It was one year ago today...
Today is the anniversary of my surgery. When I arrived at the hospital that morning, I could walk with a walker, but my mobility had been deteriorating for over a year. After the surgery, I was paralyzed from the chest down, but it marked the beginning of a slow recovery.
Now, a year later, I am at about the point, mobility-wise, where I was when I went into surgery, but the difference is that I am on an uphill trajectory.
For over six months leading up to the surgery, my life was basically restricted to my second-story apartment. The only times I left were to visit doctors. That's sort of still true now in that most of my excursions are for medical reasons, but I have more of them (due to physical therapy, etc.), and I do occasionally go out by myself for other reasons. Last week, I went to a 3-day continuing legal education workshop. Tomorrow, I'm planning to take a series of buses to go visit PHR, the rehab facility where I spent three months last winter.
It's been a while since my last real update, and I don't want to detail everything that has happened since then, but here's a brief summary:
At the end of July, my PT requested approval from CareOregon (Medicaid) for 12 more visits, but CareOregon only approved 2 based on my having a chronic condition. I appealed and they added 6 more visits. We've been spreading them out and now I have 2 left which I will be using this month. After that, I'll have a re-evaluation in December and then probably not again until March. The bright side of this is that, in fact, we had a goal of getting me to the point where I could walk at home and we're just about there. I need to do more practicing on my own, but I've been walking, with a walker, in therapy for the last several sessions.
Another problem I've had to deal with has been a small accommodation situation at my apartment. Ever since I moved in here, the management has been very amenable to changes and very accommodating in several ways. They agreed that an agency called Unlimited Choices could install safety bars in the bathroom, widen the bathroom door, and install a small ramp at my front door to make it easier to go over the threshold.
However, since the beginning there has been a problem with parking spot in front of my door. I have a short path that leads from my door to the parking lot. Where the path ends, there is a handicapped spot. The problem is that, if someone parks in the spot, it blocks the path. For a long time after I moved in, I was told that the contractor couldn't do anything until the rain stopped, and it was a long rainy spring. When it finally dried up, they were swamped with work, so there was more delay. When the work was finally done, what they did was to widen the bottom part of the path, remove the curb in the widened part, and paint a diagonally striped path between the handicapped space and the space next to it. The problem was that, where they widened the path (i.e., removed landscaping), they didn't pave, but rather left it as just a patch of dirt. When I asked about this, I was told that I should contact Unlimited Choices to ask them to pave it. Well, they don't do outside work. My transitional case worker (who had gotten Unlimited Choices involved in the first place) got me in touch with someone from Fair Housing who said that the management was responsible for paving the spot and that she would contact the manager. This is still in process. Meanwhile, the dirt patch is now a mud patch.
So anyway, I'm starting to think that it might be time for me to start thinking about working again. The problem is that I wasn't working before this all happened and my legal work experience is limited to a couple of internships. I am going to explore some volunteer opportunities, but it would be nice to see a paycheck again. It's been a long time since I saw one last.
Now, a year later, I am at about the point, mobility-wise, where I was when I went into surgery, but the difference is that I am on an uphill trajectory.
For over six months leading up to the surgery, my life was basically restricted to my second-story apartment. The only times I left were to visit doctors. That's sort of still true now in that most of my excursions are for medical reasons, but I have more of them (due to physical therapy, etc.), and I do occasionally go out by myself for other reasons. Last week, I went to a 3-day continuing legal education workshop. Tomorrow, I'm planning to take a series of buses to go visit PHR, the rehab facility where I spent three months last winter.
It's been a while since my last real update, and I don't want to detail everything that has happened since then, but here's a brief summary:
At the end of July, my PT requested approval from CareOregon (Medicaid) for 12 more visits, but CareOregon only approved 2 based on my having a chronic condition. I appealed and they added 6 more visits. We've been spreading them out and now I have 2 left which I will be using this month. After that, I'll have a re-evaluation in December and then probably not again until March. The bright side of this is that, in fact, we had a goal of getting me to the point where I could walk at home and we're just about there. I need to do more practicing on my own, but I've been walking, with a walker, in therapy for the last several sessions.
Another problem I've had to deal with has been a small accommodation situation at my apartment. Ever since I moved in here, the management has been very amenable to changes and very accommodating in several ways. They agreed that an agency called Unlimited Choices could install safety bars in the bathroom, widen the bathroom door, and install a small ramp at my front door to make it easier to go over the threshold.
However, since the beginning there has been a problem with parking spot in front of my door. I have a short path that leads from my door to the parking lot. Where the path ends, there is a handicapped spot. The problem is that, if someone parks in the spot, it blocks the path. For a long time after I moved in, I was told that the contractor couldn't do anything until the rain stopped, and it was a long rainy spring. When it finally dried up, they were swamped with work, so there was more delay. When the work was finally done, what they did was to widen the bottom part of the path, remove the curb in the widened part, and paint a diagonally striped path between the handicapped space and the space next to it. The problem was that, where they widened the path (i.e., removed landscaping), they didn't pave, but rather left it as just a patch of dirt. When I asked about this, I was told that I should contact Unlimited Choices to ask them to pave it. Well, they don't do outside work. My transitional case worker (who had gotten Unlimited Choices involved in the first place) got me in touch with someone from Fair Housing who said that the management was responsible for paving the spot and that she would contact the manager. This is still in process. Meanwhile, the dirt patch is now a mud patch.
So anyway, I'm starting to think that it might be time for me to start thinking about working again. The problem is that I wasn't working before this all happened and my legal work experience is limited to a couple of internships. I am going to explore some volunteer opportunities, but it would be nice to see a paycheck again. It's been a long time since I saw one last.