I've graduated from PT, the good news and the bad

I had started physical therapy for balance and core strength before I was in an auto accident on November 26, and as of yesterday I have "graduated."  I had a few extra sessions to make sure all my injuries hadn't interfered with my balance. So, I was given two check off tests to determine my progress.  The vertigo is completely gone for now. She took care of that the first session with one of those magic head twists.  The balance and fear of falling test I scored much worse than when I started.  Megan, the DPT was baffled.  My explanation is that after learning all the things I was doing wrong and paying closer attention to my balance, I was more aware of how unsteady I am and am actually more afraid of falling than before! She calls it "perception," which I think she means it's all in my head that my balance is poor.  I don't think so. I've seen other old people walk, and I walk like a 92 year old, bumping into things and people and listing sideways.  It was my hope that I could avoid that, so I'll of course continue the exercises.  Megan says I need to develop muscle memory.

One of the more interesting is standing still for 30 seconds with eyes closed and feet together. I think I did get better at that.  

Then that is followed with eyes open looking at a distant object with one foot in front of the other, standing for 30 seconds.  

A seated hip abduction with resistance (a stretchy band) begins with sitting upright in a chair with the band secured around the legs and then moving the legs outward.  That one is very uncomfortable.

An easy one to do that I hope will protect me from another bursitis attack is sidestepping while holding on to the kitchen counter.  Step sideways along the length of the counter (while warming something in the microwave) then sidestep back. Be sure pick-up feet--this isn't a slide.

Difficult to do in the house is walking while turning my head.  Our hallways are very short, but Megan told me to do it even a short distance.

Awkward is learning to get out of a seated position hold a pole or cane against my back--the standing hip hinge with dowel. Then lightly bend my knees while rising.  This is to help with picking things up or loading the dishwasher so you don't hurt your back.

And so forth.  I hope I get better with practice.  

One bright spot of the season is my Christmas present from our daughter and son-in-law.  A new Schwin exercycle. Mark came over on Monday and put it together.  My old exercycle had developed a loud noise--probably and lose gear or bearing. It had about 15,000 miles. This one is silent, has a smaller footprint, and uses electricity not batteries, but like the old one, has some "programs" I'll never use (they also aren't explained in the manual).  Usually, I go to Lifetime Fitness nearby in the morning, but if the weather's bad or I get up later than usual, I can do this at home.

Christmas season thoughts

 Our son used to call me in the middle of the week and paraphrase what the sermon was about at his church, Gender Road Christian Church. the previous Sunday.  Had a great memory.  Not me.  The sermon is gone by the time I leave coffee time (which this week included donut holes). Aaron Thompson is a fine preacher, probably the best on our staff, and I know it was good--from Isaiah 55--but by the time I chat with a few friends it's gone.

I always enjoy seeing the young couple with 7 kids.  They are all beautiful and well-behaved, and even with that new baby that was baptized 2 weeks ago, mom is as slim and trim as a teen-ager.  I particularly watch the fourth one--we prayed for him for weeks and weeks after he was born because he was a preemie.

Yesterday I attended at our Mill Run location the second funeral in a week--Tim Robison.  I didn't know him, only his wife, but by the end of the service I really wondered why God called him home (b. 1960). He had such a fine record of service for God--even as a young man. We definitely need more men like that, and his wife and two young adult sons also needed him.  We will always miss our brother-in-law Bob, whose service we attended on Monday in Indianapolis.  He was 88 and it was wonderful to see his family who had been with him his last weeks.

The final candle in the wreath arrangement at UALC was lit today as we sang Oh come Oh come Emanuel.  I couldn't help but recall that terrible Christmas of 1976.  I think that was the year.  At that time each Sunday during advent had a different family come forward and light the candle, and it was our turn at the early service.  At the later service, another family had the honor.  The next day, the mother of that family shot and killed her husband, 2 of her children and the dog, with a third child escaping the tragedy and running to a neighbor. Then she turned the gun on herself. It was so awful the congregation was reeling for weeks.  And now I can't remember their names. 45 years ago.

Saying good-bye to my old address book

I've updated my Christmas address book. The paper one, bought in 2008. I had so many cross outs and referrals and scribbles, it was unreadable. I know I bought a few extra at the time because they were only .99 cents, but I can't find the others. Some of the younger folk are just e-mails--not even a phone number. My first and second degree living relatives are much harder to track than my 6th cousin twice removed in my genealogy--those folks from the 1800s stay put!

First, I ran a copy of my 2021 x-mas labels for our Christmas cards. Then I ran a 2nd copy for 2022 because I'm changing computers in a few days and doubt this very old database program will work on Windows 11. Then I ran a 3rd copy for a new address book. I put those in a new notebook, neon pink so I can see it. However, many of the old scribbles were important, like phone numbers and e-mails, so then I hand wrote those in. At one point, spread out on the dining room table, I had my old address book, our condo address list, our Lakeside directory, and the old UALC directory (which is now on line and very inconvenient).  Then I went through the old one and counted those I've crossed off due to death. 65. Then I was sad.

No one in the Q's or X's on my list, but the S's are bursting their seams. Should have allowed more pages for S--is your address book like that?