Cosima's story part 9

Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation Home

At this point in time for me allowing healing to occur is a conscious decision and it takes trust in ones inner voice and courage to stick with the plan no matter what other people are telling you. It is useful to listen to the advice and suggestions and then sort them out to hear and feel what resonates with your own stage and with the moment.

I asked a friend of mine to help me figure out about the drug I was taking at night which calmed down the restlessness and the shouting pains - nerve pains that would go down my legs at night. I had been asking the staff at the nursing home but I really wasn't getting any answers.

When one of my friends looked up the last drug I was still on which I took at night to help me relax and sleep we found out it was a derivative of Valium and very addictive. She and other people advised me to get off of it slowly. It was suggested to still take it every 3 days for 15 days to 30 days instead of going off it completely. But the side effects were the same either way and I was determined to get off the drug. Ten days of sickness (throwing up ten times a day and having diarrhea all morning and half of the night) was very difficult for everyone but well worth it in the long run). I started using homeopathic medicine that my acupuncturist suggested. It was different than passion flower and Valerian root which I had taken during menopause. It helped a lot but the side effects of getting off the drug really made keeping up with physical therapy and eating a big job.

They insisted on weighing me every other day which made the 96 lbs to 92 lbs scare everybody with the quick weight fluctuation. I was still taking vitamins and they must have absorbed quickly because I still had strength to go take showers and go to physical therapy.

I know my family and everyone thought I was crazy but seeing the clients around me that were still taking drugs just made me realize that I did not want to be on anything I did not know the long term side effects of.

Now I have learned that there were other kinds of treatments I could have gotten if I could have found someone who did lymph drainage to come to the nursing home. Lymph drainable is a massage technique which manually assists the lymph system to aid you in detoxifying which helps with swelling and muscle and nerve pain.

Attendants thought maybe I was bulimic and everyone thought I should go back on the drug. Oh well determination finally paid off. Ten days and it was pretty much over. I decided about then that I wanted to be home at Mom's for Christmas and that being able to fix my own food would help me be healthier.

I got to go to the movie Australia for my Birthday which motivated me to go home as well. I was walking even without a cane by December 13 and they were ready to have me leave but we talked them into letting me stay until December 22, 2008. My Physical Therapist, Adam, and my Occupational Therapist, Liz, had really helped me make incredible progress I wanted to work with them as long as possible. I could hold my fingers down on the right hand and the elbow and shoulder would move out a little bit. I could feed myself somewhat with my right hand and I could walk. Thanks to Liz and Adam for all their help. I limped some with the right leg but I was able to pack my stuff and get it ready for Jan to carry to the car and I walked out by my self. Yeah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was now ready for a physical therapist outside the nursing home.
What a big day Dec. 22 was for me. Saying good by to the wonderful staff at the nursing home, my cousin, and many friends who I had met there was hard but it was time to go to the next phase of my recovery. I said goodbye to the birds in the glass cage and the wonderful cottonwood trees in the back yard. It all took awhile but I was ready for the next adventure.

I had been practicing making my bed and I was ready to do my own cooking. So I had been making the transition to leave the nursing home and become more independent.

What a immense feeling of love, joy, and peace as we pulled into my Mom's drive way. She gave me her big room because the bathroom and shower were attached and she had a memory foam adjustable bed. It was hard at first to allow her to do that for me but my sacrum still hurt and I could barely turn over so I moved in. She also had a walker machine, a standing bicycle, some stretchy bands, a large ball, and a hand and arm table bike so I was all set up for home physical activity. Carl, my step dad, had bought a lot of useful equipment before he died. I never imagined that I would be the one to be using it. I am very grateful and it made a big difference in my continuing recovery program.

What a joy to wake up and look out her window and see the juniper tree, the Hermosa tree, and the iris that I had worked so hard to trim and hook up watering systems for.

Sunrise over the red rocks in the Jemez is such a beautiful spot to be in. We got out some Christmas decorations and got ready to celebrate a very important Christmas time together.

We had Christmas dinner at Linda and Michael's place in area 3 above Jemez Springs. It was not quite the same because Carl was with us last Christmas but it was so incredible to be home in Jemez for Christmas that only joy and Love could flow from our hearts.

To be continued . . .