I KNEW I liked THIS MOVIE!

... (I'm pretty sure I've blogged about THIS FILM before.  Nonetheless, it's applicable.)      I ALWAYS "look forward" to my "Physical Therapy", because I REALLY WANNA walk AGAIN!  (I would do "P.T." MORE OFTEN than JUST twice a week if I could.) EVERY SESSION, my Physical Therapist asks me what I want to do.  EVERY TIME I choose to practice "walking"--alongside my walker.    Although, last Thursday my LEFT--INJURED--shoulder was hurting.  (I think that my left HAND was just awkwardly positioned on my walker, and I tried to compensate.  I TEND to DO THAT.)      I HAVE CONFIDENCE that I'll EVENTUALLY walk AGAIN.  I just don't know what MORE I can do!     "HOPE is a good thing--maybe THE BEST of things."--'Shawshank Redemption'

"Baby Steps"

...     1) The subject was a pledge name for/of a guy in my fraternity.   2) The subject is the name of a book written by Dr. Leo Marvin (fictional psychiatrist played by actor Richard Dreyfuss) in the comedic film, 'What About Bob?'.  ENOUGH TANGENTS! 3) While doing my "car-to-wheelchair ...AND back" transfers this past Thursday evening to and from my Karate class, I noticed that I was actually able to LIFT my left--"injured"--foot, instead of just DRAG it along the ground.  YAY!   4) My psychotherapist told me last week that "barring any major denials/objections/obstacles", she would like to soon begin my rights RE-gaining process.  YAY, YAY!    Moral: "Patience is a virtue."

A.D.L.

... (Activities of Daily Living):   For the LAST THREE days (NOT YET including today), I have  brushed my hair  put toothpaste on the bristles of my toothbrush (two separate times per day)   I am "WORKING" to "NORMALIZE" my everyday-life.   (WHAT'S "NORMAL"?!) (... THAT'S BORING!)

Improvement

Ever since my "G-tube" ("gastric tube") was relocated along my stomach, I have been in SEVERE PAIN any time I lie FLAT--on my back--in bed.   HOWEVER, LATELY, I have been able to tolerate being FLAT for longer lying FLAT on my back.  (Yes, my bed-rest adjusts its inclination-angle.)   Ergo, I'm thinking that my stomach-area is improving/healing.  YAY! (Either THAT, or I'm just being more BAD-ASS!)

... OH, YEAH!

... My girlfriend JUST reminded me that I was chewing on and swallowing Cheerios.   (I had requested Multi-Grain Cheerios, because the name just sounds HEALTHY.)

"THAT'S what SHE said!"

... Today, my Speech Therapist--a FEMALE--instructed me to "SPIT!"  So, I did.   In actuality, my accident made it VERY DIFFICULT for me to "expectorate" (GOOD WORD!), so THIS OCCASION (Actually, I completed the task THREE times.) ((ALSO, my girlfriend's dog jumped up and ate the (DAMNIT!  I FORGOT WHAT THE FOOD WAS!) "substance" from right between my lips.)) marked the FIRST TIME in OVER FOUR YEARS that I have been able to SUCCESSFULLY spit out a food/substance.

No side-effects!

(WARNING: THIS ENTRY is NOT for the "weak-stomached".)    So, medical instructions were for me to "consume"/"imbibe"--via "G-tube--large amounts of this white liquid.  (I forgot what it was.) The medical technician warned me that my excrement ("poop") MAY TEMPORARILY become white, as a result.   However, I JUST "pooped"--at ~6:55 PM Eastern Standard Time--and I--FIGURATIVELY, JOKINGLY--"released"--out of my rectum--my BIG "Brown-Eyed Girl".   REVIEW: My "fecal deposit" was BROWN--NOT WHITE.   Thank you.   I'll be here all week.   Be sure to tip your waitress.

All's clear.

... WHEW!   I JUST got home from an EARLY-MORNING C.T. Scan (at ~ 7:30 AM) of the "skin-growth" (like a blister) near my old "G-tube" insertion-site. THANK GOODNESS my girlfriend "knows her ass from her elbow", 'cuz the "nurses"/medical technicians there didn't know WHAT I was getting "scanned" and WHERE exactly!   Obviously, my girlfriend doesn't know the results of my C.T. Scan--YET.  But, she said the images looked promising.  (The purpose of the procedure was to identify the CAUSE of my "skin-irritation".)    Also, APPARENTLY, I'm THAT charming--which upsets my girlfriend.  The main-scanner said that should I need to return to the hospital, he would give me a Bayern Munich soccer jersey.

I know he CARES/TRIED!

... However, I would think that my G.I. ("Gastro-Intestintestinal") doctor would think something's "afoul" when I tell him--AT LEAST a week or two AFTER my G-tube relocation procedure--that the area STILL hurts when I cough or clear my throat.    I did NOT see THIS "OBSTACLE" coming in my "path to RECOVERY" ...

"KEYS"

So, I went to a Karate seminar today at my old dojo.  (EXCELLENT, IMPORTANT lessons.)  The MAIN instructor--VERY INTUITIVELY--said, "There are three aspects of martial arts:  1) how you LEARN it  2) how you TEACH it  3) how you DO/"PERFORM" it   As a "former" (PRE-accident) long-time "student"--and later TEACHER", I concur with his analysis.