWT (walking while texting) and almost walked straight into a 400lb black bear.  OOPS!  Now, I know it's definitely not good to laugh at someone else's misfortune, but I couldn't help laughing my ass off at this one.  If you want to see the action live, go to http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/04/man-distracted-by-texting-almost-walks-into-bear-attack-video--74799.html.

And if you ARE one of those people who multitask while walking around, I don't mean any disrespect to you.  Hey, I know we all have lots of stuff to do and not enough time to do it, but PLEEEEASE try to keep yourselves undestracted when your walking, or doing anything else that requires a clear head and the use of your hearing, vision, cognition and other senses.  I wouldn't want to hear about you becoming bear chow or roadkill.

OK, there's always going to be people who do stuff like that.  I mean, we still have idiots who drink or drug up and then drive, even though they have to know it's dangerous to them and other people.  I have no idea what to do with those people, although it would be really handy if every vehicle came with a built-in breathalizer and on-the-spot blood tester, both of which would wrap themselves around the driver the moment he or she parks his or her butt in the driver's seat.  If the driver's blood and breath test posative for any alcohol or drugs, the car won't start.  OK, I'm sure that if this technology even exists it would be pretty expensive, but it's an idea, anyway.

As for me, I'm thinking maybe I should get a 400lb seeing-eye bear to walk beside or in front of me, to wake up all those WWTers, gabbers, iPOD zombies and people who just have their heads planted firmly up their asses.  Nah, too much care and feeding involved, and I'm not any more of an animal person than I am a people person.