Bound for Ironman World Championships!
Saturday morning the Archibalds' and Johnsons' are off to Kona! I will be updating my blog http://ironem.blogspot.com while we are out there. We arrive Oct 3rd and will be back in NC on Oct.13th. The race is Saturday October 10th and you can track my progress on-line at www.ironman.com. There will also be an article on ironman.com next week about Will and our journey over the past few months. We will have a video camera with us and I hope to put together a You Tube video to share with everyone. This way y'all can experience portions of the 140.6 miles and get a taste of the Ironman experience:) It is AMAZING.
Will continues to do really well at rehab and is also continuing to do bi-weekly acupuncture. Tomorrow he is looking forward to an appointment with his wheelchair vendor so they can fit his chair a little better and remove some unnecessary brackets that are only "slowing" him down! He has also been wheeling around for about 3 weeks now without his anti-tip (wheelie) bars- so far no falls! He is able to back himself down a 6 inch curb independently (although he does not do this when he is alone, only when has a spotter, since it is a bit risky and he is still learning these advanced wheelchair maneuvers).
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Driving and trip up to MA
It's been a very busy week! This past Thursday Will, Ty, and I flew up to Boston and were on the Cape for the weekend. We all visited with our aunt and cousin Bethany (and our little 2nd cousins Rett & Ellie). Will got to visit with a lot of his friends and also attended his friend's (Kelly) wedding. Ty & I visited with friends and attended another wedding (my friend Heidi Erdmann). The flights were uneventful and served as good practice for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. We allowed for plenty of time to arrive to the airport and go thru security. Will did great transferring to the aisle chair which the airlines use to transport para's and quad's to their seats. Will commented a few times on how the airline personnel were all over him. They do not always understand the fact that he can do everything himself and that he does not need their physical help to move. His chair made the trip without being harmed which was a big relief to us all. You just never know what happens once they stow equipment down below.
Since we returned on Sunday it's been non-stop rehab/appointments. Will has started getting regular acupuncture which will hopefully help with some of his spasms and sensation. He got in the pool down here at rehab which he may continue to do on a regular basis. He got a Tempur Pedic bed which is much more comfortable and better for him than our tired guest bed he had been sleeping on. The big news is that he got to drive today! From what he was told he did great with the driving eval. He spent about an hour driving around town learning to use the hand controls. He said he was driving about 20 mph, and then when he did go faster, like 45 mph, he said it felt like he was going 90! As you can imagine it will take time to adjust. So from this point on, he is waiting to find out if NC Vocational Rehab will accept him into their program, and if they do he will hopefully have the car modifications paid for by them. It will cost about $800-900 for the modifications.
We are getting prepared for the big trip to the Big Island and are looking forward to getting the house a bit more put together. And I can't believe I am writing this, but it's been pretty fun to be living with my brother. It would be more fun if he could work on training the dog! Once I have a little more time I will work on posting some new pics!
It's been a very busy week! This past Thursday Will, Ty, and I flew up to Boston and were on the Cape for the weekend. We all visited with our aunt and cousin Bethany (and our little 2nd cousins Rett & Ellie). Will got to visit with a lot of his friends and also attended his friend's (Kelly) wedding. Ty & I visited with friends and attended another wedding (my friend Heidi Erdmann). The flights were uneventful and served as good practice for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. We allowed for plenty of time to arrive to the airport and go thru security. Will did great transferring to the aisle chair which the airlines use to transport para's and quad's to their seats. Will commented a few times on how the airline personnel were all over him. They do not always understand the fact that he can do everything himself and that he does not need their physical help to move. His chair made the trip without being harmed which was a big relief to us all. You just never know what happens once they stow equipment down below.
Since we returned on Sunday it's been non-stop rehab/appointments. Will has started getting regular acupuncture which will hopefully help with some of his spasms and sensation. He got in the pool down here at rehab which he may continue to do on a regular basis. He got a Tempur Pedic bed which is much more comfortable and better for him than our tired guest bed he had been sleeping on. The big news is that he got to drive today! From what he was told he did great with the driving eval. He spent about an hour driving around town learning to use the hand controls. He said he was driving about 20 mph, and then when he did go faster, like 45 mph, he said it felt like he was going 90! As you can imagine it will take time to adjust. So from this point on, he is waiting to find out if NC Vocational Rehab will accept him into their program, and if they do he will hopefully have the car modifications paid for by them. It will cost about $800-900 for the modifications.
We are getting prepared for the big trip to the Big Island and are looking forward to getting the house a bit more put together. And I can't believe I am writing this, but it's been pretty fun to be living with my brother. It would be more fun if he could work on training the dog! Once I have a little more time I will work on posting some new pics!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
Happy Labor DayLife keeps rolling on down here in NC. Will & Ty are watching a scary movie while I type away in bed trying to get rid of nasty head cold. Will has had a busy week. We all enjoyed Brett's visit and were very thankful of him to drive Will's truck down all the way from Massachusetts! Thanks again Brett :) Will is busy trying to gather info and formulate a plan for modifying the truck. He is looking into getting a lift that can be installed into the bed of the truck so he would not have to break down and load his chair. He is still not 100% on modifying the truck and his back-up plan would be to modify Ty's Honda Accord. So we will see what this next week will bring. Other than that, he is looking into another transportation option for the present time. The public transit he uses now really is not ideal. Today he was picked up at 10:30 and did not get home until after 7 pm. It makes for a very long day for him. Tomorrow he will meet with a volunteer organization that will hopefully be a better option- just a little more pricey. The volunteers are also known to be young, motivated folks (alot of them are med students). Tomorrow he is going to practice getting in and out of the truck without any help and then we are going to a friend's Notre Dame football party/pig roast. Sunday we will all head down to Pinehurst for the night and spend some time with the in-laws. I am doing a 100 mile bike ride on Labor Day down there as well. Next Thursday at this time we will be in Chatham! I know we are all looking forward to that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
