saftey

I thought of a new topic today while I was at the mountain. I fell on that fateful day in September doing something not out of the ordinary. I have climbed a ladder lots of times before, as most of us have. The hand saw I had, I had used before numerous times again as most of us have. Being realistic, probably the problem came with putting all of these things together...... Well stuff happens to us all. The part that is cool, is the number of people that I have talked to since that say that they have done the same thing. I couple of guys that I have talked to say that they have either cut the limb differently, ie. tied themselves to the tree or used more caution since hearing about myself. I talked to a guy today that said he thinks about it every time a limb he is cutting falls past him while he is up in a boom cutting it. I obviously didn't get hurt to make guys think, but if something good comes out of it for somebody super. I am not unrealistic to think that I am not going to do something unsafe again but now I will give it a second thought and maybe a third.

activities

While I am not working I have had the opportunity, I guess you can call it that, to be involved with some other activities. A couple of days ago, I went to work with Carole again to follow the rules and not be alone? It was nice to see the people that she works with and who have been concerned about my progress. It was also good to know that I was able to help out and be productive. I alphabetised 400 passes that were already separated into piles by different schools. It was not difficult, but was time consuming and helpful....I told one of the other workers that now if they are not right they have a good reason why, me. For the last two days, I have worked with my older sons at their job. It has been good for several reasons. Number 1 is spending time with my kids, 2nd is balance...walking in a muddy corn field, 3rd strength...carefully picking a few things up off the ground and lastly endurance, we spent the whole day outside doing stuff. I wasn't dead on my feet afterward, I followed the rules and I didn't hit my head....LOL. I was ready for supper though.

progress

I've talked about positive progress before and I will again today. The therapy at the C.R.M.H. is slowly working, even though there are days when I don't believe it. The balance is improving, I have an exercise ball that I just got and the regular walks have let me work on the exercises at home too. I can stand on one foot a lot longer this week then last week. They have also been having me use their treadmill at increasing speed every time I go there. It is hard to believe how much your body gets off......when you don't use it for a period of time. Make that a note to self.... The other thing that's noticeable is the right hand wrist movement. When you compare the two, the right one now bends in almost the same as the left. It's still painful to bend the right wrist out too far, but I push it everyday and I got almost 15 degrees over last week. Believe it or not, doing keyboarding gives both wrists strength and endurance when supported correctly. I don't know what tomarrow will bring,but I will continue to work on the challenges.....

lights

Its been a busy weekend. The most important thing is that we got the house dolled up for Christmas. Carole had tried the Christmas lights in the house and they had all worked, when we put them up, under the clips, only half worked. What a bummer! We went to Walmart and picked some more lights, what a selection.....The rules are still in place, so Carole stood on the stepladder and I held it and got stuff. My elder son also did some of the clip work, but they all worked when we were done, what a relief...The lights are a led string so you can't replace just one light, but they would be happy if you bought more.
I've heard about a sales proposal that's in the works along with the details. I have tried to stay out of it, just offer up my two cents. It's quite involved with several different parties having some input or influence. I have confidence in my associates to do the right thing and work it out, no matter what the out come. I have discussed with the therapists that there is a huge amount of paperwork if the patient gets hurt, no mater how small and we kid about it. I will be back to help them, if I can, at the right time and place.

swelling

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We spent some time with my brother and his family and our older children spent some time with their significant others, and other relatives. There is always things to be thankful for, but this time around it seems like the things are really important.
Today, Carole went to work and Nick and I hung out together. It seemed like a good time to do some housework. Obviously, dishes, clothes and floor sweeping doesn't just happen. After some exercises, I did some stuff around the house to pick up. I'm trying to be helpful and everyday I am able to do more stuff at home. The other day, the therapist did a grip test on my hands. The left hand had a normal grip of around 110, but the right hand grip was around a 40, but we are working on it. I learned an interesting thing about swelling this week. Back on the 5th of November one of the therapist measured my head, looking in the mirror I didn't think it was enlarged at all. Well, she had a measurement of 57.5 cm., this week we tried it again. Surprisingly enough, in 10 days my head size around above my ears went down by 4 cm. I wish I had something to compare to from the hospital, but maybe I don't want to know. Have a great day.....

Carole

I an going to get a little sentemential today. It's my blog and I can write anything I want, so give me a couple of minutes. Today is my wife's birthday and yesterday was our anniversary, not a bad plan I know. The point today, is when you get a spouse or significant other you should probably think about who is going to stand or sit beside you when your injured. She has been there everyday... throughout my situation. Early on, I have been told, the news was not good, but she kept coming back. For over a week, she and others came and watched me do nothing, I was in a coma. Carole watched and talked to the experts, as fortunately I improved, and she learned about what was going on and what to expect. I know there has been days when my attitude has not been great, but still she has encouraged me. She has been wonderful, more than I could expect from any person and I appreciate that. You never know what life is going to throw at you, but it's great to have some to go through it with. Happy Birthday Carole and thanks so much..........

pie lady

You have new experiences, but it's good to soak them up. Carole went to work again today and I went to help out our neighbor. She makes pies after she milks their cows, while her husband works off the farm. Laurie is great, she and Carole talk almost everyday and coincidental her husband was the first passerby to stop and help out at my accident. She sells these pies at stores around the neighborhood, plus she takes orders right at her house. Today, just before Thanksgiving, she had to deliver 50 pies to a video store in Tully that is taking orders. I think, tomorrow she had to deliver 40 to another place and so on. I know you are asking, what can Bruce do to help? I peeled apples...a lot of them. She has one of those peelers that you crank and it also cores them too, so it wasn't bad at all.. I'm staying with her and peeling, I don't know, probably 40+ apples, so she is helping me out and I am doing something. Laurie had most of the pies made for today, but we were working on tomorrows orders. A little later, we had to deliver them too. She doesn't need one of those scented candles that smell like fresh baked pies, her house smells like that all the time. So on Thanksgiving, when you are enjoying that slice you can think of an Internet blog.....