The Fool of April

Yesterday was t truly a dark day. Generally, I don’t believe in dark days or ‘having a bad day’ or what ever and yesterday being April 1st sort of made sense if I was to be fooled by the gods yesterday would have been the day.

Remember I had my follow up appointment at the University Wound Center scheduled for yesterday at 11:00 a.m. Brent, the sales-guy and Randy my PT were also going to meet with me following the wound clinic visit and discuss the issues I was having with the new power chair: the Quantum. I had worked late the night before attending the Spinal Cord Injury Forum and manning an information table and had gathered a number of hours over my time so I decided to take the morning off and hang at the house with Dianne and then travel up to the University together since Dianne was going as my medical advocate and service provide which she has been during this battle of the decube. We have figured if she can go with me of these appointments and get the benefit of these professionals working on my body we will significant limit the ravages of aging with a disability. Anakah also joined us since she is in the middle of spring vacation. And were looking after her for the next couple of days.

I started the day sleep deprived, we had stayed up late , for a work night, and I was dragging. But we scooped Anakah up and stopped at Denny’s for a couple of Grand Slams. We got lost once on the drive up to the medical center and all of the sudden the all the time we thought we had pro-actively generated was quickly dissolving. Dianne had slept poorly and was dragging too and I could sense stress mounting as we wandered the “avenues” of North East Salt Lake and finally found ourselves back on tack for the University Medical Center pulling into the parking area just in time. I deployed and checked in and waited, but we were there on time.

Kevin, the wound clinic guy, again spent time filing my butt and dressing showing Ani and Dianne. How best to care for my wounds. What was suppose to be a half hour treatment turned into an hour. Randy was antsy by the we rolled into the PT area but again we had a good face to face with Brent and Randy mediated great and we are going to be getting some other items which make the chair as comfortable as it can be. The three of us ended up having lunch at the cafeteria and Dianne and Ani dropped me off at the office. I as struggling to stay away and I could tell Dianne was becoming more and more stressed so I said good by and the two of them drove off only to return fifteen minutes to report something evil had happened to the van and it was all Dianne could do to drive the van back the parking area in the rear of my office.

It was a melt down the three of us were exhausted. Dianne was trying to get home where she could get some rest and now was relying on public transit and there is currently no bus stops close to my office. Chapman , work partner was watching this meltdown occur finally stepped up and said if they could leave immediately , she could drive the two home to Murray. Chapman’s benevolence was a Godsend. Te van spent the night in the parking area and I Trained home, as always but I was exhausted. In fact I used the power chairs tilt in place feature to lay back on the train trip home.

I got home and once in side the house I again tilted back in my chair andm for the first time while I was tilted in the “back “position for some reason the chair stopped working, a glitch! Glitches are not bad for some things but a high end power chair, the second week owner ship for the crucial part of the system to fail is really spooky or maybe it is just the April,1st Prankster working its magic on me. I did not like it.