I realize now that it's been two weeks since my last entry, so I feel obligated to post an update even if there haven't been a lot of milestones in the interim. I continue to work on improving my strength and endurance along with my transfer skills, and find myself fairly whipped by the end of each afternoon. One activity I've been getting to do a bit more often is bringing my body into an upright position with the aid of a standing frame. This allows me to get as close to standing as possible without falling, and gives the bones of my lower body the opportunity to do a bit of weight bearing, in addition to adjusting to the hemodynamic challenges of standing. The main obstacle to mastering this until just recently had been the pull of gravity on the contents of my lower GI tract, but my last attempt was finally accomplished without a Code Brown having to be called. Hey, you gotta cherish even the smallest of victories.[...]

Tuesday was a big day for moving toward one of my foremost goals, that of driving behind the wheel of a large automobile. I reported to the appointed place at nine o'clock and was escorted to the driver's ed office by a very serious but good-natured fellow. He proceeded to test my vision, reflexes, manual dexterity, cognitive reasoning, grip strength, scrotal symmetry, and what else I can't remember. Seemingly satisfied with my performance, he gave me a two-minute explanation of how the hand controls work, and off we went to the garage. There awaited a Chrysler 300 into which I cleanly transferred. Another brief tutorial regarding the controls, and off we went to cruise the mean streets of Buckhead, Peachtree Road, and I-75.  Although it felt a bit awkward at first, it became surprisingly easy fairly quickly, and by the end of the 90 minutes or so I felt very comfortable behind the wheel (although I did see his foot near the override brake twitch a couple of times). "So now I have the driving thing down", or so I thought. Unfortunately, there's still that thing where, after an immaculate transfer from the w/c to the car, one still has to disassemble, place into the car, and then reassemble said w/c before performing another pristine transfer back into w/c at one's destination. Since that morning I've had three grueling sessions practicing that second part, and it does indeed appear that driving with hand controls is the easy part. It is doubtful that I'll ever be able to make this look as effortless as the you-tube videos I've watched, but I am hopeful that, with three more weeks to work on this, it will become something I can do without people staring, laughing, or running to my aid.[...]

I was remiss in my last post with the omission of some additional  visitors who also came from quite a distance in order to brighten our week. Kathy and Gary Shomo, Bijou Clinger and Allison Marthinsen, besties of ours from Chautauqua, provided several much-needed outings for Nancy, giving her a temporary break from her laundry, nursing, housekeeping, and other duties (Honey, will you be home soon?). Allison spent an extra day here and was privileged to witness my floundering on the mat  like a dying carp during physical therapy We are also indebted to Tim and Leslie Renjillian, Atlanta-based Chautauquans, who have been so generous to us in opening their home, arranging for meals, and helping us to feel more at home here. The moral support and love from everyone has made this trying time much easier to bear.[...]