so...
yesterday tirr rehab walked me using a regular walker. woo-hoo! they will be doing more of that, but today they worked on my 'sit to stands' and made more adjustments to my leg braces to help me do everything better.
but get this - today they also started prepping me toward my next step. walking without a walker. double woo-hoo! i am currently bending foreward far too much to walk without a walker. that's because my top thigh muscles at my hip are too tight and that forces me to bend foreward at my hips. therefore, i need the walker not only for lateral support, but also for frontal support.
they showed lupita an exercise to perform on me to stretch out that muscle which will allow me to walk up straight. lupita recognized that the intended results of the exercise were the same as the 'superman' exercise she used to do with me just after i started out-patient. she stoped doing it in favor of strengthening my core muscles when she anticipated they were going to try to get me standing so soon. strong core muscles are probably why i have progressed to where i am so quickly.
the military makes the service men do lots of 'superman' exercises. lupita now theorizes that is why they stand so straight and tall.
i am very excited about all of this. i am seeing months of work starting to pay off.
i wish i was advancing as much with my hands. i have about 30% return with my right hand, but only about 5% with my left. hands are important - probably more so than walking. even so - i can eat, brush my teeth, shave, comb my hair, do transfers, wheel my wheel chair [if i have gloves on], type [one fingered], play on the computer, hold a book/magazine and turn pages, and several more things that i am not thinking of at the moment. i have to remember to be grateful for that and, of course, hopeful for more.
I'm through writing now...
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
WALKING TO NEW ORLEANS
walking to new Orleans was a hit song for fats domino, hitting number 6 on the billboard charts in June, 1960. a personal favorite of mine. i am borrowing this title because that is how i am feeling today.
i wrote just yesterday that my therapist had said i would soon be graduating to a normal walker. i didn't know he meant today. we tried it, and i graduated.
my first attempt i walked 20 feet. that ended when i tried to fall. lupita videoed it, catching the last part, including me falling. hopefully she will share that with all of us. my therapist didn't allow me to actually fall - as you probably surmised already since you are reading this.
my next attempt i walked 45 feet. that ended when i got tired and set back in my wheel chair. lupita didn't video that one.
i did very good on my sit to stands too.
next i may be sending a post card from new Orleans.
I'm through writing now...
i wrote just yesterday that my therapist had said i would soon be graduating to a normal walker. i didn't know he meant today. we tried it, and i graduated.
my first attempt i walked 20 feet. that ended when i tried to fall. lupita videoed it, catching the last part, including me falling. hopefully she will share that with all of us. my therapist didn't allow me to actually fall - as you probably surmised already since you are reading this.
my next attempt i walked 45 feet. that ended when i got tired and set back in my wheel chair. lupita didn't video that one.
i did very good on my sit to stands too.
next i may be sending a post card from new Orleans.
I'm through writing now...
Sunday, August 28, 2011
NINE MONTHS OUT
last Wednesday, august 24, marked nine months since my accident.
since i got into outpatient rehab, they have made considerable effort and progress in getting me up and walking. at first i was scheduled to be in a machine that did all the 'walking' for me. therapists would move my legs to help 'train' them to make the connection to 'walking'.
they quickly determined i was beyond that, and instead put me in a 'lite gate' ['gate' referring to walking]. in that device i did all the walking, but with about 30 percent of my weight supported. therapists helped me with the legs as required to get better activation and range. they had a lot of discussion about if they should put braces on me or not.
so a little bit of doing that and i graduated to a 'rolling walker with bilateral support' device. that is pretty much a regular walker with tall arm supports attached. in that i rest my arms in horizontal supports so that i support a lot of my weight with my arms, but move around very much like an ordinary walker. in that i did all of my own walking with no help. i walked a lot - but they said it wasn't 'pretty'. rather than reinforce bad walking technique, they ordered some braces for my legs.
so on august 25 - just in time to start my tenth month - i stood up in my new braces. i thought the therapist had helped me up a lot, doing maybe 80 or 90 percent of the work, and i began to apologize for having done such a lousy 'sit to stand'. he told me no, that i had done my usual 80 to 90 percent of the work. i was amazed, and then i realized how strong my legs and knees felt.
it was one of those break-through moments. i was standing in the parallel bars for the first time. the parallel bars offer very little weight support and mostly just balance control. i felt like i had strong legs. i walked forward and backward - literally backward - for a total of six times at 18 feet each time. the therapist, lupita, and i were all quite thrilled. everything was so much easier and i felt so strong. the therapist said soon i would graduate to a regular walker.
these are not your 'forest gump' braces. they are light weight carbonite that support under the foot, up the calf, and end just below the knee. i wear my shoes and pants over them. i am getting used to wearing them more and more each day, then will eventually wear them less and less as my muscles get stronger.
I'm through writing now..
since i got into outpatient rehab, they have made considerable effort and progress in getting me up and walking. at first i was scheduled to be in a machine that did all the 'walking' for me. therapists would move my legs to help 'train' them to make the connection to 'walking'.
they quickly determined i was beyond that, and instead put me in a 'lite gate' ['gate' referring to walking]. in that device i did all the walking, but with about 30 percent of my weight supported. therapists helped me with the legs as required to get better activation and range. they had a lot of discussion about if they should put braces on me or not.
so a little bit of doing that and i graduated to a 'rolling walker with bilateral support' device. that is pretty much a regular walker with tall arm supports attached. in that i rest my arms in horizontal supports so that i support a lot of my weight with my arms, but move around very much like an ordinary walker. in that i did all of my own walking with no help. i walked a lot - but they said it wasn't 'pretty'. rather than reinforce bad walking technique, they ordered some braces for my legs.
so on august 25 - just in time to start my tenth month - i stood up in my new braces. i thought the therapist had helped me up a lot, doing maybe 80 or 90 percent of the work, and i began to apologize for having done such a lousy 'sit to stand'. he told me no, that i had done my usual 80 to 90 percent of the work. i was amazed, and then i realized how strong my legs and knees felt.
it was one of those break-through moments. i was standing in the parallel bars for the first time. the parallel bars offer very little weight support and mostly just balance control. i felt like i had strong legs. i walked forward and backward - literally backward - for a total of six times at 18 feet each time. the therapist, lupita, and i were all quite thrilled. everything was so much easier and i felt so strong. the therapist said soon i would graduate to a regular walker.
these are not your 'forest gump' braces. they are light weight carbonite that support under the foot, up the calf, and end just below the knee. i wear my shoes and pants over them. i am getting used to wearing them more and more each day, then will eventually wear them less and less as my muscles get stronger.
I'm through writing now..
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