My Tuesday

Today was a big day with my physical therapist. She came to work with me right after the awful breakfast. With my great friend Tom cheering me on, we started off with more practice at getting out of the bed and pivoting into the wheelchair. The therapist wheeled me down to the end of the hallway to a set parallel bars. This was the first chance to work my newly revealed muscles....

With little assistance, I was able to stand up and walk by using those bars. My first few steps felt a little awkward, like I was using someone else's legs. My strides felt effortless and much more fluid than "normal". The physical therapist tested my dorsi flexion and was impressed with my new range of motion. After several boring trips up and down the parallel bars, I wanted to venture through the hallway with a walker.

My quest back to the room was approximately 150 feet, and I was determined to reach my destination. It took a few steps to get used to the aid of the walker, then gained momentum, like a semi bearing down the Grand Island bridge. The therapist wanted me to slow down and take a break, but I was a man on a mission. I made my final destination to the bed and earned a well deserved nap...

Later that afternoon, as my wonderful brother Mike came to visit me like he has every day, the therapist came in to see if I could make it past the final hospital hurdle.... The Stairs! We went to an office which had portable wooden steps. There were 3 small steps on one side, 2 larger steps on the other, with a small platform on top. With little help from the therapist, I was able to stand up and walk up the small steps, on the platform, and down the larger steps. Then, I turned around and walked up the larger steps, on the platform, and down the smaller steps. After a brief break, I did it again....

I was still energetic enough to get some more walking in. We walked down the hallway with the walker. It was about 100 feet. I took a little break in the wheelchair, then walked back to the starting point; racking up 350 total feet of mileage on my new legs today...

After receiving another terrible tray of food, Mike called the very genorous Heidi and Tom to bring a delicious chicken sandwich from Panera's. After dinner, we hung out and played a few games. Overall today has been very productive and promising for what the future has in store!