Mobility vehicles

 Good afternoon everyone. Why are mobility vans so expensive, when the people that need them have limited funds.  For example I am looking at a 2002 Chrysler  Town  & Country with 180,000 miles and they are asking $10,500 when a 2002 regular  Town & Country is about $3500 dollars. The high cost of these vehicles is just frustrating... 

Spring is trying to spring

 Good morning an Happy Monday. Spring is trying to make a appearance here in NW 

Indiana. But with the possibility of more snow  this Friday, spring is sure taking its time this year.

Illegals get more help than I can get

 Good morning and Happy Thursday. It makes me upset that people who illegally come into this country can get more help than I can. It is not like I am asking for a million dollars, I need a part time care giver which I am having a hard time getting because of the cost, and Medicare does not cover home health. I do not need to nor would I want to go to a nursing home, even though my wife works at one. 

Also the cost of a mobility van is outrageous, the more i look for them the more upset I get, I am disabled and get disability how the heck am I going to afford a $50,000 van to get around. I can't go many places now as I can't get in out truck, that we still owe on. So why would :I spend $40 or $50 thousand for a used van. 

Dressing

 Good morning, I never thought at 56 I would no longer be able to dress myself, pull up my pants or put on my own shirt.

No more swimming for me

 This is truly sad to think about no more summertime swimming for me. Not that I could not swim, but getting into and out of lake, pool, or river would be impossible as I cannot stand up from low positions anymore. I can't even get off the furniture anymore, that is why I sit in my power chair all day.  

This just hit me as spring is upon us and we start thinking and planning for summer activities. I love the beach, I love to swim, boat, waterski, and everything water and beach related. The water lapping against the shore is just so soothing to me. Walking barefoot in the sand is just wonderful, having the sand between your toes, and everyplace else as well. There is just something wonderful and magical about the beach and the water, something that transcends time. It is wonderful to sit on the beach with your toes in the sand and let the world pass by. Doing things like that are wonderful to relax and just forget about life for just a bit, to watch kids playing in the sand and water, watching people build sand creations, is cool.  

Not many come to visit

 Good evening everyone.

Not many people have come to visit me since being diagnosed with ALS and especially since I can't go anywhere anymore. Only a very few people have come over to visit me. Being stuck in the house all day with no visitors but therapy and home health nurse kind of sucks... I thought more people would come and visit that is all. 

Wheelchair blessing and curse

 Good morning everyone.

    A power chair is a blessing to have, because only having one good arm would only make me go in circles in a regular wheelchair.  It is a blessing in being able to move about, and getting around. It is good to good to recline in and very comfortable to sit in all day. It is a curse without a mobility van, to be able to get out of the house, it is a curse not to be able to look anyone at eye level, or to reach anything in the cupboard. It is hard to reach many thing up higher. It is a blessing to have overall for sure, as for mobility in moving around for sure or I would be stuck in one place all day for sure. lol With the weather getting nicer around her, NW Indiana, it will be easier to get outside and roll around outside. Hopefully we can raise enough with go-fund-me to get a decent mobility van. Please donate if you can, any amount will be greatly appreciated. Please share with all your friends.   https://gofund.me/6cc14589

No more looking for sports cars

 Good morning everyone and Happy St Patrick's Day. Another thing about ALS, no more looking at sports cars, do dreaming of getting one to zoom down the back roads at high speeds. No more dreaming of those drives along the lakeshore with the top down, or trying to get the top up before it rains. No more trying to find a secluded place with your wife to have a little adult alone time. No more wheeling the dunes at Silver Lake, no more rock climbing at Red Rocks in Nevada, no more laying under my jeep to change the oil or fix the exhaust. No more of so many things with having ALS.

 No now it is trying to find a van so I can get to my doctors appointments, to the store or to the drive thru. 

No more date night

 Good evening, another thing about not being able to get out of the house is no date night. My wife and I can't go out for dinner, a show or even to visit friends. Having ALS has really put a damp on or lives. Just things you take for granted, getting in the car to go out for dinner, run to the store or a visit to a friends house. I can't do anymore until we get a mobility van. 

ALS and the loss of travel

Happy Sunday all. Having ALS really sucks, because now I can't leave the house because I can't get in our truck.  We have a carrier on the back for my wheelchair, but I can no longer lift my leg high enough or stand on my weak leg to support myself. I tried two weeks ago now to travel to a doctor's appointment and had to be placed on the ground by my wife and 911 had to be called to lift my butt back into my chair. 

We have started a go-fund-me to try and raise some money for a mobility van, because they are so expensive even if we trade our truck in it would not cover the cost of a decent van. Not being able to travel out at all sucks. I can't go to the store with my wife, out to eat with out granddaughter, taker her to the park or anything. It really put a damper on life to be stuck at home all the time.

If you can donate it would be appreciated from the bottom of my heart! God bless everyone!

my go-fund-me is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-with-my-fight-against-als

 Good morning and happy Friday,

  I have not written in awhile, due to being busy and upset about having ALS, it is not for the faint of heart as my muscles continue to weaken. My left hand/arm is about useless now, I cannot tie my shoes, put on my socks and struggle with many things I always took for granted like opening a zip lock bag, or even a box of cereal. 

I have lost my driving privilege's as I blacked out and fell down about 6 stairs at a customers house while doing an estimate. Scared the homeowner as well as my wife. My watch called her after my fall but as soon as she answered it hung up this happened a few times before she called back and the homeowners answered. I won an ambulance ride to the hospital and a 4 day stay, and to this day no one call tell me why I blacked out. They did a CAT scan, an MRI, a doppler on my heart and my carotid arteries, as well as an EKG. Still no answers, also they had me wear a heart monitor for 30 days to see if my heart was the problem, but no new is good news as I have not heart back from cardiologist. I hope to find out more on my next visit to cardiologist.  

Diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease on February 25, 2021

   I have recently been diagnosed with ALS, it is affecting my left arm and hand.. I have lost strength in my left arm and hand.. I have no fine motor skills in left hand, I have a very hard time gripping it items, and cannot even hold up a foam plate with a tortilla shell on it. It is very sad, it makes me mad and frustrated that I cannot do thing easily, like pull a zipper or open a zip lock bag. Getting dressed is a challenge most days and putting on my boots can take a few minuets.. This disease sucks and it will eventually take my life. Average life expectancy is 2-5 years after being diagnosed..  I hope I last longer than that.. My wife is  taking this very hard, and is very upset about it..   It is a hard thing to think about and deal with right now.. More to come soon... 

 Merry Christmas everyone.. I hope you and your family are doing well during this crazy year... The woo Han flu that has effected thousands of people is sad. We are struggling during this lock down of restaurants, and other eating and drinking establishments. It is unbelievable that you can go to Wal-Mart, or other stores but they are limiting out-to-eat or dine-in restaurants. What are your thoughts on the lock down? Should we reopen our country or keep it locked down?

Selling your stuff at an auction

It is pretty sad that you see most everything you grew up with be sold for a dollar a box.. My mom just had an auction to sell her stuff so she can move to Florida and live with my brother during the winter and then come back and live up North here during the summer.. There were boxes of good things being sold for a dollar, at least 6 drawers of screws, nails, nuts and bolts all sold for a dollar.. If it did not sell, it was being thrown in a dumpster. So sad that her stuff was being thrown out like it was junk... She was also selling her house at the auction, and a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house all brick that was on a double city lot went for was less than the minimum bid. Sad that the auctioneer was pushing for her to sell the house, but it was in his best interest for her to sell the house so that he would get his cut.. It is just some crap that she was bullied into basically giving her house and things away...  But who am I to be concerned about it.... 

Respect for aging parents

Good evening, hope everyone that reads my blogs is doing well.. I just cannot believe one of my sisters, she is very mad at our mom because she went to Florida to stay with my brother for the winter. To be the devil's advocate, my brother is the golden child who can do no wrong. All of her other children and grandchildren live here in NW Indiana. My sisters are just mad as heck that our mom spend the winter in warm sunny Florida.. My sister said it is not her job to take care of mom, that her house is disgusting and she should have taken her cats with her. Myself and my other sister are taking care of her cats while she is gone. Her house could use a dusting and light cleaning but it is in no way disgusting. I do not understand why she has an issue with our mom being gone. I hope when I am 70+ years old I can be somewhere warm for the winters.. I believe that our mom should be able to do whatever she wants.. She took care of us growing up, now it is our turn to help her out. It just stuns me when children do not want to help their parents out when they get older... Sad very sad, this is my many people end up in nursing homes being taken care of my strangers.

Daily Thoughts: What is wrong with our society?

Daily Thoughts: What is wrong with our society?: Good morning and Happy Sunday. What has happened to our society? Everyone thinks life is so horrible, all of the drugs in circulation, peop...

What is wrong with our society?

Good morning and Happy Sunday.
What has happened to our society? Everyone thinks life is so horrible, all of the drugs in circulation, people not wanting to take responsibility for their actions, being hateful to the police, firemen or other civic workers that are there for our wellbeing and protection.

When did life become so bad for so many people? We do not have bombs falling on our heads, or have to worry about roadside bombs going off as we travel to and from work. Most of us have food to sustain us, and shelter to keep us protected from the elements. How fast do we complain in the summer if the air condition goes out, or the winter time if we loose power and we have no heat? What about all of the people who have no place to stay or no food to eat, I am talking about here in the United States. I know that many people around the world are very much worse off than most of us. We struggle from week to week just like most everyone else. We rob peter to pay paul, then hope we can catch up paying paul back as well. But how many tv's do you have in your home? How many computers or tablets or phones do you have to access the internet or even read my blog? We should be very thankful for what we have, the housing that keeps us protected from the rain, cold and snow. We should be thankful for the vehicles we travel in that take us to work, school, the store, or to our friends house. What did you have for dinner last night? Was it good did it fill you up? What about the people, or kids that do not get out of bed to fix something to eat, or even go to the store and get groceries in the first place, because they spend all their money on pills. Or kids that have to go to their grandmother's house to eat because their own parents will not get up to fix any food, because they were on a pill "high" the night before. Would you let your 10 year old roam around the apartment complex while you spent the day in bed? I do not know about you, but when my kids were growing up they would not be allowed out of my sight at that age. Granted it was a struggle sometimes to keep track of them but that is what you do as responsible parents you get up and take care of your kids!!!!! Take some responsibility for the wonderful life you have created, and not expose them to calling your significant other "motherf@#%$!&" all the time. What is wrong with people that they call each other such horrible names? I would never think to call my wife anything other than wife or her name. What are they thinking when they have a mouth like a trucker or longshoremen, no disrespect to truckers or longshoremen but you get my point. Take care with what words you say around your kids at 10 years old, but this has been going on for as long as I have know this little girl. Her ninth birthday party her own dad said right in front of her and the whole rest of the family "I do not know why we have a party for this little b*$^& it is just a waste of time" Her own dad said that.. Enough about this.

Why do we have such disrespect for our city services people? Why are the police such bad people? I understand that some questionable things happen now and again, but in that second or two that you have to make a life saving decision what would you do? Our natural instinct is self preservation, we try to save ourselves first. I have the utmost respect for police, firemen and all other city workers, they for the most part keep our streets safe, clean, and our houses from not burning to the ground. The pick up our trash, poopy diapers and all. They take care of the city parks, and road sides that many of us travel. They trim the trees and pick up the trees that fall down during a storm, they remove the snow in the winter so that we can travel to our destination and back easier. Our power companies suffer the worst weather when they come out and fix our power lines after a bad storm, snow or otherwise. Our police put up with some of the most disrespectful people in our society. They have to go after drug dealers, people that are trying to hid out from being arrested, and would do most anything to stay out of jail. Or what about that person that is so jacked up on drugs that it takes five officers to restrain him? I am not saying that officers should kick, punch or abuse in any other way, especially after the offender is in handcuffs. That is just plain abuse and should not be tolerated for any reason. But if said perpetrator is not cuffed and trying to hurt an officer or take his gun, then it should be on like donkey kong. If you are not high on drugs and out of your mind you should listen to the officer when he says get on the ground or put your hands up. Listen to what they tell you and you just might live longer. Do not put your hands in your pockets or reach behind you, just do what the officer tells you. It may save your life!!!! 

Why disrespect anyone in your life? Why does it seem that disrespect has become the normal in our society? Why not hold the door for someone coming behind you or say thank you or excuse me as well. When someone sneezes do you say anything to them or do you say God bless you? Smile at someone and say hello, it might just make their day. It might be the best and nicest thing that someone hears in their day. 

Just show your fellow human the love and respect they deserve, would you want to be treated like that? I know some people might want to be disrespected but many of us do not like that and would not tolerate that kind of behavior. Smile and say hello to someone you do not know. It just might make their day..  

Daily Thoughts: Some people should not be allowed to have kids

Daily Thoughts: Some people should not be allowed to have kids: Some people think pills are more important than their own kids.. Very sad that some people in this world would rather spend their money on i...

Some people should not be allowed to have kids

Some people think pills are more important than their own kids.. Very sad that some people in this world would rather spend their money on illicit pills than groceries for their house, or spend all day in bed because they were jacked on pills the night before.. Sad how some people live their lives, when they have kids to take care of but think that taking pills are more important. But not to be surprised that when their kids get about 10 years old they want nothing to do with them. They are just a bother to their way of life.. Just sickening to see this happening in our society the way people are taking pills, heroin, and all the other illicit drugs the way they do.. They think that it makes them cool I guess to do such things. Don 't think me a prude, when you have kids and other responsibilities you put away childish things and move on in your life, but I guess some people just do not understand that. That is all for now as I have to go pick up a 10 year old little girl.  

Happy Mother's Day

     Happy Mother's Day to all of the super mom's out there. Many moms have done so much for us that we can never ever possibly repay them for all they have done. Be sure to visit your mom or call her and tell you how much you appreciate her. Not that you should be appreciative of your mom each and every day. Most all moms are great and do want to see their kids and have them involved in their lives. I lost my Dad a number of year ago, and it was just too soon... Appreciate your parents.