Bye Bye Rehab...

I've known this date is coming I've known for some time, in fact every time you begin something new , just by virtue of beginning there is going to be an”1End” somewhere down the line.. Yesterday, Monday, was I thought ,my last day in physical therapy for this insurance year . I've been doing physical therapy for almost a half a year now. Twenty-six. visits is what I get on my insurance allocation, and I've about finished my insured visits. I started out have my physical therapy appointment on Fridays, however this week I switched to Monday so Dianne could come with me. Dianne is only free on Mondays and we needed to have Dianne at this PT session so she could learn some physical therapy movements and processes to help me with my physical therapy at home.

To be honest, I'm kinda glad that my physical therapy is ending. I'm not really sure how much good physical therapy does once a week. Couple years ago I used my therapy in three day a week segments and I saw some improvement in my physical state. Even if I was not as happy with my physical therapist I had then as I am now the three day a week schedule helped me in my ability to transfer from chair to power chair to battle back again. A lot of things changed this year. This time last year the state still on a four-day week which allowed me to schedule my PT appointment on the day I had no work. I did not lose any of my vacation are sick leave. However last September State went back to a five-day workweek meaning I now had to take at least four maybe five hours to do my physical therapy session and get back to work. So having to pay for the 20% of the physical therapy appointments the insurance did not cover plus having to eat 4-5 hours of vacation or sick time, I suddenly realized I was losing out big time and I needed to consider just how much the physical therapy was actually helping me. Hopefully, if I continue to work at this position will have another 26 visits, July 1.

I was under the impression that yesterday was my last therapy visit for this year. But now the scheduler seems to indicate that I have yet one more visit, which is cool but I wonder just how many visits I have coming because this more visit' routine is getting old. I have to say goodbye to everyone all over again and then look stupid when I show up the next week and have to explain what I m doing there. So I have a call into to PT to see if they can give me a definitive answer and if I have to show up for my regularly scheduled appointment this coming Friday morning.

Breaking News: I just got off the phone with the P.T. scheduler from the U., and looks like they have found two !! more visits--and of course my Friday slot has been filled so I will be doing another Monday morning"Last"visit. My P.T. says she want to "hold" onto the other visit so when we get an P.T. aid who will visit us at our house and stretch and bend me there( which is another story entirely)--Doc Sue my therapist

Wednesday Challenge

I'm trying to get my stats done an I just cannot get to them, I mean this is really bad major self defeating behavior. I am really setting myself up for failure and I just cannot get myself to stop. Someone help me--not really just kidding--I am just having challenge.

Speaking of challenges, this morning while transferring from my manual chair to my power chair, my power chair, left forward, forcing me out of my manual chair. Fortunately, I did not fall completely out of my chair, but I was left hanging precariously on my chair, and I had to screen for Dianne, who was able to come and help me get back into my chair proper and then finished getting into my chair completely. It was a scary situation for me. I don't know what I'm going to do when I fall the way it down to the floor. Going to happen, going to slip and fall I'm just trying to voyages long as possible. Each day and make a successful transfer things I'm that much closer to the day. I don't make successful transfer and hit the floor and then have to figure out how to get back off the floor in the my chair. These are the things I look forward to as I celebrate the 61st birthday in a weeks time. Because of the problems I was having this morning getting dressed and out the door. I missed my regular bus. I took the time to cash in my free coffee from Starbucks fellows. One highlight of my morning.

I got a go. I got a go, I have to do the stats. Bonnie's on my case. Happy Wednesday out.

Testing One, Two Three

Diann go me Dragon and dictate for Christmas an I have have just started using the system an software and i am finding out i quite lake the whole shooten match. The only problem now is i need to have two headsets or at least microphone systems. I have been trying to use just the head e micro-phone which came with the software but that means having to pack the gear up an drag it with me wherever I go or don't use the program--and I'm beginning to really like the program. I got sick last Thursday night and did come into the office friday o everything I let on my desk stayed on my desk the whole long holiday weekend. I actually thought of running down to best buy to pick up a heap microphone but wussed out due to the cold dark weather. So this morning I used up the rest of my Christmas gift cards n bought a real cheapie on line--now I just have to wait,wait an wait and drag the headset back and forth until the cheapie comes.

Baptism and a Movie Part 2

9:30 a.m.--The gods were with me , or at least one God was. Between my son Mark a and grand daughters I was fairly respectable when I rolled into the chapel and the beginning of baptism. Now, here I have to admit it has been a long time sine my baptism and I have not been to too many others. But I had been to a couple of Mormon baptisms but the seemed to have changed to what I remembered, In the old days, the kid getting dunked would show up with the others o be baptized Saturday night before Fast and Testimony(F&T) meeting. The individual was processed underwater and then the confirmation took place the next day at the F&T meeting always held the first Sunday of the month excepting for Federal holidays and natural disasters. The ordinance was pretty straight forward event; usually an opening prayer maybe a few remarks by the officiating male, the ordinances and that wwas it...but now things seemed to have changed.

Now, there seems to be a program, in fact there are even programs outlining the events of the meeting, songs to be song, names of officials, music directors and even speakers and then the kids are baptized I could been an half hour late and not missed the event! I settled in for what I perceived might be a long morning. I should have realized the event would be long after all this is Utah, it seems my grAnd daughter was just one of a number of kids born in December eight short years ago and today there were not less then eight others being baptized and confirmed.

The baptism is held in a Stake Center, a large LDS meeting house, bigger,s some times much bigger then the ward house or chapel. The Stake Center comes equipped with the baptismal pool, a pool of water deep enough for the child and grown up to both enter and lay the candidate completely under water. The baptism is traditionally attended by family of the child. Immediate and extended if possible. Mormon families can be huge so depending on home many are being processed there can be many in attendance. So there are babies, little brothers and sisters everywhere, there is a loosely controlled chaos and this chaos is loud enough on a Sunday but on a Saturday something had to be done. So, the baptism is broken up into wards and each ward is baptized in its time in the case of my grand daughter there were four wards and each ward would do they're own individual baptism.

So there is a main meeting where all the baptism candidates and their families are gathered, and before and before the baptisms begin the meeting is held and after a general introduction and overview of events each individual is called and the kids and families leave the chapel and troop over the baptismal area leaving those unfortunate not to bee called alone in the chapel to wait to b called.

Please bare in mind, in the Mormon faith these ordinances can be preformed by anyone who is worthy and holds the power, always a guy and usually some family member and usually the dad. So the kid and well as the individual doing the baptizing must completely change clothes, get totally wet and change back again=long time and there are still a bunch a folk i.e. kids and infants back in the chapel getting restless. I have to admit here I soon became impressed. When the baptizing began the chapel darkened, the movie screen descended and soon one of the LDS greatest hits was playing for the benefit of all those who remained behind—and I was impressed. A film about the theological roots of baptism was being screened. Great acting, sound and story line anything as good as De-mille could have produced interrupted only when the next group was called and all trooped out and down to the “pond.”

Of course our group was last—and I never did get to see the end of the movie. But Jasmine was baptized and confirmed. The ordinance was simple and sweet and over. Jasmine got to pick her choice of restaurants for lunch and there was great pressure placed on her to choose some place like Olive garden but the newly baptized girl new what she wanted was McDonald’s with a Play Land and that is where the family ended up: a brand new page, a movie and Mc Donald’s what could be better...?

Baptism and a Movie Part !

My granddaughter, Jasmine, was born eight years ago this last December. Eight fast years, hard to believe. I do not see Jasmine as often as I would like, a couple times a year: birthdays, holidays and sometimes when her dad comes over to mow the yard or help me with some computer problem I might be experiencing, a problem I cannot fix on my own. The family has moved far west and south of Murray and makes it problematic for us to get over to Day Break. Trax has recently opened a station at DayBreak and as soon as the winter breaks and the days warm I am going to go over to \Day Break and visit more often.

Mark A called last week to let me know that Jasmine would be baptized and asked if we would like to be present. I of course indicated I would-feeling a sting of terror of having to re-enter that great monolith religion, have effectively left. But Jasmine is my granddaughter and I need to show her I love and support her. Besides a baptism is a short ordinance and should not take long, least wise that is how our family had experienced the event. I was a little surprised when Mark A indicated the event would take place at 9:30 in the morning, in the morning?! I had understood things had changed with the baptism ordinance and the event was now down on Saturday morning and the confirmation too getting everything done on Saturday not eating in to the time of the Sunday fast and testimony meeting.

Dianne was not feeling well yesterday morning so it would be just me going to the baptism. I was up early enough on Saturday morning, I knew I would have to leave way early to make the drive across the valley. I get lost easy, I always get lost and I always have to build time into any destination I have not ever been before by myself. True to form I DID get lost. Daybreak is a designed community wiles away to the South and West of Salt Lake city. I had actually written the address on my cell and put the phone in my pocket—so I could call Mark A, when I became hopelessly lost, and he could talk me into church. And sure enough as I was adjusting myself on the driver's sear the cell slipped from my pocket and landed deep into the step besides the drivers seat next to the door. I had given myself 2 hours to make the trip.

By 9:00 o-clock, thirty minutes before the baptism I was in the general area of the church but I could not find the chapel as much as I drove and tried to read the signs. A light snow had fallen during the night, enough to cover many of the street signs but I thought I could make it.

By 9:15 I knew I needed help because I would need time to get to the chapel, park down load and throw myself back together. I truly mess my closes up when I transfer into and out of my chair to drive. I knew I was going to have to bolt to the bathroom to tuck myself in, put on a shoe. I heard my cell phone,muffled by distance somewhere under my seat. I pulled over, opened the driver's door and then leaned out and saw my cell phone just under my seat. I managed to grab the cell , it took a minute or two but I got it and called my son, who was en route from his work, and mark A led me into the chapel at 9:25.

I down loaded and bolted to the bathroom to put myself back together. I had a few minutes before the ordinance was to begin. In my haste to down load I had lot one shoe from my foot. I sent Mark A. back to the van and got my shoe and cell phone and tablet I had left on the seat of the van in my haste to get to the church on time. ( End part 1)

It's Not About Me!!

What a weird morning but still enjoyable like winning something totally unexpected, like winning something when you did not even know you were in the contest. I am fortunate enough to have a window, actually two windows and both open to the West of Salt Lake City, actually 300 West and many who visit the building my office inhabits park in front of this great building. I enjoy watching people come and go all day long.

Recently, our building got a new tenant the Utah Asian Association,which will be known from now on as the Asians . This opening has been a long time coming, more then a year. Before the Asians the Mexican consulate shared the building with us. The building has three floors so these folks run a pretty big operation. So, once again our building is full of noise and people coming and going and I have a great continuing show with my Window on the West. So, imagine my surprise today when a station wagon pulled up and two people got out and I was a bit taken aback I recognized the folks as my cousins (my cousin and his wife)!!

My cousin Jess and Judy live all the way in the South Valley area know as Sandy ,Utah. Really the only way they could be all the way up, town parked in front of my very window was to specifically see me. And the only reason they would be all the way up town would be something so large and so dark had occurred, and everyone they knew who knew me/or us had lost our phone number making it mandatory that they drive all the way uptown to deliver the grim news and the only new which could be this grim would be the passing of my most ancient Aunt Elaine. So, I knew a ill wind was on its way.

Because these people are even older then I am and because I imagined them becoming confused when trying to convey to the Asians , who are new in the building and wold not immediately know who I was let a lone where I might be, I flung open the door to head the folks off at the pass. Sure enough there the both of them were engaged with the director of the Asian association I deep conversation which took on an even deeper level of concentration as they witnessed a fat man in a powered wheelchair emerge from the office across the hall and rush toward like he knew you should know him. I could sense their anxiety escalate as somewhere in their old brain they were being warned that somehow they should know this guy but “keep the shield up”. Then suddenly the light breaks through and the realize it is I their wayward cousin. I then notice there are wearing their little “Mormon” tags that all missionaries wear and I remember,'that’s right they are serving a work mission. They are serving a work mission with the downtown Asian ward!! So they weren’t here to see me—which is OK, which also means that Aunt Elaine is not dead.

So once again I am brought back to reality, I am not the center of the Universe, as much as I sometimes imagine. But how nice to believe tht every once in a while.

Vacation's Over

Back to work, everyone is back from the yuletide break—vacation is over, school is back in session—nice to 1have staff back in place—no major surprises and a few traumas. The phone calls have been strong for the first day back—the beautiful non winter like weather continues. Cold over night with days warming to the upper 40 and low 50's, lots of inversion an no snow. NO SNOW—everyday with ou the white stuff and ice box temps them\ snow brings is one day closer to Spring without the trauma of a snow storm. I doubt if I will be lucky enough to ride out this winter without a major storm but here we are the first week of January and looks like clear weather all the way to the weekend. Sure we could have a major snow event next week and another in February and that might be it.

We have been without the TV since before New Years and it does not seem to be getting itself fixed with everything closed over the holiday weekend and now with everyone back to work, so we have been spending much more time on systems and on the INTERNET. Internet is fine and good but not the network. I am may be too old to adapt and we know what happens to those who cannot adapt.

Happy New Year!!

I am slow getting the posts to the new year's blog.I just have to gt my rhythm and I think the rhythm will come maybe as I get the Dragon and dictate down ans loose my self awareness. But I am not there yet. So stay tuned and I will return to my daily posts. Happy New Year every one...