It's 1:00 PM. I'm up. I'm dressed. I've already gotten several small chores done thanks to the help of Kathy, my Monday and Tuesday morning HCA. It would normally be a Range of Motion exercise morning but I asked Kathy if she would be willing to help me with a few things around the apartment which were bugging my, and which also were getting in the way of me doing more for myself.
There are so many areas where this is true, where I can do a part of something, but only if someone else helps me with another part. I can still make a lovely meal, but it works so much better when someone helps me, especially with the side dishes. Want a great lamb roast? Help me with the potatoes. Want Salmon in Hollandiase? Give me a hand with the sauce and asparagus. There are all kinds of cooking example, but there are life examples too. I can tidy the living room, except I can't move the couch anymore, not even with my wheelchair. I can do laundry, but it sure goes easier when there is someone to help with the back and forth. I can even fold laundry, except for the large sheets and towels.
There are a lot of exceptions to the things I can do, more and more coming each day. I've recently discovered I am not strong enough to use the corker to cork my wine. I can still do labels, and even some of the other manual tasks. I can prepare bottles, even so far as to spritzing them with disinfectant. Filling them? I don't think so, not anymore. Maybe though, if I got out of my wheelchair and onto the floor.
These exceptions follow me into shopping, where I can get "almost" everything off the shelves. I need help with things too high up, or behind heavy freezer doors. In most stores there are aisles too thin for a wheelchair. I have to ask for help if there is something there I need.
These obstacles and exceptions are a simply reality of my life. There is little to be done about them. It's just the way it is. I have to live with them, should I choose to live at all. They upset me. It makes a great deal of difference when someone, without question or judgement, helps me so that I can get on with my life, such as it is. That's the biggest thing you can do for someone with ALS or something similar. Give them a bit of your time, where you help with whatever it is they need, without judgement or interference. What you are doing is giving me back something I've lost, my ability to complete a task.
Well said! I can do laundry if someone helps. I can cook in a large pot if someone strong can wrestle with it to get it washed. It's those extra sets of hands that make life work when you don't have healthy muscles! I'm happy you got some good help with those annoying undone tasks. ☺
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