Wednesday 15 February 2012

Week 5 - Wednesday 15 February

The trainers often ask me whether I feel any difference in my legs and feet after my exercises. My standard answer now is that I feel hundreds of differences. Its true - every time I exercise or stretch, or sit or lie for a while, when I move on to do the next thing my sensation and motion is different in many ways and it takes a little time for the new stuff to settle. But a few changes really stood out today. 


First, on the trampoline I got a very clear sensation of landing on the ball and toes of my right foot. That's the right place to land (in plantar flexion) and I have been landing there before, but the sensation has not been so clear. David said that, as well as being good news on the sensation front, this could be a sign that my body is now learning how to absorb force, which is critical. I think that adds a small trampoline to my shopping list of exercise equipment (the kids will be delighted)!!


A sure sign of the benefits of all this strength and neuro work is being able to raise the baseline  at which my body copes comfortably with the challenges. Today, I went back to the dead lift jumps and line hops. I started the dead lift at the same weight as last week. That weight, which was challenging last week, was comfortable today, so David added a few pounds. After that I tried a normal jump - and got at least a couple of inches higher than last week. And in the line jumps, I almost doubled the number of jumps before losing control in my feet. That felt great but the thing that really stood out is that for the first time I had a real sense of wanting to spring up and "get good air" (even if I couldn't quite execute that). I think that's a sign that my body is getting ready to move on to a higher challenge. 


David has me over speeding on the treadmill every day now. We've got me walking very comfortably at 3 to 3.5 mph and I can hold my gait quite well at 4 to 4.5. I'm running on the treadmill several times every session. At higher speeds I can maintain good knee pull through but I can't dorsi flex so my toes catch and drag on the belt (that's where the harness comes in for safety). But that's how the over speeding is working - having been pushed to higher and higher speeds (today I reached 6.5mph for a few seconds), my body has learned to pump my knees and dorsi flex well at lower speeds. David and I are convinced its working. 


And the most exciting change is that tonight, back at the house, for 6 or 7 steps my walking felt normal. That's a small number of steps, but its the first time I have felt that post injury and it felt massive. Hopefully that's another new baseline!


Last week I toyed with the idea of extending my stay here for another week or two, but on Monday morning I woke with a gut instinct answer - to go home at the end of next week, as planned. I've made good progress here and David, Genny and Steve agree that I'm ready to move on. Coming home means that I'll be back to support Ali, as she continues to fight on with her own recovery; back with the kids, who I miss painfully; and able to start back at work and begin the transition out of this rehab bubble I've lived in for the last 8 months. I'm preparing myself for a very emotional next few days. Its a familiar feeling.  I recall the anxiety I felt when I left Singapore General Hospital (where I had my surgery and early therapy) to move to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for my ongoing rehab. The SGH team were a delight and a huge help in the early stages of my recovery. Whilst I knew it was the right thing to move on, I didn't know TTS or the team there and so didn't know what the next leg of the journey would bring. It brought 4 weeks of really good therapy and progress, and a few new friends. When I was discharged from TTS, I was delighted to be coming home but had a few tough moments contemplating the prospects of life without 24 hour care and the ongoing challenges of rehab, regaining my independence and not over burdening Ali. Within a few weeks the walking frame, wheelchair and other aids were gone, I was out at the gym and walking on the track and able to do pretty much everything for myself. Whilst I know that next week will be tough, I also know that I will leave here physically much stronger, with my motivation recharged, armed with lots of knowledge and a training plan - and so very well placed to continue my progress at home. Whilst I've never known exactly what each new stage of this journey will bring, its always spelled progress. I know that whilst there are still massive challenges ahead, I have the support of an amazing group of family, friends, colleagues and therapists - and as always that support will help me continue moving forward.

2 comments:

  1. 5 weeks already. Wow. You can now draw on the strength and progress you have made, and the strength from now knowing the future progress you can make in Singapore. And you still have these 7 days to go.... still more progress each day. Amazing work you have done - your strength to do this is still inspiring.

    We have driven down to Cornwall for a long weekend and coco has met the other 4 Labradors who live on Jo's dad's farm. This is something we missed in Singapore so it's great to finally get the chance and it's very relaxing to be here.

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  2. Great comment from you that for a number of steps your walking felt normal!

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