My Unexpected Hiatus

Well, I am back. In case you missed me, I have been gone. Two weeks ago today, I fell down the basement stairs holding an open container of yogurt, a can of Diet Coke and a glass with ice in it. By unbelievable miracle, I managed not to break anything or hit my head. However, I did end up with 17 stitches in my left hand and I sprained my left wrist, plus I had bumps and bruises all over my body. Thank heavens for Vicodin.

I haven’t been on my computer much these last two weeks. Instead, I’ve been using my iPod touch or pretty much everything: e-mail, browsing the Internet, etc. I even wrote two blog entries by typing them out with one finger on the iPod touch screen.

I’m back now and I’ve got a new toy. Since my injury almost 5 years ago(!), I’ve had pain and weakness in of my upper extremities and this latest fall has only exacerbated these problems. I decided it was finally time to break down and buy the Dragon NaturallySpeaking dictation software so that I do not have to use my hands so much on the computer. In fact, I am writing this blog post using the Dragon software.

When I fell down the basement stairs and landed at the bottom, I truly hit bottom. I feel like I’m starting over now. Not only do I have to heal my hands, I also have to build up my strength and endurance throughout my whole body.  I fell because I wasn’t feeling well and I was tired. I have often felt in the past when I am tired including a very memorable incident in front of the White House in January 2008. (Those Secret Service guys are really nice!)

I think this will also be a new period of growth for this blog. I am not exactly sure what form my writing and activism is going to take. I am not sure how to continue the fight for health care reform but I know it needs to happen. People I know spent thousands of dollars on prescription drugs in 2009. I know of a man died because he did not have health insurance. This happened just within the last month. Here in Wisconsin, there are 20,000 childless adults on a waiting list for a low income state health insurance plan. Something needs to happen. Congress needs to get it together and pass health care reform. I put so much of myself into this fight last year that I don’t know what else to do but it has to happen.

So there will my writing and activism from here? In my convalescence, I have been doing lot of reading, authors like Gloria Steinem, Charlotte Gilman Perkins, Kate Chopin, Kate Chopin, and Zora Neale Hurston. I also the new Abigail Adams biography and great memoir called IraqiGirl.

In addition, I have been trying to educate myself on and read about disability rights. As the days, weeks, and months go forward, I think this is where my energies will be spent. There will still be a heavy dose of politics, feminism and health care in the mix, but I think and hope to write more about disability on this blog in the future.

So… that’s what I’ve been up to. What’s going on in your lives?

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