Nah, he’s a sweetheart; never, never ever a heel! It’s about time for an update on Robert. He’s still not home yet. He was (finally) admitted to The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) a few weeks ago. His pressure wound on his coccyx finally healed well enough that they were comfortable taking him.

And they run that place like a boot camp. No lolling around all day long in your hospital gown. They start banging pots around there at 6:30 a.m. And if you are lucky enough to be a sleepover guest (like I usually am on weekends), you are nonetheless expected to be up, dressed, your foldaway bed folded away, and ready for whatever comes through the door.

The food is pretty good, although personally, I still think the food at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was a bit better. But this ain’t half bad.

They’re doing a great job getting/keeping his diabetes under control, which goes a long way toward getting his wound completely healed.

And he’s learning to get around in a wheelchair for now. We still are holding out the utmost hope that, eventually, Robert WILL regain the use of his legs. But for now, he must learn to get around as best he can. And this means learning to get in and out of his wheelchair. So far, just in the few weeks he’s been at TIRR, he’s learned to use a transfer board to get from the bed to his wheelchair and back, all by himself. He can dress himself, but still needs a bit of help putting on his shoes. But other than that, he’s off and going to the gym and taking exercise several times a day, sitting in the wheelchair for extended periods of time. The daily routine gets him pretty worn out during the day so that by the time it’s bedtime, he’s ready to hit the hay.

He hasn’t had a cigarette since September 17 and hopefully won’t want to pick that nasty habit up again. Over the Christmas holidays while I was there, he got into his wheelchair and we wheeled out to the parking lot so he could check out the Honda, which he hadn’t seen since I’d bought it while he was at Heartland. He rolled right up to it, we opened up the doors, I showed him the sound system (he loved the little remote control, ain’t it just like a man?). And I turned the engine over for him so he could hear it. He was pleased with the car and I can’t wait for us to take a nice road trip in it soon. Even if it’s just around the block or down the street.

I’ll post more as things develop with Robert. But I’m sure hoping 2004 holds good things in store for him.

I had a co-worker come up to me today and, to tell the truth, she annoyed the shit out of me. I’m not overly fond of her to begin with. But she’s pleasant enough and on the few occasions when she happens to stroll by, we exchange pleasantries.
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Happy Blogiversary to Rob at Gut Rumbles on his two-year Blogiversary. In keeping with a seemingly entrenched “tradition” of posting cat photos for Rob’s entertainment and delight, here’s one back at ya! (Rob, go on ahead and click the link. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.)
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For the time being, I’ve decided to dispense with the skins. (Awww! moans the crowd.) As Joanie is wont to say, Bite me! I will probably begin, as time permits, converting most of my skins to free blogskins so check my web design site for updates. Better yet, join the mailing list to get updated when new blog skins are uploaded. For now, I will stick to one design restore my skins slowly, one or two of the best ones at a time.

You may also notice a little green icon at the bottom of the navigation bar on the left. I found this blog tool while surfing today. It’s called the Web Fire Escape and it’s just a link that takes you to a “work friendly” site. Similar to the old “Boss Hide” buttons you’d sometimes find on old PC games. You can set it up to go to a specific site that you deem work-safe (mine’s set to go to the front page of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit). The program sets a cookie for this function so you’ll need to set one for each computer you are using. Enjoy!

I was so busy last Friday moving and the computer’s just now gotten hooked back up. Here’s my Friday Five, a few days late….
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