Kate's On Line Journal

[rbyrd49100]

Militant Winery Cartel Kidnaps Texas Caregiver and forces her into slave labor in Andes Mountains And are shocked to discover she is not upset about it!

Just messing with you Martha :> )

Oh, I manufacture springs for the oilfield business...you could have brought me along as your luggage boy and we could have worked as a sales team!

Seriously, have a wonderful time!

Russ Byrd

[martha]

ROFLMAO!!! You are Classic! And you are correct!!

Darn, wish I'd known about the luggage guy offer before I invited my best friend to tag along. Now it's really going to be even more fun. Some business, some play, hallelujah!!!! And who do I contact about getting kidnapped? Sounds like a good deal to me.

[1 Fine Spine RN]

Martha....need a nurse in the Andes? LOL

KATE!! Chat me

Mary

...and she lived happily ever after...

[Sci Mom]

Martha...have a great trip! Enjoy yourself,don't make it ALL business, and be sure and fill us in when you get back.

Vicky

[kate]

Scene at my house:

It's dark outside, dinnertime and raining a little. The dog is lying kind of glum at my feet. Emily (14) is downstairs watching 4 Weddings and a Funeral . . . she's become a Hugh Grant fiend since I took her to see Two Weeks Notice. I watched 4 Weddings with her last night--kind of awkward, what with the R-rated scenes, but I guess I'd rather be there to answer questions in a straightforward manner than have her think I don't know about this stuff.

Heather (12) is in the kitchen making herself a burrito and watching SpongeBob Squarepants. . . (cartoon maniac for those not in the know). She spent the afternoon at a girl scout meeting; tomorrow she gets the day off school while her teachers lobby our state legislature not to postpone their payraise. Washington has taken a bad economic hit lately, being home to both Boeing and a lot of dotcom failures. I'm planning on taking her skiing, though she's much better than I'll ever be. Takes her about 30 minutes to run my butt into the ground.

Bruce is at the chiropractor's office getting his vertebrae adjusted. Do any of you (or your da folk) use these guys? He used to go pretty regularly before the accident, then started up again a few months ago. He was having a lot of trouble with pain-induced spasms when he got to his feet, sometimes bad enough to knock him down. That's much better now, plus the doc seems to be able to magically improve range of motion issues. Definitely worth a try, especially if your insurance covers it.

I'm doing okay . . . still reading about the Beatles, torturing my students, walking Rocky, writing the memoir, trying to learn to sight-read the alto line. Found out today that our flight to Florida in February was overbooked, so we got to UPGRADE to 1st class for free on a different one! Wahooooo, I can't wait.

Hope you're all well.

[1 Fine Spine RN]

kate quick!! chat me

im waiting there

mary

...and she lived happily ever after...

[dogger]

Kate , i went to a chiropractor while in rehab . after he had finished on my hands and shoulders i would regain some temporary use of my hands . it was amazing to be able to open and close them . a short time after this i got back the hand function i now have .
thank you
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

[KDK513]

Hey Dogger, do you still visit the Chiropractor regularly? I have tried to convince my spouse of the potential benefits, no luck. Any thoughts?

[dogger]

KDK, that was 12 years ago , i haven't been since i left rehab .i would go to one again if i had a reputable one close by . just the feeling of physical well being after he finished made it worthwhile.

thank you
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

[kate]

From my own desk, down in the laundry/storage room, which is a lot nicer than it sounds. . . there's a window in front of me which looks out on our overgrown back yard--a mess of gangly rhodendrons and extremely tall pine trees, with a steep woods falling away behind our fence. I have a bathtub down here now, because Bruce insisted they put one down here (in a corner behind the washing machine!) when they tore up our bathroom to make him a drive-in shower. He knew I'd die without bubble baths!

And my desk is big, and it's usually quiet down here, so I like it.

Today, people, we were in Seattle waiting for our therapist to show up. He's named Michael, a great guy about our age who's been talking with us both for about a year, and with me alone for 6 months before that. When I hired him, (3 months post) he asked what it was I wanted him to do . . . I said something like, "This is indescribably horrible. I just want to somehow hold on to myself and not get destroyed by it. I want you to help me not lose track of who I am . . . I want to keep my sense of humor."

Which he's definitely done. Anyway, today he was a few minutes late, and we were just hanging out, Bruce standing in his walker. He's been able to stand without holding on for a few seconds since early in the fall, and that's what he was doing--standing there with his hands out to his sides, balancing. And then he lifted up his left foot and took a tiny, clunky step without holding on, and then his right foot, same thing. I was sitting in the chair, like, holding my breath. He moved the walker and did it a few more times, left, right, hands out in the air.

A year ago he could only be on his feet wearing a full leg brace with a deathgrip on the walker, could only take a few tiny, clunky steps like that, with me right there holding the gait belt.

This is what the cure is going to look like . . . huge amounts of work, microscopic improvements, eventual triumph. Bet on it.