Hello everyone,
I finally made it back and thru the holiday season. I finished strong in India and brought back some great skills, both in my chair and on my feet. I tried very hard to get the proper technique down for taking steps using forearm crutches. They are pretty difficult to use because there is a lot to resolve with each step. Over which leg is the weight of my upper body, which foot is in front of the other, where is each crutch relative to each foot, do I have gum in my mouth. Starting is the hardest part, but once I get started and into a rhythm I can move pretty fast, but the faster I go the harder it is to control my momentum and thus more of an opportunity to come crashing down. I plan to practice with my new-to-me-$20-craigslist -forearm crutches. I bought them from a man who used them for walking, but sadly his condition is getting worse and he relies on a chair more and more. I am hoping my story will be opposite his and I will someday list my chair on craigslist.
Rocky came over to India to help me travel home. We brainstormed every other hour the idea of how to get far enough north just to catch a trace, maybe just a distant silouhette of the Himalayas. But, in the end, we settled for going to a market in Delhi that featured some crafts from that region. Rocky was great and everyone at the hospital really took to him. In his short time in India he made many friends. Rocky was also a great travel companion. Maybe he anticipated that I would have a lot of luggage coming back because he decided to make the trip over with one middle school sized, book bag style backpack. It seemed to work OK for him until the speed of the world unexpectedly switched into slow motion just before he opened his well shook, very full bottle of Coke over his only pair of jeans and shirt. It was funny....to me.
Anyway, its great to be back. I am regularly attending Project Walk again. That has helped my moral considerably, because I am noticing my improved balance and upper body control of my legs. I am stronger. Next for me is to get back to work - again, and practice, practice with my crutches.
Happy New Year,
Chris.
