December 28

I can't get over how nice it is to be home! My family and friends of ours spent the whole afternoon at a vineyard yesterday (of course we had to go to one within the first week I was home! I even made sure to discontinue a few meds before leaving Magee to ensure I could have wine, haha). It was so beautiful outside and sitting on a porch with wine, food and good company is one of my favorite things to do. 

My dad, brother and dusty weren't home this morning, so it was just mom getting me out of bed (a bit of a challenge because the bed is up higher and it was just the two of us). But we did so well! Steph showed up just in time to serve as a second person to make sure I got a shower. I'm sleeping in my parent's master bedroom since it's easiest to get in that doorway in my chair, but it doesn't fit into any of the bathrooms either. The best way to get into the bathroom is by getting on a rolling desk chair and using our hall bathroom. It obviously takes two people since the chair is on wheels and I was so thankful Steph could be there because I feel so disgusting in the mornings from the night sweats (another great component of spinal cord injuries). 

My friend, Shannon, drove from Roanoke to spend the day with me. We didn't really do much, but it was great to relax and catch up. She's the friend whose wedding I was in via FaceTime while at Magee. She brought her wedding photos and it was so funny to see everyone holding up the phone with my face on the screen. My mom swears that Shannon's wedding was a major turning point in my recovery...it was then that I started really taking care of myself more on my own; doing my hair, wearing makeup, and really just looking/feeling more like myself. For that I'll always be thankful..it broke my heart not to be physically standing beside her on her wedding day and I still can't believe how included I felt from so many miles away. Today, Shannon came with lots of goodies- the wedding favors (cute mason jars and homemade soaps), my monogrammed robe from being in the bridal party, and the most thoughtful shadow box. She dried out the bouquet I would've carried and printed out several pictures of me being included in her special day. I was so touched. I can't wait to visit her after much more therapy and go out together- me in my bridesmaid dress and her in her wedding dress.

Steph, Shannon and I had a great day- just like in our D10 apartment at Bridgewater College. 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I'm going to my gym for the first time in forever and going to try out the therapy pool! They have a chair and ramp I can use and I've read a lot about how good it is for range of motion and detecting muscle movement in an anti gravity environment (plus it's warm water and I'm going to LOVE it!!) Wish me luck!