Acres of Ability

Shopping therapy Kyra has endured Botox injections every 3-4 months for the past 5 years, for the purpose of temporarily relieving the spasticity and dystonia that make simple movements so hard for her.  While intentional movement is always extremely challenging, even passive movement of her arms and legs is difficult, and sometimes painful without Botox.  For Kyra, each visit to the Botox clinic involves somewhere between 12 and 20 injections in her shoulders, biceps, forearms, and hamstrings. Today, she had 14 shots. Kyra rarely makes any objection to the injections, although today was a bit more difficult than it has been in the past.  Then again, Kyra hardly makes any objection to any medical procedure that’s required of her, as long as the procedure is clearly explained to her step-by-step, and she’s allowed to watch the doctors, nurses, and techs that are attending her. However, Kyra’s been having some generalized, unexplained pain in the past few months, and today’

We all fall down.  We might trip over a crack in the sidewalk.  We might miss a step while carrying the laundry to the basement.  We might fall off a curb while walking and texting.  We might act or speak in a manner that slice right into someone’s heart.  We all fall down.  The question is whether we can get back up.  And whether we have a backup plan if we don’t. I was reminded of the importance of backup plans a few weeks ago.  The weather in Iowa was stubbornly holding on to winter, but Kyra and our backyard birds were thinking it should be Spring.  So, Kyra and I spent the afternoon cutting and gluing and sewing and creating a milk jug bird feeder.  A few hours later, the feeder was host to our first chickadees, juncos, sparrows, and cardinals of the season.