One of the things people may wonder about me living with a disability like Cerebral Palsy is if I ever get out of my wheelchair to rest, relax and unwind. Well the short answer to that question is yes I do!
As a matter of fact my parents and I make sure that I spend some time out of my wheelchair every night of the week in the Family Room of our house while we watch our favorite shows on TV. The most important part of my nightly rest and relaxation ritual are the very nice, soft and comfortable leather recliners that we bought from our nearest Living Spaces furniture store a few years ago. These recliners are so soft and comfortable in fact that my Dad and I have affectionately given each of them the individual nickname of "The Cloud."
As far as our rest and relaxation routine on "The Cloud" goes, the fun all starts after we finish our dinner each night. After the completion of dinner, I usually drive my wheelchair straight to the family room and park it in front of the T.V. and wait patiently for my parents to come over and join me after they finish cleaning up the dishes and pack any leftovers for the next day. I do this so that I can be transferred to The Cloud with my Dad's help and assistance.
I should also mention that if I have to go to the bathroom after we finish dinner, I do so before being transferred to The Cloud.
Once I have been successfully transferred into The Cloud, my Dad will then help me get even more comfortable by taking off my shoes, pants (leaving me in my boxers), and leg braces. After all those articles of clothing have been removed my dad will then press the recliner button/lever on The Cloud recliner. After the reclining button has been pushed, our nightly rest and relaxation routine can officially begin!
As for what we actually do during our nightly rest and relaxation routine, the answer is pretty simple. We watch TV and relax of course! For myself, I especially look forward to those nights when of our regularly viewed programs such as Survivor, The Amazing Race or Better Call Saul is on.
Depending on what day of the week it is, the hours that we spend relaxing in the Family Room can vary. For example, on the nights that I have to go the gym for physical therapy, we usually don't get to spend as much time as we would like resting and relaxing. On those nights, by the time we come back home and have dinner, it is usually already between 6:30-7:00 P.M. That time frame usually only gives us between two and a half to three hours of relaxation time on those nights before we have to go to bed as compared to four and a half to five hours of relaxation time during the other nights of the week.
Is is also pretty much a given that at some point during the night my legs and feet will get cold and I have to ask my parents to put a blanket, sheet or pillow over my legs to stay warm. This is due mostly to one of two things. One is that during the Spring and Summer months of the season, the air conditioner will come on inside our house making it too cold. The second reason is because during the Fall and Winter seasons of the month, it is often already too cold at night outside not to have one.
While having a blanket on does tend to keep me warm and comfortable throughout the night while I'm relaxing, there is one possible downside depending on how you look at it. That is the fact that once my parents put a blanket on over my legs, I tend to fall asleep pretty quickly each night while we are watching T.V. before heading to bed later on at night. When this happens, I usually end up feeling like I missed out on watching a key moment from some of our favorite T.V. programs. I guess getting any amount of sleep is probably more important than watching what is on T.V. at any given moment during the night.
After my parents and I get our nightly fix of rest and relaxation, my dad will begin the cycle of wheelchair transferring duties once again so we can all head off to bed for what is hopefully a good night's sleep for all of us with sweet dreams. If everything goes well and we wake up rested and refreshed the next day, then we are ready to look forward to doing the same kind of rest and and relaxation ritual the next night and the night after that and so on!
(If you'd like to know what kind of recliner it it, click on this link: Fast Lane Gliding Recliner by Flexsteel)
Tim Musick
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