All Under Construction

Mind Off Chair Ramblings
Subject: Wheelchair moves at the speed of thought!
Sub-subject: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Sub-sub-subject: Pain

Gary Schooley of Paralinks

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Link invited me to do this little Mind Off Chair page for Future Link. I accepted because I do like to get my mind off the chair and am intrigued by the approach to the future that Link's come up with. Being with the chair for over 26 years never ceases to amaze me. I have to take a deep breath and let out a loud whew!  When I was in an Intensive Care unit in Spokane Washington, I was certain that I would not live for another ten years, fifteen at the most. Here it is, 26 years later; alive and still functioning. There are problems, believe me. My advice is to take exceptional care of yourself while still young; you'll take to aging easier if you do.

Wheelchair moves at the speed of thought!

Ha! I love this line, it gives me a feeling of absolute reckless freedom in some magical realm.

The line comes from this article in New Scientist; "Severely disabled people who cannot operate a motorised wheelchair may one day get their independence, thanks to a system that lets them steer a wheelchair using only their thoughts... It incorporates a skullcap peppered with electrodes that monitors the electrical activity of its wearer's brain. Early trials using a steer-able robot indicate that with just two days training it is as easy to control the robot with the human mind as it is manually..."

Now this is exciting, not because I'll need one to operate my wheelchair, but because I can see other possibilities poking their heads out of the past and into the future. Behold the future...

How about... l could use one to train my two dogs? How about driving my van from the back seat? I'm going to think on this and maybe come up with a crazy dream or two. The future will amaze all but the most jaded of us. Anybody have ideas on other applications for this technology? 

Subject: Ageing in the Chair 10.18.04 & Pain up-date 03.16.05

02.09.05 I received a Crip College e-newsletter from Christian Bagg of Crip College. Christian is 26 years old and six years in the chair. He has been working on what he calls the BMW of wheelchairs that is about ready to roll! (Check it out at: Sorano) Ah, for that youth again! A rough guess is that around the time that Christian was being birthed I was being rendered a paraplegic!

There is a place along the road of aging where we stop and take stock of where we are and where we've been. We may even recall dreams we once had and ponder over whether we realized them; or maybe we're still dreaming? There is a point in time though, where the dream ends and the now kicks in. The sooner the better, because what we do now determines our future.  I am finally comfortably settled in the now. Well, maybe not always comfortable; my mind is doing good, (most of the time) but my body?

What single word to use to describe aging in the chair? The first word that comes to mind is Struggle. Man o' man what a struggle it's been. The second word is pain. How I've gotten this far is a mystery to me for sure. The past five to seven years or so this body has felt the increase of physical pain to often un-bearable levels. I am blessed to have found an M.D. recently who is a pain specialist and is willing to work with me in ways that no doctor has done in the past. Relief is close at hand. Knock on wood.

The Tools for Pain Relief 

The latest attempt to curb the pain is a Duragesic patch: 50 mcg/hr. (Fentananyl Transdermal is the generic)  I have been wearing one 24/7 for the past four weeks. (I used the 25 mcg/h 72 hrs. for the previous six weeks and so far so good. I have had some strange and disturbing side affects though;  Un-settling Dreams, feeling claustrophobic... dizzy, fears that the Grim Reaper is hanging on to my shirttail.  I take the patch off  when the side affects appear and they fade away. 

Hanging on besides the patch, are two 10-325MG Percocets a day and either 1 Tylenol PM or 1 Ativan 1mg in the evening before bed. I don't even want to give numbers on the level of pain because the pain I have is so erratic it can't be pinned down. Lets just say that in the past two months my body has been able to relax feeling a tolerable level of pain.

Sub-subject: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A word of advice: Wear gloves. Take care of your hands. I have been recently diagnosed as having Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and will need both wrists operated on. The doctor plans to do one wrist at a time. 

Un-expected problems arise as my right wrist cannot be used for two weeks

I do the digital method when taking a dump; having a bowel movement, and have used my right hand for 25 years. I have been practicing for a week using my left hand in preparation for my right being out of commission and cannot do it! Think about this quandary. I'll write more on this later...

Back to Christian

I look at Christian, his adventures, the way he takes on life; his enthusiasm! I honor him and the other young men and women on the beginning of a long journey through life that's going to be a struggle. Hey, life is a struggle, and the chair makes that struggle unique. I thank Christian for creating Crip College! How I wish that there was a Crip College back in 1980 when I needed one.

10.5.04 Over 50 and wondering what to do with the rest of your life? Of course I'm speaking about myself... Recently there was an article in Modern Maturity Magazine about 'after you did what you needed to do with your life, what is it that you want to do with your life'? Wow! How many of us over 60 are doing what we want to do? One has to set up their future as early in life as possible; and always count on changes.

This gets me to thinking about the future is not what it used to be. We are creating the future each moment. When I found myself past the middle age age, I began to see that the future is now. The dreams aspirations and goals that I may have had in my youth are replaced by what is going on with my life now. 

What? "The future is now"? Come on. Okay, I first got here now when I read Ram Dass's Be Here Now. But I keep on forgetting. I'm forever forgetting.

The dreams and aspirations that were in my mind 30-40 years ago faded as I worked a full time job with a full time family - then passing through several more incarnations as different personalities living a variety of lifestyles - have recently began coming out from a long hiatus ................ One dream was to know music! So, I am practicing musical scales a half hour a day, and bass guitar riffs another half hour a day. It isn't heading anywhere though, it is in the doing that feels good. Another dream was to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. I'll pass on that one.

No concern whether or not I have or have not accomplished the aspirations of my youth; who knows, maybe I didn't have any. I have changed, the world around me has changed beyond my wildest imagination! The secret, or trick, is to adjust to the present time, to fit in. I don't mean to conform, but to be yourself in face of adversity! Use the system to your own good. Use it but don't be of it.

That's all folks. Got to get back to... (more to come shortly...) 

Thanks for checking out Link's Web Site. See you on Paralinks? -Gary www.paralinks.net

Link Upton is constructing the framework for a maze; the doorway into this maze opens when you read about the

Man in the Maze NOT LINKED YET

Temporary email: garyis@charter.net

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