Carts Keep Me and My Stuff Safe

A cart saves me from making numerous turns when I bring home groceries. Food that goes in the refrigerator is scattered in several shopping bags.  I collect cold items on my cart, push the cart to the refrigerator, and stand in front of the open refrigerator - no turning and walking back to collect the next item and then turning to face the refrigerator again.  Turning increases the chance of a fall because it is more difficult than walking in a straight line.

Here I am 3 months after my stroke taking a meal to the table.  When 

I got tired of eating frozen dinners heated in the microwave I started cooking.  Initially I cooked one food, ate it out of the pot, and then cooked the next food.  The day I put three kinds of cooked food on a plate was a triumph.  Now I cook regularly and the cart keeps me from burning my hand while transporting hot food. 

A three-tiered cart allows me to sort my dirty laundry by color while sitting instead of repeatedly leaning over and standing up.  This cart also helps me safely transport dirty clothes to my 1st floor laundry room. 

P.S.  I am sitting on a folding metal chair that is stored behind an open door.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com 

Freaked Out and Then Aggravated

I took Tylenol for three years because osteoarthritis had created bone-on-bone pain in my neck and low back.  I read on line that Tylenol can damage the liver so I freaked out when my feces turned yellow.  The liver secretes bile which turns feces brown.  My gastroenterologist said my feces would have been gray if my liver was not working at all.  I read the liver can repair itself, but I was not taking any chances.  On February 18th I stopped taking Tylenol.  Two weeks and 5 days later my feces turned brown. 

Now my arthritis pain kicks in every night which makes it difficult to fall asleep.  So I use hot packs that CVS calls Peas.  I put them in my microwave but am very careful to not overheat them.  When I touch them briefly they do not feel hot, but if I keep my hand on them I can feel the heat.  I am very conservative about the time I set the microwave for - 45 seconds for the big Peas and 30 seconds for the Peas I put on my neck.  The heat takes half an hour to be affective which is aggravating.  But it is better than rubbing my body and rocking while I watch TV at night because the dull ache makes me suffer.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com 

A Painful Lesson About Need versus Want

After driving 51 miles every morning in rush hour traffic, I love relaxing while I sip coffee and do a puzzle from the Simon & Shuster Mega Crossword Puzzle Book.  When I do not know the name of a Greek God or other obscure facts, I look up the answer in the back of the book.  I have the satisfaction of doing a challenging puzzle while also finishing it.  Unfortunately, painful osteoporosis in my sound hand threatens my ability to drive a car one-handed.

Using paratransit to stay in my home would be difficult.  NJ paratransit can require riders to wait 40 minutes to be picked up and sometimes ride for an hour while other riders are delivered to their destinations.  It also has a two bag limit which requires multiple trips to the grocery store.  If I cannot find a way to make writing less painful, I will have to choose between something I love to do and driving which I need to do.  

Two adaptive devices that increase the diameter of a pen to discourage a tight grip did not work.  The hard plastic cylinder on the right has a tiny opening that does not accommodate my pens.  The soft tube on the left requires my painful hand to forcefully push the tube up onto the pen while I hold the pen in my mouth.  More pain is counter productive.  

My current strategy to make writing less painful has four parts.               1. Use double-sided tape to attach sticky Dycem to my pen.                         Increased friction means I do not have to grip as forcefully.              2.  Use a gel pen that allows ink to flow at a variety of angles.  

     Ball point pens are finicky about the angle you hold the pen.

3.  Put 2 or 3 fingers on top of the pen instead of the usual one.                     More fingers = less effort for each individual finger.                            4.  Keep all my fingers as straight as possible.  Bending my fingers               increases the pain. 

homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Reviewing Adapted Knives

When I eat out I order soft food that can be cut with a fork, like fish and pasta.  At home I have rocker knives that let me press down on the food to hold it still while a rocking motion cuts the food.  The small knife on the left in the photo looks like an assassin's weapon so I use it at home to cut vegetables.  The long knife on the right is the most commonly used one.  The photo below shows that this rocker knife does not fit in my purse.

I use an across-the-body purse because straps slide off my shoulder. When I was able-bodied I had a free hand to keep pushing the strap back up.  I found a small purse called the Terrace Shoulder Pouch at ebag.com.  The long knife sticks up so people can see I am carrying a knife - not good.   

I love Verti-Grip Professional Knife from caregiverproducts.com.
It is held vertically so my whole arm can press down as I rock the blade side-to-side.  The rocker knives shown above are held horizontally so I can only create downwards pressure with my index finger. The Verti-Grip is only six inches long so it fits completely inside my purse.  The protective cover slides off easily so I put the knife in a small zip-lock bag to protect the inside of my purse.  The Verti-Grip costs $17.95 + S&H, but I think it is worth it.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com