stories

People, places, and and the uncommonplace telling stories as they travel with Morganica (Cynthia Morgan) in mind and memory; neighbors, friends, and findings

5 06, 2017

Driving Miz Cynthia, Part Two

2020-10-06T12:04:02-07:00

Eric the Wheelchair Guy wears a permanent grin and stands tall. The standing tall part is important, because his clients mostly don't stand at all. On Friday night, Sept. 16, 2016, I fractured my left femur just above Elmo, my replacement knee. I lived in a wheelchair, facing hip-high amputation of my left leg, for about two years while I [...]

Driving Miz Cynthia, Part Two2020-10-06T12:04:02-07:00
1 06, 2017

Drivin’ Miz Cynthia

2020-10-06T12:29:59-07:00

Driving is easy. Driving with wheelchair is not. Wheelchairs are wonderful beasts, enabling you to get from Point A to Point B without asking to be carried. "Whoever said 'confined to a wheelchair' was an idiot," says a paraplegic friend scornfully, "My wheelchair is my legs, only round. It doesn't confine me; it frees me." Of course, he has the OTHER [...]

Drivin’ Miz Cynthia2020-10-06T12:29:59-07:00
29 05, 2017

Home-ward bound

2020-10-06T14:18:22-07:00

I'm going home. Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't so much as driven onto my street for more than eight months. Since I couldn't go inside the house--it's not exactly compatible with a woman who balances the world on one leg and lives in a wheelchair--there wasn't much point. The Elmo stories (of Elmo, my replacement knee and then [...]

Home-ward bound2020-10-06T14:18:22-07:00
17 05, 2017

Toothmarks in the fruitbowl

2020-05-05T12:56:23-07:00

Found large, rodent-shaped toothmarks on apples in the fruit bowl on Mom's kitchen counter, with a trail of knocked-over orchids, the paper towel holder, a few glasses... I'd seen a squirrel at the kitchen windows the day before, leaping at the screens in a desperate bid to get in, and occasionally some odd scuffling noises on the roof. Absent any evidence of [...]

Toothmarks in the fruitbowl2020-05-05T12:56:23-07:00
1 05, 2017

Buy me, Mr. Shane

2020-05-05T12:56:33-07:00

The Andrews Sisters didn't sing about hookers, and the songs from Hair really aren't about hair, shattering some of my longest-held perceptions. Backstory: I'm not your typical music lover; I pay no attention to the identity of the groups doing the music I love, and I don't usually listen much to the lyrics. I typically hear just enough of what's [...]

Buy me, Mr. Shane2020-05-05T12:56:33-07:00
3 04, 2017

Room 15: Paying it forward

2020-10-06T15:56:30-07:00

"Does THIS look better to you?!" she raged, pointing to her leg, "It's supposed to be ELEVATED. Does this look elevated?" I smiled weakly, made a note: The lady in room 15 is not up for small talk. On Friday night, Sept. 16, 2016, I fractured my left femur just above Elmo, my replacement knee. I lived in a wheelchair, [...]

Room 15: Paying it forward2020-10-06T15:56:30-07:00
1 04, 2017

Whippersnapper

2020-10-06T16:28:11-07:00

"What did you do in life?" he asks cheerfully, interestedly, and I nearly punch his lights out. "The last time I checked," I say, dryly, "I was still doing it." He's about 18, just entered college, determined to be a doctor some day. He's got a way to go on the bedside manner, but he means well. He'd crept into my [...]

Whippersnapper2020-10-06T16:28:11-07:00
30 03, 2017

The problem of Gina: What do you do when there’s nothing you can do?

2017-07-03T14:24:04-07:00

Gina* is a problem. Her suffering cries drive you to her side, anxious to save an aging damsel in distress. "Help me, please. The pain is so bad. It HURTS! Please, can't you give me something for the pain?  HELP! Is anyone listening?" Newbies at The Fortress immediately blame the caregivers, "Where the HELL are they? Why aren't they helping this lady?" And that's the problem: [...]

The problem of Gina: What do you do when there’s nothing you can do?2017-07-03T14:24:04-07:00
25 03, 2017

The Fortress

2017-07-03T14:24:06-07:00

"Well, hello there!" she beamed, "What are YOU doing back here?" I'm back at The Fortress, the rehab center where I spent the first six weeks or so of the fight to save Elmo. To be honest, I didn't expect to see this place again, but at the moment it's a welcome respite. And I gotta admit, it's a bit [...]

The Fortress2017-07-03T14:24:06-07:00
10 03, 2017

On the bone again…

2020-10-06T16:30:14-07:00

Oh....the footbone's connected to the anklebone The anklebone's connected to the shinbone The shinbone's connected to the Elmobone Now hear the word on The Void... After months of zoning out at the Deadbeat Cafe, The Leg has finally decided to go back to work. IOW, it's started to grow bone to fill in the walnut-sized void in my lower (distal) femur. [...]

On the bone again…2020-10-06T16:30:14-07:00
Copyright © 2024 Cynthia Morgan | All Rights Reserved
No part of this website may be copied, borrowed, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the author (me).

Or, to put it in plain English, folks: Ask first. This blog is first and foremost a personal journal, a chronicle of my work with a fairly difficult technical medium. I'm happy (thrilled, even) to share what I know, and I'll help you with your own journey all I can... as long as you respect my groundrules.

I don't sell ads, products or services, and unless disclosed I buy all products/services mentioned in this blog, with my own money. I don't claim to have invented processes, tools, new artforms, or techniques (unless I specifically say so). HOWEVER, my writing and art (and any errors of fact or fiction) are my very own, original work. Don't blame anyone but me if I get it wrong.
Go to Top