Slipping and Sliding

Some days I am so thankful I don’t have to go to work. The last few days have been no fun. Temps in the teens with wind-chills in the single digits. We had a little snow that turned to ice. It won’t melt for another day or two, I’m sure.

When it’s like this, I tend to hibernate. I haven’t left the house in several days. Our Beagle, Fred, has a winter coat to wear, but he still can’t stop shivering when he is outside. Out Spitz, Mindy, on the other hand, loves the cold and snow. Her only frustration is that Fred doesn’t want to leave the garage.

We lived in Pennsylvania the last several years before retiring. The cold gave my muscles all kinds of problems. Even worse was the ice. I never felt safe. Often, I had to wait in my car until someone arrived to help me into the office. Once I was indoors, I never left until closing time.

We moved to the South for two important reasons. The first was to be near my wife’s family. The second was to escape the cold. Fortunately, winters are short and ice storms are infrequent. Because I was born and raised in Minnesota, I am often asked if I miss the snow. My response is always the same. NO. If I want snow, I can drive two hours north or east and be in the mountains.

Right now, all I am waiting for is the warm up in a couple of days. We’re supposed to be in the 40s and 50s again. That is a winter’s day I can enjoy.

Wheelchairs and Winter

The article below appeared on several of the Kennedy’s Disease Facebook pages a week ago. It is on the Rick Hansen Foundation website and is a good reminder to follow the Boy Scout Moto, “Be Prepared.”

Winter is tough on those of us living with a progressive disorder. What we could handle last year is more difficult today. Where we once enjoyed the season, it is barely tolerable today. Ice was once for skating. Now it is almost impossible to just safely navigate. Snow was for playing and shoveling back then. Today is keeps you indoors. Salt and sand were good for traction and a melting aid. Now it just messes up your chair and could cause considerable damage. And, if you break down or become stuck in the winter, it could become a life-threatening event.

The Wheelchair User’s Guide to Surviving Winter

Written by Heather Kuttai

“Alarmed would have been an understatement when I saw them: dark purple-black spots on all of my toes. “What on earth are those?” I thought. Considering the circulation problems I have had with my feet, panic struck: “It couldn’t be gangrene, could it?!”

It wasn’t. Luckily, I had a doctor’s appointment the next morning. “Frostbite,” he declared, and then frowned my sneakers. “It’s -20 outside. What part of living in a Canadian winter do you not understand?” …”

Click on the title to read the entire article.

And, speaking of wheelchairs, check out this article to read about this handy app.

GoogleMaps now shows if a location is wheelchair accessible

“Google Maps, an app favored by nearly 70 percent of iPhone users, will now list wheelchair accessibility alongside information like traffic and store hours. The new addition makes using the app easier for people with disabilities, as well as parents with strollers and the elderly.

A team of Google employees, led by Google Drive product manager Rio Akasaka, took advantage of a dying company policy to make Google Maps accessible for people with physical disabilities. The famous 20 percent policy, announced by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 2004, encourages employees to spend up to 20 percent of their working hours concocting personal projects that might benefit the company. …”

Click on the title to read the entire article.

Be safe and stay upright.