Anyways, I've been doing really well for about a week now!
I've managed to do so much more than expected and I'm feeling much more energized than my normal, something I'm both very happy about, and at the same time slightly confused about- like what the hell has happened?
I was planning to rest up a lot last week due to having a busy second half of the week, but instead of resting I ended up going to town, doing laundry, driving more than usual despite my legs no longer agreeing with the accelerator well. I went to a concert on Thursday, on Friday I went into town AGAIN and that was after attending the local expo which was NOT accessible at all as it was held on an indoor football field with artificial grass and my municipality didn't want to spend about 10000USD on making the venue accessible for all by putting wooden boards on the "grass" so I had to wheel around on artificial grass with 4 inches of rubber pellets under it, it was far worse to get around on than real grass or gravel! And yesterday I attended my "coffee date" with my fellow nearby EDSers, at a venue out of town, I drove both there and back home, a round trip of about 100 miles! All in all, I have driven 200 miles or so in one week, that's close to 150 miles more than I've been driving in an average month since about August last year!
Am I feeling it? Oh yes I am! I feel like I've been hit by several trains! I'm in a crapload of pain from overdoing it all week, but at the same time, I like to take full advantage of "good periods" like this where I actually have the utensils or energy to do more than usual, even with knowing I'll pay dearly for it later- I wouldn't be at all surprised if most of May will be spent in bed.
I have to admit, I am pretty bummed about the local expo not putting the wooden boards onto the artificial grass as it's supposed to be an expo for all locals to feel welcome to. Now we aren't a whole lot of wheelchair users in my town, and even fewer who are independent wheelchair users like myself, but even the walking visitors found the surface difficult to get around on. For me and others in wheelchairs it was close to impossible and I did actually have to ask mum to help me a bit too, especially since my right shoulder was (and still is) wonky from the laundry room door on Tuesday.
I understand the cost is an issue when it comes to putting wooden boards on a full sized football (soccer) field, but at the same time, us living with a disability should also be able to go to such a venue and without the surface being accessible, it's actually a case of discrimination and I could if wanting to be a bitch, file a formal complaint about it because it wasn't accessible when it was a public event meant for everyone.
Even with mum helping to push me some, and me "bunny hopping" most of the time (so grateful I'm good at wheelies and balancing!) it was very hard work to get around, both mum and I were sweaty when we left the expo. Obviously I'm battling arm pain and tiredness from that too now, along with the chronic pain and the shoulder injury from Tuesday.
At least my dear patch is keeping my pain at a manageable level without having to take any extra painkillers. I could do with more painkillers now, but I'm managing without, so I don't take any extra. I don't like taking anything, so the less I'm on, the happier I am really. I'd ditch the patch too if I had any quality of life without it, but without it, the pain is just too much to handle so I can't function at all, and I have high pain tolerance, can literally break a bone and barely flinch, so go figure.
The weekend has been absolutely stunning with summer temperatures, so I've been enjoying the weather as much as possible, having some ice cream in the sun or BBQ dinner outside and such.
Yesterday while at the EDS "coffee date" with my friends, I saw trees sprouting that aren't supposed to turn green until mid to late May, so we are indeed far ahead of time here at the moment!
There was also a big sporting event at the park where I met my friends yesterday, so I'm so grateful that I have my handicap parking permit! When me and my parents arrived the place, there was only ONE empty parking space left in the entire parking lot, and it was a handicap spot and I'm allowed to use it, so I did! Had there been other spaces available, I would have used a regular spot and just used my parking permit anyways as it also gives the holder of the permit free parking on all the city owned parking lots, regardless if you park on a handicap spot or not. But yeah, having the handicap parking permit is really really awesome! Especially when you face a situation like yesterday with unusually many cars in the same area, or visit a big mall or something with big parking lots. It would have been pretty devastating for me to have to park further away from the cafe I was going to, any extra distance can take a toll on me, and seeing how my parents were going to a venue across the street from that cafe, it would have been highly inconvenient if they had been forced to drop me off and then drive somewhere else to park the car.
I do however try to avoid occupying the handicap parking spots if possible, knowing someone may come with a van or having a wheelchair robot in the trunk that really requires the extra space of a handicap spot. But I am allowed to park in the handicap spots, and I do when I come to a place where it is the most convenient for me to do so. On Friday though in town, I used a regular spot as I found one near the entrance to the mall I went to, and all the handicap spots were already taken anyways. Was a really busy day at the mall on Friday because a new shop opened.
Anyways, this is turning into a pretty long post, and I need to sleep soon, so I shall round this off with a couple of pictures from yesterday!
