I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Last summer Lesley bought some locally trapped beaver pelts and had them made into a trooper type hat and mittens for both of us. Today is the first real chance to test them with temp about 0 F (-20 C) and winds of 30 MPH (50KPH). I just walked the dogs with the beaver pelts on and my left (stroke side, always cold hand) was hot when I came in! Lesley asked how I was, and all I could do was get out of the mittens and cap, I was so hot. I had no other gloves, liners of any type on, just the beaver pelts. No wonder the native Americans and Voyageurs were warm. They knew how to do it. I am also now wearing thinsulate lined blue jeans, and that seems to have helped keep my cold left foot warmer. I think the jeans are helping keep my core body and left side leg temp up, and thus helping the foot warmer. Now I can go outside and enjoy winter again, now that I have all the gear to keep warm.

My message to all of you who are not familiar with my blogs is don't give up, you MUST always try new things, when the medical community says we can't help anymore, learn to help yourself. Not everything I have tried worked but some of it has. If you have hand/arm issues, try saeboflex.com I did, and it worked wonders. If you have arm curling up and cannot straighten issues, try active release. I recommended this treatment to a gentleman who stroked a few years before I did. He had given up hope of gaining mobility. Now he travels the country driving his motorhome with his wife. I received a lovely letter from him thanking me for the recommendation. The point is not about me, but rather about never giving up and always be willing to try new things. My old blogs have more info. Do not give up! You and your caregiver must be proactive and help yourselves. PT's, OT's, doctors, etc, can and will only take you so far. Remember, they only see you for a few minutes now and then. You live with yourself 24/7. Nobody knows your body like you do. You must make the journey yourself.

A happy new year to all, and I shall spend the rest of the day watching college football and drinking coffee.