Videos of progress

Occupational therapy focuses on core work -- how do you strengthen core muscles so that I can actually perform ADLs (activities of daily living) like getting dressed sitting on the edge of the bed. It helps to have trunk control so I can reach and lean to grab things.  But it's a process to get there. Because my injury has left me without a lot of functional abdominal muscles or back muscles, my core is pretty weak. It's difficult to grab things off of tall shelves, pull my shirt over my head, or sit on the bed and button a dress shirt.  So strengthening my core is important. 

PT here at Courage Kenny is intense.  It was at Mayo too ... but as I progress, I get to new challenges that I have to conquer.  Below are a few examples.  

Instead of using a standing frame, we're just straight up standing here. I have to build the core strength to adjust my hips so that I stand up straight and aligned. My therapist here realizes just how tall I really am.

Starting with 2 inch curbs (basically a crack in the sidewalk) .... have to be able to smoothly get up those, so get momentum, time the wheelie to get the front wheels (casters) up and then the back wheels down.  Then you go back downhill -- pop another wheelie and get the back wheels down first.  I'm now practicing on 5 inch curbs. 

This is a balancing act.  Seriously. A bit harder with the TLSO on because it limits my ability to lean forward to find a center of gravity. But the rehab goal here is to hold a wheelie for at least 15 seconds -- and to wheel forward while in a wheelie for some distance.  This is all helpful to get up and down things, like curbs, stairs, and hopefully onto the balcony at my home!

I assume I'm going to fall at some point.  And hopefully get on the floor to play with my nieces (or my own kids, inshallah some day). So I need to be able to safely to get to the floor and back up. The going down is a bit scary. On this I'm sitting on a little stool ... but I've also figured out how to get to the ground on just the ground.  It's a long way down.  Back up is a bit more work .... peep the bright red face.  That's how I know I'm working! All physics....

This way is a bit more complicated.  Lotsa lifting. And the TLSO doesn't help.  But imagine I'm climbing onto a bed or a face first up onto a wheelchair.  Note the "Am I kneeling" question ... no idea where my knees are or where my alignment is. My face doesn't get any less red doing this one.    

Some earlier work from Mayo ... working on both core and arm strength.  This is called "quadruped" position -- basically up on all 4s.  They're using the lift to support my trunk, stacking my hips over my knees, and guiding them so they stay relatively aligned.  Add in some shoulder work with push ups or batting a weighted ball back and forth while simultaneously working the core to make sure my hips stay stacked and aligned right-to-left.