Hey all,

Sorry if anyone has posted to me via the forum since the end of March.  I
forgot to come back after going "nomail" during my Florida trip.

As Beth the OT and other Floridians can attest, the weather has been warm,
if not downright sweltering (as it is everywhere east of the Miss. now).

Had a great time with the old peeps, but methinks their blood has gone thin:
they refused to turn on the A/C until the inside temp was > 82 F.  Ceiling
fans just don't cut the mustard with those temps, especially at night.
'Twas like the good-old-days when, as a kid, you had to keep flipping the
pillow over and over to get to the "cool" side.

My respect for those of you whose CP is more involved than mine has gone up
manifold in the past four days.  Seems I broke my wrist on my "good" (right)
arm after a fall this weekend.  A bit of osteo-trivia here:  the fracture
was to the navicular, or scaphoid bone.  This bone, at the base of the hand,
allows the thumb to rotate.  The (temporary) repair is to "fix" the thumb in
a "fingers to elbow" plaster cast.  This bone has minimal vascular supply,
so healing is often a difficult and length process.  So difficult, in fact,
that when horses break the bone of the same name, they are almost always
"put down." ;>)
(My lovely wife shared this pleasant bit of equine trivia with me...with a
rather wistful look in her eye.  One wonders why...).

Anyway, on to my respect for those more "involved" with their disability.
Incapacitating my "good" hand/leg has always been a secret terror of
mine--for good reason I know now.  The "able-bodied", or at least partially
able-bodied, tend to take their abilities for granted.  I'll cut to the
chase here:  Never before have I had to worry about cleansing myself after
using the bathroom.  Now, I'm completely stymied, as one hand simply will
not obey my commands, and the other is encased in plaster.  That just starts
the list of "can't do's".  Keyboarding and "mousing", if  you will, are
laughable at best.  I've already managed to eject my laptop from its docking
station three times today, while typing an email.  I know not how.

How do you all manage to keep your sanity, much less your sense of humor,
intact in the face of such intimidating, daily struggle?  Before Monday I
could eat, dress, bath, blah, blah, blah without having to cry out for help.
Now I am at the mercy of others' mercy, if you will.  Sure, many souls will
see me struggling with cane, cast and computer and will profer assistance,
while others look askance.  Or worse--look through  you as though you
weren't even there in your need!

So, my hat is off and my heart cries out for you all who have been blasted
full-bore, both barrells of this wretched CP.  I've been dealt but a
glancing blow, and only really have had to deal with a broken body in the
past few years.  Yet many of you who have never had the sensation of
walking, of speaking clearly, not self-consciously, of taking care of all of
your own physical needs, having known nothing else.  You carry on, with
self-concern, but not self-pity.

 You are all, on the whole, a quite remarkable group of people.

Thank you.

-Kyle