The common superstition is that bad things happen in 3’s. I’d like to start the superstition that good things happen in 3’s and here are mine from last week!
thing 1. I’m excited to share I got a consulting job! I’ll be working in an organization run by a woman I knew at Cargill, who left in 2024. I will be a change manager for a very similar project that I completed at Cargill. This time around, I’m the do’er vs. the one leading the strategy for change management. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I would be ok not leading the strategy. I am beginning to believe that being a do’er is the right thing for me. At Cargill, when I returned to work 2 months after my accident, I was familiar with the people. The people who knew me before my accident – were the same people who welcomed me back with love, grace and understanding. I felt safe with the people I worked with. They knew me and I knew them. Now I fear will the new people I work with welcome me with grace and understanding? I start on July 13th, I’ll make sure to update you along the way.
thing 2. For those of you following the journey with my “botched” Monti surgery, I finally had my appointment with another urologist to get a second opinion. Let me catch some of you up a little. I had a Monti procedure in December A Monti surgery is where a catheterizable channel used to empty the bladder is constructed. It is similar to the Mitrofanoff surgery, which uses the appendix, but the Monti uses a small segment of the small intestine to create a tube that connects the bladder to the abdominal wall. The opening on the abdominal wall is called a stoma, through which a catheter is inserted to drain urine. Fast forward 7 months and I have not healed from the procedure. I’ve encountered more problems than I can count on both hands and feet for months. Every month I would go in for a procedure to see how well I was healing. Every month I was let down. The only fix would be to let the current channel heal over and do the surgery over. But there was one small (in reality large) qualifier – I needed to lose 35lbs before I could have the surgery. Losing 35lbs being paralyzed is near impossible and would take me well over a year. I began to feel that I would never heal, so I finally I booked an appointment for a second opinion. I just had the appointment. Dr. L reviewed my medical records for the past 7 months and in a nonchalant way, agreed with my comment of having a botched procedure and the goal of losing 35lbs to fix it was absolutely unnecessary. So, the good news is Dr. L would be happy to redo the procedure, and I don’t need to lose the weight! I’m so excited. Now I just need to weave the procedure into my new work schedule (gulp… I hope they understand). I’m glad to have resolution for this.
thing 3. I’ve been able to transfer myself from my bed to my wheelchair and back…AND this weekend I moved my legs along the way. This may not seem like much for able body individuals, but I promise you when you are paralyzed it’s a huge milestone! I don’t like to say it out loud, but what has made it easier is my legs have significantly shrunk making them light enough for me to move. Watching the fat and muscle slowly disappear has been really difficult for me. I have always had great muscular legs, no matter weight I was. Not anymore. Learning to move your body when you’re paralyzed is completely different than when you’re not. I hope my words can help you visualize what a transfer is like.
From my bed to the wheelchair with my wheelchair placed next to the bed.
1. Sit up on the side of the bed (I need help with this still, my arms are not strong enough to push me up).
2. 
Then I place a long “transfer” board under my butt and place the other end on the seat of the wheelchair.
3. using two pushup bars, one in each hand, I lean forward far enough to lift my butt, but not too far where I’ll fall forward, and I slide across the transfer board pushing up with my hands until I make it to my seat.
I learned how to do a transfer immediately following my accident in PT. Transferring myself improves my independence. When I first learned how to transfer, I needed step-by-step assistance. I always had a blue transferring belt wrapped around me. The scariest part for me was to lean forward far enough to move my butt. I had to trust Emma (my super-hero PT) enough that she wouldn’t let me fall forward or backwards. Falling was a huge fear of mine. Remember, my torso is also paralyzed, so I didn’t know how to control my core. I certainly couldn’t focus on moving my legs as well while I had so many other steps to take. Each tiny step, I had to trust Emma, and also myself, to slide over. When I got home, depression kicked in and I didn’t want to try anymore. I leaned on David using a Hoyer to move me from bed to chair consecutively for months. I’d try here and there to do a transfer, but it was like starting all over with having to trust David to not let me fall forward or backwards. David helped in PT with Emma to help me transfer, so he was familiar, but it still required him to 100% be able to help me David has done an amazing job of being patient with me. In the past couple weeks, I finally told myself to just do it and if I fall, I fall. I’ve been transferring daily for a while with me guiding my body and David moving my feet. Yesterday, I finally did it without David in the room, by myself and moved my feet along the way. This feels good.
Thankful for these 3 good things that happened this past week.
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