Funny?

I am trying to decide if I am becoming a grumpy crank regarding jokes about wheelchairs. Not from my friends or family.

Earlier this week, I watched The Big Bang Theory. Leonard was on his way to a boat in the North Sea with Stephen Hawking's team to research some science thing. But Penny was concerned, Won't Professor Hawking just roll off?

Really, is she that dumb? Wheelchairs have brakes, and boats have railings. Plus,   Hawking wasn't going; his team was.

It seemed like a silly and lazy joke. So I tried to come up with another line that would work. It wasn't easy. The only thing I could come with is

• "What if his wheelchair rusts?"
• "Won't it be hard to use his voice thing if he is wearing gloves?"

But the second suggests that the North Sea is real cold, but it is not.

I still can't decide if it was a funny joke.

I did laugh at Modern Family's joke involving a wheelchair the other day, but that was not so much about the chair.

Haley was mocking a community college brochure's standard diversity photo and said, wow, that guy in the wheelchair is really cracking them up.

So I just don't know.

Anyone want a wheelchair?

I had to call my sister for help the other morning because I slid off the bed when I was getting up.

I wasn't hurt and probably could have gotten up eventually, but in the interest of time I figured I needed help.

I know people will yell at me for this, but I was thinking that was the first time in a while I fell. I must be getting better. No doubt, soon I will be able to toss out my wheelchair.

Sleeping under the chair

My sister makes fun of Claren for being scared of the new puppy. And it's true, Claren is. Service dogs need to be extra-passive, and Claren is even more than usual.

She is not, however, stupid enough to lie down under my chair. Unlike certain puppies.

Bathroom blues

I did not notice how the super pole in the bathroom intruded on my space until it fell. I have been without it now for a few weeks and am continually surprised at how much difference a few inches make.

The problem is I still need the function the pole performed -- helping me get off the toilet.

I have been trying to ignore the problem and hope it goes away, but as Mom and my sister informed me: that is unlikely to happen. Actually, they did not use the word unlikely, they just cruelly burst my bubble.

Mom and I spent the evening looking at grab bars, but I think I need the pole.

Back to School

Unfortunately, last night bore little resemblance to the Rodney Dangerfield movie. But it was still quite fun.

Mom, Dad and I, and one of my uncles, his wife and one of my cousins went to an advanced class at NIH to talk about genetic testing.

The first counselor we saw at NIH teaches a class to geneticists, PhDs and medical doctors, and he asked us to come talk to the class.

Mom and I talk about Friedreich's ataxia a lot, so what she said was not a surprise. But hearing Dad, my uncle and cousin talk was interesting. The students asked good questions, too.

Here is what I said about testing;

I know some people with genetic diseases find testing offensive, not me. My sister and husband got tested before having kids, but I did not see that as saying my life is not worth living. They are both planners who would be sad without their spreadsheets. They wanted to know what they'd be getting into.

I don't know what they would have done if they were both carriers. But, as I told the class, I would not wish FA on my worst enemy, so how could I be OK with potentially having a nephew or niece with it? So of course, if they decided to adopt, that would make sense.

It was not easy to say all that I said, or hear what others said. My uncle said he felt guilty being a carrier? How about the person who brought this deadly disease to light in our family?

Granted, neither of us had anything to do with our genes -- no choice there -- but still.

I think Claren realized how hard it was for me. Right after I said how hard FA is, she got up off the floor and just sat next to me, making sure I knew she was there. She is the best!

My aunt and uncle both said how good I was afterward, and the counselor said, if we could only clone your attitude ... So bitter works!