A few pictures from therapy

I haven't posted too many pictures from therapy so I'll do my best to share my progress (and hopefully there will be progress) with all of you. Most of the pictures have been taken by either Chris or Abby. Sorry about the quality...they were all taken with our iPhones.

This is Greg, my therapist at Victory Walk Inc. These three pictures were taken a couple weeks ago. In the picture above we were trying something new. It's called stacking. Hips over the knees, shoulders over the hips. I had some trouble getting my shoulders over my hips. When I can't feel the lower portion of my body, I can't tell when things are lined up. Also, it was really hard to breathe in this position, even though I look surprisingly relaxed in this picture...hm. I have the same breathing problem when I'm doing lifts in my wheelchair.

I had a death grip on my thighs. I was in a new position and a little afraid of falling over...falling over and breaking my rods, to be more specific, or damaging my spine above or below the stabilization rods. I met a woman at Baylor who was in rehab for a second time. She had fallen again and one of her rods broke so her surgeon decided to replace both her rods with better quality ones. I always say if you're going to do it, do it right the first time.

When he let go, I didn't fall over...AND...I could breathe. This is, by far, the most comfortable position I've been in since the accident.

It finally happened

I have been dreading the day I would fall out of my chair. Fall backwards, to be more specific. I figured it would happen sooner or later but I honestly didn't think it would happen this soon. On Tuesday I went to Victory Walk for my therapy. Al (co-founder of VWI) was in his office, my mom was doing the dishes and Greg (therapist) was in the gym with another client. Abby was playing around with me so I grabbed her and said "You wanna mess with me? Remember, I'm bigger and stronger than you...I will take you down!" I wrapped my right arm around her and started tickling. She lost her balance and started falling and I could not unhook my arm from around her. It all happened so quickly. Before I knew it, we were both on the floor. I was on my back and Abby was crying. I didn't get hurt, however, Abby somehow hurt her pinkie finger. She's quite the drama queen so my main concern was getting her calmed down. Greg had me back in my wheelchair in no time and he stopped Abby's crying with a band-aid. No, there was no bleeding, but band-aids are a miracle product when it comes to kids and their booboo's. One of my biggest fears came true and it wasn't that bad after all. Though I was incredibly embarrassed, I'm so thankful that it happened where capable help was nearby.

The fuzzy picture above was taken just moments before the fall.

Looking back

I do a lot of thinking and today I can't help but think of the fall I had eight months ago. If the accident would have happened to me ten years ago, I know it would have been a lot more devastating to me. I was in a different place in my life and honestly, I don't think I would have been able to handle it very well at all. The last seven years have been the best years of my life and those years include the past eight months. Those months have been filled with many challenges, tough challenges, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world. That's right! If I could go back and do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. God has shown me His love in so many ways. Through prayers, cards and emails from friends and strangers, to monetary donations as well as a wheelchair accessible van given to us by our church and the precious time of friends and people I don't even know spent at our house, helping to make it more accessible for me. For those of you who know me, I am not the most outgoing person. I have a small circle of friends...good friends. People I love and who love me. It was a most humbling experience when I felt the outpouring of support from people I had never even met and the dedication of my friends and family who were there for me. I remember lying in the hospital bed and thinking these people care about me? Really?? Me??? It was very odd to be given so much attention. I felt as if I had been thrust into the spotlight and I'm a person who will avoid attention at all cost. But then, it provided comfort (and still does). I saw people in rehab that were alone in their struggle and I never saw them with a single visitor. I felt as though I didn't deserve the support I had but I was so THANKFUL for it. I knew it was God carrying me at a time when I needed it most and it has most definitely strengthened my faith. I'm thankful for a loving God and the peace and comfort He provides. I'm thankful for the wonderful people I have met along this journey who have touched my life and it thrills me to know I will meet up with them again some day.

Abby has figured out how to use the camera on my iPhone and she likes to snap pictures whenever she can. These were taken while I was waiting to see my neurosurgeon. For some reason, I really like the one with just my feet. I know, I look spaced out in the first picture but I was in deep thought...I really was! No, there were no crickets chirping...really!

Victory Walk Inc.

I do regret being a reluctant blogger. For the last eight months, there have been many moments in my life that are worth remembering. But my memory is mediocre at best so I will make a conscious effort to blog more often, mainly for my own benefit. Yup, this blog is going to have to be my memory.

Last December I started going to Victory Walk Inc. in Springdale, AR. Last year, in Northwest Arkansas, there were a total of 244 people who were living with spinal cord injuries (Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison and Crawford counties). Benton county had 5 new cases in 2009 and I made up 20% of those new cases...how's that for a statistic! So, as devastating as this kind of an injury can be in someone's life, we also make up a very small portion of the population and it would be easy for many people to ignore the issue. That's why I'm so thankful for the Lemke's, the founders of Victory Walk Inc. Sure, there are rehab centers in the area but only one of them is a spinal cord injury recovery center, solely dedicated to people like me. Al and Lynda turned a tragedy in their own lives into a blessing for Northwest Arkansas.

Trish, if you are reading this...you put me to shame!! You are better at blogging about me than I am...ha ha! Now I have to try to stay ahead of you...darn it all!


Here I am riding the FES bike. It uses electronic muscle stimulation so that my legs are what moves the pedals.

More later...