saving elmo

Remember how I said my life had a soundtrack? I re-entered The Court this morning to the Christmassy strains of "Joyeux Noel." It matched my mood: I'm going home. Sally-the-driver picked me up this morning (The Court has a bus with a wheelchair lift and driving you to appointments is included in the price) and dropped me off at Kaiser [...]

"Excuse me," I said politely to the tiny, scowling lady walking past, "Would you mind grabbing a package of dental floss for me?" Stores don't really consider wheelchairs when they set up their displays. The floss was all the way on the top shelf, far above my reach when seated in the wheelchair. I would have stood, but the Kaiserbeast [...]

Pelican Lady scowls and mumbles, and what she's saying under her breath would make a muleskinner blush. Unhappiness bends her body, breaks it in dispirited places, leaves her mouthbreathing as she walks, frowning and rolling her eyes. I don't know why she's so angry, don't know her backstory, but it would have to be a doozy to make her THIS [...]

I waft into the ship's dining salon on the arm of a tuxedoed escort, pausing at the top of the stairs to demurely show off my gown. He leads me to my table and gratefully accepts the slight smile I give him as thanks. As I sink gracefully into my chair, attendants rush to light the cigarette at the end [...]

A small chitinous lady landed on my little balcony this morning, a 4-inch long preying mantis, wearily looking for somewhere to lay her eggs. I love mantids, love their ferocity, their intelligence, the way they eye you, daring you to just TRY something so they can trounce you.* A mantis moves through life supremely confident, supremely paranoid, without a shred [...]

Long time no write. Sorry about that. ;-) When last we left our intrepid surgical guinea pig, Cynthia-the-pincushion, she was on the eve of the final finito finale FINAL surgeries to save Elmo. Verdict: So far, so good. Thanks for reading, and good night. On Friday night, Sept. 16, 2016, I fractured my left femur just above Elmo, my replacement [...]

It's the evening before my first surgery (I hope, anyway--after the false start of a couple of weeks ago I've learned not to make assumptions). I've spent the last couple of weeks going to work (short-term disability doesn't count unless you actually HAVE the surgery, I discovered), tying up ever-growing collections of loose ends around the remodel, making sure that [...]

I was having surgery--the first of at least two operations--on The Leg this morning. Note the past tense: I WAS having surgery. It's been postponed and I'm sure that the God of Adventure is ROTFL about the whole thing. Mom and I flew down to Walnut Creek on Monday, had a delightful dinner with Nancy and Gary Goodenough (very tasty [...]

If you happen to have wheels on your butt* the difference between accessible and Accessible is pretty obvious. I should know; I've been playing the wheelchair card for more than a year. I'm getting very very good with Spiffy the wheelchair--I can pop wheelies and climb low curbs, and I spin a mean 360-in-place. Even so, every single day that I go [...]