Becoming A Snake

My tummy hurts. I feel like I might need to go to the toilet, but not enough to call for help from home care. If I didn't have ALS, I would likely just go for a walk or do so other activity, and my whole system would feel better. But I have ALS, and I can't do that. So here I sit, just generally uncomfortable, with no plan for resolution.

This happens fairly often to me, where I have a little bit of stomach upset with no way of really resolving it. It's part of the general discomfort of being stuck in a wheelchair, not having even the ability to at least exercise my upper body. All I do is sit here, like a lump, napping for hours at a time, sleeping 10 to 12 hours in a stretch. It is truly more sedentary than the most sedentary existence that you can imagine.

It is becoming awkward to do even the simplest of things with my arms now, let alone not being able to do anything at all with my legs. My HCA made a terrific breakfast for me today, in spite of having to stay extra long to do it. She made Eggs Benedict California style with Avocadoe and Shrimp, along with hashbrowns with mushrooms and onions. You couldn't fnid a better breaakfast on any restaurant menu.  Sadly, I was unable to lift my fork to my mouth in order to eat. Nor could I cut the eggs and muffin without a good deal of effort.

I ended up eating sideways to the table, so I could lean back and not have to raise my arms to lift the fork. I stayed in that position while drinking my coffee too. In fact I stayed in that position after working my way through breakfast, leaning even further backwards to take a nap, sleeping for about three hours after my meal.

Maybe I'm like a snake, eating what might be a normal meal for others but that which has become a challenging meal for me. in size and in effort required to eat. Maybe, like the snake, the energy required in digestion itself makes me somnolent. Maybe snakes have a form of ALS too. After all, have you ever seen a snake walk or use arms? Maybe, somewhere back in time, their appendages just atrophied right off.

Oh my God! I'm becoming a snake!