Writing Aids I Cannot Live Without

The long boring weekends in the rehab hospital drove me crazy.  When my recreational therapist gave me an opportunity to practice writing with my sound, non-dominant left hand I jumped at her offer.  My friend Arlene did not volunteer to write checks to pay my bills for the rest of her life.  Kathy helped by bringing me clear Dycem and crossword puzzles she had enlarged on a Xerox machine to make the spaces bigger.  Clear Dycem is thin and slightly sticky so it holds the paper still as I write.  Solving crossword puzzles was more fun than writing letters of the alphabet over and over like I did as a young child in school.

When I got home I found clear Dycem at www.pattersonmedical.com but was shocked at the price.   However, I splurge on a small roll of clear Dycem which costs $55 + shipping and handling because it is a writing aid I cannot live without.  I have pieces of it every where I sit down to take phone messages, pay bills, do crossword puzzles, write reminders on Post-It Notes, etc.  I make it last longer by washing it.  A small roll (8 inches x 2 yards) lasts almost two years. 

I also splurge on gel pens that cost $15 a box.  Gel pens are more forgiving that ball point pens that must be held at a precise angle to make the ink flow.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com