My full time job

Teachers always tell their students that if they have a question there will be others with the same question. Maybe that applies here? In fact, I am sure it does because as September looms and the back to school ads are taunting the poor children, people are asking:

"Are YOU going back to school?"

I am NOT going back to school in September, at least not in any official capacity. I may volunteer every once-in-awhile, or speak to particular classes or groups. I may help coach. But I will not be found in room 239. There are lots of reasons why I won't be back this year, or maybe even the year after that.

Reason #1.
I still pee my pants. "Um, hello office? Excuse me, but could you please send someone to cover my class so I can go and change my pants?" Awkward. Neurogenic bladder is the name given to the lack of bladder control from spinal cord injuries (as well as other neurological conditions). Although there are drugs to treat these issues, none of them have really worked for me.

I met with a urologist in July and he says I am "the perfect candidate" for having botox injections in my bladder. Botox is not just for wrinkles anymore! I have many Parkwood friends who have had Botox injections and they claim that they were life changing. Botox is a neurotoxin that comes from the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. It is the same bacteria that causes botulism! When injected in the proper doses it paralyses muscles. So the hope is that the botox will prevent my bladder from spasming when it has more than 250 ml of urine in it. Here's hopin.........................................g (sorry, cat) it works and that I can wear the same pair of pants all day long!

Other reasons.
I am still recovering - as I am still seeing improvements in my core muscle function as well as a tiny bit more sensation. Last week in physio I was able to pull myself up onto all fours on the physio bed. That is, on my hands and knees, with no help!

I started doing my own version of breaststroke in the pool last week, and yesterday I walked 2 km on the Lokomat. So long as I am still seeing gains, I have to keep making physio my full time job.

The plans for building the house got stalled last month which means we won't be starting until the spring. We are okay with that. It means we won't end up stuck with a house partly built and not yet closed in. We are building slab-on-grade which means that the cement has to be kept warm, which means we need to have a roof before winter. We were cutting the timelines too close and feeling presser to make decisions we didn't feel ready to make. So we wait. Part of me thinks that building a house is just a dream and I will have to keep working in my full-of-swear-words kitchen for the rest of my life. Please no.