Team Cheryle

I have touched on this in another post, but to now tell you how my morning routine has changed. If I normally leave the house by 8am, I would rise about 7am. This would give me plenty of time to shower, dress, have breakfast and most importantly have coffee. Now, things are a little different. My morning routine starts the night before. I need to arrange a bath time and make sure that dinner and any nighttime shows are taken into account. Once the process is done, we need to discuss the plans for the next day. Appointment times, locations, full list of things that need to be accomplished. We have to then, get a plan of attack. What is the best order to accomplish the goals, given locations, time constraints, and travel? Then we make sure we have the proper documentation, we call this “BB8’s folder”. Since each of my cars get a name, when a disaster like this happens all of the information goes in that cars folder. When we are out we have the information at a moment’s notice. Is it time for bed? Maybe, once plans are gone over, one more time the list is made for the official daily agenda.  I have to then pack my day bag. Normally I would say this is my purse, but since I am not able to carry it, I have to carry only the most non-essential, essential items in it. Once, I do a weight check on my bag, then it’s time for the bedtime routine (that’s a whole different post). Good Night…

It’s bright and early 2 hours prior to us needing to leave. I go through my morning pain ritual, and let my body adjust to a new day. We all know that the first thing we as most humans need to do when we first wake, use the bathroom. Well, let me tell you when you have to adjust your knee brace, and your foot boot before you can do that with one working arm, while your still half asleep and then maneuver crutches early in the morning before you have even really had a good 20-25 minutes of your eyes being open… That is the whole process by itself. (most of you know normally I do not speak for the first 30 minutes after I have woken up, just to give my brain time to adjust and wake up…) I might as well get my teeth brushed while I’m in the bathroom. Well, good lord, you would think that’s an easy task? I mean, leaning on the sink, standing on one leg, trying not to fall down, using your “broken arm” to brush your teeth because it’s your dominant hand… Yea… Simple task! Then I have to wake Steve to help me get dressed for the day. Unless he has already woken up being in a separate room, this is not always an easy task. But, lucky he has become a bit of an early riser, since being in Delaware. He has been own morning routine, that he does every morning. When you have a brain injury, routine helps you stay focused. When I interrupting his routine is not always easy or good. So, I have to ask him to help me when at different intervals within his normal routine. I need to have him, get my clean clothes for the day, and then have him help me put everything on. I try to do what I can myself. One its part of my “rehabilitation” to be able to function again, and move my muscles so they can work, but something’s I still have trouble with.  He even helps to move my arm/shoulder when it does not want to. He helps to get my morning medicine, make sure I have all the items I need for the day… That leaves me with about 10-15 minutes to spare…

This will be the past, and I will read back on this in a year or two and I will say, “I have come a long way…” or the next time I’m taking care of a patient, my brain will know exactly what that person is going through. Now, I have been a patient before, I have been taken care of before to much of this degree, but not for this amount of time… All I can do is take it one day at a time, and let my body heal.