More Progress

Today was another physical therapy day and we headed off expecting a rather routine session. Stand up, do the 'stutter walk', do the same ol' exercises, and spend some time on the stationary bike.

Well, it didn't quite turn out that way.

First, Scott had me stand without my boots (the ones my brother calls "Klingon mukluks"). Well, OK. That's a little different.

Then he told me to start walking. Without the mukluks. So I figure we'll just take a few steps to test the waters a bit. Boy, was I wrong! That dude had me walk around the ENTIRE PT room! OK. So it's not a 5 mile hiking trail. Heck. It's not even a 1/4 mile track, but it's a pretty good distance for me! And without the mukluks!

So we're strolling along with my "stutter step" where I move the walker forward, step 1 foot and then the other up to it, stop, then do it again. All of a sudden Scott tells me to try to walk normally...flowing my steps 1 after the other without pausing. After a moment of sheer panic, I give it a shot and I did it! At first I could only get 3, maybe 4 steps in a row, but pretty quickly I was able to just keep going!

Sure, I still had a little balance trouble, my depth perception was a bit off so I could not always tell where the floor was, and Scott was still holding onto me just a little, but I was getting it done!

So we get back to the table and I get ready to start the exercise routine and I get told we're upping the weights. As it turned out, that was no big deal, either. I was able to complete all reps of all sets without difficulty! Sweet!

So we get done with those and they tell me to get into my chair and roll over to the stationary bike. Ummm, no, I don't think so. I tell them I wanna WALK over! So they agree, and I do. And even better than before!

Now all I have to do is be able to walk with my head up instead of watching my foot placement and without Scott spotting me and I can start walking at home! You KNOW what I'm gonna be trying REAL hard to do Thursday!

Another Milestone Falls!!!

Yes, the next milestone falls. In fact, a couple of them!

See that pic to the left? I'm not just standing there. I'm walking!!! In fact, I was walking pretty darn well all things considered!!!

We finally got the walker yesterday and they told us to bring it with us to PT as soon as we got it. And boy, they meant it! The very first thing we did today was put it to use! Scott checked it out, deemed it a good walker, set it front of me, and told me we were gonna take a few steps and that we did!

After that, we did the usual exercises, then Scott had me walk about halfway across the room to the stationary bike!

Next I was given the go-ahead to sleep without those darn boots! So now the only time those boots are on are when I am standing or walking!

And to top it all off, my brother and his wife, who had just gotten in from the Seattle area and I only get to see every 2 or 3 years, had met us there at the rehab facility so they were there to see me take my very first steps since January 6th and share in the moment!

Wow! What a day! Praise the Lord!

It is so exciting to knock these milestones down and all with minimal pain to boot. Sure, there is some discomfort and a few muscle aches, but I can't say that the PT has really caused me any undue pain. I simply cannot understand why the Lord is smiling on me to such a degree, but I'm sure not going to question His judgment!

Now on to rebuild my sense of balance, leg strength, and coordination. Then after that, I dump the boots and start walking at home.

I think I can FINALLY see the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel!

PT Follow-up

Another round of PT today and I just thought you may want to see me standing up (with the aid of Scott, of course).

As you can't see, Scott has his knees bracing my right knee and he's holding onto a web belt that is around my waist. I've got a death grip on his arms because my knees are always trying to buckle, my feet hurt like mad, and my sense of balance is completely whacked out.

You may notice that my back is NOT to the chair. That's because I have already stood up twice and this time I took shuffle steps to get turned around so I could sit down on the exercise platform. When I'm done with the exercises we do there, we then do this little dance again to get me back into my wheelchair. From there I go to the stationary bike and then I'm done for the day.