After reading my previous blog, I can see why it's been a month since I've done anything. Life has been pretty much the same as the previous blog. There have been some changes, mostly with diet. I am on special diet called the budwigs diet plan. It is designed to increase the health of all my cells and at the same time attack cancer cells. The main part of the diet is a mixture of organic low-fat cottage cheese thoroughly mixed with flax oil and freshly ground flaxseed. The first few I had was like eating ready mix concrete due to the consistency and it took about 45 minutes to choke it down. I think that's where the saying came from of shitting bricks, plus I needed a gallon water to get it down. After that, you really didn't feel like eating the rest of the day. But now we have it down to a science, after the initial mixture, we had organic sugar-free apple juice, along with berries and large juicy grapes which makes it a lot easier to eat. I also have to avoid sugar in any form, since cancer feeds off of sugar. Also processed foods in any form, animal protein, and dairy products. So what is left to eat, organic fruits and vegetables, rice, black beans, special types of foods that we have to pre-make. Surprisingly, we have quite a few recipes and have yet to have a bad meal yet. This diet plan has been around for over 50 years and has cured a lot of cancers. As an adjunct, I will also be starting a hydrogen peroxide regiment which is designed to get as much oxygen into the cells as possible. The protocol i will be following has also done wonders in curing cancer. I also take quite a few supplements, which also help with increasing oxygen and alkalinity to all of my cells. Since the tumors have not grown the doctors were okay with me just using the diet plan and not going through any chemo or radiation therapy, which I prefer to avoid, since chemo and radiation therapy will damage normal cells plus in the past when they did do radiation and chemo, the tumors actually grew. So as long as I'm feeling good and the next MRI in mid-December shows improvement, I will be sticking with this diet plan.
I am also no longer doing any physical or occupational therapy. The only therapy I do now is aqua therapy, and before I do that, I get on a stationary bike that works the arms and legs to help with my strength. But there is more i want to do on my own to increase my strength, especially my left arm which is about half the size my right arm. It looks like bone wrapped in skin, and still really doesn't do much but hang there. We are in the process of putting some handicapped rails on our stairs so I can get up to the second level of our home where I have a bow flex,so I can use my right arm to help assist my left arm in building up strength. With winter coming it is probably a good thing that I only have to get out two times per week for the aqua therapy, so it's up to me to improve on my own.
As far as the office goes, my son-in-law, Jack, was able to hook up my home computer with my office computer, which was a real lifesaver. So instead of working five hours on weekends I was now able to work about five hours a day. No wonder why i was never catching up. I am pretty much caught up on everything now and again that's one more place I don't have to get to with winter coming. My daughter Lisa, also organized the kitchen for an efficient office, so there is no more clutter on the kitchen table, plus we got it so organized that all I have to do is give my wife Sue a folder to drop off at the office once per week.
As usual, I am always in good spirits, and still never bored and still seem to be busy all the time. Part of the reason why I am busy all the time is that everything takes longer to do, but then again I'm not in a hurry. Most days are basically the same, I will do my office work in the morning and early afternoon, then get a late afternoon nap, followed by catching a movie or watching TV after 7 PM. On the weekends, there is football and fantasy football plus every so often there have been some social events such as weddings, birthday parties, seeing the tennis guys, friends and family coming over, playing games, among other things. Yesterday, which was that 70° day, we had some friends come over who's grandson had to do some community service, so we got all the leaves raked up, the grass cut, which had not been cut for several months, the gutters cleaned out, along with a few other odds and ends. So we are all set for winter and it gave me a chance to walk around outside a little bit.
So that's about it. I'm always open for company, just remember that I can't do lunch.
Based on the excitement of this blog, it may be a while until the next blog unless something exciting happens.
pogo
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
weekly update
Friday night, we celebrated Jesse's birthday who turned 28 which is hard to believe because her parents are so young. We had 13 people and two toddlers and went to Dicarlos Italian restaurant in Oak Creek. The food was great and plentiful and we had a good time figuring out the bill, because I was only taking care of my family,and Jesse invited some friends along which we had to divide out their portion and since the waitress did not want to separate it at the beginning, it became about a 45 minute procedure to figure out the bill. But I don't think anyone got hurt, mentally or financially.
Tonight we're going to Jesse's in-laws to celebrate her birthday there.
As usual, I will be heading to the office today with my major goal is a continuation of a line by line reconciliation over the last six months of all my business accounts. This is what happens when you're out of commission over a long period of time.
As far as my medical condition, I was evaluated yesterday by the therapists and there really hasn't been any progress so we are completely eliminating the OT and just doing one PT per week. The doctors feel that the swelling in my brain is pressing on the motor nerve paths which is preventing me from progressing. And until the swelling goes down and hopefully that will lead to improvement in nerve function, then we will continue. But for now, the only thing I can do is work on my strength and my balance which I will do on my own. I will be continuing the aqua therapy. So I'm kind of in limbo, but as usual that will not stop me. I am still upbeat, and positive, it is just a matter of learning to adapt to a different lifestyle but my long-term goal is still the same which is to get back to normal.
I had a few friends come over the other day to play some board games, which we would like to make A weekly event, so if there are any gamers out there who would be interested, let me know. With less doctor appointments and therapy sessions, I will be having more free time.
pogo
Tonight we're going to Jesse's in-laws to celebrate her birthday there.
As usual, I will be heading to the office today with my major goal is a continuation of a line by line reconciliation over the last six months of all my business accounts. This is what happens when you're out of commission over a long period of time.
As far as my medical condition, I was evaluated yesterday by the therapists and there really hasn't been any progress so we are completely eliminating the OT and just doing one PT per week. The doctors feel that the swelling in my brain is pressing on the motor nerve paths which is preventing me from progressing. And until the swelling goes down and hopefully that will lead to improvement in nerve function, then we will continue. But for now, the only thing I can do is work on my strength and my balance which I will do on my own. I will be continuing the aqua therapy. So I'm kind of in limbo, but as usual that will not stop me. I am still upbeat, and positive, it is just a matter of learning to adapt to a different lifestyle but my long-term goal is still the same which is to get back to normal.
I had a few friends come over the other day to play some board games, which we would like to make A weekly event, so if there are any gamers out there who would be interested, let me know. With less doctor appointments and therapy sessions, I will be having more free time.
pogo
Sunday, September 27, 2009
FUND RAISER
Shortly, after I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor back in February, my sister-in-law, Lynn, said that she would like to do a fundraiser for me. Her daughter, Brenda has done a lot of work with the cancer society so it was something that they had knowledge of, and now it involved a family member which just happen to be me. I had actually forgotten all about it until I heard that they kept having these meetings over late summer for this fundraiser. The basic committee was Lynn, Brenda, my kids, Jesse, Lisa, and Brad, also my son in laws, Jack and Cory. And I'm sure I'm missing some people since I wasn't involved with this at all.
Didn't know what to expect. I was totally amazed and surprised by what they had done and all the hard work that they put into it. The hundreds of people that donated door prizes were very generous and the quality of the function was top notch. I've never seen such a well-run fundraiser, which kept you entertained for the entire five hours. My son-in-law, Jack, made a great MC, by spreading out the raffle overtime, plus his entertaining auctioning off of pies.Root River Lanes with generous to give us the hall for free, plus free bowling. We also had comedy sportz entertain us, and they also donated their time. I want to thank Dylan, Joel, Tim, Dave, and Dick Chudnow, who created comedy sportz for showing up and donating their time. I knew all of these people from workshops that I did there. So it was great to see these guys again since it's been a few years. Some of them actually had the official Pogo outfits. I got to help out in a game called Dr. know it all. It was great to be up on stage again, or in my case in front of stage. My daughter, Lisa, performed with them for all the other skits. She had done it in high school and also after high school. That is also where she ended up meeting her future husband, Jack, who is a perfect fit for our family because he is crazier than our family, and we are pretty nuts.
I was also amazed at the turnout, I'm estimating between 300 and 400 people. I had people show up that I have not seen since high school, plus a wide variety of people from various activities that I have done in the past. It is nice to know, that I have touched that many lives to get this big of a turnout. So I may have done something right over my lifetime. I wish I would have had more time to meet with everybody, however, by seeing so many people, I was able to set up some social activities for the future. In the grand scheme of life, my present medical condition does not compare to the love and caring of family and friends, and I am deeply grateful.
This wasn't the only big event that weekend. Our little baby boy, Brad, turned 20 years old on September 19. Where has the time gone. He is a great kid and we don't know what we would do without him, since he knows how to work the computers, TVs, and the phone systems. Brad is taking TV and video production at MATC and also does a lot of work with his brother-in-law Jack, plus he also works for Channel 10/36, so the couch is now free because he is so busy now. Brad, in keeping up with the family tradition and has really developed a weird sense of humor and is not the same quiet person that most people had known him as.
quick medical note. Had a doctors appointment with the radiation oncologist, who showed us the pictures of the MRI. When comparing from the previous MRI, there seemed to be no change in the growth of tumors, so we decided to go conservative with no treatment as far as chemo or radiation therapy, unless we see a change. The next MRI is scheduled in three months. There is still a lot of swelling which they feel is pressing on the nerve bundles which they say may be causing the paralysis. And it is related to the tumors being present, so they are still hopeful that when the swelling eventually goes down that things will start improving so I'm still going to rely on steroids, plus nutrition and some natural healing techniques to see if we can do it this way for the next three months. Cancer cells, hate oxygen, so I do special breathing plus I'm getting a special drinking water which has extra oxygen molecules attached to it. Cancer cells also hate high alkalinity so I have special drops to put in my water to keep my pH above eight. Cancer cells also hate spicy food so I apologize if I'm talking to you and I smell like garlic and red hot peppers which I pretty much put on everything I eat now. Cancer cells also hates laughter. Something that I was always good at. The real killer for me is that cancer cells love sugar, which is my Achilles heel, but I'm still working on that one. So we will see how things go over the next three months.
In the meantime, don't be a stranger, I am pretty busy most of the time, but I'm always up for company or if someone can give us rides so my wife gets a little break from me. After all, I am still The Pogo and that will never change. just give a call to check my schedule. Phone number 421-7845.
POGO
Didn't know what to expect. I was totally amazed and surprised by what they had done and all the hard work that they put into it. The hundreds of people that donated door prizes were very generous and the quality of the function was top notch. I've never seen such a well-run fundraiser, which kept you entertained for the entire five hours. My son-in-law, Jack, made a great MC, by spreading out the raffle overtime, plus his entertaining auctioning off of pies.Root River Lanes with generous to give us the hall for free, plus free bowling. We also had comedy sportz entertain us, and they also donated their time. I want to thank Dylan, Joel, Tim, Dave, and Dick Chudnow, who created comedy sportz for showing up and donating their time. I knew all of these people from workshops that I did there. So it was great to see these guys again since it's been a few years. Some of them actually had the official Pogo outfits. I got to help out in a game called Dr. know it all. It was great to be up on stage again, or in my case in front of stage. My daughter, Lisa, performed with them for all the other skits. She had done it in high school and also after high school. That is also where she ended up meeting her future husband, Jack, who is a perfect fit for our family because he is crazier than our family, and we are pretty nuts.
I was also amazed at the turnout, I'm estimating between 300 and 400 people. I had people show up that I have not seen since high school, plus a wide variety of people from various activities that I have done in the past. It is nice to know, that I have touched that many lives to get this big of a turnout. So I may have done something right over my lifetime. I wish I would have had more time to meet with everybody, however, by seeing so many people, I was able to set up some social activities for the future. In the grand scheme of life, my present medical condition does not compare to the love and caring of family and friends, and I am deeply grateful.
This wasn't the only big event that weekend. Our little baby boy, Brad, turned 20 years old on September 19. Where has the time gone. He is a great kid and we don't know what we would do without him, since he knows how to work the computers, TVs, and the phone systems. Brad is taking TV and video production at MATC and also does a lot of work with his brother-in-law Jack, plus he also works for Channel 10/36, so the couch is now free because he is so busy now. Brad, in keeping up with the family tradition and has really developed a weird sense of humor and is not the same quiet person that most people had known him as.
quick medical note. Had a doctors appointment with the radiation oncologist, who showed us the pictures of the MRI. When comparing from the previous MRI, there seemed to be no change in the growth of tumors, so we decided to go conservative with no treatment as far as chemo or radiation therapy, unless we see a change. The next MRI is scheduled in three months. There is still a lot of swelling which they feel is pressing on the nerve bundles which they say may be causing the paralysis. And it is related to the tumors being present, so they are still hopeful that when the swelling eventually goes down that things will start improving so I'm still going to rely on steroids, plus nutrition and some natural healing techniques to see if we can do it this way for the next three months. Cancer cells, hate oxygen, so I do special breathing plus I'm getting a special drinking water which has extra oxygen molecules attached to it. Cancer cells also hate high alkalinity so I have special drops to put in my water to keep my pH above eight. Cancer cells also hate spicy food so I apologize if I'm talking to you and I smell like garlic and red hot peppers which I pretty much put on everything I eat now. Cancer cells also hates laughter. Something that I was always good at. The real killer for me is that cancer cells love sugar, which is my Achilles heel, but I'm still working on that one. So we will see how things go over the next three months.
In the meantime, don't be a stranger, I am pretty busy most of the time, but I'm always up for company or if someone can give us rides so my wife gets a little break from me. After all, I am still The Pogo and that will never change. just give a call to check my schedule. Phone number 421-7845.
POGO
Thursday, September 24, 2009
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
Like I said in my last blog that there wasn't much exciting going on and the fact that my talking thing for dictating blogs had not been working for about a month. So that is why there is a large gap between blogs.
on September 8, my wife and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. It was slightly toned down from our original plan which was a week in Hawaii. I had made reservations back in November before all this happened. I guess that will teach me to finally try and take a vacation. Instead I had flowers sent, got her an anniversary card with a letter inside I wrote, and then we went out to dinner. Hopefully in the near future, we will get another crack at Hawaii.
As far as my office goes, Dr. K. is doing a fabulous job of taking care of my patients. Which really helps me out, so I can concentrate on getting better without worrying about the practice. I still am doing the accounts payable and payroll. After being five months behind I'm
starting to catch up. I usually go in for about five hours on weekends. For awhile my wife was coming with me, but with the big mess we had there it was more of a test to see how frustrating it can be in our relationship, so now that my head is more clear I can go down by myself which has definitely reduced a lot of stress. I still have five months of reconciliation to do which I have to line by line because their numerous people writing checks and everything in the past was done by computer, so I have to find missing checks,missing deposits, duplications,among other things. but I'm getting there. I just crank up the music and take my time.
As far as my mental state, which is always up for interpretation, I'm still in great spirits and still very positive despite all that's going on. The days still go by fast, which I guess would indicate that I am not bored.
As far as my physical state, I'm doing very well with the PT which is the lower half of my body, but unfortunately the OT is not doing much and they may be discontinuing since there hasn't been much progress. Of course I'm not giving up and we will see how it goes.
I started aqua therapy at the innovative fitness complex in Franklin. It really seems to help a lot. They have a very nice facility there and my trainer is superb. Because I am doing so well there, I get there a half hour before my appointment, and warm-up, so I'm actually getting an hours worth of therapy for a half hour price. They do this twice a week which is nice because I finally get to hit the showers instead of a sponge bath at the kitchen sink. Like anything, the first time you are there you don't have it down to a science yet. So the first time I was in the family bathroom it was like ice skating out of control. The floor was slippery and handrails were not in proper places and the seats are too low in the shower. Thank goodness I still have quick reactions and was able to grab onto something before I skidded out of control The first time in their It probably took over an hour and now we can do it within 15 minutes, unless I want to sit in the shower a little longer.
Another thing that I have been doing is natural healing. To learn more about this and the science behind it, I watched a DVD called the living matrix. It is kind of like the matrix movie but is a documentary that explains the healing process and it does not star Keanu Reeves. We happened to have someone in our support group who has been doing this for 30 years and working with doctors. He had developed liver cancer a couple years ago, and the cancer is completely gone by using these techniques. So he is helping me out and we are hoping that this will help with the paralysis and the tumor. He's also helping me with nutrition and the proper supplements to make sure we do all we can to destroy the cancer cells. Cancer cells hate high alkalinity which would be above a pH of eight, cancer cells also hate oxygen so when I get the chance I take deep breaths from the diaphragm. Cancer cells also hate spicy food which is good for me because I like spicy food. Also laughter is the best medicine in our support group last week, the nurse who is in charge of our support group and I got into one of those laughing modes where you couldn't stop the tears are running out of your eyes, and every time you look at each other and just laughed harder. I must've killed off 1 million cancer cells during that time.
Recently, one of the people in our cancer support group passed away. He had cancer for quite a while and developed a real high fever which did him in. He was a very nice gentleman from Greendale who did the most delicate woodwork I've ever seen. He would make these extremely thin Doves that you could probably snap with two fingers and this guy had the hands the size of a yeti. Why I'm bringing this up, is one, how close a group we are and the second is his death inspired me to get out of the wheelchair more often and pretty much walk whenever I go out now. So when we went to the funeral in a church in West Allis, I figured it would not be handicapped accessible, which I was correct, so I had no choice but to walk. His wife was very appreciative that I made it despite all the obstacles. The closest handicapped parking spot was two blocks away but fortunately my wife got a spot right across the street and to add insult to injury it was raining out, and my wife was ready to just head back home, but I didn't want to disappoint anyone. Of course there is broken down concrete steps to get up,old peeling metal rails, more steps inside and about 200 foot aisle to get to the front of the church by the casket. Then I had to make it back. I figure if I could do this than I could handle anything as far as getting places without the use of the wheelchair. Besides, sitting on my ass has never been my strong suit. It takes a lot longer and I certainly feel better walking over riding.
POGO
on September 8, my wife and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. It was slightly toned down from our original plan which was a week in Hawaii. I had made reservations back in November before all this happened. I guess that will teach me to finally try and take a vacation. Instead I had flowers sent, got her an anniversary card with a letter inside I wrote, and then we went out to dinner. Hopefully in the near future, we will get another crack at Hawaii.
As far as my office goes, Dr. K. is doing a fabulous job of taking care of my patients. Which really helps me out, so I can concentrate on getting better without worrying about the practice. I still am doing the accounts payable and payroll. After being five months behind I'm
starting to catch up. I usually go in for about five hours on weekends. For awhile my wife was coming with me, but with the big mess we had there it was more of a test to see how frustrating it can be in our relationship, so now that my head is more clear I can go down by myself which has definitely reduced a lot of stress. I still have five months of reconciliation to do which I have to line by line because their numerous people writing checks and everything in the past was done by computer, so I have to find missing checks,missing deposits, duplications,among other things. but I'm getting there. I just crank up the music and take my time.
As far as my mental state, which is always up for interpretation, I'm still in great spirits and still very positive despite all that's going on. The days still go by fast, which I guess would indicate that I am not bored.
As far as my physical state, I'm doing very well with the PT which is the lower half of my body, but unfortunately the OT is not doing much and they may be discontinuing since there hasn't been much progress. Of course I'm not giving up and we will see how it goes.
I started aqua therapy at the innovative fitness complex in Franklin. It really seems to help a lot. They have a very nice facility there and my trainer is superb. Because I am doing so well there, I get there a half hour before my appointment, and warm-up, so I'm actually getting an hours worth of therapy for a half hour price. They do this twice a week which is nice because I finally get to hit the showers instead of a sponge bath at the kitchen sink. Like anything, the first time you are there you don't have it down to a science yet. So the first time I was in the family bathroom it was like ice skating out of control. The floor was slippery and handrails were not in proper places and the seats are too low in the shower. Thank goodness I still have quick reactions and was able to grab onto something before I skidded out of control The first time in their It probably took over an hour and now we can do it within 15 minutes, unless I want to sit in the shower a little longer.
Another thing that I have been doing is natural healing. To learn more about this and the science behind it, I watched a DVD called the living matrix. It is kind of like the matrix movie but is a documentary that explains the healing process and it does not star Keanu Reeves. We happened to have someone in our support group who has been doing this for 30 years and working with doctors. He had developed liver cancer a couple years ago, and the cancer is completely gone by using these techniques. So he is helping me out and we are hoping that this will help with the paralysis and the tumor. He's also helping me with nutrition and the proper supplements to make sure we do all we can to destroy the cancer cells. Cancer cells hate high alkalinity which would be above a pH of eight, cancer cells also hate oxygen so when I get the chance I take deep breaths from the diaphragm. Cancer cells also hate spicy food which is good for me because I like spicy food. Also laughter is the best medicine in our support group last week, the nurse who is in charge of our support group and I got into one of those laughing modes where you couldn't stop the tears are running out of your eyes, and every time you look at each other and just laughed harder. I must've killed off 1 million cancer cells during that time.
Recently, one of the people in our cancer support group passed away. He had cancer for quite a while and developed a real high fever which did him in. He was a very nice gentleman from Greendale who did the most delicate woodwork I've ever seen. He would make these extremely thin Doves that you could probably snap with two fingers and this guy had the hands the size of a yeti. Why I'm bringing this up, is one, how close a group we are and the second is his death inspired me to get out of the wheelchair more often and pretty much walk whenever I go out now. So when we went to the funeral in a church in West Allis, I figured it would not be handicapped accessible, which I was correct, so I had no choice but to walk. His wife was very appreciative that I made it despite all the obstacles. The closest handicapped parking spot was two blocks away but fortunately my wife got a spot right across the street and to add insult to injury it was raining out, and my wife was ready to just head back home, but I didn't want to disappoint anyone. Of course there is broken down concrete steps to get up,old peeling metal rails, more steps inside and about 200 foot aisle to get to the front of the church by the casket. Then I had to make it back. I figure if I could do this than I could handle anything as far as getting places without the use of the wheelchair. Besides, sitting on my ass has never been my strong suit. It takes a lot longer and I certainly feel better walking over riding.
POGO
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Reminder about Fundraiser Event!!!
Greetings from Pogo's daughter Jessie. We are holding a fundraiser for Pogo on Sunday September 20, 2009 at The Root River Center.
7220 W Rawson Ave
Franklin, WI 53132
From 1:00-6:00
Silent Auction
Raffle
Open Bowling & More!
Win a 42" TV or a spa basket. Perhapes some jewelry or a gift basket for you pet valued at $300.00! Come to the event to check out all the awesome prizes :) You won't be sorry!
If you cannot attend this event and wish to make a donation to the family, please copy & paste the link below. It will take you to paypal where you can make a donation in any amount.
Thank you for your continued love & support!
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=AMJRLXA5MPSUS&lc=US&item_name=Rich%20%22Pogo%22%20Poglitsch%20Fund¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted
7220 W Rawson Ave
Franklin, WI 53132
From 1:00-6:00
Silent Auction
Raffle
Open Bowling & More!
Win a 42" TV or a spa basket. Perhapes some jewelry or a gift basket for you pet valued at $300.00! Come to the event to check out all the awesome prizes :) You won't be sorry!
If you cannot attend this event and wish to make a donation to the family, please copy & paste the link below. It will take you to paypal where you can make a donation in any amount.
Thank you for your continued love & support!
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=AMJRLXA5MPSUS&lc=US&item_name=Rich%20%22Pogo%22%20Poglitsch%20Fund¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
my overall health and lifestyle
The latest MRI I had was at the end of July, and based on the report the tumor is not getting any bigger and appears to be stable, however, there seems to be an increase in fluid in the surgical area which they think may be contributing to the paralysis on my left side. For now, we're not doing any treatment for the smaller tumor until we get rid of the edema, which is being done by an increase in the steroids again. The doctors here and in Cleveland are going to confer, plus another doctor from Duke University, to see what the next plan of attack is.
As far as physical therapy, and occupational therapy, I am now at St. Luke's, which doesn't have a brand-new facility like in Waukesha, but it saves us over an hour of driving time, and they seem to have their act together as far as the therapy. Unfortunately, at the present time, I'm only getting two therapy appointments per week and it is not always both PT and OT. I'm also missing out on my aqua therapy, which they are going to check into. there has been improvement, but as usual, it is a long process. My goal is to get back to normal by next summer. The good news for us is that the company that did the experimental surgery that caused the paralysis is covering the cost of all of the therapies. This is a big relief, financially for us, because of all the therapies that I do need.
My lifestyle is pretty boring at this time. I pretty much get up in the morning between 5 AM and 6 AM, then it is pretty much sitting at the kitchen table in front of a computer, reading the morning paper, doing a variety of exercises to strengthen and try to get use out of both sides of my body. I usually take a 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon, and in the evening, we usually watch a movie. When you are used to being so active and doing something productive and being with people all of time, it is quite a change and am anxiously looking forward to getting back to normal.
Since you can see how exciting my life is now, the blogs will not be coming as frequently, unless there is something to report. Again, I welcome visitors, just call first.
But I'm still in good spirits and it really isn't as bad as it sounds, just different.
pogo
As far as physical therapy, and occupational therapy, I am now at St. Luke's, which doesn't have a brand-new facility like in Waukesha, but it saves us over an hour of driving time, and they seem to have their act together as far as the therapy. Unfortunately, at the present time, I'm only getting two therapy appointments per week and it is not always both PT and OT. I'm also missing out on my aqua therapy, which they are going to check into. there has been improvement, but as usual, it is a long process. My goal is to get back to normal by next summer. The good news for us is that the company that did the experimental surgery that caused the paralysis is covering the cost of all of the therapies. This is a big relief, financially for us, because of all the therapies that I do need.
My lifestyle is pretty boring at this time. I pretty much get up in the morning between 5 AM and 6 AM, then it is pretty much sitting at the kitchen table in front of a computer, reading the morning paper, doing a variety of exercises to strengthen and try to get use out of both sides of my body. I usually take a 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon, and in the evening, we usually watch a movie. When you are used to being so active and doing something productive and being with people all of time, it is quite a change and am anxiously looking forward to getting back to normal.
Since you can see how exciting my life is now, the blogs will not be coming as frequently, unless there is something to report. Again, I welcome visitors, just call first.
But I'm still in good spirits and it really isn't as bad as it sounds, just different.
pogo
Saturday, August 8, 2009
adapting to home life
Since coming home and having the wedding the same weekend, we really didn't have a chance to adapt to our new living style at home. With all of this happening at the same time, it made things very difficult. Plus after being away from the office for over two months, I was way behind on bills and just general paperwork. Between the office and relying on Sue for so many things, it became pretty frustrating and there was a lot of tension, not that it is meant to be but it was just a situation since we really didn't have any time to figure things out.
The office was the biggest frustration, because she now had to come with me to the office and since we were so far behind it took 10 times longer to do things. And plus, I wasn't as sharp as usual and every time we went down there something would go wrong and we would be farther behind then when we got there. As of today, I'm glad to say that we are pretty close to catching up, but as an example we were there for four hours yesterday because we keep coming up with missing bills, missing deposits ,missing reports, among other things. My standard line was this should only take a half hour and we would always be there at least four hours. This does not make for a happy spouse. She has to open all the mail, plus read off all the numbers on the deposits and bills. As of now, we try to limit going to the office one day a week and when my wife says she has had enough, we stop. This has helped somewhat, but is still a pain.
As far as home life, it took a couple of weeks to get acclimated. The first few weeks, I had to depend on Sue too much, which is something I did not want to do. One of the most difficult things that I had to rely on her was to get me out of the house and into the car for therapies. not only was this difficult but it was also very dangerous because she had to get me down the two cement steps, while I just had my wobbly walker for support and balance. So she had to balance me and help me with my legs all at the same time. However, she did the best at that considering how small she is compared to some of my friends who tried to help me get in and out of the house. Because of this situation, we didn't go anywhere except for therapy appointments, and Dr. appointments. This meant that we were pretty much stuck to each other inside the house all the other times which again kind of wore on us. Fortunately, I had some friends design and build some steps in the garage along with some handrails, and now I can get in and out of the house by myself and transfer to the car very easily. This has helped dramaticallyand because of this, I've been able to get out and watch my baseball team, the annual estimates and plus go to the parties afterwards, along with going to the tennis club and hanging out with the guys whom I have not seen all summer, plus we even gone to a few movies .It is amazing how something as simple as putting in some steps and a handrail can make our life so much easier. special thanks to BOB S., GENE B., and RUDY M. for doing this for us. We have also had friends and family members who have given me rides to my therapies so again I don't have to rely on my wife.. I also have visitors come over and play games or just shoot the breeze, which also helps.
There is still a lot that she does for me but I try to be as independent as I can. The kitchen sink has become my bathroom as far as brushing teeth and sponge bath, since I can't get up the stairs take showers. First-floor powder room is my own private bathroom, because of the special seat I have on the toilet, so everybody else has to go upstairs or use the basement bathroom. But at least it gives them a little bit of a workout before they go. For bedtime, she makes sure that my feet are elevated with pillows and then everything is laid out for the next morning so I can get dressed and ready for the day. I thank her for everything she does and when I'm all better, I really want to make this up for her and start having some real fun. I think all in all, we are doing pretty good right now, it is just a matter of me getting better.
We are always open to visitors and volunteers to get me to and from therapy appointments, just give us a call first so we can let you know our schedule. Anything people can do to help us out is appreciated.
As a bonus to my daughter Lisa, who is an interior designer, had to get new furniture for the living room because there is no way I could sit and get up off of our present furnture, so we decided to redo the whole living room with new paint and new carpeting and new furniture.
pogo
The office was the biggest frustration, because she now had to come with me to the office and since we were so far behind it took 10 times longer to do things. And plus, I wasn't as sharp as usual and every time we went down there something would go wrong and we would be farther behind then when we got there. As of today, I'm glad to say that we are pretty close to catching up, but as an example we were there for four hours yesterday because we keep coming up with missing bills, missing deposits ,missing reports, among other things. My standard line was this should only take a half hour and we would always be there at least four hours. This does not make for a happy spouse. She has to open all the mail, plus read off all the numbers on the deposits and bills. As of now, we try to limit going to the office one day a week and when my wife says she has had enough, we stop. This has helped somewhat, but is still a pain.
As far as home life, it took a couple of weeks to get acclimated. The first few weeks, I had to depend on Sue too much, which is something I did not want to do. One of the most difficult things that I had to rely on her was to get me out of the house and into the car for therapies. not only was this difficult but it was also very dangerous because she had to get me down the two cement steps, while I just had my wobbly walker for support and balance. So she had to balance me and help me with my legs all at the same time. However, she did the best at that considering how small she is compared to some of my friends who tried to help me get in and out of the house. Because of this situation, we didn't go anywhere except for therapy appointments, and Dr. appointments. This meant that we were pretty much stuck to each other inside the house all the other times which again kind of wore on us. Fortunately, I had some friends design and build some steps in the garage along with some handrails, and now I can get in and out of the house by myself and transfer to the car very easily. This has helped dramaticallyand because of this, I've been able to get out and watch my baseball team, the annual estimates and plus go to the parties afterwards, along with going to the tennis club and hanging out with the guys whom I have not seen all summer, plus we even gone to a few movies .It is amazing how something as simple as putting in some steps and a handrail can make our life so much easier. special thanks to BOB S., GENE B., and RUDY M. for doing this for us. We have also had friends and family members who have given me rides to my therapies so again I don't have to rely on my wife.. I also have visitors come over and play games or just shoot the breeze, which also helps.
There is still a lot that she does for me but I try to be as independent as I can. The kitchen sink has become my bathroom as far as brushing teeth and sponge bath, since I can't get up the stairs take showers. First-floor powder room is my own private bathroom, because of the special seat I have on the toilet, so everybody else has to go upstairs or use the basement bathroom. But at least it gives them a little bit of a workout before they go. For bedtime, she makes sure that my feet are elevated with pillows and then everything is laid out for the next morning so I can get dressed and ready for the day. I thank her for everything she does and when I'm all better, I really want to make this up for her and start having some real fun. I think all in all, we are doing pretty good right now, it is just a matter of me getting better.
We are always open to visitors and volunteers to get me to and from therapy appointments, just give us a call first so we can let you know our schedule. Anything people can do to help us out is appreciated.
As a bonus to my daughter Lisa, who is an interior designer, had to get new furniture for the living room because there is no way I could sit and get up off of our present furnture, so we decided to redo the whole living room with new paint and new carpeting and new furniture.
pogo
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