January 4th. My first weekend blog! There are no therapies on the weekends, so we have the weekend to do as we please! Today we had another trip out to Tea Tree Plaza, we've been there a few times now, once with my parents. This time for lunch we went with a good ol' Wendy's hot dog but we've previously been to Coffee Break (which was average, the food was very overpriced) and 42nd Street cafe, which was great. They were very accommodating with moving around chairs, we even had a lovely couple switch tables to make it easier for us! We have also discovered that most shops just aren't made for wheelchairs. Narrow aisles, tables in the middle of walkways, things too high on the shelves... and last but not least, some very rude and inconsiderate people! Sometimes its due to being too busy looking at a phone, or something we noticed even before the accident - people standing in the middle of the walkways!
Yesterday I asked you to name the first paralympic sport you think of. Thank you to those that answered! The most popular was basketball! Just a fun fact, my gym instructor was a part of the 1996 men's gold medal team for wheelchair basketball! Other sports you guys thought of included swimming, athletics/track/marathon, horse riding and ice hockey for the winter Olympics! Check out the full list here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralympic_sports
Only one person got the sport I've been thinking about (well done Trevor!)... rowing! I did rowing in high school, somehow managing the early mornings (I still don't know how!) but I loved it. I always planned on doing it again one day, and I still can! Adaptive rowing has been a part of the summer paralympics since 2008 in Beijing. There are 3 categories in which adaptive rowers are classified -
LTA - Legs, Trunk, Arms
Use of at least one leg, trunk and arms. Also for those with visual andintellectual impairments. Rowed with standard boats and sliding seats.
TA - Trunk and Arms
Only use of trunk muscles. Boat has fixed seat.
AS - Arms and Shoulders
Limited trunk control. Boat has fixed seat and rower is strapped at upper chest level to only allow shoulder and arm movements.Thanks Wikipedia! At this stage I would be classed in the AS category. If you want to see what it looks like check out this video of the women's single sculls from 2008 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8XYhNkFs8I
I have motivation to build my strength not only for everyday use, pushing the manual chair, and eventually transferring, but now also for the prospect of rowing again one day!
Today's picture is a Christmas present Luke and I got from my friend Michelle. I loved them the second we unwrapped them! I'm yet to put our photos in them, but will do so soon. As I am about to write this, I picture a scene from the movie 'A Cinderella Story' (I watched it way too many times during my Hilary Duff obsession phase!)... anything is possible if you just
believe.
Hi Elise, Modern technology is getting harder every day. This is my 5th attempt to send this comment. Good thing patience come with age. So if you get 4 confusing, unfinished comments from me, then sorry I am still learning.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was saying that we live in such a small world and I still missed the pleasure of catching up with you and meeting your fella Luke. I am in Adelaide for 2 weeks with Barry's mum who is having radiotherapy (she is coping extremely well) and decided to get her out of the 4 walls of the Cancer Lodge we are staying in to give her the day out at Tea Tree Plaza yesterday. We were there from 10am to 3.30pm and still did not fall over your wheelchairs. Unbelievable.
Awesome Blogging Elise. I can't speak for anyone else, but I find myself wondering where you are at with your life, how you are doing, how you are feeling (Luke, when I say you I mean both of you) and then presto - you start Blogging. Well done and thank you for including your 'fans' into your life.
Luv Vicki (your grouchy Deb Ball instructor & friend)
Congrats on persevering, Vicki! It is a small world I can't believe we didn't run into you, we were there from about 12-3. Glad to hear Barry's mum is doing well, we can understand wanting to get out of 4 walls! Thanks for following and more importantly giving me some feedback! I can see how many times the post has been seen but not who or what they think of it.
DeleteWhen I get back to SA I'll run around TTP for you :) x
ReplyDeleteIt helps to have someone able-bodied to help! But I must say there are a few good people that do offer to help when needed x
DeleteHaha. So Finally I can comment. For some reason I couldn't on my phone - how frustrating! I know a lot of people had trouble when I was on blogger too...
ReplyDeleteAaaanyway - I agree with you about coffee break. Their food is okay, coffee not brilliant (living in Melbourne turns you into a Coffee snob), but seriously overpriced for something in a shopping centre. I have fond memories of the Donut King at TTP - as we spent many years going there with my grandparents!
I've had the same problem too! Donut King is good, I must say I like Wendy's hot dogs better!
DeleteWhen I was in a wheel chair I also found 42nd street to be very helpful. Closer to home - Fasta Pasta at Murray Bridge were also great. Their disabled toilet is lovely & clean.
ReplyDeleteWill have to check out Fasta Pasta soon! Thanks for the tip :)
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