Walking Spirit

Sorry I didn't get to post anything last night. I went to work yesterday and didn't get home until very late. Our Vice President of Operations and our Senior Vice President were in town so I made an appearance. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned how wonderfully supportive my company has been. A lot of the credit for that should e given to these two people.

Things at the Walden Inn are continuing to improve. We're currently working on plans for the second phase of our renovation, which will include the Food and Beverage areas and the Public Space. With so much going on I've decided that it's time for me to start easing back in. As of this week I'll be going in one day a week. It's exciting and a little scary. I've always been a very physical manager and I'm now going to have to adjust to the new physical limitations. However, while inspecting a room with the Executive Housekeeper (Christy) and the Chief Engineer (Scotty), I got down on the floor and looked underneath the couch and started pulling up cushions. The perspective was interesting but it took too much energy.

The Therapy session on Monday went well. A few weeks ago I was given a new pair of crutches. The kind that attach to my forearms. These give me more stability but they have been more awkward to work with when standing up from a chair. Well, I finally figured out how to stand up from a chair with them already attached. The first attempt at this was quite comical because Renee decided to hold my left crutch against the arm of the chair I was getting out of. All of a sudden I found myself standing mostly straight on the right side and completely unable to stand up on the left! Don't get mad at Renee though, she was trying to stabilize the chair and simply didn't realize where her hand was. After she moved her hand I was able to stand.

This may seem to be a small thing, but the more confident I become with standing and sitting on my own the more likely I am to practice walking at home, or other places. At this point the only places I have felt comfortable walking are therapy and home. Hopefully as my confidence builds I'll start appearing in public places. So, with that in mind, listen to the rest of the story from Monday.

At the end of my Therapy session Renee received a call from Sarah in the ARC. (Remember Sarah is the one who oversaw my torture before I was sent home for Christmas.) Sarah had a patient in the ARC that she wanted me to come talk to. He's Hispanic, and doesn't speak any english, so we had to use a translator but the conversation went very well. This young man lost his left leg and arm in an electrical accident. I've spoken with his parents previously but up until now he hadn't been ready to speak with me. His eyes lit up when I came into the room with my prostheses on. I was in the wheelchair but I could tell that he was excited to see my legs. We talked for a while and he asked me to show him how I walk.

So, I made the first attempt at getting up without Renee present. For the first time since the beginning of May I was able to get out of a chair and stand without any assistance at all. I'm still putting too much weight on my crutches, because my balance is still really far off (In fact, I now have Tendonitis (sp?) as a result), but I'm standing straighter and walking easier. When I have the new sockets that fit well I hope to see some pretty big leaps forward!

Speaking of big leaps forward...tomorrow...I swim...