1. New Years was spent at FedEx field (unfortunately watching the Redskins lose and end both their season and chance at the playoffs). We were treated like VIPs because of that awful experience at the last game. I received field passes and in order to get onto the field in a wheelchair, you have to take a private elevator (with an escort!!), through the tunnels, past the locker rooms, and onto the field via the tunnel the team enters before the game starts. It was incredible! We were so close to so many of our favorite players! Besides the loss, it was a great way to kick off 2017.
2. I had a wheelchair appointment last week...again. KKI just started working with the vendor I originally got my chair from. They decided to make one last effort to fix the problems I've had with the chair, that way if it's still not perfect, we can at least say everything was tried. They moved the axel forward, so pushing is a lot easier. They also ordered a new seat cover because the one I have is a little too big and catches on the screws, which is starting to cause a little wear and tear and possibly a few holes. They added new front casters (wheels) because the ones I have had something wrong with them...that's a problem I wasn't even aware of, haha. I think the changes they want to make will definitely help, but I don't think it'll resolve the main problem--how big and bulky the chair is. It weighs way more than it should and it's really difficult to break down and load into a car on my own. I guess we'll see how much better it is once the new pieces come in, but I doubt we'll be completely happy with all of it.
3. I had an appointment with "ReWalk" at University of Maryland Baltimore last week. It's the personal exoskeleton I talked about after I went to the expo. The did an evaluation and good news- I'm a candidate and the equipment would fit me! I'm not available during the day that the reps come in, so they're going to try to set up a private date for me to talk to the rep, discuss insurance and finances, and to try out the ReWalk on my own!
4. I met a chiropractor for the first time. Awhile back, I mentioned the chiropractor from Front Royal that was actually one of the fourteen chiropractors in the US to go to Rio with the paralympic team. It was just an initial appointment, so it was mostly information gathering, but I absolutely loved him. He's excited about my case and working with my doctors at KKI in order to coordinate treatment. He seemed really smart and I think I'll learn a lot form him, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do. And the best part? He knows some of the paralympians and says if he gets any of them to come to town, he'll invite me over to meet them!! One in particular is Lex Gillette, a blind track paralympian. I love following him on social media because his motto and saying is "who needs sight when you have a vision."
5. I haven't taken my DMV test yet, but I've been reviewing the information. At this point, it's really just another thing on my to do list that is stressing me out. I'm going to be in Baltimore at least until the weekend and unable to go to the Virginia DMV, so I just feel like it's another thing hanging over my head.
6. Speaking of stressing out, I still have two final exams to take. It's been so much back and forth with school, jumping from one person to another, etc. and I really just want to get it over with. I'm waiting to hear back from a few different people since I sent out some emails this evening, but I was hoping to get both courses completed by next weekend.
Because I know how busy the upcoming weeks are going to be and since I'll be in therapy all day long followed by hours of studying, I think I'm going to let mom type up a few updates to keep every informed on how returning to Kennedy Krieger is going. When I first created my blog, the intent was to let both mom and Dusty write updates because I thought it'd be nice to have a couple different perspectives on this journey, but so far, it has been just me (and I've really been slacking lately!) So stay tuned...
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