First week back

Well my first week back after venturing out for some attempts at snorkeling and water activities. I can say that getting up to teach Monday, Tuesday and even Wednesday was very difficult. We left Hawaii and when we finally arrived home we had been up for about thirty hours and three plane rides of about thirteen hours. Jet lag made life very hard for me those first three days.

On Wednesday I had my first physical therapy visit in almost three weeks. I was not sure how I would do on the different activities. Well I did one and a quarter miles on the bike. After the bike I did some exercises I have not done in awhile and then Andy asked me to do some stair exercises. I take each foot and place the arch lightly down on the edge of the step and then put the foot back down on the ground. The second one is taking each foot separately and touch only the heel on the step up and then bring it back down. I did both exercises and when I finished Andy pointed out how this was the first time I had done this without my cane. I had completely failed to realize this until he pointed it out to me.

I finished up the week teaching and interacting with my students. My greatest reward comes from my students. I had one who took a test and got a 50 and came to me for some tutoring. I tutored her and when she took the re-test she earned a 75. She found me and was thrilled to no end about her performance. She shared with me all semester long she has not been able to get above a 65. She told me to have a good weekend, I told her to do the same.

Though it was a long, hard and exhausting week it was well worth it. It seems the students have always been my lift in life since the surgery. Seems God always knows exactly what we need and He puts it into our path of life, we just need to be open to receiving it.

Aloha - goodbye

Well my last night here, rest, relaxation and escape is done. That is just as well as I am ready to get back to life as my life is now. I really enjoyed just being able to shut down and not have any worries for the first time in almost two years of medical issues. My brother and I snorkeled again today and had a great time out on Hanalei Bay. We saw some great fish and had a fantastic time. The evening was capped off with dinner at the Kalypso a fantastic restaurant. Now for our last night here though we will be here long enough to see tomorrow's sunset. I will try to post a video with this which is our view from our condo I hope it work. I will admit though pictures can never capture 100% the true beauty that is there. We also see the last few days they are filming yet another movie here on the island.

Snorkel Thursday

Today started off by going to our Javi Kai for breakfast and then we were off to Ke e beach to snorkel. My brother and I went out to try but the currents were too much from the beginning so I came a shore and watched. My brother went out and saw a turtle while he was snorkeling. We headed back to the condo and my leg and foot were doing well. I went to the pool to swim laps every so often to get some exercise for my leg as I am missing out on my physical therapy. We did end up going out on Hanalei Bay to snorkel and it was fantastic. I stayed out for about an hour until my left leg had no more energy or control to make it move with the fin. So I headed for shore but saw some fantastic fish in the ocean once again. I tried to not over do it wearing a brace when I could to help support my ankle especially when I walk on the sandy beach. I along with my leg are tired and ready to call it a night and it is only 8:30 at night....

Dinner cruise

Well the dinner cruise was what I had hoped for in spite of some pit falls. When we checked in they informed us it was mandatory no shoes, which they made an exception for me. They realized I could not take my shoes off and walk safely so they said I could wear them. My cane however was a different story, Mr Cane had to stay land locked. I was more than willing to comply with that request so all was set. It was quite a hike down to the 64 foot catamaran, the Spirit of Kauai. There was 39 of us as we set said. The crew was very helpful with me as well as anyone who wanted to maneuver around and I did some moving. We say spinner dolphins, a school of them, who swam along side our boat jumping and playing as we went. We also had the opportunity to see two baby and one parent whale so it was cool. Of course the coast line in itself was a beauty of God to behold. It was majestic in every way possible. We were soaked by salt water to and fro, before and after dinner but it was ok. It was well worth the money and time.

My ankle was still hurting a bit afterwards but it was manageable. One of the things I am still learning that I need to internalize is that those around do not remember my situation. It seems my inability or my shortcomings get forgotten. This I need to try to remember, it is my new normal to live with and others will forget regularly.

Rainy morning

Well I thought it was bound to happen. We went down to Hanalei Bay to snorkel (where puff the magic dragon frolicked) and thought all would be fine. Many of you already know that since last April my leg and foot experiencing atrophy the left foot turns down due to the muscles not responding. This provides me with the great opportunity to walk on my left side ankle. The brace keeps it straight which is one reason I wear it. I thought I would fore go the brace and go it stag. Well the snorkeling was ok, high tide was coming in. I managed to do everything on my own with my snorkel gear and all but I did notice the swimming was a bit draining. I came in to rest while my brother snorkeled with his wife and rest. When I got up to come back to our condo the sand was so soft and deep I walked on the side of my left foot with every step I took. That was Sunday so Monday I kept off the foot most of the day, iced it, rested it, kept is up and all. I confess I did go to Lamperts for some ice cream. Today it is still sore and we have a sunset dinner cruise to go to. I can work with the ankle and as I have said a million times quoting Kate, I need to learn a new normal. I just want to avoid being a damper on anyone's activities. Of course they all say no problem I still want to enjoy. Raining now but I am hoping it stops to give us time to sail the north coast having dinner watching God's natural beauty of a setting sun that we take for granted everyday much too often. Aloha!

what a day

Today started off by going to our home church for Kauai, Calvary Chapel on the North Shore. It was uplifting and the message was fantastic, the Pastor talked about how sometimes we murmur about what we don't like or don't have. We should focus on what we are Blessed with and have in our lives. I thought about my left leg and how I cannot walk, run, swim and such but what I do have is a nice comfortable life, health care to cover the majority of my expenses for my treatment. I have much that I have been Blessed with so much. I did do some snorkeling later on today, or at least I tried. It was not as easy as it was last time. The time is still enjoyable and I will continue to learn my normal though I admit sometimes what is frustrating is that others forget my normal and I try to keep in mind that it is me not them.

What a week

I know it has been awhile since I updated my blog and I am sorry for the lapse in time. I have been very busy doing so much it was hard to get online and update it. I am in Kauai enjoying the beautiful weather and quiet time. I have gone snorkeling once and did some great video underwater. I am going to try to post the video on my blog if I can learn how to do it. I also went fishing on the ocean and had the honor of catching seven tuna all together. Basically I have accomplished things that I NEVER thought possible going back a year which is when I was experiencing my first on set of seizures. Thinking back to my surgery and that I could hardly move without a walker and yet now I am here snorkeling pretty good and deep sea fishing. What a thrill. I will admit that my leg and foot get tired even the walks are a bit much they are great exercise for me. Over all I am compensating where I need to and going forward when I can.... Aloha

LA

Who would have thought? When we landed in Atlanta I requested a wheelchair as I had to go quite a distance. I felt guilty as I was being pushed in a chair and everyone else walked to keep up. As we boarded for LA I requested a wheelchair for LA. Well they had it waiting as soon as I stepped from the plane to the aisle way. We made our way up the gangway to the airport as we arrived at Gate 58. As we started to make our way my wife informed me that our departing Gate was 59. It was a whole thirty yards away....

Life is nice

Well this is just a short update. Landed in Atlanta and waiting on outbound to LA.... The weather is much nicer and mentally healthier....

Friday - Good Day

Well as usual I had my physical therapy this morning and things went quite well. Starting out on the bike I must have had a lot of energy because I set a new record of 1 and 1/2 miles. That is a quarter of a mile more than I have ever been able to pedal before. That was so nice to have a good ride. The rest of the activities went well to as for my therapy goes. I am just hoping that my so called Insurance Company starts to see that having my left leg experience paralysis so I cannot walk without assistance due to a 2 1/2 inch tumor removed from my brain is 'medial'. After therapy I had breakfast (two hours long) with two people I use to work with and haven't seen in about four years. We had a great time, sharing memories, seeing what each other has been up to, and best of all we compared grandchildren. As we did one shared with me that his grand-daughter calls him PaPa just like Molly calls me. :-) That was so cool. Over all the day was a nice day and very rewarding all the way around. I also did some exercises in my therapy which were new because I am still gaining more and more muscle control over the left leg, not 100% but still it is a gradual increase! ! !

When up is down

Well as usual my day was filled with teaching and lecturing lessons to my students. That was very enjoyable for the most part. I love to help students who desire to do better and learn. After the end of the day I went to my Wednesday physical therapy visit. I had a surprise waiting for me, seems my insurance says my therapy is suddenly not medically related. No one could understand how in all their wisdom at BC/BS, they could see my therapy for a left leg paralyzed due to a brain tumor is 'not' medical. Well someone from Benefits stepped in to call and help me out and made some headway. My first reaction was that my therapy was going to end and I would have to go it alone but hopefully it won't be that way. I did think as I was pedalling away that one way or another I was going forward and still going to work on getting as much use of my leg back that I can.

Good Friday

What a great day it was! No not everything went the way it was suppose to but it was a great day. As I said in my last blog, I had physical therapy this morning. I was talking to a therapist (an intern working with me) and the next thing I did was look up at the distance on the bike machine and I ended up pedaling myself a mile and a quarter. My farthest was a mile and a tenth so I was so pleased to see that. My routine has been changed around because of my growth. That is so fantastic, I am working on balance as I said earlier. Walking backwards, doing the sobriety walk (heel to toe), and having to walk an obstacle course stepping over objects and up and down steps as I go. I think back to just last December when I could not balance even 30 seconds without needing assistance. I see how much has been accomplished. When the neurologist and neuro surgeon first talked to me the verdict was that only about 85% of the tumor would be removed by surgery, I wold need to be in the hospital 10 to 14 days and I would have a lot of paralysis to deal with. Well God had a different thought, they got the tumor 100%, I was out of the hospital after eight days, and I am still gaining more ability which means less paralysis. I am not saying I will have none, I won't have full use as even the therapists say, but I will have a lot more use than they originally said. That was before I even got to my office to see clients today.

Clients went well, not all is good though. I do find such satisfaction in helping others find a path of help. Life for me is great, tumor, seizures, paralysis has little meaning, this is Good Friday and my life is VERY good. I am BLESSED and I am thankful for what I do have.....

Week by week

I have been remiss in doing any updates and there are changes to update. I have my second physical therapy visit tomorrow and it will be good. I did notice a big difference from my Wednesday and Friday therapy visits. On Wednesday it is after my day of teaching and walking around all day, whereas Friday is first thing in the morning so my energy level is much higher. I also found out the electrical stimulator device I have been using (it is something new) to help bring some of my leg muscles to life will be covered. I was thinking somehow I was going to have to buy it on my own. It works really great on stimulating the muscles acting for the nerves that were and are damaged. What is nice is that I am still making improvements in utilizing my foot and leg. I still am not able to move my left foot to the right or left but I can move it up and down a little. I am looking forward to this warmer weather we are having so I can get outside. I want to get back into cleaning up the cars, taking a walk and just enjoying the summer weather. As I have said before the weekend is coming and once again I am so glad to see it here.