I've Caught Fire and I Can't Get Up!

Green Fire!  As Destructive as Regular Fire but Green

Hello Fellow Travelers!

Lately, my safety awareness has exponentially increased.  I've always been aware of my surroundings, always had an evacuation plan.  Simple stuff, right?  Wrong!  Not so simple to rescue/remove or run for your life when you can't walk!  I've figured out how  to be lighter, faster, stronger.  What I can't work out is how not to cook (or die ) in the event of a fire.

I've dutifully fallen out and followed numerous fire evacuations throughout my life.  If I ever thought of them at all, it was as a slight annoyance.  I mean, who thinks they're really in any danger of being hurt by fire?  Cancer survivors, that's who!

Now, I see everything in terms of it's potential flammability.  Boxes, books, linens could potentially burst into flames.  My PS's answer to my disabled-meets-death fear?  "I'll carefully drop you out the window".

Oh.

So let me understand our revised evacuation plan:  in a life and death fire scenario, you'll toss me out of a window?  Really? Uh, that sounds like a fracture, OW!

Thanks, but no thanks.

I'll come up with my own plan.  I have been through too much to be tossed out of a window.  I can't break another bone.

I freely admit I'm extraordinarily "risk-averse" , wary of every situation, preplanning every move I make.  I've always considered commercial flying to be akin to hitching a ride on top of thousands of gallons of gasoline.  It doesn't matter what "class" I'm in either.  Cruises have always been bacteria rich, claustrophobic, sewage buffets.

I barely tolerate one (flying is sometimes necessary) and I've always entirely disregarded the other (I'd rather set the 2K on fire than be on a cruise).

Lately, my risk assessment has expanded into every space, every decision, every closet.  I see bedding, bath towels and baskets and wonder if they could burn.

Computers render paper unnecessary, VHS tapes are obsolete.but your home is chock-a-block full of flammable material, believe me.  Your kid's closet?  Anyone's backpack?  They're like that cow in Chicago! (Chicken?   Some farm animal!) Combustible!
 
Fire safety is just another check on my new "life list", another catastrophe to avoid.  After brain tumors what's a little fire?  I just need a better escape plan!  Who doesn't?

Carpe Diem! NOW!! GO!! Yes,You!

Hello Fellow Travelers!

Star Wars C-3PO,BB8 & R2D2
They have absolutely nothing to do with brain tumors, I just like them!

Along this mysterious path that has been my post-cancer life lo, these many years (longer than The Civil War) I have encountered many obstacles and received many gifts.  The best gift I received was the gift of life.  I practice the "discipline of gratitude" - I interpret it as the following:  I'm grateful just to be on the right side of the dirt, I'm grateful to still be alive!  Everything else is secondary.

I have been working, rehabbing and doggedly pursuing something called "neuroplasticity" - the brain's ability to make new connections through damaged brain tissue.

It occurred to me recently that I've been approaching this recovery thing all wrong.  What if this is as good as it's going  to get?  What if I relearn to walk only to trip over a cliff?  Gritting my teeth and working even harder and depriving myself of every earthly comfort seems like a plan but is it?

I keep stretching and adding to a long list (and getting longer) of foods and beverages I no longer consume because they're bad for me!  And I exercise constantly!   As a result, I'm always really hungry.  Why should I suffer?

Because with every trip to the gym, every gram of sugar I skip, I get a little closer to neuroplasticity.  Every mile I pedal to nowhere on the bike, or walk on the treadmill makes me a little more flexible, a little more nimble, a little steadier, a little leaner.

I keep working out and writing.  I know I'm getting stronger and lighter, I'm no longer motivated by the appearance of new muscles on my body or a small size in my closet.  I'm now motivated to be smaller because it's easier for me to put on clothes.  Weighing as little as I can is a priority now because the PS has to haul me around from time to time.

Every day is filled with new challenges, uneven flooring and cookies I can't eat.

I believe I'll walk again.  Until that happens I'll "seize the day" and take a note from the Travelocity Garden Gnome:  "Go and smell the roses!"

I'll make peace with wheelchairs and be grateful for the behind-level view that a wheelchair affords!

Hey, I'm being life-coached by a plaster yard decoration, I'll take inspiration wherever I can find it.

5 YEARS PEOPLE!  Time is a wasting!

Any ideas are encouraged!