Hope

Today I went to the physical therapy gym because they have all the equipment I need to get a quality workout and it is fit for a person in a wheelchair.  It got me thinking however, I remember when I got out of the hospital in 2006 when I came out of the locked-in-syndrome.  I was working with a physical therapist who was also teaching a student.  At that time I had little to no strength at all.  The student working with me was doing most of the work because I would tire out pretty quickly. 

Simple tasks that we all take for granted like:  sitting up, holding yourself up rolling from side to side, and even using your arms and hands to lift or position you no longer came easy for me.

Yet, here I am 8 years later and the student that was helping me back then is now my physical therapist, who is helping me with the smart bike that I am trying to acquire.  I was doing an evaluation with him after a few weeks using the bike and everyone there including myself noticed the change from then to now.  I was moving across the mat with no help from anyone except to hold my legs together to work on an exercise and I even stood up with his help.  My mom told me that all of the therapists stopped what they were doing and just watched because they were all there at that time.

Remembering all of this while I was doing independent gym gave me an euphoric feeling that made me want to keep working and not to give up because if I have come that far then who knows how much longer it will take me before I will start walking again.  The only thing standing in my way is my own insecurities and fears which I have to put aside to reach my goal.