Back On Track

It starts to get difficult to stay motivated towards one purpose after a year in a half +. I realized I have more than one purpose. MAN! These lonely weekends are enough to make me get back to somewhat of a normal life asap. Seriously though, I am going at rehab and school etc with a different purpose. I had my life kinda mapped out...That took a ginormous dump. So plan B...uhhhh...lol! I guess that is the problem,I don't have a plan B. This all happened at a hell of a time and my friends are moving forward and I...well...umm...I am in superdeduper slow mo. But, I am revamping what I planned. I have hope for the future!

Take me out to the ball game!

Man! Have I been busy. This lady from disability service, who is supposed to help me succeed at school was setting me up to fail until I decided to do it myself.  Loooong story short. She ignored my email telling her the format of books I needed to go with my program. Awesome.  http://www.kurzweiledu.com/  So she set me back a while until I received what I needed...I want to be n Bloomington...s0 many more resources.

I went to the cubs game Tuesday...They won! That was awesome and not to mention the seats...25 rows directly in back of home plate. Could not ask for much more...right? Well,we got t0 Wrigley around 8 and we left @ 5..lol...we were re routed 3 times from water. All in all it was a great time. I went up with 2 great friends. Corey, James and we met my friend Mary who lives in the city. She actually was my speech therapist at one time. Cool we keep in contact.

When we got to the game this man who could not have been much older than 35 was sitting in his powerchair with his wife feeding him and he had a ventilator. He had to have been paralyzed from the neck down. It made me think that his condition was easily a possibility for me because of the location of my tumor. I am truly lucky.I don't have words for it. This poor guy is at the level of a 2 yr old and I have been down lately about my situation. Whenever I feel down I think of this dude lately and man do I have it good compared to him.

At therapy this week(Thurs) I had my first improvement that I have noticed in a while!!! I did a few laps in the pool (walking) and the therapist did not have to touch me at all. That can be compared with last week where the therapist had to help 5 times over the same distance...I still didn't know it would take this long,but I really like the big improvements!!!!! 

Friday night my cousin Mike  came down from Illinois. We ate some dinner and hung out...I would have to say this weekend w0uld be the most excitement I have seen in a long time! 

No news is good news?

I think I titled a previous entry the same.lol...opps. Well the good news is my brain scan (MRI) was clear. No new growth or change...GREAT NEWS!...I always go in with a positive attitude and most people would be nervous ,but I do not even let the 'what if' enter my brain.

Similar to therapy. I stay positive and say'why not'. Lately though it is sooo difficult to do that. Last summer, I was making huge gains and since January they have been getting progressively smaller/slower...not cool. The amount of time to get as far back to 'John' is taking way too long. Last Thursday though I made some positive gains. I have noticed that when I lose balance, my reaction time to put a foot out or somehow correct myself is better. I also did a better job than usual, when walking around the pool. I am trying to think of ways to recognize the fact that I keep about 70% of my weight shifted to the left leg(I can really only tell in a mirror...I'm getting better at noticing though) It makes walking that much more difficult!!! So, I am experimenting and flexing that hip super hard. It kinda helps.

I'm ready for this week. Cub game Tues and Friday my cousin Mike is coming from Illinois...should be cool!

TUMORS SUCK!

Just print out and post the logo http://www.ericgalvezdpt.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/tonguetumor.jpg (Please MAKE PICTURE BIGGER AND TAPE UP EVERYWHERE YOU GO!!!) where you work, go to school, or hangout. We need to spread the word about the young adult cancer/survivor population. NO ONE WILL DO IT FOR US. Wear a shirt or sticker to show support for adolscents and young adults like us that have to deal with a f-ing tumor/tumors. There is no fundraising involved.

The first step in fighting a horrible disease is raising awareness. What happened to HIV/AIDS? There is no cure yet, but incidence has decreased significantly in the past 10 years. Can WE do the same thing to cancer/tumors? Just digest these facts and spread the word. 1. Cancer incidence in young adults has doubled over the past 20 years2. 70,000 people ages 15-39 are diagnosed with cancer each year3. Young adults with cancer have lower survival rates with respect to the geriatric and pediatric populationsThere are many reasons there has been no improvement in young adult survival rates:* Doctors don’t take young adult patients seriously because they are not in the typical demographic for cancer, brain tumors, or some other life threatening disease leading to delayed diagnosis.* Lack of research - Young adult patients often are not eligible for studies (too old for pediatric studies or to young for traditional studies) and there are few studies geared towards the 15-39 age group.* Entry level jobs with poor healthcare - young people are just starting out so the costs of healthcare are not a priority. Early detection/education about warning signs is essential.* “Superman” complex - Belief that nothing could ever happen to a young adult patient. They think they are invincible! Early detection/education about warning signs is essential.Get gear here to show support for the cause. All proceeds go to "I'm Too Young for This". Just print out the logo on 10/25 to show your support if you want! Share your pictures on the tumors suck facebook group.http://www.cafepress.com/tumorssuck Kinda early...I will remind you.

Are you ready for some football?!

Football is finally here and I can come out of my depression.along with football comes my favorite season...fall and my birthday. It is just not fun after 21...Well,I feel that way... more so now (if you know what I mean). I love college football,but I have never really had a team I identify with and am a fanatic about (cubs,bears) I absolutely love IU and follow the teams,but it is unfortunate IU football has not reached national recognition like your other big ten teams(Michigan and OSU) Or IU basketball. Okay,that may be asking a bit much . I still love them though...even if they USED to be awful for years and I mean years! Lol.

School is taking time and therapy has taken the backseat. So, I have to keep up my motivation and continue to do alot on my own...I don't like interruption in my routine much. I guess this is ok though. I have my MRI and I see the neurologist who was at my surgery...wish me luck!