Accidentiversary

Monday, March 28

Today marks one year since the accident. Thank you to everyone who has remembered and reached out to me. I got so many cards, I was starting to think it was my birthday!

In a way, the aftermath of my accident was a reawakening. Having to learn basics again and discovering the importance of the people in my life. I couldn’t have made it this far without all of your love and support. Even if you’re just reading my blog, it is uplifting to me. I know for you to take the time to read this means you care, and that provides me energy.

Later today, my neighbor and I are planning to ride the same route I took the day of the accident. He said we should “recreate the ride.” I told him that wasn’t such a good idea but I’ll ride the same route!

So, how do I feel after 365 days of my new life? I’m back to work full time, which makes it harder to work on recovery as much as I want to. However, I am still walking or riding my bike almost every day, and I’m going to the gym three days a week. Linda and I have managed to spend some time with all our girls and the four (FOUR?!) grandkids. So much fun watching them grow and learn. We are planning a trip with Linda’s brother in May. Linda, the girls, and I are also busy planning a charity bicycle ride down the Natchez Trace parkway in October 2023. You’ll here more about that later.

Physically, there have been some changes in the last few months:

Shoulder: I have had vast improvement in my shoulder and now have full range of motion. It is still sore, though. It is now probably the least of my continued issues.

Nerve sensations: The numbness and tingling in my thighs and derriere has decreased. The bad news is that that numbness seems to have just moved down into my calves, which tingle more than they did a few months ago.

Temperature regulation: My own personal “seat heater” is still active in my back, although over the last couple of days, that has receded. Hopefully, that’s permanent.

Spasms: Good news here. About four weeks ago my back spasms (what I called my “Grand Mal” spasms) just went away. It wasn’t like they faded away or got less frequent; they just quit happening. It makes me nervous even to say this. I’m afraid it will remind them to come back! I still have leg spasms at night. Sometimes I feel like I have sleep apnea since they interrupt my sleep. I look forward to the day they go away too.

T1/Neck: Right at the base of my neck is still sore with some deep itching sensation. I do feel some improvement since January, though.

Hip: OK, it can’t all be great news, right? My right hip is definitely my number one irritation—it hurts and still causes a hitch in my giddyup. It seemed to be getting better recently (although I’m not convinced I’ve been walking as well as I was three or four months ago), but for the last week or so, it’s been painful. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe because I’ve had to sit more for work? I’d say it was a pain in the neck but I have a much lower opinion of it!

Thank you all for the love and support—I intend to pay it forward.