This afternoon I my second round of PT and it was a very interesting experience. Here are the activities I did during PT today:
- Practiced standing up and sitting down 2x
- Walked out of my hospital room, using a 2 wheeled walker
- Walked up a hallway with a 2 wheeled walker
- Walked back up the same hallway with a 2 wheeled walker
- Walked the same hallway a 3rd time with a 4 wheeled walker (much less stability than the 2 wheeled walker)
- Swung my legs at knee back and forth
I recorded all of this activity on my camera and reviewed with my family afterwards. I must say I am overwhelmed with emotion at what I experienced today. I feel like I am operating a body that is not my own and experienced a level of fluidity and smoothness that I never dreamed possible. It’s hard to believe that just 3 days ago I had surgery to improve my mobility. I feel the need to stress the fact that I am not being hyperbolic here; the difference was truly seemed amazing compared to what I could do just 4 days ago.
Of course, I did just have major surgery and I have a great deal of rehab ahead of me. My gait was smoother than it has ever been and felt great but my coordination will need work, I have a lot of muscle strengthening to do, and feel like I will need to learn how to walk anew. Also, my legs feel like noodles. While I was doing PT today I noticed I have to deliberately think about standing up straight and when I do that I feel muscles activating that I have never felt before. Finally, my glutei are on fire because they are not used to this level of activity.
I still have some pain around the area of the incision when I move but that is to be expected and I am sure I will experience more pain as discomfort as my rehab continues. Dr. Park just stopped in as I was typing this and reviewed what I did today and he was pleased with my progress. All in all I feel good and am somewhat tired from the PT activity so I will be taking it easy at Chateau Barnes-Jewish for the rest of the night.
Learning to Run: My Cerebral Palsy Journey 
Proud of you man!! My glutes ached for a good solid month because you use them every time you walk. That said, they don’t get a rest. All good though man….you know what the pain is and why, and it’s allllllllll good stuff man!
Just amazing news!! Will you be posting your videos? I’d luv to see how well your doing!
Hey there, I will post videos but the ones we took today were pretty large and would probably take forever on the hospital wifi.
Oh great! Can’t wait to see how your doing. Video’s are so much of an insight to what we will be going through in March. I wish you well today!!
Videos coming soon. I honestly just haven’t had the energy while I am still in the hospital and the wifi connection here may not like it. I did take video though and I have pre op video I will share as well.
Keep updating… Good to hear then progress. I’m so happy for ya!
Our 3 year old son is scheduled for SDR with Dr. Park in April. Thank you for documenting your personal experience. It is very helpful to hear first hand experiences from someone who can communicate the differences pre and post clearly. It helps with our understanding as parents of someone who isn’t able to express himself clearly yet. We are excited for you. Good luck with your rehab, I suspect you’ll do well as you sound highly motivated!
Mark, first off, happy to hear your son will be having the SDR. Thinking of a child getting such a great treatment for CP so early makes me feel great. I am glad you find this helpful as one of the main reasons I decided to blog about this is that I want it to be an information resource for people considering SDR.
Frantz. I hope you are having a nice trip back to NYC. Was a pleasure to have met you. I wish you a speedy recovery.
Thanks Justin. I just landed back in NYC and I am exhausted.