A Movie Showing - Fundraiser on the Divide

Geri Teixeira of Georgetown's "Be Jazzed" is Hosting

Movie Showing: "3 Women 300 Miles"
A Fundraiser for Kelley on the Divide, in Georgetown

April 16 Friday night at 7:00pm

at the I.O.O.F. Hall in Georgetown
(Main St. and Hwy 193)

Suggested Donation $25

(everyone is welcome no matter the cost)

serving popcorn ~ candy ~ sodas
DVD's available for sale ~ $40

There will be prizes.
Some prized donated by Sierra Outdoor Center
Lincoln Way, Auburn, CA

For more information please contact Geri Teixeira at 530.823.1128

Geri is the owner of Be Jazzed and has been teaching fitness classes since 1981. She said, "...that I always trying to reach out my students in ways to motivate them to reach their goals, overcome their obstacles and help empower them. I know now that fitness or wellness is a lifetime commitment which involves body, mind, and spirit. All these aspects need to be nurtured, exercised, and rested. And I believe all of us could learn more about ourselves by seeing your beautiful film of your trip down the Grand Canyon. A place I too love".
I was very flattered when Geri ask if I would share the 3 Women film with her fitness classes! Her philosophy rang home...take care of our bodies-our minds-our spirits!...through exercising, resting, and eating right to maintain a healthy body and weight. To Join Geri at Be Jazzed fitness in Georgetown, please call 530.823.1128
I look forward to traveling to Georgetown and to breath in the fresh pines at the higher elevation on the Divide...I just love saying that word...The Divide...it sounds so strong and sure :o)
Many thanks to Geri and to so many others for helping fundraise for my rehab to walk again. kelley

P.S. I'll be visiting Project Walk in Carlsbad - March 30th. I'll be flying tomorrow to meet up w/ Jody Conners in Dana Point.... we'll visit with Project Walk on Tues. to check out their facility and for them to check me out and also to figure out my possible living situations and whatnot. If anyone has any ideas let me know. I'm getting excited! kk

Fun in the Sun

Hi everyone,

Today was really a fun day for me...Sue Norman and Lisa Dearing came down from the "colder climate" of Lake Tahoe, to a "warm & sunny" Sacramento, and took me out on the American river bike trail...including the 3 dogs; Wilbur and Rosco in the basket and Maddie running beside, on squirrel patrol. After returning home for lunch and a quick regroup, they loaded Sue double sea kayak and Kurt's double canoe on the rigs and we all went for a paddle on Lake Natoma...dogs included! Burritos for dinner! What a great day!!! Thanks Sue and Lisa

Last week I finished the 5 week Bowen treatments...and really do believe that it helped me regain more energy and flexibility...I look forward to a monthly Bowen tune-up. I really have been getting up earlier and able to sustain more exercise. My pain has been getting better if I don't over do my exercise...I was down with pain! for 3 days! last week because I did just that.

Last Friday Bessie Jackson pick me up and drove me to a Nevada City acupuncturist, Dr. Dennis Tucker. Bessie is treating me to the first series of appointments to see if the type of acupuncture he uses will help. The treatment technique that Dr. Tucker developed is very different from conventional acupuncture treatment. This is how he explains it..."Neuro-muscular mapping and involves precise palpation to map the pain syndrome from the spinal nerve roots to the primary myofascial changes that are involved in the neurological expression of inflammation, and or, altered nerve transmission throughout the affected area." I had my evaluation and a few needles suck in me and I was out for the count!... very relax and when I got home at 1:30pm I went to bed and only woke up for dinner and then went back to sleep until Kurt woke me up for pancakes at 9am. whew!! I was so rested and felt so good, after b'fast my Mom and I went to the pool. My legs were really moving! I was bicycling my legs underwater and walking! I felt good, strong! The pool has been a wonderful help in strengthening and bending my knees too where they are both past 90 degrees! I am so happy. And all my pressure sores on my foot are gone and I am able to stand longer and longer everyday. I look forward to visiting Dr. Tucker again next week. Thank you Bessie for taking me to Dr. Tuckers!

Take care, love, kelley

Project Walk

Hi All,
The pool and warm spa has paid off... along with the Bowen treatments... the left knee (with TKR) is now bending past 90 degrees! and the right is doing good...and I'm able to cycle with a stationary bike that cranks with arm peddles. It feels so good to be able make the complete revolution with the legs! The nerve pain still sucks (my mom hates that word) but when I see my knees bending and I make my small goals, I'm able to sometimes keep pushing through the pain. I'm in the standing machine a few times a day, working up to 2 1/2 hours. Kurt took Wilbur and I out canoeing last Sunday, I'm sure we kept moving for 45 minutes in the fresh air, and it felt good, until the next day I paid for it. Poco a poca, my friend Nancy Wiley say's!
Sean Cheng who was helping me before I broke my legs has moved on in his studies with personal training and Tai Chi education (we'll keep in touch). My new plans for rehab--I hope to be accepted into the Project Walk facility in Carlsbad, CA, in June (www.projectwalk.org) ...if my nerve pain and bone density isn't a problem. This April, I'll be moving to Montana with my Mom, for my spring training before moving south. The logistics won't be easy to make the change with all my equipment I'll be needing, but my sister Kim and her husband Lance are helping me move with their truck and good sized trailer... whew! and I'm so grateful!
Lee is still here with me (My dear Mom ) and I have been spoiled rotten. We've helped each other out quite a bit this last year since I broke my legs and my father went to the big river in the sky last March (wow I can't believe it has been a year already). It would get a little lonely up in their Montana log home by herself, shoving snow, hauling the wood in, and watching the days slowly get shorter. So, we are both grateful we have each other. Love, kel
Part of a poem sent from Ro.

"Courage"

Courage is not something mysterious or unattainable....
Courage does not have to roar to be heard,
It does not mean being totally fearless and being invincible,
It could mean taking actions, taking risks, taking a stand,
Standing up for yourself, standing by your choices,
And sticking to your dreams when others jeered. ~Fion Linn

Bowen Treatment

One week ago I tried my first Bowen treatment with therapist Raymond Augustyniak in El Dorado Hills...it helps move energy, balances and regulates the body etc... you may have heard of it. Therapy is given, with a 5 to 7 days in between to let the treatments take effect. One thing it has been one heck of a week--my nerve pain has magnified and I spent most my time in bed...it's been awful. I'll have to let you know how it goes during my next four visits.

I have been working hard trying to bend my left knee, the one with the TKR, it has been giving me trouble. With the calf muscle shortened, left foot dropping; turning in; a pressure sore (a good sized blister) that I need to heal before I can attempt to stand at all. I am so desperate to stand, it makes me sick. I can't help but think about how my body continues to atrophy and my bones keep getting more brittle. I have a huge battle a head...I am just waiting to get GOing!
Good night you all, love kelley
P.S. I'm looking for Darrell H. phone number and address. (he won bid on outrigger canoe painting)

Tying a Knot and Hanging On...

A special friend of mine, Ro, who lives in Montana with her husband Steve, are neighbors & good friends to my Mom and Dad. Ro has been such a great advocate for me...Doing so much, from spending hours doing heavy research on her computer finding cures for nerve pain and bone building remedies, to genuine support towards my healing, by sending uplifting and inspirational quotes every Friday, for 6 months! THANKS RO!

Here is a letter she wrote after she read my last blog... I wanted to share it with you.

Hi Kelley,
I read your post the other day and am so sorry you are still having so much pain. I can't imagine how it must be to live with that every day. I wish I could find a quote that would make it all bearable. I am very glad though, that your bones have healed so well and you will be able to start back in the pool again. Hopefully that kind of movement will be energizing as well as soothing to your body. Maybe one of the old quotes might be worth repeating:
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." ~F D. Roosevelt
Try to think of all the good things (your bone growth, your favorable response to the fosamax, no more braces, and your go ahead on the exercise), think of all these things as the knot in the rope, and hang onto them.I wish I could do so much more for you. My thoughts and prayers are with you and I do believe that this pain is not permanent. Hope you have a restful evening! Love Ro

Stem Cell News Update! by Enoch ;o) Thanks again for sending the info on the first human stem cell clinical trial... I thought others might like to hear about it as well:
NZ scientists are doing the first! stem cell human clinical trial on spinal cord injured ...a 2 year trial... by using olfactory cells (nerve cells in the olfactory tissue are constantly replaced) from inside the nose and transplanting it inside the injured spinal cord. Scientist say it will help the nervous system heal itself by helping repair nerve cells; cells to regrow; restore function. I wanted to be one of there chosen participants but they were needing 35 or younger because the olfactory cell are less reliable the older you are....hummm. I'll still be interested in following there progress. Here's the website Enoch sent. http://www.thescizone.com/videos/9370/new-zealand-stemcell-trials

lately my nerve pain has been doing better and my muscles are slowly starting to get back into shape. I've been able to make trips to the pool. Also yesterday, for the first time!! since my leg braces came off from the breaks and I have been able to bend my left knee enough to get into the standing-frame, I was able to stand up (for 30 minutes); now it will be my daily ritual. I have been having some trouble with pressure sores on my left foot. Because I haven't been able to walk or put pressure on my feet for the past 6 months, it has been quite the battle trying to keep my feet from turning in (pigeon toed) and getting what is call "footdrop". During that time I wore special boots day (and night) for the past 6 months and it has take a toll, especially on my left foot. There is a fair amount a pressure pin pointed constantly on the same areas, making it very difficult to keep from having pressure sores. My job is to keep moving my feet and legs; Bending them, massaging, moving the joints and muscles. It's funny, in the mornings just transferring out of bed and onto the toilet is a workout, I feel I need to go back to bed and take a nap. It really has been non-stop-on-going care and rehab. I feel guilty writing this note now when I know I should be doing something else that will bring me closer to walking....I think I'll go take a nap and let the nerves grows ;o).

I'm tying my knot in my rope and hanging onto all the good things.
Take care and thank you for checking in, love, kelley

P.S. Darrell Hoover, I want to thank you for your generous support at the silent auction during our last fundraiser at the Sierra Nevada House. He was one of the purchasers of the outrigger canoe painting. Darrell, I would hope to get your address and phone. Thanks kk

I got an A+...

It is true, when it rains it pours...the barometer keeps dropping and my nerve pain keeps going up and up!! The nerve pain has been the most debilitating for me, through this whole ordeal (2 yrs)...it is like my body has been plugged into an electrical cord that is fraid..my skin or body from the waist down is in constant pain (burning, buzz's, stabbing, electrocuted). I am so sensitive to exercise--anything I do my body rebels tenfold! It is even hard to talk on the phone at times. I wonder what I am going to do... I hate my life.


I do have good news:

1. Jan 12, I visited my ortho doc and he gave me an A+ on the healing of my bones.
2. The leg braces are off for good (no more foley catheter...I am going to miss it though, now I am going to have to worry about "cathing" on time. "In urinary catheterization, or "cathing" for short".
3. Body has not rejected the Fosamax (pill) for my bone density.
4. Able to hit the pool!
5. Start weight bearing.
   

My Mom is still here helping me, so much!... fixing food; washing clothes and bedding; house keeping; driving me to my appointments; taking me to the pool; helping me get on and off the total-gym for weight bearing exercise; massaging my legs; and she is great company.

Now, I am able to bend my right knee past 90 degrees! but only bend my left at 55, meaning I cannot ride a bike yet... I gotta keep massaging and stretching the knee constantly in hope to get it to bend. If I cannot bend my knee I won't be able to ride a bike or do knee-squats on the total-gym, which are two great ways to help with strengthening my quads, these muscles help lock my knees to stand or walk. I also have a stand "EasyStand" that just helps me to standup, but because of my stiff knee I cannot get into that either. Kurt has been thinking about building a table that tilts up so I can start standing vertically.

It is definitely back to the drawing board.

Thanks for checking in on me. I love you guys, kelley

Merry Christmas and Good Tidings to you'all

It's X-Mas Eve... "a time of year to remember those who have touch our lives in so many special ways...You are ALL fondly remembered, cherished and loved today and all year through, and I always wish you good health and happiness for a new year!" For the holiday we are staying close to home. We have great neighbors, Jayne and Allen, and they invited Kurt, Mom and I over for x-mas eve dinner. Tomorrow we are gathering at home for dinner here with my sister Kim and her husband Lance.
I am so lucky my Mom is still here with us, helping me--I love her company--we even managed to find a way to get her little dog "Dudley-the dachshund" down to here from Montana so they can be together. Mom gets me going in the mornings, and right when I awake I start bending my knees for about a half hour, then hang my legs passively off the end of the bed and put the electrical muscle stimulator on both quads for a half hour, then the hamstrings...as I kick and pull, kick and pull. Recently I've had a bone density scan that showed ostopinea, one point from osteoporosis, due to not being able to stand or exercise my legs. I am hopeful to reverse this once I am able to stand and rehab. Right now they have me on a drug called Fosomax--a weekly pill that is suppose to help with bone loss, if it doesn't burn my esophagus or make my joints swell or teeth fall out first. Onward and Thank You again for your prayers and good wishes.
May all your Christmas wishes come true!
Love, kelley