Shoulder and Elbow Ultrasound Results

I got my results back from my shoulder and elbow ultrasound and I've been told I've got thickening of the subdeltoid bursa/subacromial bursa and the infraspinatus bursa. As my shoulder was pain free at the time of the ultrasound, it is possible that I have long term bursa and it can get inflamed every so often, which normally has been treated with anti-inflammatory tablets. My elbow ultrasound came back as normal which was great.

I'm still currently struggling with lower arm muscle pain on both arms now and I think some upper arm muscle pain. I'm not really sure what is causing the muscle pain but it might be me overusing my arm muscles as I use my arms a lot or it's realated to the shoulder bursa. Ever since I got my sore shoulder (bursitis) in January I developed the lower arm muscle pain at the same arm which meant my whole arm felt weak and just made my every day living a little bit harder. I didn't take musch notice of the lower arm pain, instead I got anti-inflammatory tablets for my shoulder and that healed my shoulder. The muscle pain in my lower arm was still there so later I went on 2 weeks of Voltaren (Dr got wrong message and thought my shoulder was still sore) which didn't really help. I was trying everything including anti-inflam creams. I then did some google research and wanted to know if I should use ice or heat on my muscle and in the end a heat pack was suggested. I used my heat pack on my lower arm muscle for 15mins and BAM the worst part of the pain had gone!! It was great, it meant I could do a few things without pain. The muscle pain hasn't complelety gone though and is now in both arms and is annoying me, I want it gone.

I'm thinking about contacting my Community Physio and see if she has any ideas or treatments she can do. I can't rest my arms as I use them 24/7 really. The main things that cause the muscle pain are, getting my stockings, socks and shoes on and off each day, getting my legs up onto the bed at night and positioning my feet and legs in my chair throughout the day.

Congratulations Jenny!

Congratulations Jenny! You are one of the winners in the Barry Cardno book competition.
From Attitude TV

This is a book about Barry who is embarking on his lifelong dream to become a pilot. But for Barry the thrill of flying soon gives way to pervading sense of unease as he confronts the solitary nature and constant danger inherent in aerial topdressing in rural New Zealand.
Unflinchingly Barry describes how at age of twenty one has ambitions are shattered in an instant. He candidly reveals the highs and the lows of his courageous rehabilitation, as well a the difficulties and frustrations of rebuilding his life as a paraplegic.

Goes off to start reading the book.

Blues vs Highlanders

My brother and I went to Eden Park to watch the Blues play against the Highlanders. On the Blues first pass we were all waiting for the Blues to drop the ball, which they did a lot in there game last Friday, but they did not drop the ball, within 3 minutes of the game they scored a try!! The Blues thrashed the Highlanders and won the game 26 - 6. The Blues got a bonus point too and are now in the top 4.

Invacare and Orthotics Appt

I went to Invacare today with Dad to get something fixed on my chair. The job didn't take too long and the problem area just needed some adjustment. We then went to Sylvia Park mall for a quick look around and some lunch which we had at the Coffee Club. We then went to Orthotics as I had a shoe appt. I'm going to get another pair of everyday shoes made and they will be ready in 6 months or so due to funding being tight. We then went to another mall to exchange a peice of clothing I got on Monday, then we came home.

Ultrasound Done

I went to my hospital appt this morning to get an ultrasound done on my left shoulder and left elbow. It was a little uncomfortable on my shoulder due to him putting pressure on it while doing the ultrasound. He could see some long term Bursitis in the shoulder and said the report will tell me more. He didn't see to much wrong in the elbow but again I felt the pressure in some areas of my elbow as he was doing the ultrasound. He also asked me where it was sore. Report should tell my Dr what is going on. He took a quick picture of my right shoulder to compare I guess. It proably would of been a good idea to ultrasound that shoulder too as it has similar signs, just not as bad as the left side.

Afterwards, Mum and I went for some lunch and had a quick look around the mall then Mum dropped me home.

Daylight Savings

awww it's Daylight Savings again and tonight we have to set our clocks 'back' one hour. We will have less light in the evenings now, from around 6pm onwards it will get darker. in the mornings it will be lighter.

Browns Bay, Long Bay, Albany and Dinner

My uncle Tim and his partner Val arrived on Monday at Mum and Dad's place. They had been touring New Zealand. Today Dad, Tim, Val and I went to Brown's Bay, Long Bay and then stopped off at Albany for a little while before heading back to Dad's place. It was pretty overcast and a little windy today so it wasn't really a nice day, let alone warm. I hadn't been to Browns Bay for so long but it was nice to check it out. We walked along the little town street then we went to the beach and Val took some photos and I did too using my phone. We then had some lunch.

We headed to Long Bay which I have been to more. We got out and had a walk along the beach edge, Val and Tim went on the sand for a bit and looked at some shells. More photos were taken. We then headed off to Albany for a drink and to show them one of the nice shopping malls. We then went back to Dad's place and later we went out for Dinner at a nearby resturant. I had pork belly, beans and eggplant mash and it was good, I had to take a doggie bag home though. I also had chocolate fondue which I shared with anyone wanting some, it was good but the chocolate could of been thicker.

Sports, Food Shop, Warriors vs Broncos Game

I had a long and fun day today. It started off st sports practice at 1pm, we had all ten player's which meant we could have two full teams of 5 v 5 players. This was awesome as we were able to play positions in hockey and balloon soccer. If we all had foot guards we could of played rugby and that would of been awesome. Anyhow hockey went well, I was team captain and we decided to change positions every so often to give everyone a go at the different positions. Our team won hockey by 2-1. Playing positions means we are playing more as a team and doing more passing etc. It was the first time in a very long time that we played positions in balloon soccer, we haven't done this in 3 yrs actually. Sean and I the two experienced player's took on the adjoining six position on each team and informed our team players about the positions they are in and some key things that they need to know during play. Soccer was awesome and I have no idea what the score was. It was just fun all round, I loved today's practice.

Dad and I then went to the mall to get some things then I did my food shopping. I got Dad a birthday pressie too. We also stopped for a drink and something to eat. Came home and put the food away, then I got changed ready to go out to the rugby game with my brother.

We headed off to the stadium and parked the van in the disabled parking area, then we had to walk some way to get to our seats. We sat right in front of the field basically so we were real close and we could see the big screen as well.
Normally when we go to Mt Smart stadium we are sitting up high so we can see the whole field and what's going on better. At this stadium I could actually see how freakin fast these guys were running and omg they are fast!! I found it harder to keep up with the play as I was eye level with the players so i had to look at the screen a lot but it was awesome anyhow. The down side was that the Warriors got there butts kicked. Scroe: Warriors 10 - Broncos 26 I'd go again.

Out at the Waterfront

I spent the day at the Viaduct and Waterfront with my friend, his mum, his carer and her partner. We wondered around the viaduct in the beautiful sunshine and looked at the boats.
Below is a photo of the harbour looking towards the Harbour Bridge

We then walked around the Hilton hotel and on one side it has restaurants and on the other side there was a few bars and places to eat. We saw two jellyfish and one of them was trying to work it's way around the tires. We watched it for awhile and it was interesting how it didn't go down further in the water to avoid the tires, instead it kinda went around in circles. I took a picture from my phone forgetting about the zoom lol..see below

Ferries were coming in and going out from the dock while we were wondering along the wharf. We went into a Mexican cafe and had lunch there. They served huge helpings of Taco's in a boat type basket and it was just yummy!! They had 4 alcoholic slush drinks and we got all four to try, well my friends mum and I were having them. I had the Margarita and Lemon, Lime and vodka slush, the frozen ice melted fast.
Below is a photo of the front view of the waterfront with the city building behind it and main town shops.

We then went to downtown and looked around then went back to the viaduct where the taxi was picking us up. It was a nice day out.

Lot's Going On Today

It's been a pretty good day with lot's of things being done that has needed attention. This morning the Electrican came to unplug the element hob for uninstallation. I then had a meeting with my Service Coordinator from Focus 2000 regarding mainly one of my carer's due to on-going problems with her. I want to get it sorted out rather just just turn around and say I don't want you anymore. The meeting went well and we were able to update my file at the same time, I felt better that finally something is being done about my carer problems. I will get a call sometime next week to see how it goes and if my carer still wants to work for me haha I hope she does as she's good in some areas. She knows I want her to stay on anyhow.

Straight after my meeting the guy arrived to prepare the area to fit the new element hob in, which later the electrican will come and set it up. He was given the wrong measurments but he and his mate managed to get the element area all sorted out and fit the new hob in.
Old Element Hob


They added rimu trimming to the left and right side of the New element hob...see below in photo


They also cut away some more of the white rim underneath so I can wheel under more, this makes things easier for me. I don't have to lean forward so uch which was causing me a sore back and I can get closer to the cooking area.

My brother then arrived when they were packing up to pick the van up. I cleaned the bench area a little as they left it in a dirty dusty mess. I'm tired now but off to cook my dinner on my new elements XD

Flu Shot

I went up to my Doctors today to get my yearly flu shot. I also asked about the Ultrasound I'm having done on my upper shoulder and asked if I could get an ultrasound done on my elbow at the same time as I have signs of Tennis Elbow or something in the elbow area. I will hear from my Dr tomorrow about it.

New Desktop Wallpaper

I was browsing some desktop wallpapers and came across this one below, which caught my attention so I now have it as my wallpaper.
I also learnt another way of taking a screenie on my iMac...
Press Command-Shift-4 (all at once) and then press the spacebar once. The crosshairs will change into a camera icon. Hover the camera over any area on the screen you wish to capture, for example, the Dock, the menu bar, the desktop, or any open window. Then just click the mouse button to "snap" a screen shot. Or hit Command-. (Command-period) to cancel. With this option, you can entirely eliminate the desktop when you capture a screen shot of an individual window and get a clean outline without having to crop your screenshot in another application.

Show Your Ability 09 Expo

I was at Show Your Ability today and had a look at every stand. I was interested in the Morton & Perry HMN Toilet Lift which might be helpful for me with my Independant transfers as sometimes it gets hard to transfer off the toilet.

I checked out the Medix 21 Spirt 690 exercycle as I can use both arms and legs or use arms or legs on there own. I remember trailing a similar exercycle at MDA years ago and it was pretty good. Gave me exercise and also lessoned up the spasms in my upper leg muscles.

I headed over to the Invacare stand and they had a TDX SP setup so it can be driven via Remote Control, just for show. It was funny watching the TDX SP wheeling around with no one in it and seeing the reactions on people's faces.

My highlight at the Invacare stand was meeting Michael Babinec, Project Manager of Powerchair lectronics and Seating and Positioning. I had been in contact with him via email before hand about my Invacare Boars and questions. I was able to talk to him and ask him questions about a few things regarding the seating on the TDX SR etc.

Filming Day

The filming crew arrived at 10am and we didn't really start filming till around 10.30am. They started with filming me doing some laundry, washing dishes and making a couple sammys. In between I was answering some questions and talking about my Independence to C one of the Presenter's. They did more filming of me doing things on my own that I can still do without support from a carer and more talking to C. The filming took about 2 hours and 30mins before I had a break for lunch and head of to sports with Dad.

The filming crew went over the road for lunch and Dad and I had lunch at my place then took off to sports. It was our second practice of the year but the first practice for me as I wasn't able to go last fortnight.

We played hockey first, we had 7 players turn up so we had 4 vs 3 for awhile. Today's hockey game was really good, fun and the score was 5-5 which meant the teams were pretty even with me on the 3 player team. The filming crew arrived and C (who also plays wheelchair rugby in the Wheel Blacks) came and joined my team. They filmed me playing hockey. We then played balloon soccer with the same teams and that was fun. C joined in again and was helping out my team. I won't say what happened but something funny happened in soccer and it be added into my Story, so if your reading this you will have to watch the Story when it comes out on Attitude TV XD Once they got enough filming of me at sports they asked me if I could go to the next stop so I left sports earlier than normal.

We headed to foodtown where they did some filming of Dad and I doing my food shopping. I used to do food shopping on my own and enjoyed it and now I do it after sports with my Dad. I do most of it and still enjoy it so I'm still doing this Independently. Dad can put all my shopping in the van and take me home and put my shopping inside for me to put away. Years ago the taxi driver did this. We then went to my work and did some filming over there. We finished around 6.15pm so it was a long day but it was fun too.

I feel that I missed saying some stuff that I wanted to get across as it it's hard to remember everything when I've got a camera in front of me and random questions asked. I just go into a blank and forget what I'm trying to say hehe Sometimes I'd know what I was going to be asked so I had my answer prepared, sometimes I was just asked and I had to think up my answer on the spot which was tricky. I just hope I said enough and that they might use the details I emailed them before filming as some of that info wasn't even talked about.

My story should be on Attitude TV after 6 weeks or some sometime, should be good to see it all.

Job Work in Process - Correct Desk Arrived

Today at work the correct desk arrived, finally. I checked the desk top before they went ahead dismantling the temp desk and was happy to see it was the right one. It took the two guys about an hour to remove the temp desk and setup the new corner desk. They also moved the crack handle further to the right to give me more room to get under the desk, later my Co-Manager and I noticed that by doing this it pulled the whole desk 'top' torwards the right more, meaning we couldn't get the desk right up against the wall (the desk legs could, just not the desk top).

M my Co-Manager then put things back onto the desk including the computer. It's going to be trial n error on where things will sit for awhile.

Family DInner

My uncle came to pick me up this afternoon to take me back to Mum and Dad's for dinner. Dad was doing the lawn when he left. My uncle drove the van without too much of me being a backseat driver haha and strapped my chair down well too.

I helped make a fruit salad when I arrived with my auntie and my brother while we chatted away. Later we all had a very nice dinner, Mum had made a Lasagna which was so dam good. Laters I came home and watched some tv.

Out Shopping then Dinner

I went shopping with Dad and my Uncle and Auntie at Sylvia Park today. We had a coffee break first, well I had a cup of tea. I had a play with my uncles camera as it has 18 zoom and woah it's good. It was there first time at this mall (they are from England) and they were very impressed. We went from one end to the other browsing some shops as we go.

We had lunch at The Coffee Club and I had a ham and cheese toasted sammy, it was on turkish bread and it was very good. Had some orange and mango

We did some more shopping, went into DickSmith and they got some things then we had a look at the nice big TV's dreaming about what we would like hehe Later we had enough and came back to my place. My auntie did some weeding in my tiny garden then we went accross the road to post a letter. Dad and my uncle fell asleep for awhile then we had a cup of tea.

Later we all left to met the rest of the family at RIverhead resturant for dinner. Dinner was very very yummy. I had rack of lamb with potato mash mixed with peas and a nice sauce. Before that I had a small entrie.

A Pretty Busy Week

This week was pretty busy with lot's of things going on. On Monday, Kate one of the Directors from Attitude TV came out to see me and talk about my life and about the filming they are doing in a fortnight. That went well and it was good to met her before-hand.

I went to work on my usual days which went well, nothing really to report on there which is good.

I had a hair appt on Wednesday morning, had a cut and retouch of color. Housing NZ came over in the afternoon to do another House Inspection which takes 5 minutes if I'm lucky XD. I told her about my front two elements not working and said it's urgent as I use those all the time to cook my dinner. I also said that one of the locks on the doors needs replacing, the guttering needs cleaning and the front of the unit gutter needs fixing as it's not straight.

The electrican came out on Thursday morning before I went to work to measure up the elements as they are replacing it with a flat top one. The door man came out this afternoon to fix the lock, he actually replaced it.

Another Week Gone

Another week gone by, worked two days and was out at the mall on Monday. Thursday was a very hot day as we hit 34.2 degrees along with humidity of 100%. I felt like I was in a sauna all day. I did my food shopping on Wednesday with my brother as doing it on Saturday wasn't going to work.

Today is a much cooler day with rain on and off. I'm not going to sports today so will just be doing stuff around home.

Second week at Work Update

This has been my second week at work and it's been pretty good, better than the first week. Tuesday went well and I did some new jobs, calling people to see if they were interested in going to the next activity classes.

Today's work was good and a little busy. I was left in the office on my own for the first time for 2 hours, where I took phone calls, helped anyone who came to the front desk and ringing people to see if they interested in coming to some classes. The Co-Managers were in the hall having ameeting but said if I really needed them to ring the bell they gave me. I managed pretty well too I thought and didn't need there help over the 2 hours. I got my first pay too and that felt good.