Back on the bike

Today I thought I'd try my road bike out on the trainer. I had gotten a big fat seat to try and make it as comfy as possible and it actually worked quite well. I was able to ride for about 20 minutes at the end of which I was tired, sore, and sucking for air, but it felt great to be riding again. Over the past few weeks I have continued to improve at walking with one crutch and without my left leg brace. Last week the doctor and I decided to try taking my pain medication down another small amount. It hasn't effected my sitting tolerance much although I did experience some withdrawal early in the week. Nothing too major just some shakes and a few restless nights. I think that's about it for my news for now. Thanks for continuing to check up on me and for the prayers.

I just figured out that I can put pictures up. Here's a couple from wheelchair basketball.

Hey there. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Well the last month has been a pretty big success. For the last few weeks I have been going to wheelchair basketball. Its a fairly small group of 8-9 people and is pretty casual. The first 45 minutes is usually some skill building and practice which is good since I have a lot to learn. Then the remainder of the time is spent playing. I have a lot of fun playing. So far I have been able to stay for around 80 minutes. Which brings me to my next bit of good news, my sitting tolerance has made a significant increase from 40-50 minutes to 70-80 minutes. Because of this we are now trying to decrease the pain medication that I am taking by a very small amount to see what happens. So far I haven't noticed much of a difference so perhaps we'll be able to take it down some more in the future. Since the beginning of October I have been going to the pool for physio twice a week. Its a nice change from the same old routine and has helped my balance and leg strength improve. As a result of this I have recently been able to walk with only one crutch for short distances. Its not the smoothest way to move but it's progress. This afternoon my dad and I went to the CN center parking lot so that I could attempt to drive. With my foot drop, and me not having driven in well over a year I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I had been thinking that I was going to need to use my left foot since I can't lift my right foot up. Fortunately this wasn't much of an issue and I was able to drive normally. My leg was getting tired after awhile so it'll take some more practice and exercise to get that back. I don't think I could sit in that chair for much longer then a half hour but it felt really good to do it again. Hopefully some day in the future I can start driving myself to physio and stop taking cabs.

I think that is about it for my good news report. Hopefully they'll be some more to add to it soon.

It's September

Hello again. Since I have been back from Vancouver for a few weeks now I suppose it's about time I write a new blog. Today is September 27th, which also happens to be my birthday. It was a pretty fun one. Several friends from Fort st. John came up for the weekend which made for an enjoyable time. Football was watched, games were played, cake was eaten, so it had to be fun.

On to the medical side of things. At the beginning of the month I was down in Vancouver to get some CTs, MRIs, and to see a couple of doctors. At that time I didn't find out to much, but a few weeks later, after the doctors had gotten together to discuss me, I got an answer. That answer was... can you guess... more waiting. This at first may sound really annoying but it's actually for a good reason. The scans showed that there had been some healing where my spine attaches to the pelvis. This was one of the areas that they thought would be causing my pain. Well this healing hasn't helped a lot with the pain it's good to know that there is still some healing going on. So the new plan is to wait until Febuary-ish and then go back down to Vancouver for some more scans and another set of the injections I had in the spring. This time they want me to hang around for the day afterwards and document how it effects my pain levels. Last time I had the injection, I had to catch a flight about an hour afterwards so it didn't give them a very good chance to see its effects. If the injection seems to make a substantial difference they may decided to try a surgery to fuse the bone in that area. At the moment they are still hesitant to do a surgery because they are unsure if anything they could do would have a high percentage of helping my pain. They are also scared of thing like causing nerve damage resulting in loss of some of the fuction that I have, or things like infection and bleeding. The othopedic doctor said she was amazed at the level of my recovery and the amount of function I have. She said that many people my age with similar injuries end up in a lot worse shape.

The spinal doctor had sugessted that I start doing some physio in the pool. I had tried this when I was at GF but I got sore so quickly that I wasn't able to accomplish much. The pool is closed for maintence for most of September but it will be open next week and I'll begin going twice a week. Before the pool closed I got the chance to go once. I was able to last for around 30 minutes and while I didn't have mush of a workout plan I was able to to walk around in the water a bit and do some simple exercises to work my legs. When I start in October I'll be going with a physio therapist so hopefully when that starts my legs can strengthen up and get used to walking without crutches.

I think that's about all thats going on here right now. Thanks for all the comments, encouragment, and prayers. It still means alot to me.

If We All Pretend Today Is Tomorrow Then Today Is a Year From My Accident

Well tomorrow is August 10th. Last year on that day was my accident. It started out like any normal Sunday. Well normal for that summer anyways. Since I was working shifts at the Taylor Pulp Mill my schedule was a little unusual. I would have gone to bed at 6am just having gotten home from work. Then after waking up in the mid afternoon I would have lazed around for a few hours then packed myself a lunch and hopped on my bike to get to work by 6 pm. The first few hours went by fairly quickly and everyone was looking forward to the upcoming days off as it was our last shift of the tour. After loading the 7 o'clock hours worth of pulp I noticed the rail cars were nearly full and decided I should go prepare the next batch to come into the warehouse. I went down the line of cars removing old seals, unlocking them, and sliding the doors open a crack to make them easier to open with the forklift once inside. When I got to the fourth and final car I did the same little routine I had done a hundred times that summer, removed the seal, unlocked and slid the door a crack. I then went to walk around to the other side of the cars to repeat the pattern on their opposing doors. My path took me right under the door which I had just slid open a few inches. Suddenly I heard the screeching of metal and out of the corner of my eye saw a wall of steel coming down. I tried to sprint out of the way but my efforts brought me two feet short of safety. I was pounded into the ground with the force of 1400 pounds of metal. My hard hat flew from my head and my body instantly went tingly. At first I couldn't breathe, the majority of the weight was on my left hip but my upper body was chest down with a portion of the mass pressing on my back, making it difficult to inhale. I fought for a minute to twist my torso on it's side taking the weight on my shoulder which allowed me to breath a little easier. I took a look at my watch, it was 8 o'clock. I still didn't think that I was in that much danger, my ankle was throbbing and my hip hurt but I thought I would be able to slide out from under the door and walk or at worst crawl my way back to the finishing line office. Maybe I would need to get driven up to the hospital if things was really bad. I began to attempt an awkward side ways push-up, my lower back burned and I couldn't even budge the door. I continued to struggle and fight until I was tired and soaked with sweat. Then I began to panic. I started screaming as loud as I could. However I was in an area not often populated, even less so as it was a night shift, so my cries for help where useless. I continued this routine of struggling to get out and and yelling when I was too tied or in too much pain pain to fight with the mass of steel. Suddenly I heard the sound of tires on gravel. "I'm safe," I thought. I started yelling as loud as I could then louder and louder as I could see the bottom halves of the tires rolling by on the other side of the rail cars. My head was free enough to look down past my feet and under the car to the area where empty rail cars are processed. The man driving the huge loader wouldn't have been able to hear a gun shot two feet from his head over the roar of his diesel motor with his ear plugs in. I looked at my watch, it was 8:15. My arms were shaking and weak from my efforts and I finally gave into to the fact the I couldn't get out on my own. I decided to save my energy for yelling and would let out a cry for help every few seconds. I came up with the brilliant idea of chewing on rocks to distract myself from the pain. The minutes rolled by slowly. countless thoughts went through my mind. "I guess this is going to put a damper on my training program for biking," "I wonder if I'm paralyzed," "I can't die hear." I then came up with one final plan to escape. If I could dig a hole under my body and then pile the rocks under the door to hold it up maybe I could crawl out. This plan lasted about 4 seconds as I made a feeble effort to dig with fingers into gravel packed by years of heavy machinery. My brain began to calculate how long it would be until someone noticed I'm gone. "Well the conveyor that holds the pulp should be full by 8:45, then Jim will wonder why I'm not helping him. He should see my forklift parked by the door that leads out here. I just have to make it till then." I looked at my watch, it was 8:30. Suddenly the adrenaline that had been pounding through my veins disappeared, and I felt extremely tired. "I can just fall asleep," I thought, "then I don't have to worry about the pain, and when I wake up they'll have found me and this will be over. No! Stay awake, you have to keep screaming!" I continued to yell for help but my strength was nearly gone. As more and more things went wrong inside my body I thought, "Nobody is going to find me in time, I am going to die right here." I began to do the only thing I new would bring me peace in a situation like this, I prayed. It's a very simple thing preparing for death, there's no distractions, or questioning. I knew that God was real and that I loved him and there was nothing to fear from death. That prayer probably lasted about 10 seconds, but that was all that was needed. I went back to my yelling. Looking at my watch I saw that it was 8:45. Finally, finally I heard the word that I've heard a million times but has never sounded sweeter, the voice of Jim Farquarhson yelling, "Robert!" My body gave me its last drop of adrenaline and I let out a cry for help. He sprinted over, saw my situation, said "I'll be right back," and ran about 10 steps back towards the mill before realizing he was carrying a radio. He called for help and moments later I was surrounded by a dozen well organized men who lifted the door off me and carefully slid me out from my prison. What happened after that is the same as what happens at most accident scenes. The fire department came and put me in a neck brace then strapped me to a spine board. The ambulance arrived and took to to the hospital.

2 surgeries, 5 units of blood, 2 months in the hospital, 2 more in GF Strong rehabilitation center, 22 ambulance rides, 9 air ambulance flights, and 8 months of physiotherapy later, we arrive at today. I have made it along way in that time, and I owe all of that to God and those who have prayed for me.

At the moment I am able to walk very short distance with crutches and braces or a walker. Thanks to a nerve block in June I am have been given a few months of relief that has extended my sitting time to around 50 minutes. The nerve block didn't do much to relieve my pain when standing so I am only able to do that for about 10 minutes. This is still an incredible miracle as at the beginning they thought I might die, or be paralyzed and need dialysis for life. So where I am at today is miles from where I could have been.

As for the future it's hard to say what will happen. My next appointment to Vancouver is for the 31st of August when I'll have an MRI and CT scan done. The following day I will meet with both the spinal and orthopedic surgeons. This trip will hopefully give them the information needed to come to a decision if or what kind of surgery will help me most.

If anyone is still checking this blog I would like to thank you so much for praying and thinking of me. How far I have come in this year is absolute proof that God is alive. To save you from having to check this unnecessarily I won't be posting anything until I get back from Vancouver in the first week of September. That is unless something significant happens.

Thanks again for continuing to follow my progress.

Two weeks Later

Hey there. Well It's been two weeks now since the injection. This Is how long the doctors said it should take for the steroid they put in to be fully active. It has made some difference and I am able to sit some what comfortably for around 50 minutes. There is still quite a bit of pain and discomfort but it is still nice to be able to sit a little longer. In some areas it now seems that there is new pain. I think what is really happening is that I just hadn't noticed the pain in these areas because of the worse pain in the spot they put the injection. I had talked with the orthopedic doctor last week and she was going to be consulting with the spinal guy and looking at the ct. scans and taking the info from the injections to come up with a plan for what's next. Hopefully she'll be getting back to me soon with an update. Anyways thats about all thats new with me lately. Thank-you for continuing to follow along with my progress and for the encouragement you all provide.

Robert

After Way to LongI'm Back

First off I ned to apologize to those of you who are checking still checking this. I have no real excuse for not posting anything for o long besides be lazy. I'd like to thank you for still following along with my progress and praying. Well This pose is going to contain somthing rare... Good News!!! thats right, get excited. Now for the story. Yesterday around noon I flew back down to vancouver. We did the usual ambulance, to air ambulance to hospital routine. We got to fly with the same flight crew that we have the last 5 times we flown so it's always fun to see them again and catch up. Anyways at the hospital they injected my right SI (where the pelvis and spine attach) ith a quick acting local anesthetic and long lasting anti-inflammatory To make sure the put it in the right spot they would take a quick ct scan then put in the needle, do another ct scan to make sure it was in the right spot then advance the needle till it was in the right area and then injected the medicine. If this was the area that was causing my pain I should have felt almost instant relief, and then the long acting stuff could have possibly provided several months of relief. Hwever after sitting up for a few minuted the pain appeared as normal. bumber. Thursday evening was fun though. a few aunts and uncles and my grandma came by and we all crammed into the hotel room and visited for awhile. Then Today it was back to the hospital for a similar injection. Todays however was a nerve block. to get the needle to the area they wanted the had to try and bend the needle around some bone however. So to do this they had to first stick in a straight needle part way, then take a curved needle and use the straight needle to deflect it into the right area. all the while doing ct scans to make sure there going to the right area. it took them several trys and about 2 hours to get the right spot but they finally did and inject the stuff. after wards while waiting for the ambulance to pick us up to take us to the airport I managed to sit for over an hour pretty much pain free!! wHoo Hoo. So no it's been about 6 hours and the quick acting stuff has pretty much worn off so the pain is back, but n the next day or so the long lasting stuff should be kicking in and hopefully relieving my pain for some time. I was supposed to see the orthopedic specialist as well afterwards but since the injection took so long, and our schedule for getting to the airport for our flight was very tight we had to skip that part. So I think we will be talking on the hone next week. Anyways, besides providing temporary relief of pain these injections also tell the doctors what areas are causing the problems so that they can come up with a more long term plan. So it's very exciting to be making some serious headway. So thats my big exciting good news.

Robert

The Report

Hello. hey is the report from the trip to vancouver. After some poking and prodding and a bunch of questions the specialist came to the conclusion that simply putting more screws into the areas that are still not healed wouldn't help my pain much. It seems that they areas tht are still brken aren't the reas that are causing me that much pain. She said that if it were those areas I would have extreme discomfort lieing on my side or when she pushed left hip, but it didn't. She thinks that it is more likely caused by excessive bone growth in one area that might be rubbing and catching on itself when I sit or stand. She Also figured that some of the hardware is the problem as alot of the pain is focused around one screw. It was told a lot more elegantly when she said it, but thats the gist. SO her plan of attack is that fisrt she wants to talk with the spinal guy to find out if my back is stable enough to take any hardware out. Then she want to have dye injected into the areas that have pain and take some real time x-rays of me sitting and standing to see if they can pin point the problem. An then if they think there's something they can do surgicaly to correct the problems they'll take that route. So I should be hearing back from her in the next week or so to find out what shes learned from the spinal doc and the radiologist.

In not my body news. The trip down was pretty smooth.We got to visit with some family on tuesday night. Always a good time. I also calculated that that was my 7th air ambulance ride and 17th time in an ambulance in under a year. Not really statistics you want on the back of your baseball card. Other then that things are pretty much sticking to routine. However spring is here. which makes it a lot nicer. I can now safely walk to and from the car without being afraid of slipping on the ice. I'm also thinking of taking the wheelchair out for a walk around the block. Its been awhile since I've been outside just to be outside. Not since GF strong. Oh glorious sun. Anyways I think thats it for now. Hope you all boing great.

Robert

On to April

Hey. Well here is the latest and greatest. About a week or two ago ago I got a letter from the spinal doctor with the results of my CT scan. Without getting into all the technical mumbo jumbo of it, it basicallny said that there are still areas that haven't healed. Which is what we already kind of knew, but it was nice to see it all officialy there rather then just being told by a secreary glancing at some notes. The letter also suggested that putting in somemore plates and screws could help get things to heal and help with the pain. Now I've been refered to a specialist in pelvic instability. Tomorrow I'll be flying down to Vancouver again, then will be seeing this doctor on Wednesday morning and then flying back home right after that. This trip is just a consult and I guess the real plans will be made after that. Hopefully they can start doing something soon so i can start sitting normally again. Another new bit of news is that I have started getting acupuncture done on my lower back and around my hips, as well as acupuncture with electricty hooked up to it in my quad. This to try and help stimulate it abit more. I haven't really noticed any difference from either of these things, but I'm willing to try most things at the moment. Thats pretty much all that's been going on with my body lately. In life I've still been learning lots of 3d animation stuff and some video and photo editing. I had to send my computer away to get a little problem fixed last week and it made me realize how much of my time I spend working on it. I really enjoy doing it so it's saved me from losing my mind over the last few months. Also a couple of friends have started having a bible study at my house on Thursdays lately. And yeah, that about all I can think of at the moment. I'll let you know what the plan will be as far as more surgery or whatever later in the week.

Robert

A Quick One

Hey, I finally kind of got ahold of the doctor. Well I talked to his secretary who looked through my file and found some notes. I'm not sure of any real details but this is how she explain it to me. She said that the mid line of my pelvis has fused together as well as s1/s2. There are a few partial fusions in the pelvis as well as one/some (She wasn't very clear on this) non fusions. So basically some of the bone have healed while other's haven't. This is what I'm assuming is the cause of all the pain. She also told me that since the problem area isn't in the spine but in the pelvis that I have been referred to a orthopedic specialist in Kelowna. Apparently all my info was faxed over on friday and I should hear from them soon. Who knows what that means. I'm glad that he isn't sending me to the orthopedic surgeon I had in vancover when I was at VGH because he was pretty much useless. Anyways everything is still kind of a mystery but at least we might be heading in the right direction.

Robert

Hello Hello

Hey. Well I finally have some good news to share. Last week I went in for another spinal tap and the pressure was at 20 mm of water right were its supposed to be. My vision isn't back to perfect yet but Its definitely improving. I can even read the screen today without closing my one eye. The neurologist wants me to continue take the medication for another month and then hopefully after that things should be all back to normal. I still haven't heard back from the spinal surgeon yet on the results of my ct scan. He was supposed to call me last Wednesday but didn't. I have left several messages and talked to his secretary twice, but still no word. Thats a bit frustrating but I suppose that know news is hopefully good news. Physio is going fine. My left quad s continuing to see improvements while my hip and foot are still not getting in on the action. Things are still pretty sore, and it would be really nice to know if the CT scan showed any evidence of the cause. but I guess I have to leave some angry messages this week. I have also been have some new pain near the middle of my back. I sat kinda funny for a few minutes and then when I stood up I was extremely painful to straighten my back out. It has eased up some but is still a bit of an issue. I'll have to have my physiotherapist take a look at it if it continues. And I guess that would be most of my news. Next weekend my parents are going down to watch my sisters senior recital. I had been hoping hoping to go but a ten hour car ride wouldn't agree with me quite yet. So Pat Mcdonald is going to be staying with me for the weekend. Should be fun. hmmm Thats all I can think of right now. Hope your all doing well.

Robert

Back at Home

Well we made it back home. The trip back went just as smooth as the trip down. I managed to sleep the whole flight again so it went pretty quick.On tuesday I had x-rays and saw the spinal surgeon. He was concerned that my pain while sitting may be caused by the bones not fusing together properly, SO he ordered a CT scan. I was able to get squeezed in that afternoon. I called his office today and he had left a note with the secretary saying that he took a look at the scan and it didn't look that bad to him, but he has to wait for the radiologists report. He is planning to call me during his next rounds and since he is off next week I'm expecting to hear from him the following wednesday. The EMG test this morning didn't really show anything that we didn't already know from simple observation. My quad still should be recovering some more. My foot doesn't look that promising, and my hip is kinda iffy but looks like I should get at lest a little back. Well there I was able to visit with a bunch of family which was very good, and filled in all the gaps that could have made the trip seem long and boring. And that would be my trip to vancouver.

Robert

Live from Vancouver

Hey. I would like to apologize for not posting in a really long time I don’t really have a good excuse for it, but I’ll do my best to pick up the pace here. Well since I last posted I have gone in for another spinal tap. This time the pressure was a bit more reasonable but still quite high. The dr. drained the fluid down to normal and is keeping me on the medication for at least another month. I’ll be going in for another spinal tap on the 3rd of march. The drugs that he started me on to try and slow down the production of the spinal fluid have been reeking some havoc on my body. My appetite had decreased a lot and when I did eat or drink more then a little I ended up feeling nauseous. In the first two weeks on the drug I lost 12 pounds, however over the last few days it had been picking back up some. I also ended up being taken off to of the drugs I was on for nerve pain which has left me having a lot of random burst of pain in my legs, especially at night time. So for the last week I have been having some fairly poor sleeps. Some good news now. Chris and Corinne Millington Oooo and Ella!! and Denise came down to visit this weekend, that was a good time. And now I am currently sitting in a hotel in Vancouver. I flew down this morning by air ambulance since I still couldn’t handle sitting on a commercial flight. Tomorrow I go and get some x-rays taken and then see the spinal surgeon. He may be ordering a ct scan or possibly a bone scan depending on how it goes. And then on Thursday I have a EMG (testing the strength of the nerve signals) at G.F Strong. This test will help give us a better idea of how much I will get back in my legs. Then I’ll be flying back home thursday early afternoon. Mom came down with me and were planning to have some of the family come and stop by to visit, so that’ll be fun. And I think that just about covers it. I want to thank you all for still checking up on me and following my progress. It really means a lot to know that you care so much.

Robert

The results

Well the spinal tap went well. It was a fairly easy process. They found out that I ad over double the pressure compared to a normal persons spinal fluid. The doctor drained around 22cc which is the quick fix, since a normal person produce cerebral spinal fluid at a rate of .7cc/minute and I'm making it at who knows how fast. Then they have started me in some more medication to slow down the production. Now the fluid will be tested to see if there is any problems with it. The docotr is unsure of what the cause is as the doesn't often occur spontaneously in males of my body type. He thinks that the cause may be due to..... you guessed it, my drugs. so we've come full circle back to tapering mt drugs down. so hopefully this in conjunction with the new medication will allow me to start seeing some results in the next weeks(the doc said it wouldn't clear up instantly as my eyes have had some swelling in them). I will have to be going back in for another spinal tap next week to see how things ae going and probably for a few more in the future. But I feel a lot better now that it seems some progress is being made.

Robert

Friday

Hey just wanted to let you know that the cat scan showed no sign of a tumor and that everything looked good. I will be going in for the spinal tap in about an hour. So hopefully this will find the problem and we can get this eye deal over with.

Robert

quick update

Hey jut thought I'd let you know the latest in the eye story. I went to the doctor today and he saw some inflammation in the back of my eyes so he refereed me to an ophthalmologist. He found that my blurred vision is caused not by my drugs but from ppressure in the back of my eyes and on the optic nerve. He sent me over to another doctor who told me that there are two possible causes of this. Either a tumor or excessive spinal fluid pressure. He is leaning towards the spinal fluid pressure as I show no other symptoms of a tumor.So tomorrow I will be going in fo a CT scan, and depending in the results of that I may need to get a spinal tap to measure the pressure of the spinal cord fluid.

Robert

Friday January 16 (creative title, eh?)

Well, it's Friday night, and that means its Blog writing night, or so it seems lately. I'd like to thank you for all your comments .... there were an exceptional number this week, and its always nice to hear from you guys.
Here's the latest and greatest in the "Great Eye Escapade." As of Sunday, I began to get some slight improvement in my vision in that the blind spot was gone. There was a slight clearing up of the blurriness on Monday. Since then there's been little to no improvement. When I went to see the doctor on Monday he cut back more of my drugs, and wants me to continue to see him once a week until this problem is solved. I am, however, now able to read and use the computer, which has made my days go by alot faster. I am learning to use a 3-D animation program. This can be quite time consuming, but fun, which is what I need right now.
On to Physio ..... this has been the first week where I have gone every day and my body didn't take this so well. By Wednesday, I was quite fatigued and was finding it hard to complete my exercises. But I'd been going 5 days a week at GF Strong, so I guess I've just gotten soft going only 3 times a week. This week I have been doing quite a bit more walking, and have started each appointment with going for a walk around the sports centre. Dad I and also went for a walk around the indoor track there last Saturday. I still get sore and tired quite quickly while walking but my technique has improved.
Last Saturday I made my first social outing and went for supper at some friend's house. I did lie on the floor most of the time but it was definitely good to get a change of scenery and to hang out in that setting.
Well, once again I managed to talk my mother into typing for me, even though I'm quite capable of using the computer ..... I just enjoy being a dictator. That's all for the this week. Until next time , bye bye from Chris and me .... Mr. Robert. (Please hum the theme song to Mr. DressUp in your head,)

Title unknown

Well another week has gone by. It's been a bit of a slow week, as there has been no improvement yet with my blurry vision. Since I last posted my vision gradually got worse until Wed. and since then its been about the same.I went to the doctor yesterday and we came to the conclusion that it wasn't the Lyrica causing the problem. So now we've moved on to the next most likely culprit.
So far there has been no positive results. I would appreciate your prayers in this area as its very frustrating for me to not be able to see or read. Due to the messing around of my drugs, my pain has been a little worse than normal, but for the most part, its under control, as long as I'm not doing anything too active or sitting.
Not too many new things have happened in physio. Today I did go for a fairly long walk around the Sports Centre with Davis, my physiotherapist, giving me some tips on my technique that made me feel a little less stable. However, its a more natural walking position. He also had me walking with one crutch which nearly saw me on my backside. I did manage to get it figured out a bit, but I have to take very small careful steps. Some good news .... I am now going to physio five days a week as of Wed. the 6th. Hopefully that will help my progress.
Well, that's all for now folks.

Robert (as dictated to his mother).

Happy New Year!

Well, first off I'd like to apologize for once again not posting for quite awhile. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years.
MIne was pretty great. Jen and Wade were here for almost 5 days. It was good to have the whole fam together. I was able to get some pretty sweet presents from WCB for Christmas which will help in my recovery and make life around the house more comfortable. The one is a recumbent exercise bike which is the exact same model as at my physio which means its of pretty good quality. The other is a lazy boy that is able to recline completely flat so I can be comfortable in the living room without having to lie on the floor.
This week its been back to physio as usual except that my regular physiotherapist has been sick so I've been working with a different one. Its been good to mix it up a little and do a couple of new exercises. This week I also began to experience blurred vision that gradually got worse as the week went on. So today I went in to see the doctor to find out what was going on. I'd been suspecting that it was a side effect of one of my medications and after doing some research of my own, decided that it had to be Lyrica. He said that he agreed with me although he said it could be one of two other drugs. But since Lyrica is the most likely, he reduced my dosage by one third. Hopefully, that will begin to make some difference soon, as the blurred vision has made it difficult to do anything as my daily life consists mainly of reading, working on the computer, and watching TV. Oooo .... I've also taken up drawing. If you're wondering how my spelling and punctuation have taken such a dramatic turn for the better, I am dictating this to my mother, as I can't see the letters on the screen or the keys for that matter. Hopefully she has been writing what I say, and not writing something like "Robert stinks."
To top this week off, I've also had a very sore neck. Today I woke up with such a bad kink in it that it made it almost impossible for me to turn my head. However, the weekend is looking more promising as Colin, Mike, Ryan, and Dylan are coming down to visit me. That should be heaps o' fun.
Once again, I'd like to thank you all for continuing to follow my progress and for encouraging and praying for me.

Robert