Hello everyone,
The first thing I would like to say is Thank You to everyone. The support, well wishes, emails, posts and phone calls I’ve received over the past few days has been staggering. Although I find myself in a challenging situation these days, I still feel lucky. Lucky because of the amazing support network I have. I truly feel blessed. There are several posts from people I have never met wishing me well. I wish I could personally thank every single one of you and meet all those I have never met. I feel like I am part of a hugh family that is there for me in good and bad times. I truly wish that every one of you has or will have the support network I’ve been so fortunate to have.
Today is my birthday and it’s a good day. Today is also the 8 month anniversary of my accident. This has also made the day a bittersweet one. However, all of the birthday wishes I received have kept me so busy that I haven’t spent much time thinking about the anniversary of my injury. That’s why it’s a good day – I will remember this day as my birthday not as my anniversary. Today was a great day of therapy; we tied my hands to a table top pedal machine and put them through the motion of pushing and pulling. I wasn’t able to use my shoulders as much as I wanted to move the pedals myself but it was another thing to do that I couldn’t do weeks ago. I was completely spent after therapy today and had to take a nap. I had a headache before therapy started but was so excited about the pedalling that I worked hard enough to give myself a new headache from this rigorous activity that it replaced the first headache. I’ll gladly take the headache I get from working out over the headache I get from doing nothing. I also had a shower today which felt great. That may not seem like a big deal, but it was my first shower since the accident. Now that I am finally stable enough, I have demanded and been granted the promise of weekly showers. I am also lobbying for the whirlpool. The staff is looking into a way to accommodate this request as well. I am happy because waiting until my 35th birthday until my next shower seems harder to deal with than not being able to move! Just kidding!
I really enjoyed the USA hockey game on Sunday. When they scored with 24 seconds left I was so excited I forgot I couldn’t move and started shaking my shoulders so hard that I nearly feel out of my chair. It was such a great goal to see. I am also excited for March madness, the NFL draft, and the Masters. This is because this is the first time I can remember that I don’t have to be at work and can watch as much coverage as I can stand.
Finally in closing I want to thank my wife, sister and parents for making this birthday special. Their thoughtfulness and surprises were the best presents I could have ever received. I will try to write more next time and hopefully have more positive updates for you. Until then I continue to draw strength from all of the support you all have shown me.
Scott