PT Graduate

Another milestone down!  Jason finished physical therapy at Santa Clara Valley Med yesterday..woohoo :)  His physical therapist was very pleased with the progress he's made in the past four months, and seems pretty certain that Jason will be back in the winter to get fitted for leg braces.  The braces won't allow Jason to walk with regularity (And his gait will be something akin to a Frankenstein walk), but it will enable him to walk short distances (with a walker or crutches) or get up and move around to exercise.  The braces will be a great start and, hopefully, will lead to more "normal" walking in the future.  I know I often talk about how amazing Jason's recovery has been, but for those unfamiliar with SCI, what he's accomplished might not seem so substantial.  To put it in perspective, the first doctor who examined Jason at SCVMC told him he'd never walk again and that he'd be lucky to regain two inches of sensation or motor control below his level of injury (T4, around the nipple line).  He now has some form of feeling or motor control to his pelvis.  It's remarkable and we are both fully aware of how lucky Jason has been.  This is not to say that there aren't still tough days or difficult issues to contend with, but we are both acutely aware of how much worse this could have been.  Thank you to all of our friends and family who have kept Jason in their thoughts and prayers.  It's made a difference.

Today has been a good, and busy, day.  Most days are busy these days :)  Today, Jason had SCI-FIT for three hours and, afterwards, we trekked down to San Jose to go to the Abilities Expo.  The Expo has vendors and exhibits that appeal to the wheelchair crowd (Abilities Expo is an uber-PC way of saying it's for people with disabilities...Jason and I have had LOTS of talks about the language surrounding disabilities, but perhaps that's another post for another day).  I think the Expo would be great if we were in the market for a new wheelchair or a massive conversion van with wheelchair ramp, so maybe we'll return in another few years, but there wasn't too much of interest today.  We did run into the recreational therapists from SCVMC with some of the current inpatient SCI folks.  We stopped and chatted for a bit and one of them said to Jason, "You know, I remember when we took you on your first outing to the Farmer's Market." That outing took place about three weeks after his accident and was something of a rough day.  It was his first time out of the hospital in a wheelchair, he was uncomfortable, still in a neck and back brace.  Just a few months later, though, and he was wheeling around chasing after Savannah (who decided that she would not tolerate a stroller), happy and healthy.  When you hear people tell you things will get better, it can be hard to believe them, but lo and behold, things did get better :)

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and getting excited about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday!

Love you all,

Ashley