CA trip

We went to Disneyland, Sea World & San Diego for a long weekend this past weekend and although we had fun, I think my vacation days are over.

Although both hotel rooms were handicap "assessable" I couldn't shower on my own in either one. B0b basically had to do everything for me while I just stood under the water hanging on to the rails. Also, my walker is the only seat in the room that I can get out of on my own and it's not exactly the most comfortable for hanging our or t.v. watching. Hotel beds are higher so I can get off them on my own; however, bcz they are higher I struggle to get my legs up on the bed and often times needed help. So, unless they start to make ALS assessable rooms, I think this will be our last trip. :-)

Disney & Sea World were the least crowded I've ever seen them so that was great! It made navigating in the wheelchair a lot easier! Bob & I only stayed at Disney until around 4pm bcz I was wiped out by then (and I had only ridden one ride!). Tana and her friend Ann stayed until about 11:30pm though and had a great time. While they were at Disney, Bob and I went to dinner at a local diner and I fell as we were leaving. I had felt my feet drag a few times earlier, but the last time my walker wasn't enough to keep me upright. The good news is the walker helped break my fall and my stomach/Joshua was fine. The bad news is my poor knee got it again! Even though I was wearing pants, it got pretty torn up. After this, I spent the rest of the trip in the wheelchair, only using the walker in the hotel rooms.

We discovered on this trip that Tana can no longer lift me from a seated position (i.e. the bathroom) and Bob really struggled to lift me when I fell, so it's obvious that I am not able to help as much as before and have really become dead weight. The worst part about this is Bob having to come to the bathroom w/ me every time, which isn't easy when we're in public. We had to ask to have a bathroom closed several times just so he could assist me.

I had an issue at Sea World when I thought I could do something on my own (go see the Polar Bears), but couldn't. I got very frustrated, started to cry, and didn't leave Bob's side the rest of the trip. One of the worst things about this disease is the loss of independence and confidence. Heck, I can't count the number of times I've driven to CA on my own to take Tana to Disney or Sea World and now I don't want Bob to leave my side any time we're in public. :(

After all of this, I was feeling very sorry for myself and thought about coming home a day early, but then pretty quickly switched to being angry and determined and decided I wasn't going to give up. That turned out to be the best decision because our last day was the one I enjoyed the most.

We went to the beach and I sat in the wheelchair on the sidewalk watching Bob and the kids play in the water. I let myself feel sorry for myself for about the 1st 5 min. bcz I couldn't walk in the sand or water, but then I got over it and just enjoyed being outside (it was beautiful weather!) watching them play and people watching! Later, we went to Sea Port Village and did the Seal Tour (a bus tour that turns into a boat & does a water tour) and saw a bunch of Sea Lions. I tried to talk Bob into finding Cocoa a new home and getting a Sea Lion instead, but he didn't go for it. :-)

Poor Bob got sick and was miserable by the time we were headed home, but was stuck driving the whole way bcz I can't drive. We stopped for an hour on the way home so he could take a nap, but he didn't feel any better. So, now Bob is laying in bed hoping to get some relief.