Keep Moving Forward

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 – 10:05 A.M. A few months ago, I came up with the term “keep moving forward” in something I wrote. As the days and weeks wore on, I found myself saying this repeatedly. I now consider it a slogan because it describes the way I want my life to go, both in easy and hard times.   Now that a day has passed since my unpleasant conversation with my physical therapist, who called and told me not to go there yesterday afternoon because there would not be enough people to help me, I am feeling better about what was said. I am not saying that I like what she told me, but at least I now know what to expect from her in the future. If she thinks I am just going to “roll over and play dead,” then she will soon learn differently.   The next time she tries getting away with not seeing me because there are not enough people to help get me out of my wheelchair, I plan on filing a complaint against her and the clinic. She knew what my medical condition was when she first started working with me, so I feel she should have planned how much help she needed to start with. She, and the clinic, agreed to provide the care I needed, so I am going to try and make sure they live up to their responsibilities.   This morning, I made a complaint against one of the two CNAs who helps put me to bed at night. This woman, who reminds almost everyone of Hulk Hogan, lifts the upper part of my body, and then “slams” me onto the bed almost every night. I feel this has been contributing to some of my back pain.   She took the weekend off, and there was one day when I did not need any pain medication at all. The CNA started helping me again last night, and the first thing I did when they came to get me up this morning was to ask for my pain medication because the pain was so bad. I saw my home healthcare nurse very early this morning, and told her about what was happening. She promised that someone from the agency would talk with the CNA today.   There are times when I just feel like giving up on everything, but I somehow manage to remind myself to “Keep moving forward.”   Quotes for Success:   “The important thing to recognize is that it takes a team, and the team ought to get credit for the wins and the losses. Successes have many fathers, failures have none.”   Philip Caldwell