Saturday, July 28, 2012

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.