Slightly OT - Woodworking & Medical Issues

[Adnick]

Technically I'm healthy, if I had no injuries ;-) Too many to list but here are the big ones: Traumatic brain injury, vertigo(balance issues), legally blind,(see everything in layers), spinal cord injury, both lumbar & c-spine, chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy (nerves are painfully failing) and chronic migraines.....

Have to use a wheelchair for general locomotion, but I'm not yet confined, so I built a shop that's more handicap friendly. Double doors leading in with a ramp, at least 3-4 feet between major items, like workbench.

Wood floor, raised workbench, raised outlets, use stools whenever possible, lower windows ( like to look out when sitting in the wheelchair), and easy to clean, non slip floor surfaces. Keeping area clean is required when mobility and balance are an issue.

Make heavy use of self recovering air hose and extension cord reels, many air outlets at sitting height.

Lower than usual electric panel, with many, many lights of different types and locations with individual switches

Separated my hand tool section from the machine section, aligned items to support/complement each other, put a swivel bottom on my bandsaw so that I can turn it instead of myself...lots of lumber storage with project lumber storage at wheelchair height.

Even considered putting my table saw in a hole (lowered floor section) but I try to use hand tools whenever possible,so I don't use the table saw as much as I use to, but still have the plans to do so.

Separate handicap exit, and compunction system to house to call for help if required. Plan on making so roll around support carts but have not found a design I like yet....

All of this took along time, was severely wounded in Iraq in late 2004, several years in medical treatment, then disability retirement in 2008, so from 2008 to 2016 and still not finished.

Every day is a challenge, but the shop is a refuge for both me and my wife, she had to give up her job to be my full time caregiver, so when I can be on my own, she gets a break....

Like most, limited resources and not being able to do the work myself, have hampered the project but it's coming along....

Sorry for the random order of thoughts.....

Regards,
Andy
Mos Maiorum

[gMike]

Wow! 

First, thank you for your service and sacrifice. 

Second, I admire your resolve to make things work for you and for sticking to it during what must have been a frustrating time trying to get it all to work.

Third, I'll shut up about my piddling physical issues!

Fourth, I'm glad you have a refuge in the shop that pleases you and works for you.

[AHill]

LIL.

I'm 60.  I have knee issues.  Wore them out after years of running cross country, Army PT in combat boots, and lots and lots of sports.  I had a total knee replacement of my R knee last year.  The L knee was scheduled to be done last month, but a heart attack put that on hold for a year due to me having to take blood thinners while the stent gets assimilated.  No issues from my heart attack (kind of a freak thing) affect my woodworking, except that I'm very VERY aware of where the sharp ends of things are because I bleed a lot easier on the blood thinners.  I use anti-fatigue mats for my knees and I double them up.  It's amazing how much difference they make.  I also put in a lot of good quality shop lighting.  Being able to see well minimizes mistakes.  I ditto the comment about losing weight.  I'm working on losing more since the heart attack, but I can attest to how less weight makes for less fatigue on your hips, knees, and ankles.

[sawdust703]

thank you for your service, & its good you have your shop to help keep you busy. 

I had viral menangitis in 2009. The Sawbones on call used spinal taps for pain. She stuck me in the back 4 times, & missed all 4 times.  Lost complete use of both legs, & partial use of my left arm & hand. After 8 months in the hospital, & learning to walk again, my physical limitations were as I could handle it.

My mind told me you can do this, my body proved otherwise. After as much recovery as was possible, I went to work building prefab houses for about a year. Then, under my Sawbones NO, I went back to trucking. I drove all my life. Its in my blood.

I drove about a year & a half, & my Father & nephew passed away two weeks apart. I had a nervous breakdown, & a seizure. Wrecked my truck on a two lane hiway, going thru four barb wire fences, two pastures, & coming to a stop in a wheat field, upright. And yes, I was buckled in the pilot seat when this all started, & ended up in the riders seat, beat to hell from the gear shift. Shortly thereafter, I began having major back & leg trouble again. Started going through all the tests. Again. Between L3 & S1, the first spot the Sawbones hit me with a spinal tap, it had created a bone spur that was just about to cut the spinal cord. So, in for major back surgery we go. My driving career was over.

After 3 months of recovery from that, I was able to start setting up our wood shop, & spending a couple hours a day working there. My shop is set up so I can set down quite a bit. My back & legs ain't what they used to be.


As time went on, my loving bride was gracious enough to lengthen my leash enough to drive truck for a couple farmers at harvest. 

Still working in the shop, we are preparing for a another major back surgery the 29th of December. My shop is my sanctuary. It gets my mind off the pain & cannot's that I'm told not to do. Gets me out of the house, & gives my wife a break from looking after me. 

Get the best of every second of life. You never know when you may lose it!

[Bit_Fiddler]

Wow! 

First, thank you for your service and sacrifice. 

Second, I admire your resolve to make things work for you and for sticking to it during what must have been a frustrating time trying to get it all to work.

Third, I'll shut up about my piddling physical issues!

Fourth, I'm glad you have a refuge in the shop that pleases you and works for you.

Could not have said it better... bears repeating.   
Dave

[Paul K. Murphy]

My eyesight isn't what it once was. Reading glasses help, and I can see things at greater distances well enough. There is a middle ground though where I simply cannot see. As to the "How I work through that one?", I'd say this. In many procedures, I'm accustomed enough to know that certain correct procedures will result in certain desired effects. I will also exploit my other senses, e.g., a cracking sound when I think a screw might crack the board, a burning smell when a tool won't cut properly. It still makes me wish I was 24 all over again. These reasonable methods just amount to being the best I can do sometimes. They don't always work.
I also have a bad hip, and it isn't going to get better. No fun!
I get through that with a combination of muscle (when that's a good idea) and caution (when that's a good idea). I accept that it is possible to make wrong decisions sometimes. I haven't been hurt yet.
Believe me, I have any number of Nancy boys and Eunichs, standing on the sidelines cheering me on to be a quitter. (workplace gripe)
I'm made of tougher stuff. I don't surrender that easily.

[bennybmn]

I have MS. I was diagnosed in 2005, and for a long time it was more of a lingering caution than a physical limitation. For the most part, people don't notice or know... Now my biggest enemy, other than my own brain, is fatigue, like others have said, but I also have weakness in my right leg (and a plate/6 screws in my left from a HS baseball injury), so I need to watch my footing. I have some numbness in my fingers, so I keep a close eye on the sharp end o things. I've always been a big guy, and my back gets sore very easily. Looking down, like the position you're in when you do the dishes, really knots me up between the shoulder blades quickly, so the Moxon vise I made really helps raise the work, that and sitting when appropriate. And pacing myself, or not doing things that require certain positions helps.  I re-did a brick walkway recently and it took me a month to finish... I literally can't remember a time in my life when I could kneel without pain! Even show and tell as a kid
 

I've also recently made it a priority to lose some weight. 40 before 40! So far I'm down 10, 9 months to go...  Pulling my 2 yr old in a trailer with my bicycle has been a good exercise outlet, but I'm usually cooked for a good hour after a ride... And the season is almost over.  I've also found that the day AFTER a tough workout or good stretch session I walk much better with less fatigue. So I know I need to keep it up. I also need to force feed myself water to stay hydrated, and I find that helps increase my stamina immensely.  "i'm almost done, I'll go in and get water then" has bitten me in the butt many times!

My son doesn't understand, but I know the only way I'm going to be able to keep up with him is to put myself thru exercise that is very uncomfortable pretty often. Plus he LOVES helping out, following around with his toy lawn mower, vacuum cleaner, plastic screw driver, whatever. I've got a lot of years of me and my apprentice planned, so I'll do what I have to.  Reading what others have gone thru and done to accommodate their needs is inspirational. This winter I plan on doing some serious organizing, and these suggestions help give me some direction! 

Thank you all, and I hope I can help others too.

[Adnick]

Benny:

Sorry to hear about the MS, my chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy, is sort of like MS in reverse, the nerves die first then the muscles follow...when first diagnosed, they sent me to an MS support group because it was the closest thing they could come up with.

Keep active, but know your limits, not working and over working are both bad, sort of a catch 22. Don't hesitate to use support devices when needed, and come to the realization that you will have to be relying on others for help at times . Also don't be ashamed to say " I can't do that" or that "I need to rest" ....You may already be aware of these things, but they are hard to accept/admit, and it's a daylong battle everyday.

I can truly say that I'm content with my situation, does not mean that I don't strive to accomplish more, spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to overcome/circumvent my disabilities and always looking for ways to "get better", but I'm thankful it's not worse, and thank God everyday for the blessings I have.

Hope the above doesn't come off the wrong way, not trying to insult your intelligence or be too sappy, just speaking from personal experience.

Best of luck,
Andy

[bennybmn]

Thanks Andy! One thing about living on Long Island, that's in stark contrast to growing up in Vermont, is proximity. I see doctors and get treatment at Stony Brook hospital, there are multiple support groups, educational seminars, and other resources. Heck, I work 200 yards from a Home Depot and can drive to 3 more in a lunch hour lol. I feel very lucky in that respect. Your second paragraph very much describes my daily struggle, and I'm lucky to have a terrific wife to go along with that, who, by the way, I met having already been diagnosed AND divorced... I thought I was a lost cause lol.
Having a toddler that can out-run you is a great motivator! He wants to be my helper ALL the time, he was even a landscaper for Halloween...

[Steve N]

Since my cardiac bypass I am slower, and get winded quicker, but my biggest challenge is my hips. I have Bursitis in both of them, and squatting, kneeling, or time on a ladder can make me hurt pretty quick. Like you it's changed how I store stuff, and all of my benches, and surfaces are taller than most like to use. Kitchen height cabinets = pain within 5 minutes, go taller just 3 inches, and I can stand a long time. The real trick is figuring out what works for you.