Category: Uncategorized

Am I regressing and what am I doing with a toy?

O.K., you are wondering how this could be from an old handicapped guy who is old enough to collect social security.  What could I be doing playing with toys?  Well, I am not exactly playing with the toys.

The kids of cousins

We have cousins and the cousins have children, and these children, who we love and adore, play with toys, which means we are buying toys.  Now, most toys today are not Ragady Ann and Andy.  They are battery driven techno-toys.

Power toys

This means you are buying batteries and figuring out how these things are supposed to work.  Now, because you do not want to rip everything apart before the child and the child’s parents even see the toy, you do not open all the bags that come with the toy.  Unfortunately for you, this often means you do not open the bag that has the instruction manual.  Therefore, you must figure out what you are supposed to do to get the toy to work without any guidance whatsoever.

Divine Inspiration

Assuming you do not have divine inspiration, you will likely be as befuddled and confused as I was.  The toy in question is the Crayola Touchup Tracing Pro toy.  Since you are trying not to open the bag, with the instructions, you will try to take some solace in the name of the toy.  Since this a tracing toy, you will look for the tracing paper, but lo and behold you will not find any.  Instead, you will see drawings on paper that might be traced.  It might be a good idea to get some paper.

A bright light

Now for the hard part, this toy has a light.  It takes three AA batteries, but of course it does not come with batteries.  Either you have to buy new batteries for the toy or you have to be lucky like I was and happen to have a package of new batteries.

It’s all screwed up

You might think now I just pop in the batteries and I am set. You would of course, be wrong, because there are two tiny little screws that hold the battery compartment closed.  At first, I thought it would be necessary to get a tiny little screwdriver.  This would be a major undertaking for me since I am a bedridden paraplegic in bed.

Stubby to the rescue

I keep an Irwin stubby screwdriver with me on the eating table in front of me.  This screwdriver has eight big bits.  Fortunately, to my surprise, the smaller Phillips head screwdriver bit actually fit the small screws on the toy.

Bedridden again

Of course, I am in bed and even with a screwdriver bit that fits, I needed to contort my body in order to unscrew the battery compartment. Fortunately, the screws were held in place by a washer and did not roll away on the floor.

Put in the batteries

I inserted the three batteries and then closed and screwed shut the battery compartment.  This is actually better than most toys where the screws would be rolling away on the floor.  However, this is still difficult for a handicapped person who is nearly flat on his back in bed.  But then the things we will do for family.

The preliminaries

Before I get into the substance of this post, let me just mention that I have been busy working on the website.  I am preparing a second Freebie, growing my Pinterest followers, getting more Pinterest groupboards, learning HTML, and watching election returns.  Life is busy.  I need to take some time for fun, so I’m writing this blog post.

The five day aide

I had an aide for five days.  Right after my shower she comes into my bedroom and tells me she needs to go, and she wants to be paid.  I am disabled and I am not a bank.  I have no money.  I tell her to go back to my wife for money because I have none.  Apparently, she believes she did a lot for us.  This is the job.

How time intensive am I?

I frankly, am not time intensive.  Doing a diaper change takes about 7 minutes.  The patient lift takes about 5 minutes.  She may have to give me the bowl with my medications.  But then I take my medications.  I figure out which medications I take and when.  She has nothing to do with that.  When I’m finished with the medications, she takes the bowl of medications and puts the bowl on the black table two feet from me.  That takes at most 3 seconds.

What if I take a shower?

If I’m taking a shower, then she wheels me in the shower chair into the bathroom.  She plugs in my electric shaver.  I do the rest until I need to go into the shower.  I shave myself.  I clean my shaver myself. I clean my glasses myself.  I brush my teeth myself.  I use a fluoride rinse myself.  Then I call for the aide to wheel me into the shower.  This takes half a minute.  I take a shower myself.

Where is the shampoo?

She may or may not get shampoo, sometimes it is already in the shower, and hands me the shower spray.  This takes maybe three seconds on a bad day.  I shower myself and I can even do between my toes in the shower.  After the shower, she takes me out of the shower, wipes my back with a towel, because it is not easy for me to wipe my back in a shower chair.

What watch?

I dry the rest of my body with a towel. I put on my watch, which hopefully I took off before the shower, I have taken it off by myself while in the shower.  It is water resistant, not waterproof.

Back to the bedroom

She wheels me into the bedroom, it is easier to wheel me in backwards in and out of the room and it is much faster to wheel me in and out of the bathroom backwards. Then it’s 5 minutes in the patient lift and a 7 minute diaper change. After that it’s 2 minutes applying some cream to my legs. And that’s it.

Light cleaning

The rest of the job is light cleaning.  If not for the light cleaning, the aide would have nothing to do for the rest of the day.  Personally, I don’t think this is too much to ask of someone.

It’s just too much and turn up the Smartphone

Anyway, she thought it was too much and left after my wife paid her.  Earlier my wife found her down the basement with earphones in her ears listening to her smartphone.  How she was going to hear me call her from the shower upstairs while she had the earphones in her ears listening to the smartphone, I do not know.  Anyway, we are now looking for a new aide and adjusting our schedules.

Driver to take me to the dentist

I need to go to the dentist on Wednesday and we called the driver to confirm his availability.  Three weeks ago I had told the driver that I would need him that Wednesday, and he told me that he would be able to drive me on that date.  We call to confirm and sure enough he says he is leaving the country.  He will not be able to drive me.  We are looking for a new driver. We are trying to adjust our schedules.

This isn’t supposed to be political

I was really conflicted about doing this blog post.  This website was never supposed to be political.  But whether you are a registered Democrat, Republican, Independent, or some other party, this is a really important election.  How could it be that I have this platform and do nothing with it?  I would never forgive myself.

But, first a word about the website

But, before I get into the substance of this blog post, I would like to note that I have been really busy with my website.  I now have on my Home page a follow me on Pinterest button that really works.  I have a save to Pinterest button that I need to check out some more, but probably works.  And for those who do not need or want my Freebie on my Freebie page, you can now sign up for the newsletter, without signing up for the Freebie.

GDPR compliant – what’s that?

You will also note that I now have a Cookie Notice and a Cookie Policy.   I am in the United States.  I am a natural born United States citizen.  However, I am making an effort to be GDPR compliant for my friends in the European Union.  After all, this is the World Wide Web.  OK, now that I have totally scared myself (I thought Halloween was over.  Actually, we had more trick or treaters than we had expected and we had to go to the store to get more candy).  First time visitors to the website will have to click on the Cookie Notice, have the option to find out more information from my Cookie Policy, and find out more about the use of cookies.  While some bloggers apparently think this is a nuisance, let’s face it, no one really wants a Notice from the EU.

Back to the Future of our Country

Back to the subject of this blog post, in the United States, we are having our mid-term elections.  These are the off year elections.  Elections when no one is running for President of the United States.  However, there are many important congressional and local elections.

When is it?

If you want a say in your government, this is your chance.  Election Day is November 6, 2018.

Easier said than done for some of us

However, I realize as a handicapped person myself, how difficult it is for many handicapped people to get to a polling place.  In my case, I vote in advance by absentee ballot.  Some states allow for early voting, but many do not.

This is important – ask for help

This is the time to ask for help from your caregiver.  You need to get to a polling place, if you have not already early voted or mailed in your absentee ballot.

Charge your battery and go to your polling place

For those of you that have power wheelchairs, most power wheelchairs can go 20 miles or more on a single battery charge.  Make sure you have relatively good batteries and that they are fully charged before you head out to a polling place, which may be your local school or civic center.  Check your polling place in advance.  Make sure you are registered to vote.  I have been told (I have not checked this out) that North Dakota does not require registration.  Apparently, in North Dakota you can just show up at a polling place and vote without the need to register.  Make sure that you have whatever identification is required.

Time to use that van

If you have a mobility van and power wheelchair, this makes voting much easier.  But, check that the polling place is handicap accessible.  A few years ago I had a very difficult time getting up and down the stairs in the local high school to vote in a school board election.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is time to get out and vote.  This is your time to say something about your government.  Let’s not spend the next 2 years complaining about our government, if we don’t even make the effort to vote.  There are so many issues that are important to handicapped people.  This is a wake up call to handicapped people, their caregivers and others, that it is time to say something about your country’s government.

Van fixed and new dental appointment

My van is fixed; however it cost $400.  This is because it needed a new fan and  temperature regulator.  I needed to postpone the next dental visit, because the repair took too much time.  My next dental visit will be in 3 weeks.

Lose and maintain

Meanwhile, I thought I would give you some tips on how I lost weight and how I try to maintain my weight.

Caffeine fights fatigue

In the not too distant past, about 4 months, I was drinking regular soda. I have been drinking Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Sunkist.  Theses are non-colas with some caffeine.  I need the caffeine to help keep me stay awake because I have Multiple Sclerosis fatigue.  This keeps me awake though the day without the need for coffee, which has much more caffeine than soda.  Depending on the coffee, it usually has at least 3 times the amount of caffeine.

Fewer calories, but artificial sweeteners

Regular soda has many more calories than diet soda.  Generally, you are talking about 200 calories for 8 oz. of regular soda.  This is because of the high sugar content.  A can of soda has approximately 9 teaspoons of sugar.  By comparison, diet soda typically has zero calories.  It has artificial sweeteners, which can cause other problems, especially if you are allergic to the sweetener.  For example, Diet Mountain Dew has both aspartame and sucralose.

Switching to diet soda cuts calories

By switching from regular soda to diet soda, I have cut many calories out of my diet.  I know that many people have told me that plain water is healthier, but I still like something that has some taste to it.

Cut out snacks

I have tried to cut out snacks completely.  This has not been 100% successful.  I try to stick to 3 meals a day especially because I am bedridden.  Accordingly, the amount of exercise I get is rather limited.  This also increases weight gain.

The Burger King Diet

Many years ago, about 20 years ago, I embarked on a weight loss program.  I knew that any diet program that prevented me from eating the foods that I like was doomed to failure.  I came up with a diet plan that I actually never heard of before.  I call it the Burger King diet plan.  I would walk a substantial distance to a Burger King and I would order what was essentially a kid’s meal.  The long walk probably helped, too.  I would have a plain burger with small fries and a small cola.  I did this for about a year and I lost 25 lbs., and I have kept it off for 20 years.

Drinking Diet Soda Helped My Borderline Diabetes

By the way, going from regular soda to diet soda has helped my A1c. I am borderline Diabetic, and drinking diet soda has cut my sugar intake.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I am no diet guru, but I thought you might want to know how I lost 25 lbs., and kept it off for 20 years.  I do not know whether this will work for other people, but it worked for me.

New Products

There are some changes on the website that I want to share with you.  I am now promoting KardiaMobile and Ring doorbell.  Both of these products can help handicapped persons (and those without a handicap).

KardiaMobile

KardiaMobile allows you to take a medical grade ekg most anywhere.  It is Alivecor® KardiaMobile EKG Monitor | Wireless EKG | Captures Heart Rate, Rhythm & Symptoms for Early Detection of AFib | For Smartphones & Tablets | FDA Cleared.  You can get a medical grade ekg at home, in the office, at a restaurant or almost anywhere else.  When I needed medical clearance for my pump operation to change the battery, I needed an ekg.  I flunked my first ekg although I thought I had a good heart.  Well, you never know.  Fortunately I passed my second ekg.  If you are concerned about heart health, this is a product to look into on my Products page.  Please go to my Products page.  Thank you!

Ring doorbell

The other product is Ring doorbell.  This product allows you to see who is at the door and tell the person that you are on your way.  I have missed countless delivery people, just because I could not get to the door in time.  It was a real pain when I could not get to the door in time to get my medicine, and the medicine ended up at some carrier’s delivery center for me to get.  It also has an alarm if someone is stealing your packages.  Please go to my Products page.  Thank you!

Freebies

Also, I have begun offering Freebies that will hopefully help make your life easier.  My first Freebie is a Weekly Pill Reminder that will help you remember when to take your pills (medicine).  You can tape it to your refrigerator.  It also means I am starting to collect emails.  Come subscribe to the email list, join the community and get a free Weekly Pill Reminder.   Please go to my Freebies page.  Thank you so much!

Time to get out more often

My wife decided that I should get out more often, so she arranged for a driver to take me around on Saturday.  She suggested, and I agreed to have her start the van on Friday to make sure the battery works.  Usually, when we start up the van, we let it run for about half an hour to charge up the battery.   She started up the van without incident and returned a half hour later.  There was smoke coming from the van.  She shut off the van and told me what happened.

Water on the ground

She said there was water on the ground.  I am not an auto mechanic, but it may just be a faulty radiator hose.  I hope.  I called the repair shop, but they could not take the van until Monday morning.  I will call the shop Monday morning.  This repair shop will come to my house.  Pick up the van and deliver the repaired van to my house.  Of course, they charge extra for this service.

Cancel the driver

We had to cancel with the driver.  I had hoped to eat at a local Subway (I was thinking of a tuna fish sandwich), and deal with my new Medicare card.

What is with the new Medicare cards?

Medicare has decided to issue new cards that do not have people’s social security number on it.  Instead, a special Medicare number is on the card.  This is supposed to be a new security measure.  I have tried multiple times to memorize the new number with letters.  Let me tell you this has been almost impossible for me.  I am still working on it.

To laminate or not to laminate

However, there is one thing that I know and it is that these Medicare cards become a crumpled mess after awhile.  It is a good idea to go to an office supply store and have them laminate the card before it becomes unrecognizable.  This keeps the card in good condition for many years.

Another time

This what I had planned, but the van had other ideas.  I will try to do this another time.

Time to see the dentist again

It’s been a week since I went to the Oral Surgeon’s office and now it is time for me to return to the dentist’s office.  The extraction seems to be healing nicely but the bump mentioned by the oral surgeon may not be gone entirely.

Up the slippery ramp

Again I was dressed, lifted by the patient lift into my wheelchair, and I waited for my driver.   Fortunately, he was on time and I attempted to get into the van.  The door and ramp worked well, but it was raining.  When it rains the ramp is slippery and sometimes I slide all over the ramp.  The ramp is designed for additional traction in the rain but it is often not enough to prevent me from sliding.  I tried again to go up the ramp, and the second time was the charm.  It worked and I was in the van.

Where is the dentist’s office?

Off we went to the dentist’s office.  Again I had to direct my driver.  In all fairness, this driver had not been to the dentist’s office.  I had a different driver the last time I went to the dentist.  The dentist is near the Oral Surgeon’s office, but still, I had to direct the driver all the way there.

How much is bridge work?

Once at the dentist’s office, I was told by the receptionist that it would be $500 for the bridge work.  The receptionist said I could talk to the dentist about it.

Dental work in a wheelchair

Shortly thereafter, I went into the dentist’s room.  There is a dental chair there, but I stay in the wheelchair.  The dentist worked on me in the wheelchair.  I do not know how to make my chair go back (the dentist tried to figure it out, but he couldn’t recline the wheelchair, either), so I had to hold my head back when the dentist works on me.

A pillow, maybe

He tried to put something behind me, maybe a pillow, but it kept falling down.  I sit in the wheelchair and I am held in the chair by a seatbelt, so I cannot turn around and see what was behind me.  This, of course, makes going backwards very difficult.

What will my dental insurance cover?

I discussed the $500 charge.  Generally, my dental insurance covers most everything.  I asked the dentist whether the dental insurance covers bridge work.  He said that it wasn’t for the bridge work, it was for the tooth.  The tooth is not due for replacement for 5 years.  That would mean the tooth would be covered under my dental insurance in 2020.  Apparently, unless I want to wait 2 years, I would have to pay the $500.

It’s the right or the left

The dentist then gave me the choice whether to work on the right or left side of the mouth.  I was not sure that the bump had completely healed so I decided to have him work on the right side.  The extraction is on the left side.

Injections, two cavities, and a temporary

He gave me two needles in my mouth.  Then he went to work on a different patient in another room, and after about 25 minutes, he returned to work on me.  The right side of my mouth was numb, and he proceeded to fill two cavities, and put on a temporary crown.

Pay the money

After the work was done, I went to the receptionist, confirmed my next appointment, and paid the $500 for the tooth.

Again, a slippery ramp

I navigated my way out of the office, and the van door and ramp came out onto the sidewalk.  Again it was raining, and I slipped around on the ramp.  I got into the van on the second try.

It’s in the turkey sandwich

We went home, and I was transferred into my hospital bed.  The dentist did not tell me this, but I decided to wait 4 hours to let everything set before eating.  I started to eat a turkey sandwich, when all of a sudden, I felt something hard in my mouth.  This could not be the turkey sandwich, I thought.  I stuck my fingers in my mouth and found myself holding the temporary.  I put it in a safe place, for the next dental visit, which is soon, and I continued eating.

The effects of the injections

Usually, the numbing effects from the injections goes away after a few hours.  This is what happened.  The pain from the needles goes away in a day or two.  Well, not this time.  It was painful to open my mouth all the way for the next 8 days.  Then, the pain finally went away.

It’s that time again

It is time to return to the Oral Surgeon’s office.   The tooth he removed is on the lower left side of my mouth.  There was very little pain from the surgery and I did not even feel the need to take Tylenol.

How do I eat?

However, it became almost impossible to eat on that side.  I had to eat on the other side, which I usually don’t do because there is a gap between my teeth on the right side.  This causes substantial pain when I try to eat on the right side.   Nevertheless, I have tolerated the pain when I eat on the right side.

How I am prepared for travel

I am getting accustomed to the routine I must go through to go out of the house.  I am dressed, a patient lift is used to get me out of bed, I am placed in the wheelchair, and I have to navigate the wheelchair through the house out to the mobility van.

Solar Charger

I have a solar charger that I bought for the van.  At first it did not work because the handyman I had set it up did not know what he was doing.  This is a solar charger that takes the sun’s rays and converts it into electrical energy to charge the car through the cigarette lighter.  (I’m really dating myself.  I think it is now called the auxiliary power plug.).  Also, check your car because not all cars can be charged this way.

The handyman tries to set up the solar charger

The handyman did not place the solar charger on the dashboard so that it could get sunlight.  I have since placed it properly and it seems to work fine.  This keeps the battery charged because I do not use the van that often and the battery goes dead.  Sometimes it can be recharged, and sometimes the battery needs to be replaced.

AAA to the rescue

I have AAA service and they have battery service which will replace the battery at you home.  It highly recommended for any handicapped person.  The solar charger only cost me 20 dollars.

I disconnect the solar charger

It has a diode to prevent the current from going the wrong way when the van is on, but I disconnect the solar charger when the van is on to be sure.  I do not need to unplug it from the cigarette lighter jack, which would be hard for a handicapped person.  I can unplug it from the solar panel part, which is much easier for me. By the way, the solar charger is a trickle charger, not good for jump starts.   You can find the solar charger on my products page.

Finickyh van door

Anyway, I had to direct my driver once again to the Oral Surgeon’s office even though this was the second time he drove me to the Oral Surgeon’s office.  When we got to there the van door would not open automatically the first time I pressed the remote button.  This is typical for this van, and it worked the second time I pressed the button, and the ramp came out.

The short wait

Once in the Oral Surgeon’s office, I did not have to wait long, because all the paperwork had been done at the previous visit when I had the surgery.

Ready for bridge work

The Oral Surgeon looked in my mouth and told me that I had a little bump but it would even out and that he thought that the surgery had gone well.  I thought it had gone well too.  I told him I was eating food on the other side and he said that was probably a good idea.  He said that when I return to the dentist’s office in a week, I should be ready for a mold which is a precursor to the bridge work I need.

On my way

Shortly thereafter, I left the office, and was on my way home.

Motivation for this post

Once again the motivation for this post comes from a Pinterest pin.  It is a beautiful blue pin of a margarita, but alcohol and me have always had an uneasy relationship.

Social drinking

I have to admit that I’ve never liked the taste of alcohol.  The result has been that that I’ve had very little alcohol when I have had some.  I did not drink at all until I got to law school.  Of course, this means I was over the legal drinking age when I did drink.  It was not unusual for me to go to a bar and socialize but only drink a Coca Cola.  While this was fine with me, it made other people uncomfortable so eventually I relented and had a beer.  I rarely had a whole beer.  I would sip a small amount of the beer, and when the cold beer become warm, I would order a new beer and discard the warm beer.

Bad auto accident

One day I was in a disco and heard that a female aquaitance had a bad auto accident after leaving the disco.  She had a fair amount of alcohol.  This made me question the wisdom of even using alcohol in social situations.

Stopped by a policewoman

Sometime later I was driving after going to a disco and I was pulled over by a female police officer.  While there was nothing wrong with my driving, I suspect the police were just routinely pulling over cars leaving the disco.  I had only had 1/4 of a beer at the disco, which I admired to the officer.  It was clear that I was not drunk, and no sobriety test was administered.  She let me go on my way home.

Don’t drink and drive

Even though I was not inebriated, this incident also made me think twice about alcohol.  Drinking and driving is a fool’s game.  It is a major mistake.  Besides, I don’t even like the taste of alcohol.  It is not worth the risk.  I began drinking more Coca Colas when I went to a bar.  Needless to say Coca Colas are very expensive at a bar, but you will never get drunk from Coca Colas.

Do not mix meds and alcohol

Now I’m much older and I take a variety of blood pressure medicine, cholesterol medicine and multiple sclerosis medicine (among others).   Mixing alcohol with medicines can be very dangerous.

The end of alcohol

Frankly, I see no reason to have alcoholic beverages any longer.  Besides, I never liked the taste of alcohol, anyway.

Conclusion

In conclusion, do not drink and drive because it will clearly impede your handling of a motor vehicle.  Do not mix alcohol and drugs, even if the drugs are prescription drugs.  Many prescription drugs counter indicate the use of the drugs with alcohol.  You are better off having a soft drink or plain water.  Yes, the Pinterest pin still looks good, but the real thing is not worth the risk.

Pinterest inspiration

Once again a Pinterest pin has inspired a post.  This is getting to be routine.  It does motivate me to post more.

Contact with others

At this point in the development of multiple sclerosis, I am essentially a paraplegic.  This means I spend much of my life in bed.  It is not a bad life and I have some friends and family to keep me going.  Of course, I have this blog too.  Some people just don’t need that much contact with others.  Some people crave it almost constantly.  I fall into the former category.  I enjoy contact with others, but I do not crave it constantly.  Sometimes just being alone allows me to think clearly, sort my ideas and be at peace.

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Energizer bunny

Anyway, if I were than much of a loner I not be a blogger.  My mind is still very active and it tells me that I am the Energizer bunny, even though my body suffers from MS fatigue. This brings me back to eating in bed.

Eating large pieces

I have most of my meals in bed.  I rarely use a knife.  It is not easy to cut food while in bed. At home,I have a hospital bed.  This allows me to raise my upper body so that I can eat.  It is not a perfect solution but is much better than a flat bed for eating.  When I do need to cut food I usually use the side of a fork, or I pick up the food with a spoon or fork and just take a bite out of the food.  This allows me to eat large pieces of chicken and other foods without an aide.  It is not the dantiest way to eat and doesn’t always look too good, but it gets the job done.  It sometimes looks like I’m eating like a barbarian, but it works for me when I’m hungry.

Soup

I presently have a cold, which is getting better, and I have some soup.  I usually pick up the bowl and just slurp as much of the soup as I can.  This may not look good but I am able to have soup. Otherwise, if I try to have the soup with a spoon, it is not long before I find myself laying in soup.  The soup is all over me and it is a mess to clean.

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Please see my affiliate disclaimer.

Rice

Rice is another food I like, but I need a spoon to eat rice.  I usually eat it with a tablespoon. This spills less rice and allows me to eat more rice quickly.

Peas

Another food I like is peas.  However, peas on a flat plate is a catastrophe.  The peas roll off the plate when I try to eat them. Peas are better served in a bowl with a tablespoon. I often use tablespoons because this allows me to eat more faster.  It is also easier to get the food on the spoon.

Conclusion

Eating in bed involves learning a whole new style of eating.  It also means other people need to get accustomed to seeing me eat differently.  This is often harder for the caregiver than it is for me.