Living with Cerebral Palsy

Okay. Two very important things are coming to me in February. If you don’t have cerebral palsy or haven’t talked to me in the last few months, you may not appreciate it as much as me. But, it is a BIG DEAL!

First of all, my new set of ‘pinchy sticks’ are on order! Yeah! My lifeline to independence! Thankfully, my mom uses them on occasion, and had a pair she could loan me for a few days, or I would really be in a pickle. But, still, there is nothing like having your own. Plus these are 4 feet long. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I can reach the top dishes in my cupboards. Believe me! I am going to try!

Next, I have new wheels coming! They will be here on the 25th! Those of you that must use Medicaid or Medicare for your medical expenses know this is a big deal. It practically takes an act of Congress to get new equipment!

Seriousy, my BUTT will be so happy. My current chair is 7 years old and the original cushion gave up the ghost a year or two ago. People at church were even offering to help me buy a new one, it looked so bad! I gave up transferring into the pew-to give my butt and legs some relief, because I didn’t want people to feel bad for me.

I tried to get a new cushion at least, without jumping through all the hoops. But, $400 is a lot of money. So, I bought a cheap substitute. It looks good, but my butt knows the difference! Then, I think some of the gel packs inside must have popped or something. My cushion has some very hard spots.

But, in two weeks-Merry Christmas to me! I will have a decent cushion, brakes that actually work, foot pedals that have a toe guard to keep my spastic legs from bouncing around-something new for me, and streamlined arm rests that will swing away, so they won’t get in my way, when I don’t need them.

Of course, the picture is not exactly ‘my chair’. But, it will be purple-my favorite color. I am so excited! I have lost some weight, and I can tell you that my butt complains every day. I am so looking forward to trying it out! Even though I normally do not enjoy the experience-shopping anyone?

Your turn. Tell me about the tools and equipment that make living with cerebral palsy a little easier. What would be your Christmas in February?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 1:02 pm and is filed under living with Cerebral Palsy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.