Today started different than most. I was alone for the morning. I haven't been since I have been in the hospital, one of my family has been here to help me get ready for the day. The girls wanted to take Barry for a Father's Day tradition, something active. They usually go for a bike ride, a run, or hike of some kind. This year Jerri scoped it out and decided to hike the Scarborough Bluffs. It is close enough and they could still be here by afternoon.
My morning started well, breakfast and coffee and I got ready for the day. I went for a short walk and did some Physio. The nurse came in to do vitals and my blood pressure was up again. We waited an hour and it was now way up and I had symptom of AD( autonomic Desrelexia) again. Frustrating. We treated the blood pressure and they called the on all doctor who than came to see me.
She is an internist at the Toronto General and does a couple of on all shifts a month here, she was great. We tested for a UTI and she was being cautious and started me on an antibiotic again. Within hours I felt better.
By the time the girls and Barry arrived I was pooped. I slept of an hour and woke up feeling as good as new.
We had planned a day pass so we could take Barry out to Italian pizza at a quaint little place he's been walking by in Cabbagetown daily. Having called ahead; he told them I would be in a chair and which seating would work for us. The could easily accommodate us.
We arrived and they had not reserved the seating for us. We had to wait outside the patio which was awkward as everyone is curious as to what is happening. It took a while. They found seating that required me to get out of my chair and go up a step with Barry's help then the carried the chair up a step. All doable but should not have been necessary. It didn't spoil my night but I don't have to live like this every day. It made me think of others who do. It's hard not to say something but in doing so it would have it would have taking away from our social night out...so I didn't. But I didn't enjoy that experience. At all.
Once in, it was just lovely. The place was every bit as nice as Barry described and the pizzas we thin and exotic, and delicious! We enjoyed every bite. Me more so than anyone, a month of hospital food would do that to a persons.
We went for a walk through a lovely park afterward and walked around the community as well. What a lovely area of Toronto. The night would not be complete without dessert, at least for Meghan and I. We went for frozen yogurt. As we were leaving the area I noticed a young man in a wheel chair. I recognized him right away to be Spencer West. Meghan had met Spencer several times during her Me to We days and she had talked to him about me. If you haven't heard of Spencer West, check this out.
He is an amazing person who is an inspiration to many.
"Turn the car around" Meghan insisted, "I want him to meet Mom". We did and caught sight of him again and we went to park so Meghan could go and talk to him and we could say hi. By the time we parked we lost him again. There were a lot of little cafes and restaurants in the area so it was impossible to see where he went.
It was one of those moments in life where you are reminded that while life is not perfect right not I have to be grateful for what I have. You see, Spencer has no legs, and hasn't since he was five years old. If you read the article you will see he isn't just getting by, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro!
Inspiration comes from the most unusual places. I had just confided to my sister Val, in the wee hours of the morning, her on a break on the midnight shift and me lying here awake at 4am as I am again. My worry is I won't be walking independently when I leave here. Time is getting short and progress is slow. Seeing him tonight, not only inspires me to work harder, but allows me to see, sometimes we don't get what we want, but we can make do with what we have.
My morning started well, breakfast and coffee and I got ready for the day. I went for a short walk and did some Physio. The nurse came in to do vitals and my blood pressure was up again. We waited an hour and it was now way up and I had symptom of AD( autonomic Desrelexia) again. Frustrating. We treated the blood pressure and they called the on all doctor who than came to see me.
She is an internist at the Toronto General and does a couple of on all shifts a month here, she was great. We tested for a UTI and she was being cautious and started me on an antibiotic again. Within hours I felt better.
By the time the girls and Barry arrived I was pooped. I slept of an hour and woke up feeling as good as new.
We had planned a day pass so we could take Barry out to Italian pizza at a quaint little place he's been walking by in Cabbagetown daily. Having called ahead; he told them I would be in a chair and which seating would work for us. The could easily accommodate us.
We arrived and they had not reserved the seating for us. We had to wait outside the patio which was awkward as everyone is curious as to what is happening. It took a while. They found seating that required me to get out of my chair and go up a step with Barry's help then the carried the chair up a step. All doable but should not have been necessary. It didn't spoil my night but I don't have to live like this every day. It made me think of others who do. It's hard not to say something but in doing so it would have it would have taking away from our social night out...so I didn't. But I didn't enjoy that experience. At all.
Once in, it was just lovely. The place was every bit as nice as Barry described and the pizzas we thin and exotic, and delicious! We enjoyed every bite. Me more so than anyone, a month of hospital food would do that to a persons.
We went for a walk through a lovely park afterward and walked around the community as well. What a lovely area of Toronto. The night would not be complete without dessert, at least for Meghan and I. We went for frozen yogurt. As we were leaving the area I noticed a young man in a wheel chair. I recognized him right away to be Spencer West. Meghan had met Spencer several times during her Me to We days and she had talked to him about me. If you haven't heard of Spencer West, check this out.
He is an amazing person who is an inspiration to many.
"Turn the car around" Meghan insisted, "I want him to meet Mom". We did and caught sight of him again and we went to park so Meghan could go and talk to him and we could say hi. By the time we parked we lost him again. There were a lot of little cafes and restaurants in the area so it was impossible to see where he went.
It was one of those moments in life where you are reminded that while life is not perfect right not I have to be grateful for what I have. You see, Spencer has no legs, and hasn't since he was five years old. If you read the article you will see he isn't just getting by, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro!
Inspiration comes from the most unusual places. I had just confided to my sister Val, in the wee hours of the morning, her on a break on the midnight shift and me lying here awake at 4am as I am again. My worry is I won't be walking independently when I leave here. Time is getting short and progress is slow. Seeing him tonight, not only inspires me to work harder, but allows me to see, sometimes we don't get what we want, but we can make do with what we have.
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