Walking Spirit

The high point of my past week came on Wednesday. All in all it was a good week, but Wednesday was the best day, with Friday being a close runner up. What made Wednesday so special was that I got to pick Madeline (my niece) up from school and spend the afternoon with her. It was the first time that I've driven a car with her in it since before the accident! I never went over 30mph on our drive home!

I mentioned that I was driving slowly and she asked why. I told her that I had a special package in the car. She asked "what is it?" and I responded "you!". She giggled. We went through the drive through at Dairy Queen on the way home. Once inside her house she had to take two more trips to the car to get the food, and her stuff. It was fun to watch her climbing in and out of my car and trying to get as much stuff at a time as possible! She did her homework while I ate and then we played some board games and the Wii until her mommy came home to take her to gymnastics. We had a great time!

Thursday I had a follow up with Dr. Ertl. My appointment was at 10:45am. I didn't get out of there until 2pm! The visit was worth the wait though. Dr. Ertl was very pleased with my progress.

Friday was a big day. I had Physical Therapy in the morning. I stood for just over two minutes without holding on to anything! That's a big improvement, considering that I could only stand for about 30 seconds before the last round of surgery. We also decided to try walking with one crutch again. I had been able to do this before the surgery in May, but it was very uncontrolled and I had to put my left leg into a different mode. This time we tried it with both legs in their normal mode. It was much more controlled, and a lot easier! Of course, it's still not as safe as walking with both crutches, but at least I know I can do it. Both of these things are a big steps, and show how much my balance has improved!