November 16

It's been a little while since I've written a post, so I obviously have a lot to catch everyone up on!

We had the holiday bazaar last weekend and it was a big success. There were a lot of vendors and I made a lot of contacts/met a lot of people. The raffles and bake sale were both successful additions. I really appreciated all the effort my friend Brittany and her family put into it. I think one of the highlights of the day was actually talking to Brittany's mom. Their family owns White House Apples, a business based in Winchester (and a few other local businesses) and they want me to be the speaker at their Christmas company banquet in December! I was so flattered. I've spoken at a few different things like at church or YoungLife banquets in the past, so it's not completely new to me, but I'm still already nervous! I think it'll be easier than I think though, because I'll just be talking about the past year and what I've overcome, etc. and I know it's much easier to talk about yourself and experiences than to try to write a speak and memorize it. But I'm already starting to think about what I want to say and wanting to start writing it!

As far as school goes, it's still stressful! Last week, I created a proctorware account, so that I can take exams from home. It's basically a website that connects me with someone online that can watch me from my webcam and close out of any open documents, etc on my computer in order for me to take the exam from the comfort of my own living room. Creating the account was no big deal, but my professors had to coordinate getting the exam online, which required the professor sending it to someone in charge of the whole course, who then sent it to IT, who were the only ones able to get it uploaded to the website I needed to use. Well, I thought everything was in order and got connected with a proctor online, let them close out of everything on my computer, take a picture of me and my ID, but as soon as I read the first question, I knew something was wrong. It was the final exam instead of the midterm! I had to get the proctor to close out of the exam before I saw anything else and then wait the whole weekend before finally taking it on Monday. I was so over studying for it, so I was happy with the 86 I received. Not too bad to get a B on my first exam in over a year, especially considering the circumstances and that for the first time in my life, I'm not just "doing school." I'm doing therapy and working out and running here or there, with each day seeming somehow more chaotic than the last. Anyways, now that I know the final is already uploaded, I'm going to start studying that material so I can take it this week. Then I'd be done with that class! I think it'll feel good to just focus on one course and start crossing them off my "to do" list.

Speaking of school, I had to go to Philly this week because the parts we ordered for my wheelchair finally arrived. This included a new backrest and seat cushion. My old backrest was really tall and had "laterals" that held me in place because when I first ordered my chair, I needed all the help I could get since my core was so weak. I no longer need that much support and the height of it was really getting in my way when I was pushing myself. My old seat cushion was at least 4 inches thick, which really prevented me from being able to pull up to many surfaces, like tables in public. A thinner seat cushion would make transferring and pulling up to different surfaces way easier, not to mention how much lighter it would be! I swear the cushion I had was about ten pounds! We picked both of the new pieces up today and it is already making a world of difference. The cushion is so much more comfortable and lighter, and the back rest puts me in a much better position--what my therapists call an "anterior pelvic tilt." It makes me sit much straighter up and just pushes my hips forward instead of slouching back (which is unfortunately way more comfortable even though it's so much worse for my body!)

I got to visit with everyone at the Riverfront, including my friend Josh, who I had met when I was in inpatient, then got to continue therapy with at outpatient. We've been in contact on and off over the past year, because he's actually the one that convinced me to do the surf event back in August. He had participated when Life Rolls On was in New Jersey and told me I needed to go to Virginia Beach because it was such an amazing experience. (Josh is in his early 30s and has a cervical injury from jumping off a cliff into water at a bachelor party last July, leaving him quadriplegic). He's doing so great though! He looks so much stronger and healthier than the last time I saw him and I really enjoyed catching up with him. I'm also really trying to convince him to look at KKI and at least do the two week boot camp because I think he'd benefit so much from it. I also went to the inpatient site so I could see Steph, Natalie and Tracy (all my therapists from when I was in the hospital). I feel like I just couldn't make a trip all the way to Philly and not see them! I had to catch them up on my progress and share some videos, which they love to see and be kept in the loop on, especially considering how far I've come since I first started working with them. We joked today with Natalie about how I'm going to have to include some experiences I had with her in my speech next month, like how I remember her making me go to the group dinning room for breakfast so that I could feed myself...I was the first one there and the last one to leave (and I was still starving after the two hours we spent there). That was back when feeding myself was the "hardest thing I've ever done." If that's not motivating, then I don't know what is.

I also went by the eye clinic yesterday because I had to see Molly. She was in Georgia for her first rotation, then Florida for her second, and I think it's been six months (or more) since I've seen my best friend! It was a short visit because clinic was really busy, but I got to say a quick hi to her, some of my other classmates, and a few of my professors. It's so bittersweet being back in places like that. I know if I were there every day, working long hours and dealing with cranky patients, I'd have things to complain about like all my friends are doing now, but it puts things into perspective...You can complain about anything, but what you're complaining about might be what someone else would give anything to have. Mom and I left clinic and got to meet Rachel for dinner, which was also such a good reunion. I loved being able to hear about her different rotations and wedding planning (her wedding is over my birthday weekend next year!) I'm planning to stop by campus to meet with the professor in charge of the Office of Academic Success tomorrow morning (it's like the disabilities office at school). Nothing is really wrong, but I just want to touch base with him and kind of keep that contact...You know, just keep remind everyone I'm still here so they don't forget me just because I'm all the way in Virginia.

Lastly, for the past four weeks, I've been going to Shenandoah every Monday to be a patient for their PT lab. It's only an hour long, but we get so much accomplished. I work with three students (who are seriously the sweetest girls ever, when I was telling Molly about the labs, I told her that "they're the type of girls we would've been friends with." haha) Each girl was supposed to pick a specific goal for me and we spend the hour doing different treatments and exercises to try to eventually reach that goal by our last week. The different goals are: being able to do a bridge (which requires a lot of core and glue strength), scooting (so that I can eventually bump up and down stairs on my butt), and transferring uneven surfaces (which ties in with the last goal, but would also help with things like going from the ground to getting back up in my chair). I realize none of these things are going to actually be completed 100% during the time we're together, but things are getting better weekly! They even told me this week that they get so excited to work with me each Monday because they're eager to see what has changed since the last time they saw me. It's crazy to think about someone noticing improvement on a weekly basis. The professor actually told my mom that she's happy the students are working with a patient like me, because you don't get to see many neuro patients like that..not many make improvements that quickly and as a therapist, it's so exciting, so she's really thankful the students get to experience it while in school. I think it's one of those things that just makes you love your job more...like if I were working with a patient and doing vision therapy and then they no longer had double vision, or the simple gratitude a patient expresses after getting their first pair of glasses. Anything that shows you that you were successful and made a difference in your patient's daily routine.

I have gradually improved from the ground onto a two inch mat, then four, then five, and this week, I went from the ground up onto a mat SIX inches high! As if that wasn't enough improvement, I also got onto my stomach and into quadraped (on all fours, like what Natalie and Steph used to make me to..and I HATED) ALL BY MYSELF. That's right, I was laying on my stomach and pushed myself up onto my hands and knees without anyone helping me. That's the video I had to show everyone at Magee today...and they were so impressed! I think I needed to see the video myself, to be assured that no one was actually touching me.

So...it's been a crazy couple weeks, but lot of good updates and improvements!

November 2

I got a crazy phone call a few weeks ago. A friend from freshman year of college at Bridgewater called me out of the blue. I'm ashamed to say that although we were extremely close freshman year, we completely lost touch after she transferred. I hate when that happens. Saying that you'll keep up with people is so much easier than actually doing it and I'm afraid I've experienced more and more of that in this past year as I've worked on my recovery and my friends have moved on with their schooling, work, families, and life in general. But anyways, Kat called me because she's been following my story and progress since I first got sick. She told me about how in 2013, she fell off her horse and suffered a spinal cord injury. She has since made a full recovery, but started a business with horse and human products called "Benefab" products by SoreNoMore. The technology in their products helped her a lot in her own recovery and who would have thought that almost seven years later, we would be reunited because we have both been introduced to the spinal cord injury community? You can learn more about her story and her products here:

http://www.benefabproducts.com/the-benefab-story/

She had read in my blog about the equipment I needed for therapy in order to stay at home and continue with my courses for school. She knew that I was working on several fundraisers and thought that she could be of some help. Since her personal experience, she has donated a portion of her profits to SCI rehabilitation, but decided that she wanted to try something a little bit different. She wanted to get more personal and share an individual's SCI story for a period of time, starting with me. So, I'm lucky enough to announce that this Holiday Season, she is donating 10% of online sales at both websites completely to me: www.benefabproducts.com and www.stoptheache.com 

There's a really nice write up about me on their blog and I'm just so thankful that she reached out to me, both because we've been able to reconnect and because she's already been such a big help. So, if you get a chance, look at the websites and products. I have one of the blankets and I absolutely love it.

http://www.benefabproducts.com/kellys-journey-our-small-business-her-outcome/