Faceless Blog

It’s true, I’m looking forward to PAX East, the East coast version of a video game and webcomic convention that normally takes place in Seattle.  I can honestly say; however, that I’m not excited for the “normal” reasons.  You see, I have a number of friends that I only see at PAX, usually due to how far away they live from me.  These friends have only ever known me in my wheelchair.  Outside of Youtube videos, they just don’t even know what I look like on my feet.  Next year’s PAX East will be the very first time that I will be able to greet those friends on my feet, face to face and shake their hands.  (I would say give them a hug, but I don’t know how stable I’ll be on my feet by then.)  It’s hard to explain how much this means to me, I guess.  You’d think it wouldn’t be that big a deal, since they’ve seen me walking on Youtube many times, but it is a big deal…a really big deal.  So, PAX Friends, be patient.  March is coming, surprisingly fast, and on that first day of PAX, you’ve got a big handshake/hug coming.  

Whew, almost forgot where this blog was, it’s been so long since I’ve updated.  Honestly, I can say there are three main reasons for that.  1)  We got a PS3.  2)  We got PS3 games.  3)  For a long time, I was stuck in a holding pattern.  Only now, roughly four months after getting out of in-patient therapy at Passavant hospital, is the blister that I developed at the end of my time there healed up well enough to permit me to start my out-patient physical therapy.  

That’s right, folks, on Wednesday, July 6th, I will begin my out-patient physical therapy…one of the last phases of my rehab until I am completely back on my feet!!  I could not be more excited about this, especially since my physical therapist will be Casey, who was my PT guy back when I was just dealing with the wheelchair.  (Do I have a surprise for him!)  

I’m also going to have something very cool to report within a week or two.  There is a gift waiting for me at home from someone very special, and I can’t wait to share its story with you all.  For now, though, just hang in there.

I will be posting regularly with details of how PT is going, now that things are starting back up again, so thank you to all the folks that hung in there, or are coming back after a while (like me).  Later!

It’s official, if all goes as planned, I will be going home this coming Tuesday!  

Little adjustments continue to be made in both the thickness of the ply I’m wearing and the prosthetics, themselves.  My left leg, oddly enough, still feels like it’s a little too long.  Bjorn will be stopping by tomorrow to make some more adjustments including, I hope, shortening the left leg by a smidge.  Meanwhile, the redness on the end of the left leg has decreased significantly.  It’s looking a lot better tonight.  

I also had the dressing of the wound vac changed today, and the wound care nurse was very pleased by what she saw.  The depth of the wound has decreased quite a bit, and the nurse assured me that she saw a good amount of granulation inside.  (That means that the wound is, like it’s supposed to be, healing from the inside out.)

Oh, I almost forgot, I did something brand new today!  My therapist took me outside for a brief walk!  I parked my wheelchair just outside the entrance to the hospital and walked out to the valet parking sign and back, about a hundred feet, including turns, over various terrains.  (smooth concrete, textured tile and bricks)  After we went back inside, we took a quick detour to the chapel to try my legs on a ramp.  (the aisle leading from the alter to the doors is sloped upwards)  While I was initially very concerned about this new development, I handled the slope like it was nothing at all.  Walking downhill will be the next challenge.

Short update tonight, but there’s nothing but good news in the next few days.  

I was warned when I first got my prosthetics not to be discouraged by the process that would follow.  Many, many adjustments need to be made before the legs settle in to their final state.  Really, the process of adjusting the legs never really stops, they’ll always need little tweaks, here and there.  Today was another round of those little adjustments.  Bjorn came in this morning and tweaked the legs a bit.  The dorsal flex of the left foot was increased again, and the left pylon was kicked out a bit to the outside.  All of this is trying to relieve some of the pressure on the end of the left leg.  There’s a little spot that’s rubbing and opened up a little.  It’s not something that’s serious enough to stop therapy, but it needs to be closely watched.

My standing and walking continues to improve, and it seems, from what I hear, that I’m reaching the point where my therapists may start talking about when I’m going to get out of here.  The next step, after going home, is to start out patient therapy, of course.  While I’ve made a lot of progress here, there’s still a long way to go.  That being said, I can’t wait to get home.  I’m looking forward to going back to the ARC in Slippery Rock (our gym), watching a movie at home with my wife, seeing the cats again, etc.  Hopefully, at some point, my sleep patterns will return to normal, too.  (this is being written at 3:50 a.m.)

As I find out about when I’m going to be discharged, I will, of course, post that information here.  Until then, sweet dreams.  

When I was learning to drive, my mom insisted that I learn on a manual transmission car.  Her reasoning was that if I learned on a stick shift, I’d have no trouble driving an automatic.  (Whereas if you learn on an automatic, it can sometimes be a pain to drive a stick.)  I cursed that manual transmission every step of the way.  At the end of the road our house was on, there was a stop sign on an uphill slope that seemed to be about ninety-one degrees…but it forced me to learn, and now, I can comfortably drive either one.

What does that have to do with my PT?  The crutch canes are my stick shift, at the moment.  I continue to practice with them daily, and every time I move to the walker after the difficult gait of the crutch canes, it seems just a bit easier.  My walks with the walker, as a result, get further and more controlled every day.  Today, a trip that just yesterday caused me to stop three or four times to stop, bent over the walker and gathering my strength, was made with only one pause, to stop and answer a question from my therapist.  Previously, I would have been in some pretty intense pain, gasping for breath and barely able to stay on my feet by the end of what I call “the big loop.” (out to the parallel bars, hang a right into the hallway, then back through the gym, turn around again and sit down in my wheelchair)  Today, I was still a bit winded by the time I made it back to my chair, but (as mentioned), I stopped only once and I was in NO pain.  That’s right, folks…NO PAIN.  That’s a walk of over a hundred and fifty feet, complete with several turns and a controlled stand and sit.  

So, I continue to push myself every day.  I walk and walk and when I don’t think I can make it any further, I walk some more.  That’s what’s going to get me through this, and when I do finally go home, I’m going to be a walking machine with muscles like bundles of steel.  :)

Big news for the past few days!  The reason I didn’t post yesterday was because I was dead tired from some incredible walking!  Again, the changes made on Friday made all the difference as, with the techniques learned then, I was able to start walking with a smooth, continuous movement!

Up until now, my walking has been very…jerky.  My gait is step, pause, step, pause, repeat.  With each step, the walker gets pushed forward a little, there’s a pause, then I do it all again.  Well, that all changed yesterday.  With a little nudge from my therapists (that’s why they’re there!), I took smaller, quicker steps, feet spaced nice and wide, and the walker was pushed forward in a continuous motion!  This is huge because this type of walking puts almost all of your weight on your legs, with the walker being used primarily for assisting in balance.  It’s for those same reasons that it’s also much more tiring than the walking that I was previously practicing.  So, I’ve been exhausted…but happy.

Day 22, today, saw more of the continuous walking with two new additions.  For the first time, I stood up and walked with my crutch canes!  If you’re not familiar with them, crutch canes look like a long cane with a cuff that goes around your forearm and a hand rest that’s parallel with the ground.  They give you the stability of crutches with the flexibility of a cane, basically.  I purchased mine when I still had my original legs, but never had a chance to really use them, so I was super excited to use them today.  It was a slow walk, but it felt damned good!

To wrap up the day, I did something else brand new!  For the first time on my new legs, I walked up (and down) three steps!  They’re arranged like a little pyramid, where you take three steps up, two or three steps across a little platform, then three steps down to the floor.  All things considered, it felt great…except for reaching the floor.  Upon finishing the steps, I end up standing on the floor with my hands on the rail…slightly behind me.  This makes me feel like I’m falling backwards, and really freaked me out for a bit.  I got turned around successfully, though, and walked right back up and down to my wheelchair!

So, where do I go from here?  I continue to push my distance and technique with the walker, going further each day and improving how I walk.  I will also continue walking with the crutch canes, improving my balance and practicing for the day when I’ll be using them as my primary aid rather than the walker.  Finally, I keep pushing myself in new and different ways, getting stronger and stronger each day!