G-Tube Belly
G-Tube countdown clock complete
It’s time for another countdown. This time we are counting down to the approximate time of my G-Tube insertion surgery on Friday. I may blog on friday night about the day of surgery though it is possible I may not be able to get on the computer, with how “Morphy” I get from morphine and anesthesia. I may not get news out to you guys until Saturday and worst case Sunday or Monday.
I have gotten a new assistive technology device today in the domain of augmentative communications. I got a new data card for Verizon. This will allow me to communicate through the laptop anywhere in the world. This is needed because I cannot write, and I am not a very good speaker. So when I can type and send things out and receive back in text that is optimal. It is a BroadbandAccess NationalAccess Verizon USB720.
Photos are in the gallery, click above.
Website Repairs Image
Links page screenshot
I have added a new link to the van dealer at which we purchased our 2005 Ford E-250 van with Braun Millenium Series lift. Secondly I have made some fixes to website grammar and picture sizes. I have also fixed the formatting on the “Powerchair has arrived” and “Podcast participation continues to dwindle” blog posts, as the text justification settings were wonky.
Me inside the new van with the doors closed
We got the new van! The only issue is it came with the lift and all, though there are no tiedown brackets for my powerchair, so the next week after G-Tube Friday we have to take it up to Steele Mobility in Gurnee Mills to get an Ez-Lock box and bracket installed. Even if it had tiedowns we wouldn’t be able to use them since mom has bad hands and back and bending over to do it wouldn’t work for her. But anyways me and dad got me up into the van on the lift and decided to take pictures. Oh, and there’s a new photo in the powerchair gallery.
CLICK THE IMAGES ABOVE TO GO TO THEIR GALLERIES
G-Tube Belly
You are probably going to ask, “Why the G-Tube picture again?” The reason is we went to my new Gastroenterologist at the Yacktman Pavilion on the 13th of this month and after reviewing my charts and checking my current condition he decided to say “You need a G-Tube as soon as possible.” He proceeded to continue to explain about the side note of my H. Pylori infection stating that H. Pylori gastritis is not much of anything to worry about unless it starts producing ulcers. In my case, it is not producing ulcers and can be put on the back burner temporarily. He especially wants me to get the G-Tube because my feeding is getting very difficult due to my poor muscle tone making it hard to chew and swallow correctly and also my poor neurological control making the swallowing mechanism loose control of material quite easily. By having a G-Tube insertion done I will no longer have to have three battles a day at the kitchen table. The surgeon visit was scheduled for the 20th and her name was Dr. Loeff (Pronounced Leff) She decided that it was also a pretty critical case and has decided to schedule me for next Friday for the surgery. Hence, next Fridays podcast is CANCELED! I will get a countdown clock put up when we get the exact time of surgery.
Final word…
SURGERY IS NEXT FRIDAY FOR G-TUBE INSERTION… PODCAST IS CANCELED UNTIL MARCH 7TH…
MARCH 7TH IS A TENTATIVE DATE AND MAY BE CANCELED DEPENDING ON MEDICAL STATUS.
I am very disappointed, I ask my visitors to come to the podcast more often, talk about disabilities, learn things, have fun, and no one apparently wants to do that. The attendance numbers last week were acceptable, but today I had absolutely no one come, which proves that the attendees are very unstable in their attendance. Please if you are an attendee remember that Friday nights at 8:00 PM CST should be considered an event!
Please if you can click the link above and participate on fridays. If you wish to participate in the audio chat, you must either dial on your telephone or click “Talkshoe Pro” to use the software’s built in VOIP system.
Hope to see you all there!
I know, I was supposed to get this text based news to everyone yesterday. Though I decided it might be better for me to just do both photos and text at the same time, I was trashed yesterday anyways and did not feel like getting on the computer last night to get the news up. A first in history, being too tired to get on the computer.
They arrived at 10:00 AM though the van with the dealer’s assistant, and powerchair was behind a little bit making the true time of arrival 10:20 AM. It took about an hour after they got me in for the first time to get everything adjusted and to get me the first drive around. It was very easy getting around the house, though the doorway in my room is a very tight one for going back in, not surprisingly for how many peoples powerchairs I have driven I was quick to figure out a good way of getting back into my room, after taking half the paint off the wall.
The dealer forgot to order the laptop mount and so he has to order it, since those are not custom made that will be only another week or so. Until then I can only use the laptop when it is on the kitchen table. Being the kitchen table is pretty low I cannot use my tilt system, which is responsible for helping remove pressure from gravity on my compressed spinal disks, thus removing pain. That said I will only be on here for short periods throughout the day. So contacting me via Instant Messenger is not a good idea. If you need me send me an E-Mail through the Contact Me tool. Those E-Mails make it to my cell phone which I can use whether I am tilted or not. Upon receiving said laptop trey I will be able to use the laptop more often. Still will not be on all the time like I used to be. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Photos are up on the gallery already, so please click the image above to get there.
Note about the photos: Dad knocked the harness out of adjustment which threw out the good positioning. Hence, why my position does not look prime.
Van Ad In Newspaper
Last night one of dad’s friends met dad for dinner and handed him an auto classifieds magazine with this van on the front cover. After careful discussion this morning we decided it was necessary for us to go and inspect the van ourselves. We went to the dealer’s location this morning and looked at the van, Opened the doors, hood, and looked inside. The lift is on the rear of this van since it was originally used for hauling large medical equipment, for example, a dialysis machine from a small hospital to a patients home. When we opened the rear doors I freaked out at what lift was inside, a brand-new Braun Millennium Series commercial grade lift. The rear “cargo” area of the van was sectioned off with a large thin removable wall made of the same material the rest of the inner fuselage is made of, the dealer explained that this cargo wall is easily removable with nothing but a screw driver. After showing us around the van the dealer decided to say “Here, take it for a ride.” Since my current wheelchair is not approved for occupied transport dad had to lift me up into the passenger’s seat and mom sat in the back. The engine was much quieter than I had expected it to be, and the ride was very smooth. Mom when it was her turn to drive was a little scared since she had never driven a van of this size in a long time, however, she got in and drove it as though she had just driven it yesterday. During the test drive we stopped off at a McDonalds and parked for a short meeting on whether we are going to purchase it or not. We decided that we would indeed purchase it and would put down the deposit while the dealer worked on fixing a few things for us. The vans drivers side door lock is broken, and the dealer is replacing that at no charge to us, the dealer is also going to clean up the interior and exterior and tune up the engine. The dealer told us that he would call us in a few days with the status on our van, but he said that all his work should be done by Thursday, and he will await payment in full. The only reason we are paying in full is the fact that we are selling dads current Dodge Ram truck. The Dodge Ram covers only about half of the price of the van, the other half will have to come out of our bank account and tax refund. This does cause some financial instability for us as in the event of a major emergency requiring a large sum of money the money will not be there in that emergency account. Hence, this is another expense that I am hoping donators at this website will help us absorb.
Talkshoe Logo
Hosted by: Alin S
Title: EPISODE8 – Disabilities – Down Syndrome
Time: 02/15/2008 09:00 PM EST
Episode Notes: Tonight we will talk about Down Syndrome. It can be dealt with by using different life changing strategies and therapies. We also taked about AAC devices and medical conditions associated with down syndrome. last 10-20 minutes we will be talking about the NIU shootings that occurred yesterday and other news about my website.
Powerchair Countdown Clock
The powerchair dealer called today with our delivery time. My powerchair is set to deliver at 10:00 AM on Monday. I can’t wait for this baby to arrive; the current wheelchair I am in is absolutely horrid. Getting this powerchair is the same thing as going from a 1956 Ford P.O.S to a 2008 Rolls Royce. We are all excited about the arrival. Sadly dad cannot be home for the arrival as he still needs to work. However, we will have the camera out and will take lots of pictures. Photos will likely not be uploaded until sometime Tuesday, however, text based news will be posted on the blog sometime Monday afternoon. I still have yet to figure out what I am going to do with the obsolete “The Powerchair” page, if anyone has a suggestion as to what I should do with it they can either leave a comment on this blog post or use the Contact Me feature.
Powered by WordPress
