#walkingparaplegic

day 560 : a tiny progress update.
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first, i moved. AGAIN. that’s now 5 times in 4 years, and twice post-paralysis
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second, currently not doing any physical therapy so i’m using my natural environment. not that that’s any different from any other of the last 560 days. #nevernottraining #letsfixthis
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thankfully these are the only stairs in this house!
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third, glad i made the decision to buy two packs of wool socks because my feet have only been winterfell-level cold, not beyond-the-wall cold this winter. also just proud that i crushed my #birksandsocks goal this year. couldn’t even dream of them this time last year.
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meh…a bunch of other big news circling around me. big things, regardless of good or bad, throw me for a spin and make me feel like the depression and anxiety win every day. just kind of hunkering down, feeling the feels, and waiting for the storm to pass.
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also, it wouldn’t be one of my videos if i didn’t almost fall in it. double eye roll i had just done it seamlessly!
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keep on keepin’ on y'all.
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#spinalcordinjury
#scirecovery
#incompleteparaplegic
#thecomebackisgreaterthanthesetback
#whatparalysis
#bionicbadass
#disabledandcute
#lifeaftersci
#walkingparaplegic
#mentalhealthawareness
(at Paris Mountain State Park)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsrDmx9B0Mk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1x46n45k6nrom

day 508 : be. still. my. .
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i’m usually a bit of a (ok, maybe more than a bit?). i’m pretty grinch-y during the holidays, and thanksgiving is just ughhhhvdjskxnrkdjdjd….
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but i’ve found myself feeling an unexpected wave of gratitude the last few days for the short list of things going well right now.
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i forgot my cane and parking tag galavanting through the carolinas yesterday. bless @timberland boots for allowing this paraplegic to feel confident over most terrain, especially big gravel like the kind i ate it on about a year and a half ago lol. #walkingparaplegic
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i also walked up that big hill in the background, and felt really good about it?!?!
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i’m thankful for this sunshine of a man that was a bright light at a very dark time in my life. thanks for being stubborn when i was pushing you away
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thankful for two loving parents that came to me when traveling was just too much for me this year.
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thankful for the best pup pup that could ever happen to a person with sci. or any person. lucy, i dont know what i’d do without your dragon noises and cute zoomies every day.
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also the fact that you’re an obstacle course because you refuse to move from taking up the entire hallway every time i walk by. my dog is daily physical therapy.
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in the past few weeks, something has happened to my legs. i got up from a regular height chair with no hands yesterday. also a low-ish toilet.
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and about two weeks ago, the top half of my left leg like, came back. sort of like it walked back in from vacation and was like, “what’s up?” it’s the weirdest thing ever.
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anyway, i don’t like wine, but i drank wine. and i’m getting better at drinking and walking.
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#spinalcordinjury
#scirecovery
#timberlandboots
#paraplegic
#incompleteparaplegic
#thecomebackisgreaterthanthesetback
#whatparalysis
#moveyourbody
#depression
#mentalhealthawareness
#endthestigma
#movember
#moustache
#ambulatorywheelchairusersexist

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqko4V3hkwb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ghnaej9xvicb

day 500 : in recovery - kinda sucks that this one hurts worse than leftie’s surgery.
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ethel (rightie) has been falling behind lately in that i can feel the stark difference between lucy’s (leftie’s) almost full sensation, and sometimes hypersensitivity, yet my entire r knee joint feels like it doesn’t exist in space and time, and the front of my shin is mostly numb to temperature and light touch.
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going into this surgery i figured more nerve pain and such would be involved in this one. i’m at least grateful for the nerve pain since that means things are damaged, but still firing, right?
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so currently feeling like my knee and incisions are balls of fire, and the nerve pain has been onnnnn itttttt since i woke up from anasthesia yesterday morning.
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as always, medication makes me loopy af, so not fully with it, which is cool. gives me a tiny shelter from the cloud of depression for a bit. #endthestigma #mentalhealthrecovery
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it has been 500 days of paralysis. it has not gotten any easier. but focusing as much as i can in the moment and not worrying about the past or future or planning as much has sure as hell helped me cope. remaining committed to following only what feels good has saved my mind and soul from the living nightmare that i call spinal cord injury.
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i am looking forward to both knees recovering and feeling like new again so i can continue my physical therapy and reaching my one and only goal of being able to move better, stronger, faster, more agile, and more capable than before. i’ve been pining for your #trishstrong workout @acfit_4
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nothing else will be acceptable for me.
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#500daysofparalysis
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#icansoiwill
#paralysissucks
#scirecovery
#dominoeffects
#takecareofyourdamnbody
#walkingparaplegic
#bionicbadass
#dothehardstuff
#incompleteparaplegic
#notalldisabilitiesarevisible
#disabledandcute
#coldtoes

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqNCS98BShB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rnq6r6qtdvhf

day 491 : after lots of tears and fearing for my life due to this man’s driving, i was able to unleash some sass.
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as he was getting my wheelchair out of the bus, i says, “i WOULD thank you, but honestly, this has been hands-down the most hurtful and worst interaction with another person since my injury. please don’t EVER talk to another person with a disability the way you just spoke to me.
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#micdrop
#ambulatorywheelchairusersexist
#stopsayingstupidshit
#yesiamaparaplegic
#paralysisrecovery
#spinalcordinjury
#walkingparaplegic
#sass
#advocateforyourself
#thecomeback

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp0-Wd6BSef/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14mt2ga02ogmy