What an AMAZING First Week!!

Well, I have officially finished my 1st week of Beyond Therapy! Let me just say, that it is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life! I am use to conditioning for sports or working out in a gym from time to time, but NOTHING compares to the physical exhaustion I feel after one session! Well let me just start off by telling you about my week.

Tuesday: This was my first day in therapy and it was pretty much just an evaluation and testing. I met with a Physical Therapist for an hour as we discussed my goals and also my injury. We talked about what to expect out of the program and what they would be doing to me in therapy. Next she did some tests on me, just testing my movements. Again, she thought I was a TRICKY SUBJECT! All my therapists say the same thing. It is so hard to get a read on your muscles, I am able to move my body and legs great, but she has a hard time feeling the muscle palpitate? Its like Im moving my legs but she doesn't know exactly how Im able to do it? Next, I did something I had NEVER done before, she got help from another therapist and i stood up in my walker and with the therapist behind me on a rolling stool to help assist my knees I STARTED TAKING STEPS!! WITHOUT BRACES!! the therapist was there to help assist my knees as I was walking so it wasn't totally unassisted but I was taking the steps! We went out to the gym and the therapist grabbed a video camera and filmed me. I WALKED TO THE HALF COURT LINE! with just a therapist following behind me on a rolling stool assisting just my knees.

On Wednesday: I worked with a therapist named Josh, who was HARD! He worked me harder than ever before on this day! He had me on the floor doing pushups (which i got 29) he had me on my stomach doing all kinds of intense floor exercises. My abs and arms were on FIRE!!
Next he put me in a walker called an ARJO! I put my forarms on a stand and he pumps me up to where i am standing. (see figure below)


The figure above is exactly what I was in! Once in the ARJO walker I worked on supporting my weight on my own legs. I would bend my knees and work on straightening them back out again. I then started taking STEPS in the walker! I was walking around the gym, (my forearms where supporting my weight so not all the weight was going through my legs) but I started taking steps and walking around the gym a little.

On Friday:
I got on a spin bike! The same type of bikes the gyms have spin classes on for intense cardio exercise. (see figure below)

Once they got me on the bike which is not powered by anything! I was able to pedal the bike by myself! The therapists got me started a little but once they did, I would pedal for 5-10 min at a time. They would then speed up the bike real quick with there hands on the pedals and then I had to maintain that speed for an entire minute WHICH I DID!! I could speed the bike up at will! After an hour on the bike I did lots of core strengthening which WORE me out again!

I will post videos next week of all of my progress! I meant to do it this week, but didnt know if I would be allowed to shoot videos. I asked my therapists and they said I could if only it was done in a certain way and no other patients were filmed HIPPA REGULATIONS. I also needed to tell them ahead of time, cause they want me totally focused on my therapy! But next week I will shoot some videos!

I have found a video on youtube on Beyond Therapy. This will give everyone an idea of what I am going through and what the program is about. Every therapist on the film are my actual therapist today! Josh who you will see in the video works me harder and pushes me more than ever before! I LIKE HIM ALREADY! Candy is my Physical Therapist and I have various other therapists and trainers throughout the day who help me and push me to my limits! Watch the video and you can get a better understanding of what I go through everyday, and how this therapy is suppose to help rebuild my neuro pathways!

(copy and paste the URL below to your browser)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzifRIvWnCI

PLEASE PRAY FOR MY TOTAL AND COMPLETE HEALING!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!
SO MUCH IN HIM,
BRENT