Living and laughing with a disability - cerebral palsy; ordinary life, extraordinary circumstances.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Rockwood Outlaws: 2nd at State



Pictures of Eric pitching at the state tournament...Thank you Beth Mumford!

We beat teams that most people thought we had no chance of beating - Camas, Clackamas, and Stayton (word was they were "stacked").  Bam Bam hit two home runs in one game!  Stellar pitching from JJ and Eric.  All the boys stepped beyond themselves into greatness.  Assistant coach LJ had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix on Friday - he was back on the field on Sunday.  It was hot...the high 90's.

In the end we were beaten by Jefferson, a small town team as scrappy as ours.

God bless the boys of summer!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Jodie's doc visit

Yesterday's venture taking Jodie to the foot specialist proved challenging.

We were in line for valet parking.  One car in front of us.  No one appeared to be helping them.  I got the lift out for Jodie.  We were running late.  I was trying to get the cars behind us to scoot back.  The valet guy came and told us we had to pull ahead.  Jodie back up the lift, back to her seat...I pulled ahead.

New dr., so many forms to fill out.  It's all on the computer...doesn't matter.

The billing person called  us back to a room.  Jodie had called our primary care provider and our insurance.  We had the referral.  The billing person said the referral had been filed July 2nd, but it had not yet been processed.  The visit would only be covered as out of network.  Higher deductible; less coverage.  Our choice was to go home and make another appointment, or keep the appointment  and pay more.  We kept the appointment.  The billing person was  very professional; we  thanked her.

Young dr., very nice.  I think she is the first African American female dr. we have seen.  She took Jodie's boot off, examined the Achilles tendon.  No break there.  The top of Jodie's foot was tender...there is concern there.  X-rays are needed, the the dr. said we can wait until the referral is sorted out.

The dr. wants to go the non-surgical route if she can.  That made us happy.

Afterwards, Jodie and I stopped at Applebees for lunch to go.  We took it to the park,

Sigh...

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Welcome home, son

Workmate Shari accused me of worrying like an old woman.  Pastor Craig's sermon yesterday (a home run btw) about how each of us have our 17 mile treacherous walk to Jericho spoke to me.  As I was applying the sermon to Jodie and Ma2, they pointed right back at me.

Yes, I missed Eric during his week-long mission trip to Montana.  The train ride was long.  He slept a lot yesterday.  He helped paint a house, stayed at Heart Butte elementary school, attended a Blackfeet powwow, learned of how the Blackfeet were mistreated by the white man.  He now has Facebook friends in Arizona and Minnesota.

Much more to hear of the trip.

We have a great kid.  Some day he will grow and be off to mark his wonderful mark in the world.  We will one day need to let go of Eric.  That day is not today.

Baseball playoffs this week.  If we win district, we go to state playoff next week in Corvallis.

Friday, July 02, 2010

A risky proposition

Eric Nelson rides his adult trike around Gresham. A 35 year old cp'er, the trike is his lifeline. He does odd jobs and returns pop cans. He's a volunteer "geek".

Eric maximizes his ability to make this world a better place, the highest calling any of us have.

Interesting story here:

A risky proposition

He was stopped by the Gresham police for riding on the sidewalk, but then he was hit when he was walking his trike in the bike lane. Adults are not allowed to ride bikes on sidewalks, but Eric does not feel safe in the bike lanes. His bike is banged up, as is his confidence.

I did not drive until I was out of college. I rode my yellow trike everywhere in Corvallis - to class, to the grocery store, to the laundromat, to church...everywhere. I rode sidewalks on busy streets. I had a close call with a car at a strip mall driveway one time.

I don't know Eric personally, but I see him around all the time. The Gresham police chief will work with Eric to figure out what is best for his safety and the public's. Eric's confidence will return.

Your community needs you Eric. Hang in there!