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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hi everybody. I’m back and glad to be alive. To start at the beginning, early in December, I set off for breakfast at my favorite restaurant, having stayed in bed against the cold weather for far too long. I slipped on some black ice, fell and bruzed my hip. They couldn’t see anything on the x-ray. I contracted an infection and couldn’t eat. When I eventually went into the hospital, my blood sugar was over 700. I understand that all this time, I wasn’t taking sufficient insulin for what my body needed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>One thing that I believe we need to address over and over again has to do with the question I received from every nurse who cared for me during those five days: “Who is going to take care of you when you get home”, a voice would ask. “You need to be in an assistive living place”. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I would explain that I could look after myself now that I knew more about the needs of my endocrine system. “You can’t do that”! You need somebody to take care of you. You need eyes to check your blood sugar”, she would insist. I would explain as patiently as I could that I had a talking blood sugar meter all to no avail. I came to understand that I was not talking just about myself. I was trying to get across that not all blind people would have a family member to help in all circumstances. There might be a blind person who has to take care of themselves; a blind person who lives alone in some residence hotel, or in a little apartment down town; in any case, they live alone. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The day I was to be discharged, I had to use the bathroom. One of my IV lines had got itself caught on one of the many pumps that hissed and groaned to keep me well hydrated and monitored. One of the nurses said, “Well, if you can’t even go to the bathroom here, how are you going to do this at home”? <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Of course, I wouldn’t be connected to all these tubes at home. Nobody would know I used the bathroom and it wouldn’t be their concern. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Were these people trying to be cruel? No I don’t think so. They had a genuine concern about me. They didn’t want me to end up in the hospital again. In fact, by the time I was ready to be discharged, there were seven beds waiting to take me. Many of these homes knew me because I had visited them with my guide dog and they were eager to help me on my road to recovery. I believe that anyone will help if they see something that they can do; but honestly, I needed to be home with family and where friends could come and visit. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I’m still trying to build up my stamina. I’ve walked with Edison from the house next door to our house just to see if I could keep up with his pace safely. I could, but by the time we reached our house, my hip ached like hell and I had to be still. So that’s how I am now. I still have a little home care with the PT and the OT and the nurse who comes in two or three times a week to take my vital signs and talk to me about my diet. I’m considering an insulin pump, so if anybody has experience with one, I’d sure like to hear from them. Take care and know that I love you all more than I can say. My phone is: 209-464-6766 and my email you already have. Ken<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>