Slow motion

The first week on the job with the Mountaineers is complete and it has been an eye-opener. This may seem commonsensical but most everything takes longer to accomplish when you're sporting four casts and in a wheelchair. Not everything mind you; ironically, I motor along faster than most people walk so getting back and forth to bus stops happens in the blink of an eye.

Just about everything else requires strategy. From getting out of bed (and into the wheelchair) to getting out of the door, every step requires careful & methodical pre-planning. Sponging down (forget showering, and bathing is just a dream)? Brushing teeth and flossing? Shaving? Getting dressed? Preparing a lunch? We're talking two hours just to get to the breakfast table!

What you try to avoid above all else is dropping things. Picking things up after you drop them is a huge time sink. You use a long grabber device to pick things up and some things can be really slippery (like your cell phone) or very difficult to capture (like a credit card). The worst thing to drop of course is the grabber itself!  You're not totally SOL when this happens but retrieving it takes another big chunk of time, . . . You have to situate the wheelchair just so and then fully recline so you can barely reach down to retrieve the grabber. Oi!

At work you can no longer take for granted the simple things like preparing a cup of coffee or grabbing a snack out of the refrigerator. It's all about methodical process and careful planning to avoid catastrophes like dropping your coffee cup from a couple of feet off the ground or knocking over an open container of milk. Maneuvering around an office can be challenging as well. There are file cabinets and rolling chairs where you might not expect them so quite often you take detours to get to your planned destination.  It's all good, it just takes time.

Once home, just about every minute is spoken for in getting ready for the next day and preparing for bed.  All in all I have yet to arrive at work when I want to or get to bed on time.  I am getting better each day but man has this been a learning process.