Thursday, March 19, 2009

Leg Day!

Yep, that's me, today, on two legs!

We started off in the parallel bars and quickly moved to using two walking sticks. That was lesson one! Easy as pie once I stopped duffing my toe on the ground.

On to lesson two: walking outside on uneven ground, up a flight of stairs, down/up a slope and over rocky terrain. It all was all fantastic!

Andrea (my physio) is great! Lisa and I brought her a nice coffee this morning to kick off the day right and she got me moving so quickly. I feel really good about the progress today. I know it's going to be a challenge to do it "very well" but I'm taking it slow, trying to get it right rather than going too fast and getting a bad habit.

Walking on the leg feels a bit strange. The first few steps were a bit like walking in a ski-boot. By the end of the session it was more like walking in a snowboard boot. By the end of the day, it felt like a stiff hiking boot. All good signs that it's getting easier and more natural!

I have it home with me now! I'm still wearing it. Good luck getting this off me now!I'll be on two walking sticks for the rest of the week, then down to one stick next week, then off the sticks all together.

For the next two days, I can spend two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening on the leg. By the weekend that will be up to three hours each. After another week, I should be up to unlimited time!

I was able to wear the new hardware into work for a little bit. I had to take it off part way through the day to give my leg a rest but the grin didn't fade.

On my way out, on the crutches, I had to strap the leg and the walking sticks to my pack. Probably looked a bit funny carrying a leg on my back!

Can't wait to drive around with it hanging out of the trunk of the car or leave it sticking out from under the garage door some time!

Here's the video of my first steps:

5 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you Mike! (and Lisa!)
    I've been waiting for word and was checking in today to see if it had happened yet (the email update didn't come through today or Tuesday for some reason). Anyway. Very thrilling. I've been thinking about your back and how tough it would be to not get to place your weight evenly on two legs. Good luck getting the hang of it. I really enjoyed the video, and am looking forward to showing the kids.
    Anita

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  2. Whaooooo HOOOO!!! Best day ever!!!! Watched the video about 50 times - awesome!!!!!!! xoxoxo

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  3. Hey Mike!!

    I just got all caught up on your blog. I haven't been near the computer for three whole weeks and you have come a long way!!!

    I am super excited to continue reading about your progress. If you have any questions you know where to find me!

    MJ

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