Update on Me

Hi everyone.

School is going good. I got 4/4 on my quiz last Wednesday. I was excited to have the day off yesterday for MEA. I went for a role down this path close to my house. A photographer named Kate came with me. She took a lot of pictures of the beautiful changing weather, including me in some of them. It was a little chilly, but I bundled up. I will post some of the pictures when I get them.

Also yesterday, a company called Reliable came out to deliver me my new standing chair. I've been waiting for a long time. One of the things that is recommended for spinal cord injuries is to stand at least a few times a week. Getting started is the hard part. Since I haven't stood in about eight months (when I trialed the stander), my body isn't used to it. I have hypotensive episodes, where my blood pressure drops, when I change positions from laying to sitting. It's even worse when I go from sitting to standing. I have to go really slow and gradual into a standing position. The first time I went up yesterday, I got to 90° for about one minute before my blood pressure dropped and I had to go back down. The second time, I was at 90° for about six minutes. When I took my blood pressure, the machine said error. Whoops, I guess it got a little too low. But six minutes is good for not standing for a while. My goal right now is to get used to standing twice a week. In the long run, I hope to stand at least four or five times a week, up to 30 or 40 minutes.

Jenni

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."
-Buddha