Graduation, Boot Camp Day 1, and some more paintings

It doesn't take a genius to realize that I haven't written anything in a while. I've been busy, my attention taken by school, physical therapy, and art.

The first priority for the past few years has been working on my bachelors degree. I am proud to say I have earned my degree in Biology! They even wrote a little press item on the graduating CSU students and my 6 year journey to graduation.

Peter was in a traumatic car accident on Dec. 29, 2009 when his family was driving down the freeway and their car spun out of control, braking suddenly for stopped traffic. He shattered two of his vertebrae, broke both arms and suffered extensive internal damage, ultimately requiring a wheelchair and rigorous rehabilitation. He went through several surgeries and regained motion in his legs and was eventually able to start walking with a brace and walker. Despite wanting to resume his education at CSU, health problems made it difficult for him to be successful on campus, causing him to return home to North Carolina. There, he resumed his CSU education online. Since then, he is recovering more and more and has made such great progress that his wheelchair now serves as a bed for his cats. He is set to graduate this May with a degree in Biology. He also has applied to several graduate schools and is interested in Bioinformatics, the merging of genetics work and computer programming. In the future, he hopes to work in a lab doing research.

I'm glad simply to have made it this far, physically and academically, though I've a long way to go still until I'm satisfied with either. Physically I've been improving by leaps and bounds. And by that I mean I can actually jump (even if it's not very high).

 Who knew I could jump higher than the average house!

I'm currently up in Baltimore for another round of Boot Camp, the two weeks twice a year where I get pushed by spinal cord specialists to improve the best I can. The exercises are tailored to my injury and how much recovery I've made. This generally includes some work in the pool, work on balance, strengthening, using treadmills, or all of the above. Today was the first day and was mostly tests, evaluations, and deciding which exercises required more work and which were too easy. According to their tests, since last Boot Camp I've gotten stronger, faster, and better coordinated. The real work starts tomorrow and I know after 3 hours of grueling work I'll sleep like a babe.

Well... maybe not.

Finally, I've been busy painting. This past Christmas instead of buying gifts for people I gave each person a painting instead. This has started me on a painting rampage which continues today. I work mainly with acrylics on canvas and have come up with a few nice pieces. I've also begun Art Journaling, a combination painting and scrapbooking, layered with inks, stencils, stamps, stickers, and million different mediums.

 Sawfish, Spotted Eagle Ray

Crying Robot, Green Coffee Cup, Red Coffee Cup

Blue Coffee Cup

Green Coffee Cup

Red Coffee Cup

Blue Coffee Cup

 Painting outside on a warm day.

 Dragon on a teacup.

 Winnie the Pooh art journal page.

 "What day is it?" asked Pooh.

"It's today, " squeaked Piglet.

"My favorite day" said Pooh.

 "Life is art, live yours in Color."

 The first layer of an art journal page.

 You have no idea how much I love turtles!

 What happens when I get bored and have only highlighters and sharpies.

 Darth Vader Art

A Whale in Love

 A City in Flames.

Dragon on a cliff.

 The Peacock, done in highlighter.

If you like the art, are a fan of my recovery, or just like turtles, 'like' The Turtle Walks on facebook. I'll start keeping the blog updated but my facebook is where I spend most of my time online. Also check out theturtlewalks.tumblr.com

Return to the Water

In case you didn't know, if you have an open incision (such as the kind you'd get from surgery) you're not allowed to swim. Swimming greatly increases the chance of infection and causes the scar to heal really strangely. My body heals extremely slowly ever since the accident, so the incisions should have taken a month to heal has taken almost 3 months! But finally I'm getting BACK IN THE WATER!!!

Awesome turtles thanks to surf photographer Clark Little

The sea turtle has become my symbol in more ways than I had ever imagined: I'm slow and awkward on land but in the water I can dominate. I've been aching to swim for ages now; I always feel slightly incomplete without the water to play in. Besides being a great workout, it loosens all my joints giving me freedom of movement that I don't usually enjoy.

Since my hiatus from the water, I've become significantly more mobile on land. There are however many moves that simply cannot be performed with canes and a gimp leg. In the water these limitations vanish. Suddenly, I can perform headstands, do flips, do karate kicks, and move my body in ways that only bring frustration when I attempt them on land.

The moves I can perform now on land were the ones I was practicing in the water only a few months ago. So the crazier I get in the water now the better I will be able to move on land soon enough. Are you ready?

The Turtle Has Come Ashore

I have less than a week until I go in for surgery on my back. By this time next week I will already be recovering, most likely with new hardware installed. I'm not going to worry and stress my self out. Not yet at least. Even though surgery always carries serious risks, I have a giant network of support behind me. I'm so lucky to have my amazing family and friends as well as all the faceless members of the facebook mob. The upcoming surgery will change my life in a couple of ways, one of which being I can't use the pool while I have stitches in my back. The pool is one of my favorite parts of the week, a time when I can simply float there and be completely weightless and free. Or I can goof around and move faster than I could ever hope to on land. I am a completely different animal. I do aquatherapy once a week and as I pulled myself out of the pool I had the image of a sea turtle coming ashore to lay eggs. This is kind of like that, my temporary hiatus from the water. I have been more maneuverable on land of late than in a long time, to be sure, but I will still miss the water. I'm not gone for good but I will have to sit on the sidelines for a little bit.