Reflections of My Life

katlupe said:
When we lived at my homestead, Rabbit had the best diet. All wild foods that grew in my yard. Though I see some lemon balm in this and that I was growing in my herb garden. This is 2016.

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I have seen pics of your homestead. Your terrain has a lot of similarities to ours. We let the goats and pigs munch on (oh and chickens too,) the same kind of greenery. :)
 
Pepper said:
I'm a nervous wreck.
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Whatever is causing you to feel this way, take a break from it. At least for a few hours. Just do something you enjoy, read, listen to music, write a letter to yourself (yes, it works), etc. I find that not focusing on what is stressing me out seems to make me see it in a whole different light later. Many times the situation has changed by then.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I have seen pics of your homestead. Your terrain has a lot of similarities to ours. We let the goats and pigs munch on (oh and chickens too,) the same kind of greenery. :)
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One time I counted 24 wild plants that I used in our salads. We ate dandelion greens from spring till the last frost. It was bitter after spring but in a salad with dressing you don't notice that. It has been one of my regrets in leaving.
 
This morning, my friend/neighbor stopped in to visit. She is the sweetest lady I know. Suffering from dementia and when I say suffering I mean it. I see her trying to concentrate to say the right word and if she can't find it she gets frustrated. I give her time and don't try to provide the word for her. I smile at her and try to make it a relaxing conversation. Soon she is laughing. I have a rabbit puzzle on my wall and she talks to that rabbit as if it is real.

No matter what she never remembers who her husband is and why he is in her apartment and cooking for her. They have been married 56 years and I know it is hard for him. Not so much doing all the cooking and cleaning, but the fact that she doesn't know who he is most of the time. She does help with the laundry, even filling it with the detergent and folding the clothing. But I think that is about it. He takes her for long rides and she loves that. He takes good care of her and I remind her of that. This is the third day in a row she has been here. I told her to come anytime, day or night. We have nice visits.
 
Shame on the building maintenance for not putting a sign in the elevator and especially not on the control switch in service room.

You are a great friend to your neighbour. Do you think it would help if he posted a few photos of himself around the apartment labelled as “my very good friend who lives here”.
 
Jules said:
Shame on the building maintenance for not putting a sign in the elevator and especially not on the control switch in service room.

You are a great friend to your neighbour. Do you think it would help if he posted a few photos of himself around the apartment labelled as “my very good friend who lives here”.
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The maintenance man is not the one who gets it going. Our manager knows how to do it and she showed a couple other tenants how to reset it if she is not here. And she is not here very often anymore. One of the guys called the repairman (who there is a contract with to take care of it) and he will be here on Monday.
 
People are using the elevator like usual even though it has not been repaired. I was considering it and then decided to take a chance. Rabbit needs more spring mix and bananas. I have been trying to feed him more hay and less produce. Since it is cold now he wants to eat more. So I ordered groceries from Aldi's for him and for Jeff too. So I took it downstairs and it seems fine. So far!

After that I ordered groceries for myself from Walmart. Aldi's did not have what I needed. So two orders in one day! Oh well.

I have got to get to work on my own physical therapy program. I need to improve my walking ability so I can use the stairs. One thing I realize is that I have always had a fear of stairs. So when I am standing at the top of them looking down.........it causes me to be afraid to take even one step. The other thing is that maybe I could get down them but then I would not have my walker down there and I need it to walk anywhere. So there is that. I can walk down the stairs from the lobby to the front door just holding onto the rail. It is just the other stairs are so steep.
 
Katlupe,

We bought this type of walker for my husband when he had trouble with our stairs. There are handles on the top that you use to adjust the length of either the back or front feet to match the stair incline. This was very useful in going upstairs or downstairs and could also be used on a flat surface. It did take some practice to learn how to use the handles.

My husband was very afraid of falling so it took some time for him to gain confidence in the device. He would only go up one or two steps at a time and then gradually added more steps until he felt safe. I hope this helps. It does fold so it can be put in a car or taken on a bus.
 

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sadie123 said:
Katlupe,

We bought this type of walker for my husband when he had trouble with our stairs. There are handles on the top that you use to adjust the length of either the back or front feet to match the stair incline. This was very useful in going upstairs or downstairs and could also be used on a flat surface. It did take some practice to learn how to use the handles.

My husband was very afraid of falling so it took some time for him to gain confidence in the device. He would only go up one or two steps at a time and then gradually added more steps until he felt safe. I hope this helps. It does fold so it can be put in a car or taken on a bus.
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I bought a walker made for stairs. Trouble is I don't trust it. Plus my stairs are so steep and I look down and then I can't do it.

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katlupe said:
One thing I realize is that I have always had a fear of stairs. So when I am standing at the top of them looking down.........it causes me to be afraid to take even one step.
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Me too. Do you think we have an inner ear problem or similar. I hang onto the railing, get my bearings and go rather slowly. I use a railing for going up too. I was an impediment during a fire drill when people were basically running down.

Even worse was walking up stairs with open risers. It made me dizzy just looking at them. I bet I was in my 40s before I could even attempt it.
 
katlupe said:
I need to try to do it. Maybe like you say, a few steps at a time but not sure I can do it going down. I probably could go up easier than down.
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Now that I have seen your stairs, I understand. Unless you have incredible upper body strength, I don’t think using a stair walker is a good idea. I am sure we all want you to be safe.
 
Jules said:
Me too. Do you think we have an inner ear problem or similar. I hang onto the railing, get my bearings and go rather slowly. I use a railing for going up too. I was an impediment during a fire drill when people were basically running down.

Even worse was walking up stairs with open risers. It made me dizzy just looking at them. I bet I was in my 40s before I could even attempt it.
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Even though I was always afraid of stairs and escalators..........I used to run up and down the bleachers at my local high school football stadium. For exercise! I race walked and did that several times a week. Maybe I damaged my future self.
 
katlupe said:
I realize is that I have always had a fear of stairs.
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This is a very important realization I think, so I'm glad you're aware of it and might work on overcoming it. I agree, your PT is of importance here too. A lot to overcome, I know.

Have you explored the idea of a 'buddy system'? Perhaps one or two of your friends could walk down with you somehow while supporting you in some way? Just a thought,

As for not having a walker available when you do get downstairs, maybe keep a cane down there somewhere, at least.

If you had to use the stairs in case of fire ( and you will have to ) there would be the fire dept and emergency services who would get you to a safe place to sit.

I feel so angry about that darn elevator! Be safe, my friend. 💕
 
katlupe said:
I bought a walker made for stairs. Trouble is I don't trust it. Plus my stairs are so steep and I look down and then I can't do it.

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If you can sit on the floor.
Maybe start by sitting on your walker, then lower your bottom to a nearby stool, then lower your bottom to the floor.
Now scoot yourself along to the stairs, dragging your collapsed walker along with you.
Then descend the stairs on your bottom, keeping your walker with you.
Could that work??
 
gruntlabor said:
If you can sit on the floor.
Maybe start by sitting on your walker, then lower your bottom to a nearby stool, then lower your bottom to the floor.
Now scoot yourself along to the stairs, dragging your collapsed walker along with you.
Then descend the stairs on your bottom, keeping your walker with you.
Could that work??
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I don't think getting down on the floor would be an option for me. I want to walk down the stairs. It is my goal.
 
katlupe said:
I don't think getting down on the floor would be an option for me. I want to walk down the stairs. It is my goal.
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Maybe standing at the head of the stairs for a few minutes each day to become familiar would help? It looks like you have sturdy railings to lean on, and landings to rest on. Maybe Tylenol 20 minutes before you start??
I think once you do it you'll be amazed at how easy it was! I'm just a little uneasy about putting too much strain on your knees. Maybe master one flight of stairs at a time.
 

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