Still Here, Still Healing & Still Learning
Sorry it's been so long folks. I've been doing a LOT of physical therapy (2-4 hrs per day,) plus working out on my own so that I won't lose any more muscle tone and strength in my abs and legs.The good news is, it's working. Granted, it's working VERY slowly, and I won't be 100% till Christmas, but I can do more now with my hand and have 95% range of motion in my neck. Hopefully, now that I can sit up for more than a few minutes at a stretch and am not so drugged that I can't understand half of what I'm reading, I'll be able to catch up on all of your blogs soon. I have missed them a lot.
I did something the other day that *really* gave me some perspective on this whole incident. I'm human, and tend to fall into those "poor pitiful me" moods sometimes, so hoping to get that to end for good, I visited Fisher House and the VA hospital here. We get a lot of overload from Walter Reed and since I used to volunteer there, I thought a visit might do me some good. Well, I don't need to tell you that meeting a 19yr old double amputee will make you more than grateful, but what was amazing was to watch this kid try (and succeed) to cheer me up! I've said it before but this country is more blessed than it knows to have such fine men and women defending her. Once the doctors clear both of us to run. (We can both only walk a minimum of 5 miles a day now,) we made a "date" to start working out together. I'm telling you folks, there is no creature on earth like the American Soldier and I for one am honored to have met this one. (Who will probably run circles around me!) I know that no matter how frustrated I get, I will NEVER feel sorry for myself again. That's a lesson worth a few broken vertebrae in my book.
May you all be safe, happy and well.
Angel Out
posted by Fallen' Angel at 05:47
13 Comments:
Good to see you able to blog a little Angel, and what a great inspirational one you have today, thanks for sharing it! Our soldiers are awesome!
I hope your recovery continues its upward path in a hurry!
he just grins. welcome back, little one.
Yes, Beth they are and so are those of us smart enough to honor them...folks like you. :)
Ya' know Griper, I missed that grin nearly as much as the wisdom you impart with it. ;)
awwwwwww shucks and here i thought my grin was what attracted you to me. lol
guess i will just have to make do with my foolish words.
btw, who is that lovely looking angel sitting on the floor? anybody i know?
Lets see...are you referring the the black and white pic I use as the avatar on my blog or the unhappy looking gal with the cast on her hand before she thought that was the most inconvient thing that could happen to her in the post prior to surgery? (LOL!)
Either way, Griper, both of those are me...granted one is about a decade older than the other. ;)
was referring to the one with a wisp of a smile on her lips as if she had found a jihadist to use that cast on and did or found that muslim father from up Dallas way and put him out of his misery painfully. lol
You are able to type a lot, this is good news!
Welcome back Angel! Glad your spirits are on the mend as well as the body. I bet the people at the VA Hospital were glad to have a visitor. Wish I had one closer by. My dad spent his last days in one and every time I visited him, I visited them all. It gave me as much joy as it did them.
Joe
Griper, that sorry excuse for a Father in Dallas would need a full body cast if I had my way.
And I confess that you know me far too well. Everytime I do my 5 mile walk in the morning, I pass a Mosque and then spend the rest of the stroll planning where my snipers would go.
Twisted? Maybe. But my 1SG was impressesd with my choices so I guess where some girls use make up and parfume to impress thier guy, I plan night assaults and ambushes. LOL!
Thanks for noticing, Beth. It helps cofirm that what I think is improvement isn't just wishful thinking. Since the left is at 100%, I can type normally with it and use my index finger on the right. It's slow going as far as typing speed, but I'm just grateful to be able to do it at all.
Thanks for the welcoming wishes, Joe. It *is* good to be back even if I have to take read and post in small increments.
You're right about the VA Hospital giving you so much more than you bring to it. The big change for me was the average age of the Vets. When I volunteered years ago they were mostly in WWII, Korea or Vietnam era Soldiers. Now a good 45-50% are from OEF or OIF. Young kids playing the most dangerous of adult games. And to think...ALL of them volunteered and many have re-enlisted more than once. Those are the ones who amaze me. They re-enlist after having multiple tours already and each is fully aware of what they're getting into.
On a sadder note, the famous Heart Surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey who was one of the founders of the VA Center passed away yesterday. He loved Vets and was one himself, leaving a promising career at Tulane to help design and develop MASH units in WWII. He would have been 100 yrs old on September 8th of this year.
I guess if he just died yesterday, he did well for himself. Don't know if I'd want to live that long. Guess it depends on whether the health holds out.
Joe
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