a week in the life of Pogo

Since this is one of those weeks where there wasn't much exciting things going on, I thought I would give you an idea of what a typical week is like for me. Get ready to yawn, because it's not that exciting.

I have a special hospital bed that is set up in our living room and i usually climb out of bed somewhere between 5 AM to 8 AM. The first thing i do is get dressed, which I can easily do within about five minutes now, considering that half their body does not cooperate. From there, I transfer myself to the wheelchair and roll-on into the kitchen where I take my supplements which is roughly around 30 pills and I take that with my peroxide solution. I do this first thing in the morning because I have to do it on empty stomach and then I have to wait for an hour before eating. Next comes breakfast, which is the exciting grog which I have every morning, which is a special mixture of flaxseed oil, freshly ground flaxseed, organic low-fat cottage cheese, and fruits and berries. This is all mixed together with a hand blender, and if to thick, organic 0 g of sugar apple juice is added. This is then choked down with the help of my oxygenated water.

Usually the rest of the morning is dedicated to office work, going through the e-mails, blogging, phone consults, and meetings. That usually gets me to noon or 1 PM.

The rest of the afternoon is usually divided up between working on jigsaw puzzles and doing my own personal physical therapy which involves a minimum of 20 minutes of walking each day, my core exercises which is a combination of sitting and standing stretching as far as I can go to the right and left at different angles which helps with balance and strengthens the oblique muscles, I also use a 15 pound dumbbell to help strengthen my upper body on the right side, which includes shoulder press, rowing, tricep extension, and bicep curls. When I go down for my nap between 4 and 5 PM, I will do my glute and quadricep exercises which are done in bed that involves arching my back so only my shoulders and feet are touching the bed and sqeezing my cheeks together. And then that is followed up by usually an hour to an hour and a half nap which is all dependent on my bladder. After that it's dinner time, and then the evening is dedicated to TV whether it's catching shows that we DVR or movies.

I do have some standing activities on certain days during the week. Every Tuesday morning, I have three people come over for playing board games. On Monday and Wednesday afternoon when I go over to innovative fitness where i do at least a half hour on a sitting step climber with the resistance of 6 out of 10, and that is followed up with about 30 to 40 minutes of aqua therapy. Then I get to hit the showers which is the highlight of the week, since that is my only ccess to shower facilities. The second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 PM to 2:30 PM is our cancer support group at St. Luke's Hospital.

Occasionally, I will have friends stop by and play games or just talk. But pretty much during the winter months, i stay inside. Usually once or twice a week, our grandson comes over and I get to watch him cruise around the house. I also play online chess with a friend and so far I am up two games with no losses.

On weekends, Saturday and most of Sunday is usually a combination of play, exercise, and possibly office work. Sunday during the football season, I would have people come over to watch the games.

It is rare for me to have Dr. appointments. Every three months I have an MRI done and blood tests and then see the doctor for the results.

How is that for excitement. Just a little different than my previous lifestyle.

Until next week, if anybody is still awake out there.

POGO