Eight Months

It has been eight months since last summer when I ditched the chair and went on my long vacation using only a walker for the first time.  I can still remember how hard that was, and how scared I was.  When I got home, I got rid of my house chair, but used my outside chair for trips to the store, etc. 

When I moved back up north, I left even that chair behind.  I have been walking with just a walker and have had zero access to a wheelchair for 2 1/2 months now.  I still use a scooter for trips to Walmart or the grocery store, but I still have to walk in and out of the store, and if I want to go somewhere that doesn't have a scooter, I have to suck it up and do my best.  I do think my endurance has definitely improved.  Maybe not as fast as I would like it to, but it has, and I know my lower body is stronger.  I can stand for much longer periods of time without getting so extremely fatigued that I have to sit down or I will collapse.  In fact, I am in shock at how long I can stand now.  As long as I shift my weight now and then and change my posture, I do very well and only continue to improve.  I have also noticed a big change in my ability to balance. 

There is just so much that goes into learning to walk all over again, and after twelve years of not walking, I guess my body is going to need some time.  Eight months seems like a long time, but in reality it's just a blink.  It has taken me this long to regain better balance, endurance, and very minimal strength.  I think now that my balance and endurance are coming back, I will be able to work more on the strength part. 

I am even considering using my forearm crutches at home.  I am certainly going to take them out and give them a try, and if I feel I can maneuver them fairly well without falling, I will use them on a regular basis.  They are much harder to use, but that's kind of the point.  Push the body beyond its comfort zone so as to build strength and better balance.

I'm also getting much more used to going out in public with my old grandma walker :-)  It was tough for a while, but it has become such a routine for me that I hardly notice anymore. 

Spring is just around the corner here in the Arctic Circle, and although I have really enjoyed the snow and change of scenery, I am looking forward to Spring now, too.  Spring means less ice to maneuver and more warm weather to be outside more :-)  That is after "Big Red" (the Red River of the North) gets done swelling and possibly flooding!  March melt is here and Big Red is on the rise! 

I Love My Home

Since being back in the Arctic Circle, I have had to work harder than ever before.  The snow and ice makes walking so much more challenging, and so much more rewarding, all at the same time.  It has been an adventure, to say the least, and one that is making me stronger and happier than ever before!

Walking in snow, when you are as challenged as I am, is like walking in sand.  Every step is not only more difficult, but more challenging to my balance muscles so that I don't slip and fall. 

On top of the added challenges outside my home, I live in a half-underground apartment which requires me to climb up and down six steps whenever I go in and out.  That is just another obstacle that is making me stronger.

All in all, I am happy to be home, happy to be more challenged, and just happy in general!

Repost: Brad Burns - What an Inspiration!

I received an email from Brad the other day, so I decided to repost his amazing story! It had been so long since the first post, I had almost forgotten who he was -- shame on me!

"I came across this incredible story via The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and had to share it with you:

"Name: Brad Burns
Injury: Incomplete quadriplegia
Mechanism of Injury: Auto accident
Date of Injury: May 31, 2008

Brad Burns says he is happier now than he was before the auto accident that left him living with quadriplegia in May 2008 at the age of 24 ... and he has a Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation tattoo to prove it.

Burns, now 26, went from having his C4, 5, and 6 vertebra fused together, a C5 burst fracture, broken right ribs, lacerated lungs, two torn muscles in his right deltoid, and an open-book fracture of his pelvis, to now being able to walk independently with just a front-wheeled walker."

Read the rest of this incredible story here:  Nothing's Impossible

What I found particularly interesting is how they initially got him up and walking.  I've heard that doing the motion forces the brain to create new paths if necessary, but I've never seen it actually work in such an amazing way until I read that story!  Wow!  I feel so incredibly happy for him."

And to think he emailed me and told me I'm a fighter!  I am humbled by his kind words because I think he is just incredible!

Snow Chihuahua!

Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis timelapse HD - Tromsø 2010 from Tor Even Mathisen on Vimeo.

Home, Finally

I am finally back in Norsk country and it has never felt better!  I have had many laughs so far at all the things I had forgotten about in my 20 years of being away; for instance, up here they say "pop" and down south they say "soda".  Up here around this time of year when it hits above zero degrees it's a heat wave, down south if it drops to twenty degrees the entire state panics and shuts down completely.  And, up here in the great state of MN, if you're a weakling, you will never survive.

The most interesting change we have had to make so far was teaching our Chihuahua how to go to the bathroom in the snow!  It took her two days to figure it out, but she finally did and now it's tough to get her inside!

I am looking out my window at the piles of white snow wondering why I ever left.  Yes, it's cold.  Yes, it snows almost all winter long, and yes the sun doesn't shine near as much as it should (in fact, it seems that the only time the sun shines is when the temps hit below zero!), but it is my home and I feel blessed to be back.

People ask me why the heck I moved from Florida back to this tundra, and I simply say because I wanted to come home.  I suppose had I never left I would ask me the same question, but knowing what Florida is really like to live there, I wouldn't go back if you paid me.  A vacation, maybe, to live there, never again.

The best part of all of this is when I left Florida, emotionally I left the old me behind, and physically I actually left my chair behind.  I have been completely without wheels since Jan 5!  I have to say I have done just fine and I don't even miss it.  I just keep getting stronger, yippee!

It has been six months now since I have been walking on a regular basis, and although I am still progressing slowly, I am still progressing. 

It will be up to 30 degrees by the weekend here.  I think I'll go find an ice fishing hole and go swimming!

Perspective

Today marks nineteen weeks that I have been walking, and I am definitely seeing changes.  Changes not only in my muscle structure in my lower body, but also in my balance, coordination, and strength.  It seems that just when I forget how far I've come, I meet someone who puts me in my place without realizing it, and makes me remember how lucky I am.

Last night I met a family who is dealing with some big challenges.  It made me realize that there are so many more people in this world who are dealing with so much worse than me, and it made me want to fight that much more, and that much harder, because I would feel like I'm taking advantage if I don't.  How dare I slack off or want to sometimes give up when there are others who would give anything to be where I am right now.

I am in no way discrediting myself or my challenges, but it's nice sometimes to get thrown a little perspective.  It also makes me feel good to know I give some people hope, just as others have given me.  I know how hard it is to go through such a drastic, life-altering thing, and if I can give back in any way, it makes it all worth it.  Paying it forward, that's what it's all about.

Elizabeth, if you're reading this, I don't know your details, I only know the little you told me, and the sadness and stress in your eyes.  All I can tell you is to keep your chin up and keep fighting for both yourself, and your husband.  You touched my heart with your determination and resolve, and I truly hope that you and your family can enjoy whatever time you have left with your husband;  be it one day or twenty years!  No one knows why life is full of such sorrow sometimes, but all we can know is how we choose to deal with it.

I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, and don't be afraid to keep in touch!

Sometimes all we need to keep going is a little perspective!