Mom's House in The Jemez
Waking up at Mom's house was like such a new life. We kept the Christmas decorations up way past New Years just to be festive and to celebrate my homecoming. Because of the off and on snow storms and all of the physical therapy equipment it would be a while before I would be able to move back to my home at the cabin above Fenton Lake in the Jemez. I still needed help doing things and it would be some time before I could drive again.
I so enjoyed making my own breakfast and eating my own whole oats and cutting up an apple was such a good work out some days I just had apple sauce and blue berries and 2 fried eggs or a almond butter sandwich.
Dr. Dan sent me this standard brand Phosfood liquid stuff that helped with the nausea and my Catalyin and Calcium levels. My Acupuncturist from Houston sent me organic liquid vitamins and got me to take Pro-biotics with yogurt type bacteria which really helped my intestinal tract.
Each day with the handful of vitamins I take 6-8 Spirilina, vitamin 400 E, B12 1,000, Vitamin D 2,000, Fish oil and Omega, Boneup 10 tablets, 10 drops of minerals, vitamin C 2,000,etc. It is hard not to be full from just taking all the vitamins and all the water to get them down.
After my shower, meditation, making my bed, and exercising on the machines sometimes I needed to rest.
After Christmas I started going to Physical Therapy in Bernalillo once or twice a week and I enjoyed that. Then I decided I needed more hands on work and started going to Annette at Physical Therapy Plus in Los Alamos.
Zach came to visit for several days and helped moved the stuff out of the gold building into Mom's big garage. The stuff he moved was very heavy - I don't know how he did it. I had helped him move it in there last year when we had set up stuff of my Dad's and Carl, my step Dad's, stuff to sell. Mom sold a lot but just the tables themselves were a 2 person carry job. Zach and I had a great time and his visit certainly helped me adjust to living out of the nursing home.
So he set up the gold building which I had worked very hard on before the accident. With Zach's help I had scrubbed all the oil off the floor since it was originally my Dad's junk and storage room full of odds and ends. My friend Bucky cut the metal that stuck out into the room off the walls. I patched and patched the cracks and we sealed up the old garage door and John helped me paint the outside and inside with spray paint. Bobby helped me seal the cracks around the sides and seal the floor. Jan helped me tape most of the doors shut. Its a good thing I had completed most of the projects at my Mom's and at my house before the accident. It is a strange thing how friends had commented about how I was racing around completing all of these tasks just like a little ant. Do we know subconsciously when we must get something done because we won't be able to do it later?
It is big enough big enough for art tables and a whole workshop. I had made curtains and so I moved my stuff in and what a wonderful studio it is. We had moved a big old pot belly wood stove in and it warmed up the place in no time at all.
I had wanted to complete this project before the accident and have another book signing for my teacher Michael Silver Dragon. As far as I know that had been my main motivation. Michael is a miracle walking around - he has been in dialysis for 13 years going to dialysis 2 times a week.
At first holding a paint brush to do watercolor was a big workout. I started with real small paintings and what fun it was to watch color happen. The hand work with brushes was a great workout and motivated me to look for someone to help me get my hands working again.
I had Zach take me for a ride up to my cabin. There was about 24 inches at the curb and he went through the snow to get some stuff out of the cabin for me. I sat in the car and looked longingly at the cabin and enjoyed the warm car. As much as I wanted to go in my body was not up to making it through the snow. It was certainly inspiring to see my home and what a lot of snow we had. It was so beautiful I just sat there and cried a bit.
Story to be continued Part 11
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 . . .
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 . . .
Cosima's story part 8
Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation Home
What else can I do to speed up my recovery? How about unwinding and Cranial Sacral. I had a 30 minute treatment from Don Cornwell at the school of Natural Therapeutics about 10 or 15 years ago because my teacher Jim Haynes felt I needed some more neck work then he could do. In this 30 minute treatment, which was so subtle, I had a major shift. Jim Haynes was excellent, even profound at Cranial Sacral, and I learned Qigong and meridians and unwinding techniques and many amazing things from him. I got off the table after Don Cornwell's work. I thought, did this work affect me and with humility I say now, I barely made it to the back seat of the car and passed out for 4 hours. Yes, it made a significant difference. My neck was so much improved.
I knew from listening inside that this was important if I was gone to shift my organs, spine, neck, and sacrum. I difentitely needed an expert and someone who could deal with all the injuries I had. Don used to make Hospital visits but he is so busy now, that he does not make hospital visits anymore. Since I was at the stage of walking with a walker even though the trip to Albuquerque was long I could now get in a car and be driven. On my first trip I was walking with a walker sometimes a cane and I had practiced going up 3 steps of stairs a couple of times.
When we got there Don was not yet there and there were 18 steps to his office on the second floor. We left the walker down stairs and Jan helped me by putting his arm under my arm pit and I climbed up 18 stairs. I am sure if Don would have been there I would have received my first treatment down stairs. But, between the really helpful treatment and the inspiration of having walked up stairs I was on my way to making a huge leap in my healing process.
In order to leave the nursing home I had to be having a doctors appointment so I was grateful that Don Cornwell had so many degrees. PhD, D.O.M., and LMT. The Assistant Doctor at the nursing home who signed me out had a daughter who practiced cranal sacral so she understood how unwinding and releasing pressure off of my skull and organs and sacrum would help me. I have made a visit to Don's about every 2-3 weeks since that time.
Dr. Dan was still calling me and giving me Equation of Life energy treatments once a week to every 2 weeks. The energy treatments really helped with the pain and healing and motivation.
I called Michael and Linda from Houston to find out when they were coming into Albuquerque so they could come help me do some emotional release work. I started feeling the release coming on the minute they were in the parking lot. I was in physical therapy at the time and asked them and my son Sam who was in from Seattle to wheel me out to the gazebo area and I started mumbling and crying and expressing some stories I needed to let go of. It went on for an 1 hour or so and I felt a lot better. Michael and Linda have a business called A New Way. They teach a technique called Clarity process which helps people learn how to deal with issues. It is a spiritual process based on Coeducational work out of the Recovery Program. Linda and Michael are very intuitive and excellent at this process besides being Reiki people and certified ministers.
After I started walking with a cane I got to go out to eat once in a while and Jan took me to the Movie Australia which was 2 1/2 to 3 hours long. It was a wonderful birthday present. We went to the Range and then to the movie. What a treat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love driving around and looking at the Sandia Mountains and it was inspiring to get to go do some special things. I made a plan in my heart to be home for Christmas. How good it is to be 61 years old and walking and seeing and being apart of the play and activity of Life.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Story To Be Continued . . .
What else can I do to speed up my recovery? How about unwinding and Cranial Sacral. I had a 30 minute treatment from Don Cornwell at the school of Natural Therapeutics about 10 or 15 years ago because my teacher Jim Haynes felt I needed some more neck work then he could do. In this 30 minute treatment, which was so subtle, I had a major shift. Jim Haynes was excellent, even profound at Cranial Sacral, and I learned Qigong and meridians and unwinding techniques and many amazing things from him. I got off the table after Don Cornwell's work. I thought, did this work affect me and with humility I say now, I barely made it to the back seat of the car and passed out for 4 hours. Yes, it made a significant difference. My neck was so much improved.
I knew from listening inside that this was important if I was gone to shift my organs, spine, neck, and sacrum. I difentitely needed an expert and someone who could deal with all the injuries I had. Don used to make Hospital visits but he is so busy now, that he does not make hospital visits anymore. Since I was at the stage of walking with a walker even though the trip to Albuquerque was long I could now get in a car and be driven. On my first trip I was walking with a walker sometimes a cane and I had practiced going up 3 steps of stairs a couple of times.
When we got there Don was not yet there and there were 18 steps to his office on the second floor. We left the walker down stairs and Jan helped me by putting his arm under my arm pit and I climbed up 18 stairs. I am sure if Don would have been there I would have received my first treatment down stairs. But, between the really helpful treatment and the inspiration of having walked up stairs I was on my way to making a huge leap in my healing process.
In order to leave the nursing home I had to be having a doctors appointment so I was grateful that Don Cornwell had so many degrees. PhD, D.O.M., and LMT. The Assistant Doctor at the nursing home who signed me out had a daughter who practiced cranal sacral so she understood how unwinding and releasing pressure off of my skull and organs and sacrum would help me. I have made a visit to Don's about every 2-3 weeks since that time.
Dr. Dan was still calling me and giving me Equation of Life energy treatments once a week to every 2 weeks. The energy treatments really helped with the pain and healing and motivation.
I called Michael and Linda from Houston to find out when they were coming into Albuquerque so they could come help me do some emotional release work. I started feeling the release coming on the minute they were in the parking lot. I was in physical therapy at the time and asked them and my son Sam who was in from Seattle to wheel me out to the gazebo area and I started mumbling and crying and expressing some stories I needed to let go of. It went on for an 1 hour or so and I felt a lot better. Michael and Linda have a business called A New Way. They teach a technique called Clarity process which helps people learn how to deal with issues. It is a spiritual process based on Coeducational work out of the Recovery Program. Linda and Michael are very intuitive and excellent at this process besides being Reiki people and certified ministers.
After I started walking with a cane I got to go out to eat once in a while and Jan took me to the Movie Australia which was 2 1/2 to 3 hours long. It was a wonderful birthday present. We went to the Range and then to the movie. What a treat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love driving around and looking at the Sandia Mountains and it was inspiring to get to go do some special things. I made a plan in my heart to be home for Christmas. How good it is to be 61 years old and walking and seeing and being apart of the play and activity of Life.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Story To Be Continued . . .
Cosima's story part 7
At Rio Rancho Nursing Home
A few of the things happened that speeded up my healing process. Zach, my son, bought me a very small refrigerator so I could have my own food. Then I was moved into a private room because my room mate had a bacterial infection - the same one that the person in the private room had. So they switched me into the private room. What a blessing indeed - it was a wonderful room with a nice window where I could see trees. The refrigerator made a huge difference because I could have some of my own food. I was at 92 lbs and was having trouble keeping the nursing home food down. Mom would take the organic box soups, chicken, rice, and Chinese vegetables (snow peas, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots) into the nurses station and heat it up. I was only able to eat a few salads once in awhile and beef and fish weren't working.
My friend Eileen Neilhly, who is a certified homeopathic person and Reiki person, sent me many small bottles of homeopathic remedies.
I had started introducing homeopathic medicine (homeopathics uses small amounts of mineral salts that become a catalyst in the body to encourage the body back into balance) and Spirilina (which is a form of green algae which is high in amino acids, good for the immune system and high in antioxidants)and Bone Up(which is a form of calcium that my body assimilates). The calcium the doctors were giving me did not work very well for my body. My experience is that when my body is not assimilating calcium it leaves deposits on my joints and produces bone spurs.
The doctors and nurses could see that I was getting stronger it was hard for them and and technicians to dole vitamins out to me as my requests for amounts increased. Finally they gave me permission to have a lock box and self administer the vitamins and homeopathic medicines. These vitamins and homeopathic medicines helped increase my strength because my body was able to assimilate them more easily.
With my additional strength I started using the walker and my physical therapist would take me around the building inside and outside. Now I could get really close to the trees and practiced walking on sand, dirt, gravel, and through the grass. I walked right over tree roots, through the gravel. and up a sand bank. Sometimes I over did it and paid with pain but after resting on the weekend I would be right back to walking again.
Actually sometimes the pain was unbelievable. It was hard for my family to help me through it because I was so determined that even if they had to assist me when I hobbled back into bed with terrible pain I would be back at it again the next day.
My friend Arianna came to visit me and did a light massage and I used her foot bath and ozone machine. The water turned bright orange as the arthritis from my fingers and bones started releasing un-needed toxins.
Cassandra and Bill did Polarity, Prana Healing, and other energy work on me and my new friend Jennie used her computer and a program called Light to up some of the doses of homeopathics. I met Jeanie through Cassandra. Jeannie has the same birthday as I do. We were both born at Presbyterian Hospital on December 1,1947. Wonderful connections can happen unexpectedly.
I also had a acupuncturist named Laurel Silkie who came to the nursing home twice. It is a real gift when these busy professionals will come to help out someone in a nursing home. Her treatment was a combination of energy work and acupuncture. My body did a lot of releasing on a lot of levels. She also helped figure out later on what to take for diarrhea, pain, and sleep which was interrupted by throwing up all night long when I got off the last drug.
Dr. Bob Schoos, a chiropractor and a friend of mine from the Jemez area, also came to the nursing home. I used to work at the Jemez Springs Bath house and for years Dr. Bob Schoos and I would send clients to each other. He brought his laser machine and gave me a treatment which really improved my strength in legs and arm and hand and thumb. Laser work and his techniques included menge point work and Kinesiology. His own systems are also incredible.
Gracia Coffin, Cecilia Viejos, Linsay Locke, Angele Ferrie - my teachers and friends -all did Reiki on me.
My teacher Michael Silver Dragon who I studied Qi Tao Reiki and chakra issue work for years with and his wife Berta who I studied American Indian Journey work with all came and gave me support and treatments. It was because of Michael's teaching that I was able to assist so many people in Houston at 'A New Way'.
My friend Susan Myers and her husband John helped introduce some new food possibilities.
My long time friend Wanda Higgins from Hummingbird Music Camp came often even on her busy schedule. I have worked on her and her family doing massage and Reiki treatments for years at Hummingbird Music camp. They had a cabin across from my folks when I was a kid and I used to play with the kids in the summer.
As I started to improve I started asking myself what else I needed to do. I still had to make trips by van to UNM hospital for exams and x-rays. It was a long and tedious adventure, 3 to 6 hours in a day, and the x-ray machines were difficult and painful. The staff was always very nice though.
When going to the hospital I had seen other people with physical therapy boards. Being lifted was painful so I decided to ask to borrow the the baby board, to make restroom trips easier. I usually got sick on the way back to the nursing home. My sacrum being broken and ribs smashed and organs smashed together and the spine smashed made it very painful and made my physically ill. I thought to myself what can I do to change this situation I am in. I meditated and remembered.
Next steps to helping myself heal
To be continued Part 8
A few of the things happened that speeded up my healing process. Zach, my son, bought me a very small refrigerator so I could have my own food. Then I was moved into a private room because my room mate had a bacterial infection - the same one that the person in the private room had. So they switched me into the private room. What a blessing indeed - it was a wonderful room with a nice window where I could see trees. The refrigerator made a huge difference because I could have some of my own food. I was at 92 lbs and was having trouble keeping the nursing home food down. Mom would take the organic box soups, chicken, rice, and Chinese vegetables (snow peas, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots) into the nurses station and heat it up. I was only able to eat a few salads once in awhile and beef and fish weren't working.
My friend Eileen Neilhly, who is a certified homeopathic person and Reiki person, sent me many small bottles of homeopathic remedies.
I had started introducing homeopathic medicine (homeopathics uses small amounts of mineral salts that become a catalyst in the body to encourage the body back into balance) and Spirilina (which is a form of green algae which is high in amino acids, good for the immune system and high in antioxidants)and Bone Up(which is a form of calcium that my body assimilates). The calcium the doctors were giving me did not work very well for my body. My experience is that when my body is not assimilating calcium it leaves deposits on my joints and produces bone spurs.
The doctors and nurses could see that I was getting stronger it was hard for them and and technicians to dole vitamins out to me as my requests for amounts increased. Finally they gave me permission to have a lock box and self administer the vitamins and homeopathic medicines. These vitamins and homeopathic medicines helped increase my strength because my body was able to assimilate them more easily.
With my additional strength I started using the walker and my physical therapist would take me around the building inside and outside. Now I could get really close to the trees and practiced walking on sand, dirt, gravel, and through the grass. I walked right over tree roots, through the gravel. and up a sand bank. Sometimes I over did it and paid with pain but after resting on the weekend I would be right back to walking again.
Actually sometimes the pain was unbelievable. It was hard for my family to help me through it because I was so determined that even if they had to assist me when I hobbled back into bed with terrible pain I would be back at it again the next day.
My friend Arianna came to visit me and did a light massage and I used her foot bath and ozone machine. The water turned bright orange as the arthritis from my fingers and bones started releasing un-needed toxins.
Cassandra and Bill did Polarity, Prana Healing, and other energy work on me and my new friend Jennie used her computer and a program called Light to up some of the doses of homeopathics. I met Jeanie through Cassandra. Jeannie has the same birthday as I do. We were both born at Presbyterian Hospital on December 1,1947. Wonderful connections can happen unexpectedly.
I also had a acupuncturist named Laurel Silkie who came to the nursing home twice. It is a real gift when these busy professionals will come to help out someone in a nursing home. Her treatment was a combination of energy work and acupuncture. My body did a lot of releasing on a lot of levels. She also helped figure out later on what to take for diarrhea, pain, and sleep which was interrupted by throwing up all night long when I got off the last drug.
Dr. Bob Schoos, a chiropractor and a friend of mine from the Jemez area, also came to the nursing home. I used to work at the Jemez Springs Bath house and for years Dr. Bob Schoos and I would send clients to each other. He brought his laser machine and gave me a treatment which really improved my strength in legs and arm and hand and thumb. Laser work and his techniques included menge point work and Kinesiology. His own systems are also incredible.
Gracia Coffin, Cecilia Viejos, Linsay Locke, Angele Ferrie - my teachers and friends -all did Reiki on me.
My teacher Michael Silver Dragon who I studied Qi Tao Reiki and chakra issue work for years with and his wife Berta who I studied American Indian Journey work with all came and gave me support and treatments. It was because of Michael's teaching that I was able to assist so many people in Houston at 'A New Way'.
My friend Susan Myers and her husband John helped introduce some new food possibilities.
My long time friend Wanda Higgins from Hummingbird Music Camp came often even on her busy schedule. I have worked on her and her family doing massage and Reiki treatments for years at Hummingbird Music camp. They had a cabin across from my folks when I was a kid and I used to play with the kids in the summer.
As I started to improve I started asking myself what else I needed to do. I still had to make trips by van to UNM hospital for exams and x-rays. It was a long and tedious adventure, 3 to 6 hours in a day, and the x-ray machines were difficult and painful. The staff was always very nice though.
When going to the hospital I had seen other people with physical therapy boards. Being lifted was painful so I decided to ask to borrow the the baby board, to make restroom trips easier. I usually got sick on the way back to the nursing home. My sacrum being broken and ribs smashed and organs smashed together and the spine smashed made it very painful and made my physically ill. I thought to myself what can I do to change this situation I am in. I meditated and remembered.
Next steps to helping myself heal
To be continued Part 8
Cosima's story part 6
Cosima Story Continued story Part 6
At Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation home:
I had a visual and emotional release after Jan described the accident. I had woken up and was feeling pieces of the car body in my body so I had asked him to describe the accident for the first time. What the couple told him who witnessed the accident was that I hit the bumper, then the hood, then the windshield, and then ripped off the mirror before flying 80 feet through the air. My shoes popped off my feet and then I hit the ground.
The next morning I woke up and had this spontaneous urge to do some silent screaming and I cried for about 30 minutes. Oh whoa is me!!!!!!!!!
I also had some emotional releases from cell memory of the operation. These unexplained feelings would come off my body - feelings about not having choices about what my body was experiencing. I was wanting to say stop wait a minute what is this for?
The dreams I remember more clearly then I do the sequences of events after the accident. I remember only a few things about the accident. This makes this story telling a good practice. Most of the time I stay very much in the here and now because paying attention to what I am doing is necessary to keep from hurting more than I need to.
Staying here and now focusing on each moment as it happens releases me from going into comparisons. Staying here and now keeps me attentive to living an experiment to see what I am capable of doing next. I have a lot of memories but I don't really need them to be alive and happy and excited about each gain of strength and mobility. The past is important and useful but I'm not really the same outdoor physically strong person. Every move I make now requires effort and attention. I am so dependent on others which is a new experience for me. I feel so much gratitude to my family and friends for all of the hours of assistance.
I was not able to wheel myself around in the wheelchair for quite awhile because of my right arm and so I kept visualizing how to improve the wheelchair. When I got some use of my arm enough I started using my legs to walk the chair places - it was a great joy!!!!! I could get to physical therapy by myself and I could go see my cousin Doug in the cafeteria.
I especially liked the stationary bike and the dart board in the physical therapy room. Exercising was such a big part of the day that resting was necessary. Short naps and watching movies on my portable DVD player helped the time go by when pain was so intense.
My sons and Jan would also bring in their lap top computers to watch DVD's. My eyes would get tired quickly though and I decided to have my son make and appointment with my eye doctor.
I started enjoying reading and watching the DVD player much more after I got a new prescription. We went by van to check out my eyes. The Eye doctor was very close to the nursing home that I could have been wheeled there by wheelchair. I was very lucky because although my prescription changed there were no more tears in my retina. The glasses made a big difference. I kept being told that my prescription might change but I could tell I needed to be able to see better now since my vision was so poor and my eyes would tire so quickly. My vision with out glasses is about 2inches from my face.
Life at the Nursing and Rehabilitation home was good. I met many fine people who are residents and temporary residents and the staff is friendly and helpful.
Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued Part 7
At Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation home:
I had a visual and emotional release after Jan described the accident. I had woken up and was feeling pieces of the car body in my body so I had asked him to describe the accident for the first time. What the couple told him who witnessed the accident was that I hit the bumper, then the hood, then the windshield, and then ripped off the mirror before flying 80 feet through the air. My shoes popped off my feet and then I hit the ground.
The next morning I woke up and had this spontaneous urge to do some silent screaming and I cried for about 30 minutes. Oh whoa is me!!!!!!!!!
I also had some emotional releases from cell memory of the operation. These unexplained feelings would come off my body - feelings about not having choices about what my body was experiencing. I was wanting to say stop wait a minute what is this for?
The dreams I remember more clearly then I do the sequences of events after the accident. I remember only a few things about the accident. This makes this story telling a good practice. Most of the time I stay very much in the here and now because paying attention to what I am doing is necessary to keep from hurting more than I need to.
Staying here and now focusing on each moment as it happens releases me from going into comparisons. Staying here and now keeps me attentive to living an experiment to see what I am capable of doing next. I have a lot of memories but I don't really need them to be alive and happy and excited about each gain of strength and mobility. The past is important and useful but I'm not really the same outdoor physically strong person. Every move I make now requires effort and attention. I am so dependent on others which is a new experience for me. I feel so much gratitude to my family and friends for all of the hours of assistance.
I was not able to wheel myself around in the wheelchair for quite awhile because of my right arm and so I kept visualizing how to improve the wheelchair. When I got some use of my arm enough I started using my legs to walk the chair places - it was a great joy!!!!! I could get to physical therapy by myself and I could go see my cousin Doug in the cafeteria.
I especially liked the stationary bike and the dart board in the physical therapy room. Exercising was such a big part of the day that resting was necessary. Short naps and watching movies on my portable DVD player helped the time go by when pain was so intense.
My sons and Jan would also bring in their lap top computers to watch DVD's. My eyes would get tired quickly though and I decided to have my son make and appointment with my eye doctor.
I started enjoying reading and watching the DVD player much more after I got a new prescription. We went by van to check out my eyes. The Eye doctor was very close to the nursing home that I could have been wheeled there by wheelchair. I was very lucky because although my prescription changed there were no more tears in my retina. The glasses made a big difference. I kept being told that my prescription might change but I could tell I needed to be able to see better now since my vision was so poor and my eyes would tire so quickly. My vision with out glasses is about 2inches from my face.
Life at the Nursing and Rehabilitation home was good. I met many fine people who are residents and temporary residents and the staff is friendly and helpful.
Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued Part 7
Cosima's story part 5
Cosima Say's story continued Part 5
Story continues from Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation home
Being off the food tube was a big adjustment. Food, which I had really been looking forward too, was not the same as it was before the accident. It was a mouthful to chew and swallow. It had different smells and tastes and my stomach did not always accept it. I had to measure constantly how much I could handle and experiment with the food the nursing home served. I have food allergies and was used to eating primarily vegetables, fish, chicken and certain fruits. My mind wanted fresh vegetables and raw smoothies but my stomach could only handle cooked food. I got very tired of mashed potatoes which my stomach could easily digest. I talked to the nutritionist and tried to figure out a list of things I could and could not eat. I was pretty young in comparison to most of the people at the nursing home and most people there didn't have the same diets I used to have.
The surprising thing that happened was I found out my cousin Doug was in the same nursing home - what a wonderful coincidence. Doug has MS and Jan and Nancy had no idea that he was there. He had been transferred to Rio Rancho from another nursing home. It was so enjoyable to get a chance to spend some time with him. Even though he was in another wing, I could sit in the cafeteria when I could handle the sound level and visit with him. Often I would go for a wheelchair ride and go spend a little time with him in the cafeteria and then go back to the room to eat.
I lucked out on my roommate. She was a very nice woman and she did not hear well so all the visitors I had did not bother her that much. We ended up looking out for each other as a slow friendship grew.
The attendants were mainly these 2 young nice girls who cared for me off and on until I left and went to Mom's. I really liked all of the nurses and attendants and staff at the nursing home. Even though a lot of them worked long hours everyone worked at having a really positive attitude. I even over heard a Doctor giving a attendant a lecture about her attitude so I assume it was a policy. It certainly helped my feeling of being safe and made it a much happier place to be..
I had some adjusting to do and I was still getting off drugs which I had made the decision to do earlier. I started taking one drug to help me relax and sleep. I did not know that it also would require a payment to get off of. The constant battle between constipation and diarrhea wasn't much fun.
I kept having episodes of emotional release from the trauma of the accident and the operation. The releases I was experiencing were not planned into the daily schedule.
The physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists were really on the ball at Rio Rancho nursing home. They started coming in to my room every morning after my arrival.
At first we did physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in my room as I was extra sound sensitive and the therapy room was small with a lots of equipment, clients, and therapists around. I have always been a little sound sensitive but this was like 10 times increased since the accident. Everyone was very understanding about it and since I was the only one around at the time hit by a car while on a bicycle we really don't know why.
When I started wearing ear plugs and going to the therapy room when there was less people at first attendants had to lift me into the wheel chair. This was still a big process because of broken ribs and a broken sacrum. My back felt weak and my head felt smashed into my skull.
The physical therapy room was great with gym equipment and a standing bicycle to ride. The occupational therapist did some hands on work which made a huge difference in the use of my right arm. UNM hospital had changed the neck brace and then also the inflexible wrap around my hand and lower right arm to one that could be taken off to exercise my hand and arm.
I really lucked out with the therapists that I was assigned too. The physical therapist took me outside and rolled me up close to trees so I could hug them. You can not imagine how much I missed trees. I live in a 3 room cabin next to a stream under 90 ft ponderosa trees. I paint water color paintings of trees and nature in addition to being a massage therapist and Reiki teacher. Most of my life I have spent outside except when I am working on friends or clients. Spending so many months inside in hospitals was a real challenge. Of course I am very grateful but wow do I like being outside.
The occupational therapist had some hands on training and started getting some movement in my fingers which wouldn't bend and by elbow which would not go out straight. She was very encouraging and made a big difference.
The speech therapist gave me a lot of swallowing exercises and swabbed my mouth with liquids that seemed to increase my ability to swallow.
When the trachea was taken out at first I was able to sing better then I remember being able to sing. It was a short lived gift as my voice has gone back to having trouble staying on key.
When the physical therapists at Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation home wanted me to use a small board to get into the wheelchair I remember putting up my fingers in a cross and I said no way. This strong negative reaction about not wanting to get on the board I think must be a memory of the board from the helicopter flight.
It took some talking to myself pretty strongly to start experimenting with what I decided to call the "baby board". Putting this into perspective and acknowledging that my reluctance was probably from an unconscious memory of the helicopter ride (since I have no memory of the ride) I was able to begin to accept it. As soon as I got this acceptance project started, then I loved just being able to get on the "baby board" and get from one spot to another practically by myself. Using the "baby board" to get from the bed to the wheelchair and back was easier on my body then being picked up and lifted. It was a whole new adventure.
I was getting back to having some control over my life - Yeah! Beginnings of renewed hope began to blossom and bloom.
To be continued in Part 6
Love and Light
Cosima
Story continues from Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation home
Being off the food tube was a big adjustment. Food, which I had really been looking forward too, was not the same as it was before the accident. It was a mouthful to chew and swallow. It had different smells and tastes and my stomach did not always accept it. I had to measure constantly how much I could handle and experiment with the food the nursing home served. I have food allergies and was used to eating primarily vegetables, fish, chicken and certain fruits. My mind wanted fresh vegetables and raw smoothies but my stomach could only handle cooked food. I got very tired of mashed potatoes which my stomach could easily digest. I talked to the nutritionist and tried to figure out a list of things I could and could not eat. I was pretty young in comparison to most of the people at the nursing home and most people there didn't have the same diets I used to have.
The surprising thing that happened was I found out my cousin Doug was in the same nursing home - what a wonderful coincidence. Doug has MS and Jan and Nancy had no idea that he was there. He had been transferred to Rio Rancho from another nursing home. It was so enjoyable to get a chance to spend some time with him. Even though he was in another wing, I could sit in the cafeteria when I could handle the sound level and visit with him. Often I would go for a wheelchair ride and go spend a little time with him in the cafeteria and then go back to the room to eat.
I lucked out on my roommate. She was a very nice woman and she did not hear well so all the visitors I had did not bother her that much. We ended up looking out for each other as a slow friendship grew.
The attendants were mainly these 2 young nice girls who cared for me off and on until I left and went to Mom's. I really liked all of the nurses and attendants and staff at the nursing home. Even though a lot of them worked long hours everyone worked at having a really positive attitude. I even over heard a Doctor giving a attendant a lecture about her attitude so I assume it was a policy. It certainly helped my feeling of being safe and made it a much happier place to be..
I had some adjusting to do and I was still getting off drugs which I had made the decision to do earlier. I started taking one drug to help me relax and sleep. I did not know that it also would require a payment to get off of. The constant battle between constipation and diarrhea wasn't much fun.
I kept having episodes of emotional release from the trauma of the accident and the operation. The releases I was experiencing were not planned into the daily schedule.
The physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists were really on the ball at Rio Rancho nursing home. They started coming in to my room every morning after my arrival.
At first we did physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in my room as I was extra sound sensitive and the therapy room was small with a lots of equipment, clients, and therapists around. I have always been a little sound sensitive but this was like 10 times increased since the accident. Everyone was very understanding about it and since I was the only one around at the time hit by a car while on a bicycle we really don't know why.
When I started wearing ear plugs and going to the therapy room when there was less people at first attendants had to lift me into the wheel chair. This was still a big process because of broken ribs and a broken sacrum. My back felt weak and my head felt smashed into my skull.
The physical therapy room was great with gym equipment and a standing bicycle to ride. The occupational therapist did some hands on work which made a huge difference in the use of my right arm. UNM hospital had changed the neck brace and then also the inflexible wrap around my hand and lower right arm to one that could be taken off to exercise my hand and arm.
I really lucked out with the therapists that I was assigned too. The physical therapist took me outside and rolled me up close to trees so I could hug them. You can not imagine how much I missed trees. I live in a 3 room cabin next to a stream under 90 ft ponderosa trees. I paint water color paintings of trees and nature in addition to being a massage therapist and Reiki teacher. Most of my life I have spent outside except when I am working on friends or clients. Spending so many months inside in hospitals was a real challenge. Of course I am very grateful but wow do I like being outside.
The occupational therapist had some hands on training and started getting some movement in my fingers which wouldn't bend and by elbow which would not go out straight. She was very encouraging and made a big difference.
The speech therapist gave me a lot of swallowing exercises and swabbed my mouth with liquids that seemed to increase my ability to swallow.
When the trachea was taken out at first I was able to sing better then I remember being able to sing. It was a short lived gift as my voice has gone back to having trouble staying on key.
When the physical therapists at Rio Rancho Nursing and Rehabilitation home wanted me to use a small board to get into the wheelchair I remember putting up my fingers in a cross and I said no way. This strong negative reaction about not wanting to get on the board I think must be a memory of the board from the helicopter flight.
It took some talking to myself pretty strongly to start experimenting with what I decided to call the "baby board". Putting this into perspective and acknowledging that my reluctance was probably from an unconscious memory of the helicopter ride (since I have no memory of the ride) I was able to begin to accept it. As soon as I got this acceptance project started, then I loved just being able to get on the "baby board" and get from one spot to another practically by myself. Using the "baby board" to get from the bed to the wheelchair and back was easier on my body then being picked up and lifted. It was a whole new adventure.
I was getting back to having some control over my life - Yeah! Beginnings of renewed hope began to blossom and bloom.
To be continued in Part 6
Love and Light
Cosima
Cosima's story part 4
In one of those dreams I remember deciding to LIVE. I remember why I decided to LIVE and having a Rational thought process about why. The choice was made while I was in UNM Hospital in a dream state, but I remembered while I was in Kindred Hospital. It was not too much after I woke up one morning and I WAS SO GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE.
Sam and Zach, my sons, needed to catch up on some of the work they had been missing. Sam's wife Kayla had her Mom Nancy fly in from Washington state to help out my Mom with taking turns at the Hospital.
I remember someone asking me if I remembered choosing to live and when I said yes inside myself I heard the reason why. I was not worried about my sons because they both had good lives and women who would help them make it through life. But my Mom had just had 2 husbands die. She was married to my dad for almost 60 years and then married my dad's brother. He was going on 90 and had taken care of his wife for 8 years before she died and my mom had been taking care of my dad for 4 years before he died. They both had a lot in common such as loving music and the same last name. He died last year and we still miss him. My mom is 83 and 2 deaths in a 3 year period is hard enough to take much less your 60 year old daughter. So, I decided on some dream intervention level to stay in this body. I did not know of course how much pain and how much work it would be to be able to walk and use my right arm again. I did know though that I would have a lot of help both on this plane and from a lot of light beings not so visible. Also I knew then that when I was able to return home I would be living with my mom off and on for quite awhile.
Nancy, Kayla's mom, was a great help and I had my first gentle massage on legs and feet. She is a nurse and it was my mom's first time to meet her. They get along great, she is a very sweet lady. The 3 of us had a fine time and I am very grateful. She also went with Jan to pick out a nursing home. After passing the swallow test I was ok to move on for rehabilitation in a nursing home since I needed less care.
After Nancy left Angele started visiting me rubbing my feet with rescue remedy. That also helped immensely.
When my son Zach returned he gave me a nice massage. I think moving around in the bed and gentle massages where one reason I did not get bed sores.
Sam does Reiki and when he came he told me about doing Reiki on me at UNM hospital and how Kayla his wife started experiencing the energy coming off of me. I had Sam work on my right leg, which at the time was spasming and the two toes next to the big toe would curl up and cross over each other. There was still a lot of pain and Sam would end up with very hot hands and need to shake of the intensity of the pain. I could only handle short treatments and soft touching.
When Jan worked on me he couldn't believe how I would jump from being touched. There is nothing like having so many people around me trained in Reiki to make a difference in recovering from a major accident. I am a certified Reiki Teacher and have over 50 students. I never thought I would be needing treatments the way I need them now.
The big move to Rio Ranch Nursing and Rehabilitation Home was by Ambulance as I was still wheelchair bound. It was a exciting day to leave a hospital environment and go to a Nursing home. They had a piano in the entrance room plus a glass bird cage with lots of singing birds. Outside there were big trees and 4 little gazebos and places to sit along a concrete walk way.
Not long before I left Kindred, they had put in a trachea which I could touch on the outside and speak. The whole family was thrilled because writing notes and making sign language to get my messages across was difficult. My voice sounded strange after so many weeks of not being able to speak.
Saying good by to the staff at Kindred took awhile and with having so many cards and so many visitors and constant attention from family and friends.
I felt like a celebrity leaving a familiar place. I was a little sad to be leaving friends at the hospital but so happy to be moving on to the next adventure.
Love and Light Cosima
Story to be continued . . .
Sam and Zach, my sons, needed to catch up on some of the work they had been missing. Sam's wife Kayla had her Mom Nancy fly in from Washington state to help out my Mom with taking turns at the Hospital.
I remember someone asking me if I remembered choosing to live and when I said yes inside myself I heard the reason why. I was not worried about my sons because they both had good lives and women who would help them make it through life. But my Mom had just had 2 husbands die. She was married to my dad for almost 60 years and then married my dad's brother. He was going on 90 and had taken care of his wife for 8 years before she died and my mom had been taking care of my dad for 4 years before he died. They both had a lot in common such as loving music and the same last name. He died last year and we still miss him. My mom is 83 and 2 deaths in a 3 year period is hard enough to take much less your 60 year old daughter. So, I decided on some dream intervention level to stay in this body. I did not know of course how much pain and how much work it would be to be able to walk and use my right arm again. I did know though that I would have a lot of help both on this plane and from a lot of light beings not so visible. Also I knew then that when I was able to return home I would be living with my mom off and on for quite awhile.
Nancy, Kayla's mom, was a great help and I had my first gentle massage on legs and feet. She is a nurse and it was my mom's first time to meet her. They get along great, she is a very sweet lady. The 3 of us had a fine time and I am very grateful. She also went with Jan to pick out a nursing home. After passing the swallow test I was ok to move on for rehabilitation in a nursing home since I needed less care.
After Nancy left Angele started visiting me rubbing my feet with rescue remedy. That also helped immensely.
When my son Zach returned he gave me a nice massage. I think moving around in the bed and gentle massages where one reason I did not get bed sores.
Sam does Reiki and when he came he told me about doing Reiki on me at UNM hospital and how Kayla his wife started experiencing the energy coming off of me. I had Sam work on my right leg, which at the time was spasming and the two toes next to the big toe would curl up and cross over each other. There was still a lot of pain and Sam would end up with very hot hands and need to shake of the intensity of the pain. I could only handle short treatments and soft touching.
When Jan worked on me he couldn't believe how I would jump from being touched. There is nothing like having so many people around me trained in Reiki to make a difference in recovering from a major accident. I am a certified Reiki Teacher and have over 50 students. I never thought I would be needing treatments the way I need them now.
The big move to Rio Ranch Nursing and Rehabilitation Home was by Ambulance as I was still wheelchair bound. It was a exciting day to leave a hospital environment and go to a Nursing home. They had a piano in the entrance room plus a glass bird cage with lots of singing birds. Outside there were big trees and 4 little gazebos and places to sit along a concrete walk way.
Not long before I left Kindred, they had put in a trachea which I could touch on the outside and speak. The whole family was thrilled because writing notes and making sign language to get my messages across was difficult. My voice sounded strange after so many weeks of not being able to speak.
Saying good by to the staff at Kindred took awhile and with having so many cards and so many visitors and constant attention from family and friends.
I felt like a celebrity leaving a familiar place. I was a little sad to be leaving friends at the hospital but so happy to be moving on to the next adventure.
Love and Light Cosima
Story to be continued . . .
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