After researching what I needed to do to recover and positive people supporting me it took four to five months before I could stand up on my own. For the next three years my life would be filled with as much exercise and therapy I could handle on a daily basis. (Thank you Jenny and Red)
This would bring us to the first trip in 2007 to Project Walk in Carlsbad California. I went for their home program, which is five days of intense exercise (Thank you Chris) and then they send you home with a DVD on what you need to work on. After a couple days at Project Walk my thoughts were confirmed on the status of my recovery, I had come a long way but still had a long way to go. One of the best parts was I was told that didn't need to use my wheelchair anymore except for long distances! SWEET! (This would prove to be harder than I thought it would be.)
The following year (2008) after Project Walk I spent trying to find somebody that would help me exercise and push me to achieve my goal of walking. Many institutions are willing to help until they find out you have a spinal cord injury. What I have come to believe is that they don't want to be responsible if I fall and injure myself while in their clinic. Understandable and frustrating. Can anyone help?
Then I stumbled upon Med X Spine and Orthopedic Physical Therapy in 2008 and a gentleman by the name of Brian. They took a chance on me and I am so glad they did. I spent 14 months working with Brian and I can’t thank him enough for his willingness to help someone with a spinal cord injury exercise and push them to achieve their goal. Thank you so much Brian you have helped me get my life back.
Fast forward another year to present day 2010. I was able to jump for the first time in 5 1/2 years and walk relatively unassisted while at Project Walk. By the time my visit was over my flexibility had increased and my nerve pain and spasms had decreased as my body had responded quite well to the increased stimulation of my spinal cord. I was given a whole new collection of exercises to do and the confidence to do them correctly. I am hoping that this increased CNS activity has a positive effect on my hands, as they are one of the last things to develop. Spinal cord injuries in quadriplegics are weird, you either get your hands back first or last. Unfortunately I have the latter.
(Recently added)
Now in 2011, I have been working with SCI Recovery Project in Denver for many months and are stoked at the results! My overall strength has seen huge gains, my balance is so much better, use a crutch to get around with most of the time, and only use my chair for the long hauls. My hands...well...they're better too, for the most part!
2011 and beyond....stay tuned it's gonna be cool!!
