Hey folks! Guess what! The ataxic guy is alive and kicking (sort of).

A lot of things have happened in my world in the last two years:

- My ataxia symptoms are getting worse
- Have become almost 100% power wheelchair dependent
- Sorting out some unrelated medical issues for which there are treatments and cures - related to an overactive thyroid, an enlarged prostate, erratic blood pressure and blood sugar levels
- Trying to avoid any infection, as I find even a common cold is enough to play havoc with my entire system

On the personal front, the developments have been generally positive:

- My daughter married her college beau, both worked in Bangalore, India for about 3 years and are now back in Canada, unemployed, broke, parents to a cat and a dog, madly in love still (ha ha)
- My son finished college and has got his first proper job  - he put himself through college by himself, doing a series of restaurant gigs

The job scene was OK till now but has recently taken a turn for the worse. I am hoping to document that episode in my life in a separate blog - look at {"Disabled Job Search")

On the various support groups I am active in are:

MDI: www.mdisuccess.com, Weekly meetings where men gather to volunteer for community causes and also extend support to fellow team members

Ontario Ataxia Group: We now have about 40 members and try to meet at least once a quarter. The last lunch meetings were held in Hamilton, ON and Toronto

Project Able and Able Canada: www.ablecanada.ca , Being set up. Met a web designer who has offered his services free. We had the first meeting in Toronto in June 2014.

Equal Grounds: Set up by two bothers - Terrence and Torrance.. Among other things, they have set up blogs where persons with disabilities gather to discuss how Technology, Sports, Work & Business and so on impact their lives.

And so life goes on ,,,,

Winter is finally over and it is the spring time yet again. I got the chair fixed, but I was without one for a couple of weeks. They gave me a replacement which did not work that well. Anyway, now my old chair is back.

We have formed a group of ataxians in Toronto that has had a few meetings already. The last meeting was on May 19th at a restaurant called Pickle Barrel. The next meeting is planned for August 18 at my home. We are expecting about 15 guests.

A member of our group (his name is Roger) is performing in a live concert at London, Ontario on October 20, 2012. Shall keep you updated with developments.

Just received some sad news - one of my uncles had a heart attack and dies suddenly 3 days ago.

Chairless in Toronto

My Quantum 6000 Power Chair has developed problems and stopped working on the street. With some difficulty and luck, managed to bring it home. It has now gone for repair. Something seems wrong with one of the motors. It says, the connection is loose and the chair suddenly goes in circles. Over the weekend, the Shoppers Home Healthcare folks took the chair away for repairs. They gave me a loaner chair. Unfortunately, the loaner chair also conked out and I had to leave it in a grocery store (Metro) over the weekend. It must have been collected from there on Monday. Still no word when my own chair will come back or what the damages will be. I shall keep you posted.

Physiotherapy

I located this Physiotherapy and Sports Injury place in the same building as my office. I have started going to them to pick up some exercises. Hopefully they will be able to help with my walking. I shall keep you posted.

Toronto - St. Valentine's Day 2012

It is the middle of winter. We have been lucky so far since there have been no major storms. I spent a minor fortune on a Canada Goose parka, which seems a bit of overkill just now. Anyway, I'd rather spend a bit of cash than navigate through slippery streets.

Last Saturday (Feb 11), we had a brunch of the GTA Ataxia Group. We met at Mildred's Temple Kitchen, and we quite enjoyed the experience. We must do it again. We have gathered together about 15 persons, which is quite creditable since we started only in the fall of 2011.

Today I started with a physiotherapist to do some leg exercises. I am supposed to go again after a week. Let us see how it goes.

I responded to someone who had made a request on my earlier posting. No follow up after the initial email.

Toronto December 2011

Hello

I have responded to a couple of people who had seen my posting of September. Have asked them to write on my email. Nothing much happening. My chair has been giving some problems. The metal frame is coming loose since some screws have snapped. I am trying to get it fixed through the manufacturer or dealer. The guy from Shoppers Drug Mart did come once.

The other news is that we has the first meeting of our ataxia group on Nov 6th Sunday. I hope we are able to make this a regular thing - but it is difficult to round up people. Everyone seems busy with church or kids or something. Everyone seems more keen to arrange something virtual like skype or something. We have more than 15 members now, so that is a good number.

Bye for now. Shall update later.

September 2011

It is 9/13.
2 days after 9/11. The TV is full of 9/11 stuff. It is difficult to escape.

Slow deterioration continues. Still managing to get to work on my chair. My office building is one of those Heritage ones, so they are exempt from providing ramps and automatic doors. I can see their point. There is a wonderful old area in Toronto called St.Lawrence Market. It has one of those old buildings which is a real beauty. They have now installed a new modern automatic sliding door. Very efficient and disability friendly, but ugly as hell. I guess it is difficult to blend old world style with mod cons. I don't know whether to applaud or criticize.

Last weekend, a small group of us ataxians got together for a coffee at a Tim Hortons in Markham. There were 3 of us affected ones and 1 family member. It was a great opportunity to get out of the routine and meet people.

We are trying to set up a Toronto chapter of NAF - National Ataxia Federation.