Monthly Archives: July 2018

Me and Band-Aids

One of the important things about me as a human being is that I am an extremely active person with a “Medical Rap Sheet.” (That’s what my daughter always called it.)  The doctors are continuing to say serious things.  I now have a mild case of cervical spinal stenosis. That may be very true, but I still have places to go and things to do.  I am really committed to all of it.
That’s how I get into situations. Yesterday I rode my tricycle to Church for a meeting. (Church is my home church, and it’s about 5 blocks from here.) I got off the trike and started to lock it up. Tripped over it. Fell hard. I am repaired by the love of friends and family. (I must honor T, and some amazing first aid.) And Band-Aids,  Johnson & Johnson’s best.  You get what you pay for.
Don’t stop. Don’t give up.  We will buy bandaids.

Plans for the weekend

My gekko in it's garage

 

Since this is a new blog, it seems right to discuss my other wheels.  She’s a gekko (https://www.hpvelotechnik.com/produkte/gekkofx/index_e.html), and I plan on riding to the local grocery store tomorrow morning.  The polka dotted helmet is mine.  When given a choice between walking and riding, I would much rather ride.

Missing Pieces


Zola, Irving Kenneth. 1982. Missing Pieces : A Chronicle of Living with a Disability. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

I was drawn to this book because I connected with the author. I am also a high functioning person in an academic career with a disability. I understood the emotional journey that he makes when he decided to go stay for a week in a Dutch village that exclusively houses the disabled. For the week he uses a wheelchair, and makes a journey of self discovery. He begins to understand himself as a person with a disability

I have written many times about my own journey of self discovery. As I age it no longer was possible to pretend that I am an able bodied person. I do need assistance, particularly when using mass transit.

The Decision to Push 

My Carbon Fiber Rollator
The Spring of 2016 was earth shattering and terrifying. Previous to that time I could pretty much guarantee that if I fell, I would not fall for another 6 months or a year.  In the Spring I started to fall, at one point twice in one week.  I lost confidence in my ability to navigate outdoors. (This is very profound because my husband and I have chosen a lifestyle that requires walking.) I went to my annual conference and I fell badly while I was gone. I was willing to try anything when I got back.  Someone on Facebook suggested a rollator. I borrowed one from somebody in my neighborhood, and went out and bought one within just a couple of days.
My rollator is there at the end of the day when my gait has deteriorated. My rollator carries my stuff. This is important because I live with spinal arthritis. It was actually getting the stuff off my back that persuaded me to change.  It’s also social engineering. It helps people see that I need help. And I can sit on it when necessary.
That being said, I have just recently realized that my life accepted my wheels without much trouble. My usual route is over to the train station (it’s a longer walk to roll to the platform, but it works). The transfer at Newark across the platform to PATH works. I then come up through the WTC station. I roll up the ramp at BMCC and take an elevator to my office. I rally appreciate that my job is accessible.  I recognize many are not.
Stairs? I lift my rollator up 3 stairs into my house all the time. I can do subway stairs if I need to, but I don’t consider it very safe.  Yes, people do help me about 75% of the time.  I don’t know if I would have made the same choices if I needed to do subway stairs all the time.
I now have cervical spinal stenosis.  This is going to make me more clumsy. I now need my wheels more than ever.

Very much a sandbox, a work in progress

I’m using this site to learn about WordPress.  Please be patient with me.

Soon to come.  Book reviews and reflections on adaptive librarianship.

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