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..