~Stumpercises~

I call them stumpercizes..when I get woke up because my stumps are aching and sometimes really hurt..enough they wake me from a sound sleep, I do these exercises I have named Stumpercises I wake at times and my right one has that tingly kinda achey feel, I call it sleeping, like my hands or foot used to.from cutting off circulation..These phantoms sometimes are so bad that they worry me as I cant distinguish if its pain or ache from the remaining part or the invisible part.. I feel my legs and feet all the time..very seldom do I notice a time when I don't feel them, but my stumpercises help. Ive tried rubbing and taking both hands on each side of my stump and moving them up and down..to sort of stir them up or get the blood moving again..sometimes that helps. Or I sit there and will put my hand on the ends and squeeze them to sort of let my head know..theres nothing past there..that really doesn't work at all..not for me anyway. or I squeeze them down the sides as I move my hands down each one..that doesnt work either.. When I lay in one position for too long. I wake up and they ache I do my stumpercizes..and that helps.. I was told when I was in the Hellhome that I should lay flat at least once a day and do some sort of lift and move and rotation of my stumps to keep them moving easier and stimulated..and a sort of exercise that walking sort of would give me..and I do, and It really does help..I think so. It hasnt firmed up the muscles ..no..I don't see that at all.. when I lift my stumps..the muscle is so soft that it hangs below the bone, and that's why its so noticeable and able to be felt when I lift them.. sort of like your underarm if you don't have firm upper arm muscles. I do.but my arms get a lot of exercise, my stumps don't only when I transfer from my chair and that's only to the potty or on and off my bed.. The rotation of moving them in a sort of circular motion seems to really help my hips..they can really get to aching but they do take a lot more pressure now I think, with my legs shortened there would be more pressure on them as my feet or lower legs would take a lot of it off of them..I would think so anyway. Moving them around gives them what they call range of motion like they do for shoulders, to keep them flexable..with my legs so shortened I can even really move them faster as stumps than I did when they were full legs.. My 'stumpercises' really work for me and I do them every day sometimes more..it helps.. I was reminded of a girl that was in the hellhome when I was there.. Terry, she was very young in her 30's and in a horrible car accident that had given her some serious head injuries and she needed to be under constant surveillance so to speak. she could walk and talk and at times I would see a spark in her eyes when she looked at me..that she really WAS there..yet at other times so distant was like she didn't see me at all when I talked to her.. She was bound and set that she HAD to get out, she said she "had to go home" and would go to the exit door at the end of the hall we were on that had an alarm if it was opened. She had an alarm on the back of her collar that pinned on if she got out the front door that remained opened for visitors to come and go or the delivery people..If they got out that way because of that thingie clipped on that would trigger the alarm and the nurses would run to the doors to see which one some one had gotten out of..they knew the ones that did this and Terry was on the top of the list of escapee's, she always was doing it and I wondered if she did do it delibertaely.. I was sitting in my room watching tv..facing my doorway, which my room was at the end of the hall..and the outside alarmed door was right there.. I watched as Terry walked slowly past my door..looked at me, and went straight up to the door, hit it..and the alarm immediately went off.. she turned and walked rapidly back down the hall and as she went past my doorway looked at me, smiled and said "ooops" winked and went back down the hall. She did it deliberately to watch the nurses run to see who was escaping lol. I sat there and laughed so hard, she was such a stinker.. She made it out of there. I never heard from her after they took her home..but I know she was glad to get out of there too.. That was so cute to see tho. I laffed for days on that and every time I saw Terry I would tell her "OOPS" she would wink and go on her way :-) Speaking of going , I need to make my way to my bed..and I need to do some of my stumpercises mine are aching.. its rained all day and theyre letting me know I need to do a few.. I tried to watch TV last night..and woke at 430 to find I had the clicker in my hand and not even pulled the covers up again..no wonder I was kinda chilly, that's what woke me. :-) its time to get my 'cises out of the way for today and say..."nitey nite" :-) Y'all have a good one now, Y'hear? luv ya..and thanks :-) Always, Lois **** God Bless you is my prayer today, I'm so honored to call you "friend"; I pray the Lord will keep you safe until I write again..