365 days of a constant roller-coaster. I didn't know how I would feel when I reached this milestone. Most of the time it felt like just another date on the calendar and at other times it would take my breath away and leave me feeling suffocated. However, God let the sun rise today and it will set again tonight and life moves on. Some days are life as normal and some days I have to look for constant small victories to make it to the end. I couldn't have made it to this point without my support group. They help me pick up my cross every day and I'm so grateful for it.

Spinal cord injuries can take up to two years to know the full extent of the injury. Unfortunately, I haven't gained anymore function or sensation since the accident and some things have only gotten worse. My muscle spasms have intensified which can be controlled with medications with the trade off of being drowsy. My other big downfall has been increased bladder spasms. My bladder can only retain a very small amount of urine before spasming which causes it to involuntarily empty. I am trying my second round of botox in my bladder. Yes, the same botox people use to get rid of wrinkles! The first round spurred a 5 month stretch of uti battles. If I can't keep the infections under control my only bladder options left will be an extensive surgery where they stitch part of your bowel onto your bladder, or have a tube that goes through my abdomen into my bladder that is then attached to a bag that is worn on my leg to collect the urine. Neither are options that I'm any bit excited about.

As some of you have heard Kendra and I are hoping to build a house. We want to have a home that doesn't require our bed to be apart of our living room and a kitchen that has space for a table and still be accessible for me. We would be really excited about the process if lumber wasn't so expensive! Fingers crossed that Santa brings cheaper prices so we can build next spring.

For those of you that don't have me on Facebook I apologize for it being 6 months since our last update. This past spring Kendra and I traveled to Indiana and had a lift installed on my pickup so I can independently get in and out of equipment. I was able to do all sorts of field work, planting, spraying and I even hauled corn with our semi! The lift has truly been a game changer for me. I even used it to get in and out of our friend's pool. :) The other thing I got this spring was an Action Trackchair. This tracked wheelchair helps me maneuver the many obstacles on the farm. I have a blade to push snow, gravel or whatever comes in my path, a sprayer to kill weeds around the buildings, and I have a sweeper that I pull to clean the shop. One of the best parts is that it can stand me up. This is nice for reaching high things or just working at the bench.

I have added a few videos to my YouTube channel and I will continue to add a few more in the future of myself doing things around the farm. Here is a video of me going over the jump that I was paralyzed on and Sadie and I using the ramp leaving our house. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/X_LgHmshOS4?feature=share

Finally, I want to say thanks again for everyone that has helped Kendra and I in the past year. I probably sound like a broken record at this point but our family, friends and community are amazing. We are blessed to have you all be apart of our lives and for all the thoughts, prayers, kind deeds and financial help.

 

Here's to year 2.