I have cabin fever. It’s pretty bad. I can hardly stand to be cooped up inside any longer…when, oh WHEN will it finally warm up and be spring??!! I think I need a project, something to occupy my time in the evenings. Right now I just feel antsy and can hardly sit still. I get up and wander around the house and I know Matt is wondering what the heck I’m doing. I see signs of life out in the flower bed and I long to be working out there, cutting back the dead stuff, poking around the green stems and smiling as they grow, walking around the yard with my awesome new garden cart that Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas. 
It’s hard to contain how badly I want to just be outside!! For now, I have to settle for stepping out on the deck from time to time and surveying the flower beds and the occasional walk with Buddy on a warm day.
Last Friday we went out to dinner at our new favorite restaurant with Hope and Chad to celebrate Hope’s birthday. It was so nice to go out just the four of us…it had been a long time! As much as we love the kiddies, sometimes I do miss the times the four of us would hang out together. We have to make a point to do it more often…it is always worth it! Dinner was delicious, as usual, and Hope enjoyed her complimentary chocolate cake as well! After dinner we came back here to hang out and watch a movie. It was just so good to just spend time with them!!
Saturday we went shopping for a recumbent stationary bike. We had gotten this old stationary bike from Matt’s grandparents…but it wasn’t nearly stable enough for him to use safely on his own…which is what he really wants. So we went shopping and ordered one that I think will be perfect. It has a walk through design, so he can step through from one side to another without having to swing his leg over. It should be delivered in a couple days. We’re excited to get it and give it a try. Blake is going to install another handrail for the basement stairs so Matt can go down easily on his own again and use the bike whenever he wants. He’s looking forward to being able to go down there and do his thing. The exercise will be good for us both!
We had SNOW on Sunday morning which forced us to stay home from church. Matt just doesn’t go out when the weather is bad. We used to roll our eyes if our grandparents didn’t venture out when there was a hint of snow…but have a better appreciation of it now. Nothing is worse than getting stuck in rain or snow with the wheelchair. We just don’t move quick enough not to get really wet.
This week we went to the ENT to have him look at Matt’s ear. He’s been having the sensation of fluid in his right ear for a few weeks. We saw his internal medicine doctor and she put him on a nasal spray for a while, but when that didn’t clear it up entirely she referred him to the ENT. He looked at his ear and thought it looked fine, but wanted to double check his hearing as well. As we waited for the results, Matt told me he’s had his hearing tested before and it was not good. The ENT confirmed Matt has ‘significant’ hearing loss. He said it’s not a matter of if, but WHEN he’ll need hearing aids. Matt smirked a little, remembering all the loud cars, loud stereos, and factory noise he used to be around all the time. I think he wears his hearing loss sort of like a badge of manly honor! The ENT explained that because he has so much hearing loss, the slightest amount of inflammation or congestion can be amplified and more irritating to Matt. He recommended yearly hearing checks, but thinks continuing to use the nasal spray should help clear it up in time. It explained a lot to me, because I was surprised Matt wanted to go see the ENT…generally he puts up with these little irritants and doesn’t like to make special trips to the doctor. I guess it was more bothersome to him than I thought…go figure.
We are also getting ready to move forward with a special contact lens for Matt’s right eye. We’ve been working with our Optometrist to see what the options are for Matt’s double vision. There is a company which will make a special contact lens to match his eye as perfectly as possible, but it will be black on the back side…so when Matt is wearing the lens his vision will be completely blocked, but to anyone looking at him, his eye should appear normal. This will be a great alternative to the patch or tape on his glasses when we’re going out and about. So hopefully we’ll get the process rolling with that soon as well.
Matt has been feeling good, overall, and is looking forward to getting the bike and working on getting himself in better shape. It’s so hard for him to be active enough to burn any significant calories…so this will be great. I’m excited that he wanted to do it!
It’s hard to contain how badly I want to just be outside!! For now, I have to settle for stepping out on the deck from time to time and surveying the flower beds and the occasional walk with Buddy on a warm day. Last Friday we went out to dinner at our new favorite restaurant with Hope and Chad to celebrate Hope’s birthday. It was so nice to go out just the four of us…it had been a long time! As much as we love the kiddies, sometimes I do miss the times the four of us would hang out together. We have to make a point to do it more often…it is always worth it! Dinner was delicious, as usual, and Hope enjoyed her complimentary chocolate cake as well! After dinner we came back here to hang out and watch a movie. It was just so good to just spend time with them!!
Saturday we went shopping for a recumbent stationary bike. We had gotten this old stationary bike from Matt’s grandparents…but it wasn’t nearly stable enough for him to use safely on his own…which is what he really wants. So we went shopping and ordered one that I think will be perfect. It has a walk through design, so he can step through from one side to another without having to swing his leg over. It should be delivered in a couple days. We’re excited to get it and give it a try. Blake is going to install another handrail for the basement stairs so Matt can go down easily on his own again and use the bike whenever he wants. He’s looking forward to being able to go down there and do his thing. The exercise will be good for us both!
We had SNOW on Sunday morning which forced us to stay home from church. Matt just doesn’t go out when the weather is bad. We used to roll our eyes if our grandparents didn’t venture out when there was a hint of snow…but have a better appreciation of it now. Nothing is worse than getting stuck in rain or snow with the wheelchair. We just don’t move quick enough not to get really wet.
This week we went to the ENT to have him look at Matt’s ear. He’s been having the sensation of fluid in his right ear for a few weeks. We saw his internal medicine doctor and she put him on a nasal spray for a while, but when that didn’t clear it up entirely she referred him to the ENT. He looked at his ear and thought it looked fine, but wanted to double check his hearing as well. As we waited for the results, Matt told me he’s had his hearing tested before and it was not good. The ENT confirmed Matt has ‘significant’ hearing loss. He said it’s not a matter of if, but WHEN he’ll need hearing aids. Matt smirked a little, remembering all the loud cars, loud stereos, and factory noise he used to be around all the time. I think he wears his hearing loss sort of like a badge of manly honor! The ENT explained that because he has so much hearing loss, the slightest amount of inflammation or congestion can be amplified and more irritating to Matt. He recommended yearly hearing checks, but thinks continuing to use the nasal spray should help clear it up in time. It explained a lot to me, because I was surprised Matt wanted to go see the ENT…generally he puts up with these little irritants and doesn’t like to make special trips to the doctor. I guess it was more bothersome to him than I thought…go figure.
We are also getting ready to move forward with a special contact lens for Matt’s right eye. We’ve been working with our Optometrist to see what the options are for Matt’s double vision. There is a company which will make a special contact lens to match his eye as perfectly as possible, but it will be black on the back side…so when Matt is wearing the lens his vision will be completely blocked, but to anyone looking at him, his eye should appear normal. This will be a great alternative to the patch or tape on his glasses when we’re going out and about. So hopefully we’ll get the process rolling with that soon as well.
Matt has been feeling good, overall, and is looking forward to getting the bike and working on getting himself in better shape. It’s so hard for him to be active enough to burn any significant calories…so this will be great. I’m excited that he wanted to do it!
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