@littlek,
Uh oh.
Felice capodanno, christina! (I never could converse worth a damn)
Quick update: As you all know, Dys has been improving steadily. Since having pain relievers, his improvement has shown noticable growth.
He can dress himself completely, except for socks. Who knew? Socks are tough when your flexibility is reduced and pain keeps bending over to a minimum.
He can raise his legs higher, only needing help with his left leg gettting into our bed, which is fairly high. If he wants a nap on the sofa, lifting both legs up is seldom a problem.
He can use his walker without help 99% of the time (around the house).
He can fix tea for himself in the mornings.
These are huge steps and help restore his confidence in having a fairly normal life. Remember, we are using the word normal while talking about Dys here, so don't get your hopes up too much but, considering his quirks, creativity, smarts and even curmudgeonlyness, I would never want him to be "normal" amd the fact that he can live with me, gives him loads of brownie points.
Tomorrow, I think he will get that x-ray.
The one huge problem that I have developed during all this, is that I started smoking about three weeks ago. Before then, I hadn't had a cigarette in 26 years. It was soothing, relaxing, and now I look forward to having a smoke with Dys in the garage.
Like addicts everywhere, I keep telling myself that I can quit anytime........
@Diane,
Happy to hear about the Cowpoke's progress,
About the ciggies, not so much. Ah, well. Easy for me to say.
Hang on in there.
We look forward to these reports from the Land of Enchantment.
@George,
just popping into say happy new year
Diane, thanks so much for the update (and Happy New Year). Glad to hear Dys is so much better. As I understand it, everybody wants to be normal -- nobody wants to be average. Neither of you has to worry about being "just" average -- you're both WAY above average!
@Diane,
Diane wrote:
except for socks.
He can keep his socks on
Thinking of you both and hoping for continued improvement for the cowboy. Wishing you both a Happy New Year xxxx
@Diane,
Diane wrote:
Like addicts everywhere, I keep telling myself that I can quit anytime........
Ohhh.. dont beat your self up for it
just smoke only good stuff.. .smile.. and share
@shewolfnm,
Luckily, neither of you smoke my brand(s). (Diane quit one year before I did. Well, I don't remember the month, just the year, '82.)
Peace, to all.
@Diane,
Cool. Isn't there a step down into the garage. That can be a thought provoking experience when using a walker. Motivation counts, I guess.
@ossobuco,
Ramps are tough with wheelchairs, though. At least for me, they were. The only thing the brakes are good for is maintaining position. In other words, if you get tired while going up, you are basically out of luck. If you release the wheels to set the brakes, you're off and running. They should make brakes that can be set without letting go of the wheels. Maybe the designers need to spend a few weeks navigating in the darn things.
@roger,
I used to design ramps.. there is a max 'lip' and max rise and length before a landing.. and a pal of mine taught a class taking people-who-would-design, or were interested in such design, around a large campus, I think in wheelchairs. (would have to double check, though I posted about his class earlier on a2k, to absolutely no interest).
If ramps here have anything in common with urban design in new mexico, I figure it's problematic. Fortunately, new mexico is pretty flat for a lot of it.
@ossobuco,
I'll agree, Roger, that the max allowable rise can be hell for someone trying to make his or her way up it for, say, 30 feet. 8.25% if I remember. That's not all that different from driveway max.
@roger,
That's why they make the expensive motorized one.
@ossobuco,
Wrong, 8.33. Still too steep, to me.
If I remember, that was with two rails, 6.25 with one.
@edgarblythe,
Good. Now, make it affordable, and collapsable so one can tuck it into the back seat of a roomy car.
@ossobuco,
Anyway, the ramp at D and D's is cool.
Although they are looking to fix it in a kind of side warp. I don't know how that could be done, easily, anyway.
@roger,
You would need a trailer behind the Porsche, preferably a livestock trailer.
