May
Entry#52. 5/31/2022.
We survived our 1st winter of SCI life and I learned how my husband’s legs’ temperature got cold easily and it didn’t get warmed up so easily. Winter coldness is one of the things on our “checklist” for daily life. Now Summer is here. My husband taught me something about “summer heat”. The details are here if you are curious.
https://facingdisability.com/blog/stay-safe-in-hot-weather-the-sci-guide
5/31/2022.
You realized you did something harder yesterday when you woke up with aching body, whole acting body. Well, it was 16 mile handbiking/biking in Richmond. My adrenaline was spiking upward. Photo: My son has some skills to take photos which I never tried. Fun
5/30/2022.
At last!!! Finally!!! My hummingbird is here. Awwwww I couldn't be happier today.
photo: May 15, 2020 during Covid stay-at-home time.
P.S. I feel I gotta take a photo of today.
5/29/2022.
I give up this year. Deer are winning this year. I tried covering up every single night for my white clematis. But they gabbled it up. My wonderful friends gave me, shared with me hollyhock (from KS) and wood poppy (in this town). They are it up. Ok, there is always next time, isn't there? My battle against deer continues.
Photo: When I won the battle. May 25, 2021
Entry#51. 5/28/2022.
I was very lucky enough to get a job as an EA (educational assistant) at the local middle school (elementary school before that). I was so grateful for having generous wonderful school staffs around me since 2012. Can you guess what I worried the most during my duty? I cannot scold students with effective ways using the right English. So I worried constantly about that situation hoping students behaved. Your guess was pretty close? It took several years till I was able to “yell” students for getting their attention and explaining the situations. I also got the idea about my speaking way gradually. Imperfection doesn’t matter to students after all. I just kept trying to show my honesty and trust to them. I learned that. Well, most of the time, it worked. Scolding in English is still hard job to me though. I am now a stay-at-home wife. I speak Japanese all day long. I don’t need to worry about “scolding in English” anymore. Funny? The topic that made me sad and sorry more was “being asked an advice” by students. It was so frustrating to me because I couldn’t give them nice meaningful comments, not at all. I wished I could tell them impactive and persuasive advice right away with nice tones as a good adult. I never made it, though. These topics are my lifetime challenges indeed. You might wonder? Yes, cheering people is my favorite thing and I’m loving it so much. I need to add this, too. Of course, I don’t have any problem and trouble to scold or to give some advice in Japanese. No problem. One time my husband said “Why don’t you scold them in Japanese then at school? It might work?” Are you smiling?
photo: I captured three of us together in this photo
5/27/2022.
On the way home from Louisville, KY, we found a new cafe and saw a nice quote. I love these kinds of words catching my eyes.
5/26/2022.
When you got a snail mail with your nickname written on it, you felt happier ever. See? It says "Mrs.T" and it reached to me. Made me smile huge.
Congratulations to class of 2022! I couldn't be at Millett hall tonight since I'm in Louisville, KY. But I'm so happy for you all.
Entry#50. 5/25/2022.
It was a simply joyful day to us. It was one of my delightful emotional days. I almost cried, again. My husband went into his biology department building for the first time since the accident (July 2021). As you can imagine, I almost jumped up and down in joy. My husband's mind might have many mixed feelings. But I was happy for him, for us.
At his lab, his crews have been waiting for him. What are they looking at?
It was THIS!! Thousand paper origami crane. Yes, a thousand!!!
My husband's students made these thinking of him, praying for him and sending cheers to him. I need to ask them about behind-the-scenes story sometime. Everyone was smiling in the Pearson Hall.
Entry#49. 5/24/2022.
If you have a family history related with colon cancer, your doctor suggests you to have a colonoscopy. And that happened to my husband. Only if we have a plain health condition, this case would be not so much issue and we understand that very much. However this colonoscopy experience was lots of “learning” process to both of us because of paraplegic. The most concerned part was how we manage it without “bowels activities sensation”. Plus my husband needs to avoid to sit on the hard surface (on the same position) for several hours. My brain was working hard, again, to think about any possibilities during the preparation before the colonoscopy procedure. We’d say, the good parts are no stomach pain and no cramps. This preparation of drinking 4L (4liter) also made us wonder. My husband drinks less than 2L per day. No more than 2L. He needs to manage numbers of urination during the day. Too much drinking will cause some troubles. We were not sure how my husband body system reacts before and after colonoscopy. There were several uncertainties which make us nervous. I couldn’t sleep well the day before. The procedure itself went pretty well taking only 30 min. And it was all clear and normal. I was so relieved and I was proud of my husband to manage whole protocol. The day after colonoscopy, his body system seems adjusting and acting a bit off-routine. We will be patient to be back to “our-normal” rhythm. I keep image-training for my husband about “how to visit dentist” “how to visit eye doctor” “how to visit friends’ house” “how to visit an auditorium” and so on. We were told that he would do colonoscopy again after 5 years. You know? We made faces. ;-)
Photo: On the way home after colonoscopy, we stopped by for a cappuccino. And saw this “The Book Bus”. It made us smile huge. Nice!
5/23/2022.
When the forecast says this Wed, Thu and Fri will be wet and you still have leftover-chalks, what'd you do? Well, go and do chalk drawing, just for fun!! My son rolled his eyes, you know?
5/22/2022.
Handcycling on the Black Covered bridge was fun as well.
P.S. At first I thought it was a red rose. Then I was embarrassed about my "poor" observation skills several hours later. Because it was a red peony!!! Plus it closes in the night then opens up again in the morning. Wait, all peonies act like that?
Entry#48. 5/21/2022.
One of my forever-future-goals is “hosting a home party elegantly and effortlessly”. You might laugh.
Yes, we had a lab party at our house. The last time we had was May 2021. I was so excited about it. Our tradition is back. On the other hand, I still couldn’t visualize the whole party time inside our house after our new-normal has started. Usually you’d just say “Welcome. Please help yourself.” and just wander around freely. I felt a bit different because my husband’s wheelchair sometimes cannot “wander around freely” in our house because of the limited spaces. I put our cars at curbside and emptied garage so that my husband can be in and out anytime he wants. (I still have my future projects with both front and back entrances. These are not accessible yet.) Usually I didn’t need to think about tables. The food/desert table was the only one I needed before. People get food and drink, find a chair and eat putting plates on their laps. At this time, I needed to be secure for setting up a dinner table so that my husband can eat using a table without any problems. However I couldn’t make it to set up a “long” dinner table for 9 people. So it looked a bit off setting. I tried to put up chairs. Things are, more chairs I put up, no more space a wheelchair moves around. My husband basically got stuck and couldn’t go to other rooms. Now you can see the points?
Well, we had a nice fun chatting time all together in a tiny room. That was my main hope and it went well anyway. Even we went outside and soaked up the sunshine together as well. I was just focusing on “spacing inside” too much. Then I totally forgot to prepare toys. My mind is still adjusting for our daily routines. I totally forgot about outside activities stuffs such as badminton, frisbee, slackline, hummocks and so on . The almost-2-years-old boy was here to the rescue. He entertained everyone magically. Everyone smiled a lot and I was happier.
Yes, it’s still the same, my forever-future-goal is “hosting a home party elegantly and effortlessly”.
The photo: the gift my husband got from his student.
5/20/2022.
I found this at the riverside in Louisville, KY. It hit my heart deeply. We are here today because of many many friends. I repeat saying this to myself, for myself. "If we have no friends, we have no pleasure." Indeed.
And I was so cheerful about being myself. I looked funny and I sound funny. That's me.
Extra extra.
Someone and sweet one left this by the garage door for me (us). Wooow. I'm all smiling. It's gonna be a great day today indeed. Thank you. (You gotta tell me it was YOU, please?)
5/19/2022.
My first peony of the season! Yours are blooming already?
5/18/2022.
Having an almost-2years-old-boy is such a joy for everyone. Our tradition, the end-of-the-semester lab-party is back. Next time would be more fun, that's my new project. For now, I'm just grateful.
Entry#47. 5/17/2022.
My husband discovered that there was a nice bike trail in Harrison from an online searching. He decided to give it a try. My brain had to work and process quickly because we needed to bring more stuffs than you imagined. My husband’s handcycle, wheelchair, my son’s bicycle and my bicycle. Yes, 4 “vehicles”! These all 4 stuffs have to be inside our car, all together. It’s like a puzzle. We managed it pretty well and we felt very proud of ourselves. Funny. Toyota Sienna is really great for this kind of transportation and we are proud of ourselves to get this minivan. You might wonder now “Why does my husband need both wheelchair and handcycle to transfer to the bike trail?” He transfers himself from car to wheelchair first. Then he transfers from wheelchair to handcycle. His handcycle itself is a very low vehicle and has a low seating. The gear/chain parts give him the limitation of movements. He has never tried it yet but it seems almost impossible to transfer from car to handcycle (so as from handcycle to car). Because of whole these process, when three of us arrived at the starting point of the bike trail and were ready to start, I felt already a surge of pleasure. Before this day, we always started our ride from our house and the goal point was always at our house. Now we know we can start our ride at any bike trail starting point. This is something “next level” for handcycle biking. I still need to practice the whole process by myself just in case our son isn’t available to ride with us. I need to memorize the process step by step and get to used to it. Now you know, if you say “Let’s go handcycling” casually, you gotta think and take an action to be at the starting point of bike trails. We LOVED our new bike trail very much. I think we’d better to get a membership for entering to the park. About 7.8 mile biking. We are strong enough for this.
5/16/2022.
My backyard irises are up and entertaining me very much. Tomorrow, my husband and I will have his lab members here, resuming our tradition, lab gathering party.
5/15/2022.
When you found some signs for wheelchair users, your eyes would be wide open. Then smile huge. These signs were on the great bike trail in Harrison! This is so awesome.
Entry#46. 5/14/2022.
I am an emotional creature always. When my husband told me that he was going to hood his student at the doctoral hooding ceremony, I was super excited. Things around us have been going forward in these days and I’ve been feeling pretty confident about what I’m doing. Looking at the calendar, thinking ahead a bit and image-training for several events like attending to the University commencement. You never know that something unexpected happens right before the big exciting event. And that moment changed your uplifting mind totally downward. It happens suddenly always. My husband got sick two days before the commencement day. I needed to think about both possibilities. He can make it or cannot make it to attend the ceremony. My brain worked harder for any possibilities. Caring and worrying about his condition, praying for recovering, being patient and waiting for the right timing….. On the day before the commencement, it settled down and things were just going boom, boom and boom, like that. (It wasn’t Covid) He got to go to the haircut. He got to “rehearse” the ceremony at the stadium because he needed to know how to march, how to go up and down from the stage and how to hood actually with his wheelchair position. We were saved by the generous helpful thoughtful professor/chair. Thanks to her, we were ready for the big day by Friday night. I was too excited (again) to sleep. Remembering what to do in the morning step by step. With all the things happened to us in 2 days, my main focus was “bringing my husband to the stadium with his academic regalia/attire” on time. It was also important to check an accessible parking lot. When he was finally with other faculties and waiting for the go-signal into the ceremony, I was relieved. Then I saw some very familiar faces. Tears began to plop down from my eyes. I just couldn’t hold it. I was an emotional creature after all. It was such a great ceremony with plenty of sunshine. I was happy for both my husband and his apprentice(!) Congratulations! You made it.
photo: The stadium the day before ceremony and the day of ceremony.
Entry#45. 5/13/2022
I try to resume my writing. wink wink.
We didn’t have much knowledge about wheelchairs, not at all, when my husband was discharged from the hospital. I was worried how we managed buying his new wheelchair for his better life. And there was not much time to search and decide for it at that time. Then we learned there was a loaner system provided by a hospital-related company. They gave him a loaner wheelchair to use until he gets his real own wheelchair. There is a certain way to measure correct sizes, too. If it’s not a correct size, you cannot move around smoothly. This loaner wheelchair is a ok size for now for my husband, but it’s not perfect fitting yet. The real his own wheelchair is supposed to fit more comfortable and more movable. Sometimes insurances will cover for wheelchairs. Sometimes not. In our case, there were several denials (it’s complicated) and it’s processing now. It’s taken more times tgsn we imagined. So we are looking forward to that his own wheelchair sending to his way hopefully soon. However they said “it’s on backorder.” Still praying for it. I’m pretty sure he will show it off when he gets it here.
Here are example kinds. You can see some photos on the site. The video is just an example, just so you know.
"Popular Wheelchairs for T-Level Paraplegics"
5/13/2022.
Now I learned there were two bridges side by side on Ohio river near Big Four Bridge. Abraham Lincoln bridge and John F. Kennedy memorial toll bridge. I think it’s cool to know. See in the photo behind me?
5/12/2022.
My first Iris of the season. My "fight" against deer has started. They ate up my clematis' young leaves, vine, buds and everything already. I try to protect the rest of clematis.
5/11/2022.
We met Mr. Abraham Lincoln at the riverside in Louisville, KY. Somehow I look like a tiny creature.
5/10/2022
We found a new coffee shop in the middle of the way to Louisville, KY. It's my break time and it's been working pretty well. The shop's name is "Enlightment".
5/09/2022
This is such a masterpiece indeed thanks to awesome baristas! Some of them are graduating and leave the shop. I'm gonna miss them.
5/08/2022
Mother's Day 15mile biking!
5/07/2022
I'm gonna take a break here for a while. Hope everyone have a wonderful Mother's Day.
Entry#44. 5/06/2022
It’s in the middle of processing for my husband’s driving with hand controls. Seems there are several types of settings and systems. When we ask to modify our car, we need to get a “prescription” from a driving instructor (she is a specialist with OT license). We will have a modified-car eventually. There is another type called portable hand controls. It’s very convenient because we can attach them to any car. We got it because not only it’s convenient but also my husband need to get used to them. Each hand controls are based on the similar idea but it’s important to “feel it and practice”, I believe. I want to learn how to drive with hand controls. I’d feel safer if I know the mechanism and emergency action just in case. However I already feel that it’s a tough job to me to handle “brake and gas/accelerator” with one hand and steering with the other hand only. Managing steering wheel with only one hand is harder than I thought. My husband got a spinner knob for steering. I’ve been practicing to use it. I’m admiring people who drive with hand controls and a spinner knob. Trusting one hand for braking/accelerating and trusting the other hand for steering, these will take times to myself to gain. It’s that big job really. I put one article here in case you are curious.
“Are steering wheel knobs legal?”
Entry#43. 5/05/2022
It's Children's Day in Japan on 5/5. I've not seen my hummingbird yet. Hopefully he arrives soon. I gotta mow today before rain comes. It's gonna be a good rain for my garden. photos: old ones
Entry#42. 5/04/2022
It seems Louisville has many events. I just haven’t known about it all. They have a steamboat race today!
https://discover.kdf.org/great-steamboat-race/
Have you seen “Thunder over Louisville” fireworks show?? This is now on my wishlist.
Entry#41. 5/03/2022
I forgot when I learned about “spasm” at the very first time. But it is very common to myself now because I see my husband’s spasms everyday. According to some articles, up to 75% of people experience muscle spasms after spinal cord injury. This muscle spasm is one of the most common side effects of a spinal cord injury. I’m still learning more about it and my husband taught me some more. Seems my husband’s case is not so severe and manageable, so he said. However, I must say that I cannot feel/imagine the exact sensation my husband has for each single spasm. He might feel a bit pain, uneasiness, uncomfortableness, tiredness and so on. I wish I could have felt even if only slightly.. Muscle spasms could drastically affect your quality of life by interrupting a good night’s rest, and restricting your ability to perform activities of daily living. So far my husband manages it. Our daily leg massage may help maintain range of motion and prevent shortening or tightening of the muscles. One of articles says spasms have some benefits, such as increasing muscle tone. I will listen to my husband about it more. I borrowed one video from YouTube. Each individual case is different but this gentleman explains very well and I understood very much. I just wanted to share this info about spasms so that you wouldn’t be so surprised when you see some spasms my husband’s body has. Oh, I need to add one thing though. If you have very severe spasms, it might cause a problem when driving with hand controls. Fortunately my husband’s spasms don’t bother much to foot-pedals. So we are thankful for that.
I harvested my Lily of the valley. Did you?
Entry#40. 5/02/2022
The day after a long driving and the day after a long biking are my "unfunctional days". I need to be stronger for sure. It was so gorgeous sunny day today. My Lily of the Valley made it to bloom on May Day. I gotta harvest them tomorrow.
Entry#39. 5/01/2022
My husband has a plan now about handcycle biking. He wants to increase the distance each time. The last time: 10 mile ride. This time yesterday: 12.4 mile ride with heavy headwinds. We made it to the Hueston Woods State park. I'm not so sure how far I can keep up with him. That's the problem. We will see. Our May is gonna be the busiest month since the accident. I'm a bit getting nervous but we will make it somehow. Yes, somehow. Happy May Day! I need to check my Lily of the valley later today.
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