Working the Problem
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
Hello from Chilliwack in this crazy time. We are self isolating at home, and I hope you are doing the same. I know it seems strange to hide from family and friends, but it is the only safe way to stop the pandemic. Even social distancing may not be enough. It is time we all settle in for the duration and get through this. Isabelle and I are going to start using delivery service for my prescriptions and probably do pick up at the grocery store through the online app. We really must minimize contact. Especially for someone like me who’s breathing is already compromised. All my public speaking en ..read more
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Loss of Privacy, Loss of Time
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
Saturday, February 22, 2020 Hello to all, It’s been a while. As Howard and Kevin said to me last week when I was at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, “why haven’t you published to your blog in a long time?” I don’t have much of a reason except for writer’s block and a bout of depression. I started a blog post last summer but never completed it. I wanted to add more but I just couldn’t deal with things. Here’s what I wrote last summer: Loss of Privacy. Loss of Time It has been quite a while since I have written anything. It has been quite difficult. My private time and quiet time are at a minimu ..read more
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A Much Belated Blog Post
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
Good evening, a belated Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year to all! Additionally, thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes! My last year of my 6th decade. Who thought I would be spending it in a wheelchair…? It has been quite a while since we have posted anything. Between being busy in November and December with lots of family visits, the rush of Christmas, and several presentations (5 in November, and 3 in December) as well as having all the family to visit over the holiday has put us behind. To top it all off I have been fighting a virus and a minor infection. The problem for me ..read more
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Cruising As a Quadriplegic
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
As many of you know I am a complete quadriplegic with no movement or feeling below my armpits. To travel at all I need at least 2 people to help me through the day. This is mostly required for getting up in the morning, shower and/or going to the bathroom and then in the evening putting me back to bed. Throughout the day I need help eating, getting drinks of all kinds and making sure my urine bag is emptied in a timely manner. In other words, I am a full-court press when it comes to travel. One of my goals in life was to cruise through the Panama Canal. We had planned it for the fall of 2017 ..read more
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Another Week Goes By
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
Greetings from a very warm Chilliwack. While not as bad as Eastern Canada or Europe we are seeing temperatures into the mid-30s. Last week was very hot, this week only really hot and next week simply hot. But every week will be well into the 30s which is over 90°F. We don’t have the humidity of the East but it is still very hot for a person like me. I hide in the afternoons in my bedroom/office with our little air-conditioner going full speed. We try to get out for a walk in the evenings when the temperature drops below 30°. Life goes on as normal. Some days better than others. The hard part f ..read more
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Blink.
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Isabelle
3y ago
I had spent all night standing over Jim’s bed as he lay in the ICU Wailuku Hawaii, hovering between life and death.  There was chaos in my brain, chaos on the unit floor as streams of doctors and specialists came in and out of Jim’s room trying desperately to make an accurate diagnosis in order to decide the next steps.  My next step was crystal clear to me, but I seemed to be frozen, unable to carry out the logical next step: talk to the kids. That was pretty much my entire list.  Sounds easy right? But how does one do that?  It certainly wasn’t in my version of: “What to ..read more
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Another Week Gone By
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
It has been a hot week here in Chilliwack – temperatures up in the 30s all week and they are saying 36° today. Isabelle and I may escape the heat and go to a movie this afternoon. We run our small air conditioner in our sleeping area to keep us cool and that helps a lot. Otherwise we both struggle with sleep and sleep is just too important for us. Speaking of sleep, I have been sleeping better. We have adjusted my sleep medications and that seems to be working. And as I have mentioned in the past sleep really seems to be important for me. And if you think about it, it is probably very importan ..read more
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Talking About Suicide
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
Another update on the situation in life we are leading. Overall, I mostly feel better. Although I didn’t sleep last night so today is a struggle. I have been sleeping quite well recently. We have adjusted my medicine which has seemed to help, but last night was a rough one, I don’t know why. I think there are a lot of reasons why I feel somewhat better. A lot of it is due to the outreach I’ve had from family and friends. For that I am truly thankful. It’s been hard discussing this situation, but overall, I think it is for the best for both Isabelle and myself. It’s painful when you try to hide ..read more
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One Week Later
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
It has been just over a week since I tried to tell people a little about how tough it is. This will be much briefer than the last post. I want to share two things. First, thank you all for listening and your comments and your support. As we have always said – we can’t do it without you. We had our friends and neighbours over on Saturday, about 40 people, to share some time together and to thank them for everything they have done for us. Some have spent lots of time at our home and some have just said hello and waved as they walked by. Both ends of the spectrum are very important to us. Just ma ..read more
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Living Through the Dark Days
The Stories - My Quadriplegic Life
by Jim Ryan
3y ago
As many of you know the problem with Facebook is that in truth it is “Bragbook”. Only all the good and exciting things get posted. It makes everyone’s lives seem so important and interesting. Rarely does it tell the truth of what is behind all the posts and the things that never get said. We have tried to post some of the bad with the good, but even that is very difficult. It is easy to gloss over the bad and accentuate the positive. After all, we want to put our best foot forward when we present ourselves in public. In truth I have been struggling terribly for a long time. Life as a quadriple ..read more
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