Aahh, I sprained my ankle!

See, it was my brother’s birthday today, (Happy b-day, Andrew!) so he and three of his buddies and I and our parents and my mom’s dad all went to a place called Sky High Sports. Basically it’s a bunch of trampolines connected to each other, with a separate foam pit and dodgeball area. you jump on the trampolines and play for an hour or so.

I took my shoes off and jumped on the trampoline arena for a good three minutes (:D) before I fell and hurt my ankle. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but i think it had something to do with the yellow pads in between the trampolines. I might have tripped over one, or jumped on one accidentally, or something like that.

So I went down, and my ankle hurt really bad, and my dad and this staff person came over to help me up and get off onto a bench. My ankle swelled a lot, and I cried, and I got an ice pack, and I sat out for the rest of the hour.

Yah, it looks like my knee. But that round oval thing on the side of my foot is actually a swollen ankle…and the white thing is my sock…

So I was asking my parents all kinds of questions. “How am I going to sing on Sunday with my choir?” “How am I going to go to school on Monday?” And the most pressing, “How will I get to the car?” Mom answered, “You have a big daddy. He’ll help you.”

And I thought, ‘I’ve got an even bigger Daddy too, and I know he’s gonna help me.’ Why does it take hardship for us to recognize and appreciate things we often take for granted? Thank you, God, that it wasn’t broken or anything worse.

So I got a piggyback ride out of Sky High, and afterwards we went to a restaurant, and my ankle was better but I couldn’t put weight on it, and it  hurt if I turned it too much. Then Dad made a doctor’s appointment, and at 7:30ish we headed over there.

I hobbled out of the car and a security person asked if I wanted a wheelchair, and Dad said yes. He wheeled me into the waiting room and told the lady @ the desk, “We’re here for the 7:30 showing of ‘Fix My Ankle.’ She laughed, and i did too. Dad’s so funny. He always tries to make me smile.

After five minutes we were shown into the doctor’s office where a nurse got some basic info from us. Then we waited for a while and I read my book. oh-by the way, this sign was on the garbage–

oops, didn’t mean to make it that big.

so then the doctor came in and looked at my ankle, and she said I needed x-rays. Then Dad and I waited some more, and Jeff the X-ray Guy came in. He wheeled me into the x-ray room and told jokes. I asked if I would feel anything, and he said ‘Only as much pain as you feel when you’re talking on the phone. Or standing by the microwave.’

‘Should I take my glasses off?’ I wondered. ‘No, only if your ankle goes up into your head. Then we’d have to take your braces off, too. That would be kinda painful, cuz all I have are some pliers.’

He took 3 x-rays and Dad wheeled me back. Then the doctor came back in and gave us some papers and looked at the pics with us and said I sprained my ankle. Then the nurse came and gave me crutches and a boot/splint/thing.

Now, i’m in good humor and my ankle only hurts a teeny bit.

Night, everybody! Happy Belated Thanksgiving.

ibby out.

I took a walk north on my street this evening. Along the way I passed a man staring at me through a 7-foot tall iron fence. He was in his mid 70s, smoking a cigarette, his head was slumped, he was missing a leg and sitting in a wheelchair. Behind him, the yard  was dotted by dozens more people just like this guy. I bet this picture wasn’t included in the brochure for “Leisure World”.

The link is to the Cosco site.  Council of Senior Citizen Organizations

http://www.coscobc.ca/

They are very disappointed with TransLink; and rightly so. 

TransLink is responsible for the mess in which the workers find themselves and is responsible for the hardships the seniors and people with disabilities are facing.

TransLink cannot and should not turn their back on the labour dispute.  TransLink seems to think they are the boss of everything else in the region as seen by them imposing new taxes on everyone and everything.  The ultimate responsibility lies with them.

They have the power to make MVT go to arbitration with ATU Local 1724.

TransLink can always find new ways to spend money.   The link following is to a newsletter from COSCO.  On page 11 you will find an article about potential new requirements to use HandyDART.  One of the ideas is that a client must be interviewed, approved and get re-registered every three years.

W hile it may true that there are occasional abusers of the system, the majority of the clients genuinely need the service.

Does TransLink think that people who have had strokes and are unable to fend for themselves, are suddenly going spring forth from their wheelchairs to run down the street to a conventional bus?  Do they think that an 89-year-old man or woman will be more spry at 92 and won’t need the service anymore?  How about the people who were born with Cerebral Palsy?  Or people with failing kidneys?  The list is endless.

One can only hope that TransLink will have someone on the staff with common sense who will look at only the people who had temporary status or those that they suspect or know are scamming the system.  Yes, it is true; even amongst HandyDART users, there are people who are able and should be using conventional bus or Skytrain; however, that amount is so very low.  Another problem for many of the older seniors who may be able to go to a bus on their own, is their vulnerability to predators.  

For some elderly people, the HandyDART is a safety net.  The driver will escort the passenger right to their door.  Does TransLink really think that an 82-year-old man or woman should be standing at a bus stop alone; especially in the dark, cold rainy season?

When will the board of TransLink give their heads a collective shake to the needs of the elderly and disabled people in their neighbourhoods?

http://www.coscobc.ca/news.php

Margaret & Lap review of their stay at Caroline Apartments Brighton – After moving from the United Kingdom. Margaret describes the accessibility for wheelchair users and how they find their way, are around the flats and Melbourne in general. They were traveling by public transport to visit their Spotswood dog in quarantine while they wait for their rental property to provide for the family to be in motion.

Tags : DIY home http://homedepot.baywords.com/

Dynamics Controls managed to integrate an iPhone with its power wheelchair electronics, allowing iPhone or iPod touch owners in such a wheelchair to navigate using their device instead for a different experience. This solution also will show off the current speed, battery life and relevant wheelchair information in an easy-to-understand manner at a glance.

found @ www.techtunez.com

Researchers at Georgia Technical Institute of Technology are developing a new way for users to control power wheelchairs, using a technology called the Tongue Drive [...]

Tongue Drive For Powered Wheelchairs
Ziggi
Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:49:29 GMT

How do I spend my Sunday afternoons? Seeing movies like this one: An Education. Actually not too bad. I dig that Peter Saarsgard though I don’t know for the life of me how he’s American and  how he got Maggie Gyllenhaal. I bet she’s an awesome wife and fun to take walks with. Regardless how awesome Peter and Maggie are, the point is that I was at an art house theatre watching a movie alone on a Sunday. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that I don’t mind it so much. The older I get, this 33-year-old has a few grey hairs in his beard, I’m starting to enjoy time with me more than time with others. What’s the message there?

Was up early this morning and found my way to a quaint coffee shop in my neighborhood. Had a delicious soy cafe latté and proceeded to read the New York Times Style. First. Of all the sections of the weekend NY Times, for some reason I head straight to the Style section. I act like I’m reading articles but slowly I make my way to my destination. To the god-awful cringe inducing portion that I just love. Yes, the wedding announcements. Those white people look so happy. Was caught off guard today as the groom in the main article was in a wheelchair in the photo. Felt bad that it caught me off guard but it just goes to show how biased the media is with people in wheelchairs. Now that I think about it – I don’t have any friends in wheelchairs. Does that now make me biased?

My point if I had one above is that I headed straight the Style section and then to the weddings section. Ugh. I repulse me. Not only do people look happy; they also look younger and more successful than me. Damn them and may their lives be filled with happiness.

Found myself signing up for an on-line dating site this week. I actually used this same site about 5 years ago and learned a key lesson. If the photo of the woman is tightly cropped. She’s fat. No ifs/ands/buts/or maybes – she’s fat. So with that noted I went on a journey of answering what seemed like 5 million questions about myself for my profile. I don’t know what my favorite movie is thus far this year (Coco Before Chanel with the delicious Audrey Tautou); I can’t think of the 5 things I can’t live without (my contacts are one, or maybe two); I don’t know what I’m looking for in a woman (really I don’t know); and for the life of me I don’t have much to share about me (besides I’m a regular guy and I’m so not regular and intense at times).  After all of that hard work and posting a photo, of course a side-profile one so not to be noticed, I pressed submit and there I was on-line all ready for the onslaught of attention. It’s been a few days and no one has reached out to me.

Signing up for on-line dating posed a question I haven’t thought about much: How old do I want my dame to be? Something tells me younger than 25 seems just wrong, like I’m breaking the law. 25 – 30 seems reasonable but then I’m older than them and the chances of being judged are pretty high as I’m supposed to have my act together. Now, 30 – 35 seems on point as that’s in my range. Ok, 30 – 33. But, that’s tough. The question begs why am I post 30 and still single and more importantly why are you, post 30, still single? What’s wrong with you? Do you have issues? Are you a bit crazy? Are you a pain in the arse? Can you not handle commitment? Are you going to make me fall in love with you and then explain to me why it won’t work but tell me how great I am ?  Aww shucks. Am I asking myself these questions or the lady?

I didn’t really mention women post 35. That’s a tough one. Seems like automatic pressure. My act has to be together. She’s going to want to have kids soon. She’s probably crazy set in her own ways and rich. Her friends probably suck ass but pay for meals. Longterm, She’ll be totally focused on her orgasm versus the process to get there. You know, the basics. Even with the orgasm thing, sex with a woman post 35 is more appealing than dating someone post 35. Seems expensive.

Slowly trying to figure out what the great equalizer could be. Maybe I’ve been looking in all the wrong places. I’ve dated MBAs, JDs, crazy smart people and overall crazy successful people in different industries and backgrounds? How did that work out? Could I date someone who doesn’t have an undergraduate degree? In a word – no. Maybe I should date one of these hipsters who have a tattoo or asymmetrical haircut. Problem is, they aren’t really looking for me I don’t think. They’re all, cool hipster chicks who live in cool neighborhoods while looking casually indifferent, are probably just too cool for me and live in cooler neighborhoods than I and are too indifferent for me. Or maybe they’re just waiting to have freak nasty sex with me. That’s what I need.

As much as I need freak nasty sex I made a commitment to myself. Here it is: If worse-case scenario we can’t have a baby together and make it work I can’t have sex with you. Make sense?  Basically, I’ll only have sex with a woman if worse-case scenario something happened and she got pregnant and decided to keep it that I, as much as it would suck, would basically be okay with her having the child even if we’re not together as a couple. That’s an awesome filter not to bang the chicks I typically bang. Follow me? That means she must be an amazing woman with her stuff together which means she could take care of a kid and…if I have sex with this type of woman maybe I should be interested in her beyond sex…? Whatevs.

Okay, off to the kitchen. It’s Sunday which means I should cook. Need music. Feels like an Emiliana Torrini late afternoon.

i deem myself quite unlucky to have spained both my ankles just a day before my trip to melbourne. But it also gave me the opportunity to experience travel via a wheelchair. I travelled on jetstar and was allowed to board the plane first. My seats were also shifted nearer to the entrance so that i was allowed to board first. However it means also that i have to disembark last to allow the able bodies to go first. The airline was very good, they had wheelchairs waiting for me at my transit destination and my end destination but my guy friend suffered the most. Especially in the transit at darwin. No two wheelchairs are the same and the one at darwin was the worse with the wheelchair pusher having to take on my entire weight. The flight went smoothly, other than an idiot who turned and dropped her luggage on my injured ankle, me falling off the wheelchair twice struggling to fulfill the security checks, and being molested fully by the security personnel. I really don’t understand what can be stored between my legs. Looking on the bright side, i’m recovering in melbourne!

iPhone has been integrated into powered wheelchair controllers offering some great new features for [...]

iPhone And Powered Wheelchairs Integrated
Ziggi
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:36:48 GMT

Vancouver ‘Quad Squad’ helps him realize dream

Wednesday, June 3 | 11:34 p.m.

BY TOM VOGT
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

One of the Rons — Ron Phillips — refers to the vehicle as “the coolest wheelchair ever.”

The other one — Ron Heagy — calls it his “quad rod.”

The car in question is a 1968 Pontiac Firebird, which Ron Heagy used to take quite a joy ride Wednesday morning at Portland International Raceway.

The Salem, Ore., resident is paralyzed from the neck down. So for Heagy, driving means controlling the car with a joystick in his mouth.

The quadriplegic made several laps at PIR to earn an appearance on the Rose Cup schedule on June 14.

As he pulled to a stop after the final lap, Heagy was greeted by applause from the “Quad Squad” — a dozen or so employees at the Vancouver campus of SEH America who volunteered to support his effort.

That support started with Phillips, who provided the car.

“Without the Quad Squad, no way this would have come together,” Heagy said.

Another important participant was Rose Cup official Dan Halloran, who followed the Firebird around the track in a Mini Cooper to check out Heagy’s driving skills.

Halloran, regional executive of the Sports Car Club of America, declared Heagy up to the task of driving a victory lap in the specially equipped Firebird right before the Trans Am race. The goal was getting the Firebird ahead of the field as the pace car, but the Trans Am racers can’t run under 50 mph, and Heagy topped out at about 40 mph Tuesday.

Still, “It’s almost like going to the moon,” Heagy said later during a celebration at SEH America’s east Vancouver campus.

“This shows the world that any obstacle can be overcome,” Tatsuo Ito, SEH America executive vice president, said before presenting Heagy with a Firebird racing team jacket.

Heagy was paralyzed in a surfing accident 29 years ago. He hadn’t been behind the wheel — make that the driver’s seat — of a car until a month ago.

Heagy wound up in the Pontiac Firebird through a two-step connection with Ron Phillips. The Vancouver man does outreach work with kids in the county juvenile justice center, where Heagy has appeared as a motivational speaker.

So, when Heagy was booked for a speech in a Vancouver church, Phillips and SEH America colleague Michael Peters showed up.

“I mentioned that I’ve always wanted to drive something that goes more than 5 mph,” Heagy said. “Ron said, ‘I’ve got a Pontiac you can drive.’”

The car went into the Dignified Motors shop in Arizona, where it was fitted with a mouth-stick control system.

More work was done in the garage of Jay Delaney, another Quad Squad member.

It was a lot of basic engine and transmission stuff, but with some twists. Team member Ed Tolon had to remake the interior, Phillips said.

“Ed designed a custom seat. Ron is too tall, so Ed dropped the floor four inches.”

Other team members include Mike Tabor, Frank Belisle, Curt Buchanan, Dave Vickrey, Robert Withee, Nick Znaiden, Phil Lavine, and Russ Hill.

Heagy got his first chance to try it out a month ago in a parking lot. He took it out again two weeks ago on an abandoned street.

Then, on Wednesday, he ran several laps on the track: 25 mph, then 30, then 35, and finally 40.

For him, Heagy said, “Chin control is second nature. I’ve been driving a wheelchair with chin control for 29 years.”

Still, Heagy allowed, “The car was a little bit intimidating.”

The project is part of Heagy’s primary message as an author and motivational speaker.

“Let people know anything is possible,” he said.

iPhone has been integrated into powered wheelchair controllers offering some great new features for [...]

iPhone And Powered Wheelchairs Integrated
Ziggi
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:36:48 GMT

iPhone has been integrated into powered wheelchair controllers offering some great new features for [...]

iPhone And Powered Wheelchairs Integrated
Ziggi
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:36:48 GMT

This is kind of cool.  Its nice to see options for everyone to enjoy technology. Click here to read.

6 months, 1 week and 3 days ago I realised I was in love. It wasn’t one of those big moments that you read about in Jane Austin books, more of a general note take really. Realising what it feels like, to be, in love. Of course I’d loved things before that moment, my family, my best friends, my dog, but it’s something noticeably different when you are IN love. I don’t know whether my story has a happy ending yet, I’m only young! Life doesn’t have those neat little endings you read about. 

 I’ve come to learn about so many things this year, what it feels like to lose someone, to fall in love, to be jealous, to be bitter, to be a whore, to be a saint. Truth be told, I’m impressed with myself! I know that there are still things to learn. Things to discover about myself, about the world and probably the past but I’m ready for that.

I tell people that I want to go to university…”Really?” “Will you be okay?” “What will your mum do?” “Ooh I didn’t expect that.” Well you know what, screw them. So what if I can’t get in a few shops, or I find hanging towels up to be more of an issue than most, I’ll find ways round that. I’ll buy a towel rack, I’ll tell the shop assistants what I want from the door…I’ll go to McDonalds drive thru a lot.

Right now I just need to get away, challenge myself; detach myself from things I’ve grown glued to because I’m so used to being a bit of a loner or the odd one out amongst my friends that I NEED to be alone and just do it.

So, here’s my promise and if any of you realise I’ve broken this promise you have permission to spam this page as much as you like: I will not give up at the first hurdle. If I want something I’ll keep trying.

You can’t force people to see that there’s a way around things, but you can teach yourself that. I tried changing myself this year, I liked the new me but it wasn’t naturual, it was too premature, following this I accidently became someone else and you know what? I kind of like it, feels natural, feels cool, I wear new clothes and everything, I can now put orange, green, yellow and purple together and still feel good.

2 months ago I suffered a minor ‘heart break’. It was the biggest boost I ever got.

Ali x

The MV-1 wheelchair accessible Humvee. Read about it and see the images. The MV-1 will be available in either gasoline or dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) [...]

MV-1 Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle From Humvee
Ziggi
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:09:44 GMT

I think with this posting I’m going to set an achievement for all mankind.  Usually when someone experiences a “M” word they experience a tidal wave of different emotions.  Sadness, anger, bitterness (oh yeah, Lot’s of bitterness here) and finally acceptance.  It isn’t a normal response to have the reaction of “Oh, that gives me a great idea for a cartoon” about the whole horrible experience.  But that’s what happened to me.

If you’re wondering what the “M” word is here the link explaining it.  http://huskyanimator.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/the-m-word/

As part of last weeks “M” word Melissa and I went thought my wife has had to make several trips to the doctors office to have blood work done.  Turns out the lab can do test on the hormone levels in the blood to determine if a ”M” word really took place.  Who knew.  I always assumed blood tests were just cruel jokes my parents made me go through as a child.  Me and doctors needing to take blood never got along.  Once when I was a young lad around ten I valiantly fought off a doctor trying to stick my vein for a good two hours. 

Eric and giving blood dosn’t go together so well.  Neither does Melissa and giving blood, but she did. Several times in fact.  About three times she went in for blood work so the doctors could make sure the hormone levels were returning to normal post pregnancy levels.  If her hormone level didn’t go down that would have been worse than just a ”M” word because something would’ve been medically wrong with her.

The first and last time Melissa stared death in the eye to give a sample from her arm it went fine.  Well as fine as possible.  I’m sure she needed to be calmed down a little which is far better than I would’ve done.  I’d have cried like a bitch.   The middle blood draw didn’t go so well.  Melissa was complaining about her arm being numb all night, in her words the “fucking idiot nurse couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with that needle” and my wife’s arm did in fact look like Jason Voorhees was working the syringe.  I’ve seen boxers go twelve rounds with less swelling and bruising than Melissa had on her upper forearm.

When she told me about the “fucking idiot nurse couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with that needle” my mind raced with visions of maniac doctors and psychotic nurses bend on drawing blood for there own mad scientist experiments.  I could imagine my wife’s blood being taken from her body and being used to harvest clones of her in underground medical lab in eastern Russia.  Sweet Jesus!  Clones of Melissa!  Pray that never happens.

I need a moment to compose myself after that horrible glimpse of hundred of Melissa raining havoc.  One does enough damage.

After I laid pen to paper, paper to scanner, and Photoshop to scanned image I came up with this.  He’s demented surgeon with a replacement bionic spine after his was deformed through horrific experiments he conducted on himself.  He roams the halls of the local medical lab in wheel chair using his blue Crocs to scoot from room to room sneaking blood samples from unsuspecting patients.  The needle is the size of a drinking straw and leaves a purple bruise the size of Texas……and also leaves your wife going “What the hell did they do to my arm?  Don’t people need to go to school to get trained for taking blood?

black and white inked evil blood sample doctor

RUN! He'll find a vein in your arm.....but he'll go through your ankle to get at it

I spent the afternoon at the hospital today. My staples finally have come out, the x-ray of my hip looks good, and all other indicators point to a solid recovery. Dr. F was quite pleased with the way I’m doing at the moment (3 weeks post hip decompression surgery). I promised him that I’d make him some of my famous chewy gingersnaps when I see him in December. I find out if the surgery worked at that point (but I’m confident that it did). He mentioned that I’d be doubling over in pain had it not worked, and since that hasn’t happened, I know it worked. I feel incredibly optimistic about the outcome of my surgical experience this year.

Now all I need to wait for is my pelvic ultrasound to find out if my elongated periods are a result of fibrois. It’d be nice if they could solve every medical issue I have at once, but I guess December is just around the corner.

I got my wheelchair back on Friday and last night I finally had the opportunity to cook. I roasted radishes and yams. I know that a lot of people look at a beautiful bunch of radishes and wonder what to do with them, but roasting them takes away a bit of the bite and the strong, spicy aftertaste. Indulging in a roasted radish is alomst to biting into a flavorfully roasted potato, the only difference is that this is so much less work. A little salt, pepper, toss in a bit of extra virgin olive oil and throw the lot in the oven.

I think it’s safe to say that anyone who tries these beauties roasted will fall in love.

Roasted radish:

Pre-heat the oven to 450 F
half a bunch of radishes
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to coat the radishes

Directions:

Be careful not to over roast because doing so will result in a very horribly bitter tasting radish. Gently combine the radish, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Once all the radishes are evenly coated transfer them to a baking dish (I used a cookie sheet). Bake at 450 F for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 375 for the last 10 minutes. Allow radishes to cool in the oven, with the door slightly ajar.

This is what I call a punjabi clit. I chopped up some left over chicken from the night before and added pommegranite seeds, a bit of my special herb mixture and ta-da! I let the chicken and pommegranite get to know each other in the fridge for about an hour before continuing. I washed a lettuce leaf to act as the “skin” for my roll. I spooned in a heathy serving of the chicken and the rolled the leaf so it looked like a wrap/springroll. Try it… I think pommegranites are one of the most under rated fruits out there. They get a bad rap because they’re difficult to peal and enjoy, but seriously, look at it as opening a present on christmas morning and it’ll change the way you think about pommegranites.

Enjoy