Quote:
Originally Posted by CRPSjames
Hey Catra,
I got a standing ovation, clapping and many hugs when I walked in the room. I was nervous because I still have problems with balance, but that is improving.
Yesterday I picked my nephew up from school for a dental appointment. After I signed him out at the office I waited in the hall for him. I could see him in the distance and as soon as he recognized me he screamed, Uncle Jimmy has no cane!" and came running to me. I hugged him with both arms, so thankful that the arm that was rendered useless by the Boston Scientific Spinal cord Stimulator is now totally back to normal.
This weekend we are having a soft ball game in my backyard at the cook out my wife has planned to celebrate my new life. I plan to be in the outfield for a while and will maybe even throw a few pitches.
I know you also struggle with balance issues, as do many others with CRPS. The balance issues were the last to start to improve for me. I still have them so I have to be very careful not to do more than I am capable of-you know how that goes.
Three members of my support group are spending this week researching tDCS and balance issues. I will post what we find.
It's odd how my feelings are changing. When I first started to respond to tDCS I was happy just to get out of the wheelchair. Then I was so excited just to be close to where I was prior to the implantation of the Spinal Cord Stimulator. Now that I am working to get off of the cane for good I want not only what the SCS took from me but I want it all now.
I want the same thing for ALL others who have CRPS.
I was thinking about you the other day in Walgreens where I saw some cool canes. I hope you have a pretty cane waiting by the door for your eventual graduation from the walker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How about hot pink with butterflies?
Got to run to meet with the other two researchers.
It is frustrating that we have to do this work ourselves but at least we have the tools to do it!
Best to you and all who are using tDCS.
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So...you and ballerina are BOTH getting greedy, huh?
But seriously...I am so happy to hear all of this. I really hope that I have this to look forward to in my future. I have a pink walker and one of my canes is blue and the other black (both are the kind that fold up so I can take them with me in the walker if I have to). The blue one was a new purchase this past weekend...guess I didn't tell you guys about that.
This past weekend my boyfriend had the weekend off (this never happens) so he told me Friday morning that he wanted us to go up his family's house on a lake in Wisconsin and go fishing. I was game...didn't look forward to the long drive for only two day but figured it would be alright because I have been feeling good lately. Talk about one of those trips where anything that COULD go wrong definitely tried to go wrong. One of the big things was that about 2 hours into the drive my boyfriend realized he didn't put my walker in the car and left it in the driveway at home...ugh! Rather than cancel the trip we called his mom who put the walker in our house and we bought me another cane at the 24 hours Walmart (because where else are you going to get a cane at 2am). So I had a day and a half with ONLY using the cane.
It was awful. I am definitely not nearly ready for that. My pain was so much worse in my ankle and my right arm (the one holding the cane). Ever since we got back my ankle hasn't been quite the same...but I am hoping that with the tDCS treatments that it will get back in line soon. Oh well...good news is that I was actually able to go fishing and caught 35 fish in the 7 hours total that we spent on the water between the two days. Had to alter my fishing technique a little bit because of the RSD but I made it work. It hurt but I'm sure you know what it means to be able to do something you enjoy despite the pain. Definitely have to wear gloves because not a chance I could touch the cold fish to take them off the hook without causing a flare. Oh well...I'll take what I can get.
So yeah...not ready to go without the walker yet...but hopefully some day. Just hope I didn't set myself back too bad with the walking with just a cane for a day and a half. It wasn't much walking but it was the hill and uneven ground to get down to the pier that did it more anything else I think. I am also VERY wobbly on the cane still. I guess it's easy to take the walker for granted and how much it really helps until you really don't have it at all.
You just be careful with that baseball...would hate for you to have another injury. I used to be a pitcher and I got clocked a number of times on the mound when pitching...not much time to react there if something comes back at you. But definitely enjoy yourself at the party...you deserve it!