I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

I joined a new gym in the beginning of March and I love it already! They offer so many different services and they have a lot of great equipment to use. I have been working with a personal trainer twice a week for the past 3 weeks.  One day a week we do all kinds of machines and on the second day we do exercises in the pool. He is really big on switching up the exercises each time I meet with him, so I don't get bored. Working out with him is definitely not boring. Last week, strapped a weight to the back of my wheelchair and made me do 3 laps.  We have been experimenting with a lot of different equipment because some exercises are still tough on my hand. It can be frustrating because I want to push myself, but if I push myself too hard my hand is killing me the next day.  I just have to listen to my body and take it easy.  There's no sense pushing myself too hard and injuring myself again. My trainer and I connected right away because we both have a disability and we talk about the things that we have gone through growing up. It's nice to work out with another person who understands what it's like to have a disability.  I am finally enjoying going to the gym again.

FOMO

FOMO is the acronym for the fear of missing out.  To give you an example, pretend that all your friends are at an Eminem concert and they are posting pictures on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Seeing the pictures on social media will make you fear that you are missing out on having fun with your friends even if you don't really like Eminem's music. FOMO can relate to a wide range of things.  I am going through this right now. You can see what everyone else is doing on social media at all times.  People post pictures of their kids, going out with their boyfriend, and going on amazing vacations, and seeing those pictures can make you feel like your experiences are less valuable. You may say yes to things that you don't want to do and no to things we want to do because you are worried about the things that others think are important.  Every single person in the world is not going to experience every single thing there is to experience.  I am starting to believe that if you are not focusing on what other people are doing at all times you will appreciate what you are experiencing in the present moment a lot more.  Tell me what you fear that you are missing out on in the comments.

Strength in Numbers

I had Proximal Row Carpectomy surgery on my left hand in October due to a bone disease called Kienbock's Disease. Three bones were taken out because my lunate bone, the bone responsible for most of the movement in the wrist, fragmented and started chewing away at my cartilage and radius bone. It was a challenging recovery.  I couldn't do anything independently for six weeks and I lost a lot of my stamina.  I have been trying to get back into my regular workouts and my dance classes, but I still feel pain.  I do about ten minutes on the treadmill and a few arm machines with a low amount of weight. It will take up to a year to heal.  

I found a great group of people on social media who are going through the same thing I am and it made recovery so much easier for me. It also allows me to offer some advice and encouragement to people who are about to have a PRC or any other type of surgery.  According to research that I have done, there are only about 200,000 cases of KD in the United States.  It is scary to have something that is not well known and doesn't have much information available, but I am glad that I have a community of people who will help each other through the bad days.  

Dance With Me!

Hey everyone!  I have been taking lessons at a ballroom dance studio, called Dance With Me, and it is owned by Maksim and Val Chmerkovskiy from Dancing With The Stars. On Maks' Facebook page, I saw that people can sign up for complementary lessons at one of the studios because he is the current winner of Dancing With The stars, so I decided to give it a shot. You get a free private lesson, a free group lesson, and a free social party.  

I had my first private lesson in June. I told the manager beforehand that I used a wheelchair to dance because I wasn't sure how I would do and I didn't know if the instructor had any experience teaching someone with a disability. I was very impressed by how well my instructor knew how to modify the styles. He taught me Cha-Cha, Rumba, The Waltz, and Salsa.  I picked up each of the styles pretty quickly and my favorite style was The Waltz.  

Last night was the social party.  I have to admit I was a little nervous to go because I am new to ballroom and I am shy around people that I have never met before. As soon as I got there, people were introducing themselves to me and asking me to dance. One instructor spun me around so fast five times in a row.  It didn't take long for me to get comfortable because a lot of the other dancers were beginners, too. I was smiling the entire time.  I might have to go to the social party again next week!

The studio is absolutely beautiful! It has chandeliers and all of the instructors are dressed up like they are ready for a competition. The people I have met so far are so nice and welcoming, too.   I think I found a new passion! 

Here is more information about Dance With Me: http://dancewithmeusa.com/

Wrist Update: Kienbock's Disease

In late November, I started having wrist pain and I went to the doctor in December.  I thought I sprained it when I was dancing because I was very active at that time. He told me that the pain and inflammation was caused by overuse of my wrist, so he recommended wearing a brace and taking Aleve for the symptoms.  If I still have pain in a month I should see the specialist. That seemed to work for a few months, but the symptoms came back again and I saw the specialist in the beginning of July. 

During the appointment with the specialist, I explained my symptoms and he ordered an MRI and told me I might have something called Kienbock's Disease.  I still had pain and inflammation, but I also had limited range of motion.  I still had full range of motion when I went to the doctor the first time. Of course I went home and Googled the disease as soon as I got home.  

Kienbock's Disease is a lack of blood supply to the lunate bone in the wrist, causing the bone to break apart and die. There are several stages and several procedures that can be done to slow down the progression of the disease.   If it is not treated, the other seven bones will break apart and the wrist can become arthritic.  The disease is not hereditary and it does not affect the other joints. 

The specialist told me about a procedure that can be done to restore the blood supply to the wrist, but the patient's wrist must be immobilized for 8-12 weeks.  Since I use my arms to ambulate, he has to decide what the best approach will be.  I am going to see him again at the end of July.
If you want me to continue to update you let me know.  

I hope everyone is having an awesome summer! 

National Elementary Honor Society

I was asked to speak at a National Elementary Honor Society induction ceremony and I thought I would share my speech. This was the first time that I was ever asked to give a speech and I was very proud and honored to do it.  

Good evening faculty, parents, and our inductees.  It is an honor and a privilege to have been asked to speak at the induction ceremony of the National Elementary Honor Society of 2014.

Being inducted in the National Elementary Honor Society is not only a celebration of your accomplishments in demonstrating Scholarship, Leadership, Character and Service, but recognition for the hard work and determination that has enabled you to be here today. This achievement celebrates who you are and who you have the potential to become. 

Scholarship is to do your best in everything that you do and you have to want to work hard in everything that you do.  School didn’t come easy for me because I learned at a slower pace than the rest of my classmates. I had to work extra hard to get good grades.   To be honest, one of the most difficult grades of my life was fifth grade.  I remember staying up until 11pm or midnight doing homework on long division.  Despite all the academic struggles that I went through, I achieved my goal in getting a Master’s degree in Counseling.  Scholarship isn’t just about getting good grades in a classroom.  Scholarship is about applying what you learned in the classroom to the world that you live in.  We are constantly learning from everything and every person we come in contact with. It is about having an imagination and coming up with ideas that might not have been thought of before.

Character is to make good choices every day. Students with good character are respectful and responsible. I walked differently from the rest of my classmates. I used a walker and in the front it had a basket for books.  As I got older I started using a wheelchair to get around as well.  My classmates didn’t accept me because I was different and I was the only one in the whole school from Kindergarten to senior year of high school that had a disability that you can see. From Kindergarten to the time I went to college, I went from having an aide in school to living on my own and I became more independent and confident in myself.  My family, friends, and teachers supported me through all of the times when I thought I wasn’t good enough. I was very shy when I was younger and I never would have imagined speaking in front of a large group of people. 

Leadership is taking initiative to help make a positive change.  When I was in college, I had the idea of making the bathrooms bigger because I couldn’t fit into the bathroom with my wheelchair. I asked my classmates to sign a petition to make the bathrooms bigger and a few years later, they did make one of the bathrooms bigger.  Leadership could also mean taking the lead on a group project, being a captain on a sports team or being the president of a club.  Leaders need to believe in themselves first before anyone else can believe in them.  A good leader is not only a good communicator, but a good listener.  Leaders need to listen to the ideas and opinions of those around them in order to make a positive change. 

The definition of Service is to help others benefit without taking the credit for it.  It is important to give back to your community because it not only benefits the people you are helping, but it gives you a sense of accomplishment.  One of my biggest passions is helping people and that is one of the reasons why I decided that I want to become a counselor.  You can provide service to others by raising money for a charity or doing something as simple as saying hello. I once went out of my way to say hello to someone and the person said that I was the only person who reached out to them that day. It made them feel good. 

Being in the National Elementary Honor Society is an opportunity to make a positive difference in school and your community, by having these four characteristics.  Part of being in the National Elementary Honor Society is making the right choices and you can help your fellow students make the right choices too. If there is something different about you, use it as an opportunity to stand out and make a positive change and don’t look at it as limitation.  You should all be proud of yourselves because this is a big accomplishment.  

I am going to leave you with a quote that is very special to me. It says, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Congratulations to the National Elementary Honor Society inductees and may all of your dreams come true.

Babysitting

This afternoon, I got my first taste of what it is like to take care of a little baby all by myself.  To be honest, it was a little nerve-wracking because I wasn't sure if I would know what to do. On the other hand, I was happy that I was trusted to watch him on my own.  He was fine in the beginning, but then he started SCREAMING!  Usually when he starts crying, someone would take him and walk around with him because that is what he likes to do. Today, I was unable to walk around with him, so I tried to distract him with toys that I played with when I was a baby.  That method worked for about 5 minutes.  The whole experience made me start thinking about how I would be as a mother with a disability.  I don't know why I am thinking about this now, but I am sure that I will be ready when the time comes.