A few random things

Just have a few little stories to tell…

School: My instructor contacted me about a week ago to tell me that there is a company that will take on a student to train them to do front-end voice recognition editing and my instructor gave them my name! She wasn’t sure what platform the company used or the details. So she put me in contact with the owner.

To sum it up, this company trains doctors on how to use Dragon Medical Voice Recognition software… which what do you know? I have that fine piece of software! Then the doctor dictates into the software, and the report is sent to me, and I will clean it up and edit it. This sounds right up my alley! I really enjoy typing the reports, but it worries me being able to have the stamina to produce enough to make any money, and doing it for 8+ hours a day.

I will find out more details later when the owner gets back from a conference, but the non-paid internship would start about mid-October, and go through December. MAYBE I will be really good at it and the company will hire me after I graduate? I can only hope! Oh, and ironically the company works with DARS also, and they are located in Georgetown!

OJ: OJ is doing very well! His neutering has healed nicely, and him and Ozzy are playing nice for the most part. Sometimes they get a little “cross” but for the most part there is peace again. He has been staying in mom’s craft room most of the time, he is happiest there.

New Wheelchair: I have begun the process of trying to get a new electric wheelchair. Mine is 5 years old, and insurance will cover a new one every 5 years. I have already had to place the controller on it a couple of years ago which cost me $275 out-of-pocket. This will be my first time trying to get one without secondary insurance coverage and only having Medicare. But I am hoping that DARS will help with the other 20%. My wheels are going bald, it needs new batteries, and the alignment is all screwed up. So while it runs, I need to start trying to get a new one since it can take a bit of time to get one. Some of the things I want are: a different type of joystick/controller, elevating footplate, smaller headrest, and nicer quality armrests (mine have had to be covered with fabric because they have split and cracked). The guy was supposed to come today for my evaluation, but he had to reschedule for next Monday.

Weight: I have good news. I have been working hard, counting my calorie intake, finding high calories snacks, and drinking an “Ensure Plus” every night before bed. Within almost 4 weeks, I have gained 2 lbs.! So I am now a whopping 47.2 lbs! LOL! Hey, it’s better than 45lbs! I am still waiting for my doctor’s appointment to try to get on Marinol. That is on October 7.

Loss of a Friend: My dear friend, another muscular dystrophy survivor passed away on September 4. I was shocked when I went to check up on her on her FB page a couple of days ago and saw the news. I had just been talking to her a few days prior, and she was giving me advice on feeding tube management. Her birthday was September 1, and she was gone 3 days later. April Rodriguez will be greatly missed, and I am mad that MD took another young soul. She was 35. Not sure what type she had, apparently when diagnosed she didn’t fall into any specific type. She walked for a good while. This picture was taken about 10+ years ago.

Near Tragedy: My cell phone rang at 9:15 a.m. this morning. I did not hear it. It rang again at 9:30 a.m. and I missed it. Everyone knows I am always asleep at this time, so I thought it was either a bill collector, or solicitor. I looked at my call log and it was my sister-in-law. I was thinking something must be wrong because she knows I was sleeping and it worried me also because she is 7 months pregnant. I texted her and asked if everything was ok. That was when she told me there was a “shooter” at UT and my brother was in class and on lockdown. I teared up immediately and called for my mom. We got up quickly and turned on the news. My brother luckily was “ok” at the moment. To make a long story short, the shooter killed himself in the library of UT and didn’t hurt anyone beforehand even though he was waving around an AK-47. My brother’s classroom was right across the street from the library. At about 11:30 a.m. they let out some of the classes, but my brother was still on lockdown for another hour and his was the last to be let go because they were so close and they were trying to rule out if there was another suspect on the loose. Finally he was freed. I am so thankful no one, including my brother were hurt in any way. I feel bad for the family of the shooter, because apparently he was a 19-year-old student at UT. This could have went so bad, and I am so glad the student showed mercy and didn’t shoot anyone when he had plenty of opportunity to create a massive murder scene.