The reality

I hope that it doesn't come to that last one.

Actually, I've already been there but graduated to a mobility scooter.

I love my scooter.

But it has its drawbacks.

Yesterday I went out on my own on a little adventure down the bike trail. I decided to cross the bridge into the park. Damn. There was a dropoff, and I got stuck there. Mrs. AOW had to come to help me out of that rut. She couldn't lift the scooter, but she flagged down some people on the main part of the trail, and they got me up and running again. On my next trip out on the trail, I'll have to me more careful and watch where I'm going!

I got home long before Mrs. AOW did.  She had to hoof it, but I was zooming along back on the bike trail.

Yup

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, though.

Nuisance

This morning, our first-floor smoke alarm started chirping.

Mrs. AOW can't reach it to replace the battery. The one neighbor who used to help us out with these things has moved away.

She phoned her cousin-in-law, but he won't be able to get here for hours.

I guess I'll be sleeping on my one good ear so that I can't hear the damn thing making racket. If I sleep on my one good ear and snore like crazy, I'll be able to get some rest. I need some rest! PT wore me out yesterday.

Back to stroke therapy

My neurologist has ordered an evaluation session tomorrow. She noticed some small but definite improvements in my condition since she saw me 6 months ago.

Also, she was upbeat about my graduation.

If Medicare approves the treatment plan, I will be getting a month of therapy twice a week.

Now that we have the van with the ramp, I won't have to spend $20-$60 a week for MetroAccess service - not a free service although most think that it is.  Twice a week, Mrs. AOW will drop me off for therapy, then pick me up a few hours later.

I'm looking forward to getting more therapy!  No pain, no gain!

Why old men don't get hired

Some humor and some truth:

Time for humor & happy new year

(humor for the new year, with thanks to Big Bubba)

I pointed to two "old farts" across the bar from us and told my friend Herbie."That'll be us in ten years."

So he turned to me and said, "That's a mirror, you dummy."

True, dat!

Happy New Year, anyway.

I won the raffle!

No, not a car and not a vacation.

I won 10 lbs. of Kunzler's Bacon!

Kunzler has a great reputation.

We had bacon and eggs this morning for Sunday Breakfast. I'm sure that we'll be having lots of bacon for breakfasts now. And probably for lunch and dinner too.

Bacon was one of the two raffle prizes. The other prize was a computer tablet - or some such.

I'm glad that I won the bacon instead! I already have an iPad, which I use mostly to look up coin information and for listening to Blue Collar Radio.

Veterans helping veterans

See Mrs. AOW's post today!

Wheelchair van adventures

Friday afternoon, Mrs. AOW dropped me off at the local VFW while it was still daylight. Since her eye surgery last month, she's not ready yet to do any driving after dark. Too bad that we're not still on daylight savings time.

Anyway, our local VFW is on a bit of a slope.  This was our first van trip there, and Mrs. AOW picked a drop off point that wasn't too steep.

But apparently it was too steep!

Or else I was going down the ramp too fast.

A Lonely Time

Mrs. AOW returns to her teaching year today. It takes me a couple of weeks to get adjusted to being alone most of the day for three days in a row for months on end.

I miss her when she isn't here!

My therapy ended last Friday. I had over a year of therapy. What I'll miss most now is not getting out of the house 2-3 times a week.  I'll miss those breakfasts in the hospital cafeteria, too.

Today, though, Mrs. AOW has arranged for the paratransit van to take me to a friend's coin shop for the morning and part of the afternoon.  I'll probably eat lunch near the shop.

On Friday, my good friend Steve will take me to the VFW in the evening.

So, it might be an okay week here. I'll just have to make the best of the situation.

Vacation!

One of the homeschool families gave Mrs. AOW and me a vacation for an end of the school year teacher present.  How cool is that?

This will be our first vacation since I had my stroke in 2009.

Mrs. AOW will load my scooter into the Crown Vic's trunk, and off we'll go for some r&r.

One of Mrs. AOW blogging friends will be meeting us at our destination.

Forget blogging during vacation! I have some serious partying to do!

Time for humor

With thanks to FreeThinke:

A prominent nutritionist was addressing a large audience at the Mayo Clinic....

"The material we put into our stomachs should have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is full of steroids and dye. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High transfat diets can be disastrous and none of us realizes the long term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water.

But, there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and most of us have, or will eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"

After several seconds of quiet, a 70-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."

This will be my new joke to tell at the VFW on Friday night, when I go to the pool tournament!

By the way, my occupational therapist has made me a new device so that I can play pool with only one hand. I need lots of practice, though.

Splat!

Last night around 10:00, I made a trip to the porcelain potty.

You can guess why.

I got there in plenty of time, but when I started to get up to return to bed, I fell.  Not good!  Especially in a tiny bathroom like the one that we have.

At least I wasn't hurt.  Except for my ego, that is.

Mrs. AOW had to call 911 to pick me up off the floor.

As usual, Mrs. AOW, the independent type, tried to get me up by herself - and hurt her back.

This was the third time that 911 had to be called to get me up off the floor.

Great idea!

Some kind folks got together and spiffed up a nursing home by painting murals there.

Two samples:

More here.

Little things like brightening up the place mean a lot to people in a nursing home.  I know.  I was in a place like that for five weeks.

Economic realities

So much for going out to dinner tonight!

Looking forward to spring

I've got cabin fever lately.

Sure, I get out to therapy sessions at the hospital - sometimes three times a week.

And recently I joined a stroke survivors club. The first meeting I attended was a huge bore: all about what's covered and not covered under Medicare. But the meeting tomorrow night is supposed to be about adaptations at home. Maybe they'll have some pointers about how to use the kitchen.

Mrs. AOW is a great cook. But I want to get into that kitchen and fix my special spaghetti sauce! Having the use of only one hand is a pain in the ass and limits my talents as a chef.

Once spring gets here, I'm going to ride my scooter all over the neighborhood. There is a park nearby with a baseball field, and I can go there to watch the kids practice and play baseball games.

Lately, I've been missing being around people.

A busy weekend

Last Saturday, I went to a local coin show.

The paratransit van picked me up early here at home.  I spent hours at the coin!

Being out and about for hours at a coin show tires me out.  But it's a good kind of tired.

Many of my coin buddies from back in the day when I had my own coin business are long gone.  But a few remain.  And I've made friends with some of the newer dealers.  Several of the dealers said to me, "You're so much better now than you were last August."  I always tell them that the credit goes to the good therapy I've been getting.   Mrs. AOW sure did pick the right therapy place this time around!

On Sunday, my friend Steve picked me up and took me to the VFW to spend the afternoon with the guys.   Five bears and a sub sandwich later, I came home.  A good time!



I know that Mrs. AOW was glad that I was out of the house for two days in a row.  Over the weekend, she was miserable after the EMG that she had last Friday.

Independence

It's a milestone day for me!

Today I leave for therapy at 8:30 A.M. and don't return home until 9:30 P.M

I'm going straight from therapy to my local VFW for the monthly pool tournament. Beer and fun with the guys!

For once, Steve doesn't have to help with my transportation because I'm using the paratransit system.

And Mrs. AOW gets a full day off!

Life is for living.


Celebration today, napping all weekend.

Back to Stroke Therapy

These days, I barely have any time for blogging.

As of August 8, I am getting PT and OT again after over two years of no therapy.

At least twice a week, I go to an outpatient therapy center at one of the hospitals here. This particular center is relatively new and trying to make a name for itself.

I'm working hard and hoping for some real progress so that we can get rid of the potty chair in the living room.

Another Day at the Coin Show

Tomorrow I am going to the local coin show again.   I'll be spending about 5 hours at the show.

My last trip to the coin show was in May.

I'm looking for specific coins this time:

1. 1942P proof war nickel

2. 1995 double-die penny

3.  7 -over-8TF (tail feather) Morgan silver dollar

4. 1931S cent

I may not find all of those coins in the grades I'm looking for. Also, Mrs. AOW doesn't let me take a credit card or the check book.

I'm not looking for any Christmas presents this time around.