Monday 21 December 2015

Oh, my aching...triceps?




I feel like I am getting everyone's hopes up by posting these pictures, but I decided I should anyway. What the pictures don't show is the work that has gone into getting me into that standing position. Ever since I was at Parkwood, my therapists and I have been working on the motion and muscle action of the core that leads a person from sitting to standing. At first, I didn't understand the importance of the movements that we were doing, but then Bill made it clear - that this was all a part of a progression. And here you see it - standing. What you should also be able to see is Mark and Bill holding onto my hips, butt and knees. I can't feel how much pressure they are putting on those locations, but I know it's there, otherwise I would still be sitting on the edge of the plinth. 

There is a progression to these photos to (taken by my brother David) where you can see in the first one, my butt quite far back. The second one shows that I am trying to bring my hips more forward, and the last one is the end result before I say "I'm done". I lasted about 20 seconds - which Bill may tell me is an exaggeration - but I'll go with it for now. My triceps were screaming at me because they were basically holding up the weight of my entire body. I am going to be getting a fancy piece of equipment called a standing frame - maybe I should spare the expense and just hire Mark and Bill to hold me up at the kitchen counter so I can make supper...

I asked Bill today when I could expect my arms to not be crying out for pain relief at the end of the day and in the morning when I wake. He said "never", but then changed his mind and said "not for a long time". It's almost been five months, but as I do more, they take more strain and are worked harder than ever to carry my body around. I was beat just rolling around the mall last week, and that is the smoothest surface that there ever will be. 

2 comments:

  1. Ah, it makes me wish I was still doing my co-op with Glassier's like I planned, so that I could see you all the time! I'm impressed at all your hard work. Wow. Keep up the good work! You are always good at pushing through the burn at practice! :-) Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thumbs up Julie. Interesting article in the Jan/Feb 2016 issue of Canadian Running.

    ReplyDelete