A Look Back at 2010

I have summarized my experiences in 2010.

In January, I reached 20,000 visitors; I had trouble sleeping and changed sleep medication; I started a Psychology of Religion class at Normandale for spring semester; I was unable to drive my wheelchair because my tongue touches ran out of battery; at the end of January, after several weeks of not being able to use my wheelchair, my tongue touches arrived in the mail; I struggled with my lack of control over things and independence.

In February, I finished reading The shack by William Paul Young; I had some trouble with my headset for my computer and was unable to use my speech recognition software for a couple of days; I went on an outing to Mystic Lake Casino; I was struggling to find ideas for blog posts.

In March, I had nurses come and go; I discovered new movement in my left thumb; I talked about the difficulty of training and new nurses; I did a post on overcoming challenges; we had some unusual weather in Minnesota; I spoke out about friendships and how I was feeling about them at the time.

In April, I had more trouble with sleeplessness; we celebrated Easter with lots of family; I shared a picture of my handicap accessible van and talked about transportation; I was enjoying my Psychology of Religion class at Normandale and I went to a college success day; I went out to lunch to Benihana with my sister, Kristen; I attended my friend Karly's CD release party; I talked about my blood pressure while standing and how the cats helped distract me.

In May, I took a week off from blogging to study and then I took my final for my class; I attended the fourth annual Spinal Cord Injury Research Symposium; I signed up for Skype and a summer class; I did a post on signs and phrases; my sister's room flooded and part of mine when the sprinklers were turned on.

In June, I started Mass Communications online through Normandale; I went to Gillette and looked into different environmental control devices and used my newfound movement in my thumb; my power wheelchair died on me; I learned that the company for my Tongue Touch Keypad went out of business; I was struggling with independence and the lack of a comfortable chair; I was having difficulties in my class because it was hard and required a lot of time.

In July, I talked more about the difficulties of my class; we got new hard flooring after the flood because the carpets were ruined; I completed my Mass Communications class and received an A; my cat, Ty, died; they brought out a loaner power wheelchair with sip and puff capabilities for me to trial.

In August, my lack of independence was getting to me; my wheelchair was the topic of my life; I had another wheelchair trial; I started my online Environmental Biology class.

In September, I wrote about what I see in my dreams; I gave a few updates on my wheelchair, which hadn't come yet.

In October, my sister left for California to be in AmeriCorps for 10 months; I talked about regulating my body temperature and my braces; I went to Wirth Park to do a community study for my class; I had my 24th birthday; I became a volunteer at Gillette.

In November, it was my eighth year anniversary of my accident; I talked about standing and how it was going for me; I finally received my brand-new power wheelchair with a sip and puff control; I posted pictures of my new wheelchair; we had to put my other cat, Toby, to sleep (this I didn't mention on my blog because I really struggled with it); I enjoyed Thanksgiving; I said which classes I'm going to take for spring semester 2011.

In December, I reached 40,000 visitors; I expressed my feelings of being stuck in one mind state and needing to break my routines; I talked about spasticity and muscle spasms; I had my wisdom teeth pulled; I had a couple of annual doctor visits; I had a great Christmas with my family and a happy new year.

For the year 2011, I'm planning on no wheelchair breaks, plenty of sleep, and good health.

Jenni