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  • Kevin’s Weekly Journal 10/22 through 10/28/18

    Posted by kevin-schaefer on October 29, 2018 at 11:00 am

    I do love this time of year. Between Halloween candy and festivities, the brisk of autumn weather and getting ready for my local comic book convention in November, I always thoroughly enjoy the month of October. Just yesterday I spent close to five hours in a movie theater watching both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with a friend, eating a big tub of popcorn and drinking hot chocolate. That’s how to spend a Sunday afternoon in my mind.

    Much of the last week was also spent getting ready for the aforementioned NC Comicon. My parents are going away that weekend, so I’ve been coordinating rides to the con and caregiver schedules. Fortunately, I have a lot of respite hours in my care plan, so I’m going to have Randy take those and stay with me that Friday and Saturday. It helps too that I know a lot of people and I have a lot of friends who are more than willing to give me rides. Plus with this convention, I’m good friends with the staff and was able to get a few companion passes. That way, whoever drives me gets into the show for free. I tell people in the SMA community all the time that if you show gratitude toward people and get out and meet people, you’ll rarely have trouble finding friends to help you. It’s hard when you have a small social circle, but if you branch out a little and engage in different communities, you’ll meet some great people. Since I have friends all over the place, it’s very doable for my parents to go away for the weekend without worrying about me having transportation, proper care, etc. They trust me to take care of all those logistics.

    On that note, I’m also in the process of acquiring a new part-time caregiver to work with me on Saturdays. I’ve been looking for someone to fill these hours on Saturday mornings for a while, and Randy recently met a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) through the agency we use. She’s supposed to come tonight to train with Randy, and I spoke with her on the phone last week. I’m always anxious about getting a new caregiver and helping them learn my specific needs, but I’m hopeful that this person will work out. It’ll be really nice if she does, as filling those hours on Saturday mornings will help myself and my parents tremendously. My Dad is fine getting me to bed on Friday and Saturday nights, but my morning routine is much more extensive and time-consuming.

    My physical therapy sessions are going well. I’m off this week due to my PT’s schedule, but last week I pushed myself to keep my legs and arms moving as much as I could. I’m also finding myself doing more exercises in my chair in an almost automatic manner. Even when I’m groggy in the mornings, I find myself pushing my upper-body back and forth while I’m in the bathroom. It helps me get my muscles moving in the morning, and I think the fact that I’ve started exercising without even thinking about it is a good effect of PT.

    I hope you all have a great week. Stay safe during the cold and flu season, but also don’t be afraid to get out as well and live your life. I believe that especially at this time, it’s important to have a balance between carefully monitoring our physical health, but also tending to our social and emotional needs. Like my coworker Michael Morale says in his videos, do something for yourself this week. Enjoy it, and talk to you all soon.

    kevin-schaefer replied 5 years, 5 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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