I was at wound care today. The surgeon that has followed my care, did the bloody debridements, has not seen my wound since December. This is a long time and what she saw today was nothing short of wonderful. The biggest obstacle I have encountered to healing, significant undermining, is virtually gone. My wound is largely superficial and about the size of a small meat ball. The wound bed remains "lovely" if not awesome. To me it just looks like raw chop meat. Regardless, the biggest problem, one that could have required surgery, no longer exists. Hence no surgery for this man. Indeed, there is a good chance the wound will be healed in one month. Yes, one month, four weeks, 28 days. This means I may ski in March. Spring skiing here I come! Okay, maybe this will happen. I have come way too far and been stuck in bed for way too long to take any risks. At worst I know I will be kayaking come spring. Life is looking quite sweet right now!
Here is a a vow. I will never ever put myself in the position I did last Fall. I will take photos, use mirrors ask family to check my skin. I have learned the hardest of hard lessons. This has me thinking: imagine a health care system that cares about paralyzed people. Imagine the lives saved if every paralyzed person had their skin inspected by a professional. Think of the savings. No wound care needed, no hospitalizations, no time lost at work etc. Yes, this is a pipe dream but nothing can spoil my mood today.
I also had a sweet if not wonderful exchange with two kids and their mom. My look has changed since the fall. No more long hair and pony tail. I now have short hair and a beard. My beard is white, my hair dark. The two girls I met were three and five. Theses kids were cute as a button and dressed in snow gear. After they cheerfully exchanged pleasantries with me they whispered to one another. I asked what the whispering was all about, they looked at their mom who gave the nod of approval and the three year old said I looked like Santa. Oh, how this made me chuckle. I can see it now-next Christmas I will dress up as a paralyzed Santa.
7 comments:
Glad you're feeling jolly!
I bet Santa is often seen to be paralysed, though probably through too much eggnog and not legitimate means!
Regards,
William,
Very happy to hear you are coming along better and with the end possibly in sight soon.
As you stated previously, effective organization to fight for rights of disabled is extremely difficult. Will think about this when I feel better.
Like your proposal of taking photos of your affected area and having your family help check your skin. Was wondering if you have a camera with a tripod or could get one. You could then take photos of your affected areas at the precise angle and distance from your body on a weekly basis, upload the photos to your computer if possible, for a visual diary to prevent more sores.
As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words."
Very happy to hear of your progress!
Carl, If I keep the beard I am going to look into being a Santa at a kids rehab hospital. I bet paralyzed Santa are few and far between. My wheelchair is also cherry red so it keeps in with the seasonal colors.
Ginger, Now that is one damn good idea r.e. the tripod. I own a tripod and a good digital camera. Sounds like I could do this every Sunday or some such day.
I often think how we people with a disability could form a united political lobbying group. The best I can suggest is getting parents of kids with disabilities and people int he disability rights movement to hook up. Not sure how to make this happen.
William,
You are getting me thinking of lobbying. The internet has become extremely powerful in many good ways. Of course a "name" would be necessary, such as "Enforce the ADA". Then find a way to reach out to as many disabled adults and parents. That would most likely be the difficult part. Perhaps then a letter of petition that could be signed via internet and then sent on to legislators.
I recall reading about 5 or 6 months ago where this method was used to stop the stoning death verdict of a woman in Iran. At this point in time, this woman has not been stoned to death.
We cannot forget the power of the internet.
Your digital camera should have a method of putting the date each picture is taken on the front of the picture. I believe jpeg is the best format to use. Then dated photos can be backed up on cds and if necessary say "Look Doc."
Most towns and cities have paid and free organizations to help the disabled. Perhaps contacting them via email to sign a petition to legislators would work. After all, the people in charge of these organizations want job security...money.
William,
Getting people and groups to fight for the enforcement of the ADA and even more legislation passed may not be that difficult. Organizations such as The Dept. of Mental Retardation, MS Society, Spinal Cord Injury Assoc., Cerebral Palsy, Disabled American Vets, etc, etc. would have a good chance of backing this endeavor.
First time out blog-visiting in a while. Excellent news on the wound-front!!! I am a parent who believes... there must be others. A reason to work together could help us build other commonalities...
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