It's been a crazy month. Packing up my place after my injury was not an easy task. I'm thankful to say that at least I'm mostly back to normal in that regard. After I returned from MB, I started to get into that packing mode. I threw away a lot of stuff and went through my filing cabinet, discarding anything I didn't need to keep, and storing old tax info and things like that. It was a long awaited job that needed to get done. Ugh, I hated every minute of that! Although I found some interesting things, many of which went straight to the garbage. :) Such a chore. But at least it's done for a while now. Then packing. Another ugh. Particularly when I physically am not able to move boxes around at the best of times. I did have a lot of help in the end. I had a meltdown when I learned a group of people who had promised to help backed out at the last minute. I had no idea how I would get everything done and who would help me, and, overall felt overwhelmed with my situation - that I'm unemployed, that I had to move due to financial stress, that I physically couldn't do the packing or the moving and that I had to rely on others so much. I am so thankful for my church family and a few other friends who stepped up to the plate and helped out! The adjustment to mostly living out of a 10x10 bedroom and living with a roommate I hardly know has been a little tough. Particularly when, in some ways, we live very different lifestyles and have very different habits and very different expectations. I can use the common space, but I still don't feel super comfortable in that space. I think that will get better. It's kind of neat having a dog around, though. The dog is a Jack Russell Terrier. Molly is her name. And my bed was her favourite spot before I moved in ... and continues to be quite often during the day. But I do believe it will all work out. This week has been much better and I hope it continues to improve or reach a comfortable plateau.
The financial component has not been as overwhelming until today. Somehow I trust God will carry me through. I just had a moment - ok, a few hours - where I wondered how I'd make it financially to the end of next month. You see, I was under the impression EI would kick in at the end of this month, but I learned today that I will only receive my first money Nov. 27. Wow. Not impressed. And I got kind of scared. Now, when I rationalize it, I'm sure I'll make ends meet. I'll get my rent deposit back from the old place and I'll get some money back from Shaw. I've got to make it. I have no other choice. It may require talking to some lenders. Maybe to my roommate. But, maybe I'll have some income before then. I do know God provides. In my life, it seems to be 'at the last minute' so often. Really forces me to trust Him. And, looking back, things have worked out in really neat ways. Certainly not according to my plan. That's for sure. Haha. Afterall, I wouldn't even be in Calgary if things had gone according to my plans. :D
I do have some hope in the earning money category. I was accepted as a provider for Blue Cross for providing services through a program with veteran affairs. I'm excited about this opportunity, but I have no idea what kind of hours I'll get with this. The role is working with vets who have mental health diagnoses who have significant issues like post traumatic stress disorder, depression, brain injuries, addictions, and other diagnoses. There will most likely be a lot of co-occurring disorders. There could be physical disabilities as well. This role is not a case manager, but a role to complement that and provide the intensive support. I had been warned it would take months to process the paperwork to be approved, but literally, within a week of submitting the paperwork, I received my letter of acceptance. To me, that was an amazing miracle! I didn't even have all the required paperwork but sent it in with a note stating I would submit it as soon as I receive it. I saw this opportunity first last December. At the time, I was comfortable in my job and things were finally going quite well there. I felt that it was not my time to leave. And I knew a role like this could be a considerable time commitment, requiring day time hours. Still, it's been in the back of mind ever since. When I went for my 'interview' in Winnipeg (to work in Calgary), the lady I met with told me I had really good timing. Only within the previous month had OT's been approved on their list of providers. Prior to that, OT's had to go through a long process to prove they would be a good option for the role. So bring on the clients! :D
In the mean time, I'm working on putting together a business plan. I'm taking a small business course. The veterans role is part of this plan. I'm beginning to get excited about it but I'm also seeing the immense amount of work that will be involved in securing contracts and in getting the word out there. I wrote up my product description today after much reflection and hand written versions. It will still need some tweaking, but I think it encompasses what I want to do. I think I'll also need to get some kind of routine that will get me out, either for exercise or coffee or both in the earlier (in my frame of reference that is) part of the morning and then come back to the apartment to work. Not something long. But some sort of pattern. Or, maybe I need to find a coffee shop to be a 'second office'. There's also a library not too far away which could suffice as an 'office'. I may check that out too. In that way, it might feel like I'm going to work. And it gets me out too.
Not sure what else to add in the way of updates. But here are the promised pictures of my injuries. Like I said, my feet, knee, and hand are pretty much back to normal. No more bruising. No more swelling. No more pain - or hardly any. And I'm not sure I can attribute that to those injuries anymore as I frequently have pain in this place or that. My walking is back to normal too. Although I am more conscious of taking my walking stick with me to use on uneven surfaces or stairs.
The left foot. Notice the swelling and the purple that is most intense by the toes and goes up about half the foot. Oh, and notice the pretty big toe nails. :) At least my toe nails were pretty. Haha.
The Right Foot. Notice the yellow bruising on the right side of the foot and some swelling. This is the foot I actually rolled. I'm surprised I had no ankle pain or injuries with that fall.
The left foot, I believe only the toes bent ... WAY too far. And that foot would have hit the ground hard too on the top of the foot. I don't have any pictures of my knee. There wasn't anything to take a picture of. No external bruising. Very little swelling. I'm happy about that, particularly because my knee hit the sidewalk. But I lost strength for a couple days in my knee. And, my left hand didn't show anything more than slight swelling and a scrape on the arm near the wrist. I am so thankful that I don't seem to have residual pain and that it doesn't seem as though I broke anything.
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