Walking Spirit

Ha! So this week I remembered! Of course, Renee did remind me yesterday. It's been a pretty good week. I did go to work last week which, I have been doing once a week for about a month. I don't write much about it because, well, it's work. Last week Depauw's Board of Trustees were in which, was the group that we were in the process of preparing for when the accident happened last year. They've been asking about me so I made it a point to be there to visit with them this time. The highlights from this week are a visit from an old friend and an intense therapy session. Unfortunately there's no more progress on getting a car. :(

Cliff, his wife Kellie, and their baby Anna came for a brief visit on Tuesday night and Wednesday. Cliff and I have been friends since college and were roommates for about four years. This was the first time that we've seen each other since the accident. They came to visit while I was in the hospital, but I was still asleep so that doesn't count.

Unfortunately they didn't have a lot of time but we did have a nice dinner at the house. Wednesday morning we went to the Marriott, where we all used to work, to have breakfast. I walked in and we were greeted by a small group of our old friends and co-workers. They were all thrilled to see me walk but, I think Anna was really the big hit. After breakfast we visited with my parents briefly and then went home to watch the video of their wedding.

They hadn't seen the video because it was taken for me. I was supposed to be in the wedding but was in the hospital at the time. There's a part of the video where they're passing a phone around before the wedding. I'm on the other end of the phone. It was strange to hear them talking to me and remember laying in the hospital bed at the ARC having those conversations. It was an emotional moment then, and almost more so sitting there and watching the other end of the conversation with Cliff and Kellie yesterday.

The therapy session yesterday was tough. I went to U of I and met Renee and a couple of her students. We went out in the wind and light drizzle and walked to a building with a fairly long ramp. The ramp was pretty steep at one point and, to be honest, I was a little worried about it. Going up the ramp was no big deal, although it I was pretty tired by the time we got to the top of it. Going down was the part that made me nervous.

The last time I walked down a ramp both of my knees bent at the same time which generally means I'm going down. Renee caught me that time and I haven't walked down a ramp since. So, that's why I was nervous. Plus, the ramp we were walking down yesterday was made of concrete and a little steeper than the wooden ramp in my garage. As I started down the ramp I found myself taking smaller steps. It took longer but I felt much more secure. I've also started keeping one leg straight as I walk down which seems to give me more stability.

After the adventure with the ramp we walked back to the building where their classes are and did some endurance walking in the hallway. Renee's got this thing about making me work really hard and then, when I'm really tired, asking me to walk as far as I can. I guess it works, because I am feeling more confident. In the next couple weeks we're going to be trying stairs and also getting up from different types of chairs.

Right now the only chairs that I'm comfortable standing up from and sitting down on are fairly rigid chairs with arms. For me to leave the wheelchair behind I'm going to need to be able to sit in pretty much any type of chair that's available. The chairs at Circle City (the restaurant at the Marriott) have arms and are rigid enough that I think I would be able to stand up from them. It didn't occur to me until I was there that I might have been able to leave the wheelchair behind when we went in. I think this may be the first step towards an empty wheelchair, me realizing that I can go places without it. We're not ready for the empty chair yet, but I think that day may be closer than I originally thought!