May I just take a moment to brag on my husband for a moment?
Thank you.
Nearly eight weeks ago, my husband’s life changed forever. In just the blink of an eye, his life went from ordinary to extraordinary and personally, I find him to be an inspiration.
For the past eight weeks, Kevin has been in traction, has had three surgeries, endured multiple fractures, been confined to a hospital bed and a wheelchair and today … today, this man of mine not only got ON his feet, he WALKED.
Oh yes he did.
The morning started out smoothly enough. I helped Kevin into his wheelchair and prepared a bowl of Frosted Flakes for him for breakfast. (He’s on a Frosted Flakes kick). He drank his orange juice, took a pain pill and together, we got him into the back bathroom, on the shower chair, for a refreshing and oh so cleansing shower. (This too is a milestone – I had been giving him sponge baths up to that point).
After I helped him get dressed (one of my favorite moments of the day, I might add *ahem*), he finished grooming himself while I jumped into the shower.
At 8:15, I hurriedly gathered up our belongings and we headed to the rehabilitation center. (And I grabbed everything but my camera. AARGH! Oh well, I’ll take pictures of him next time).
I parked in a handicap spot (talk about a WEIRD feeling!) and I helped Kevin exit the car and we checked in.
The physical therapist led us to the workout room. This room consisted of numerous flat, cushioned tables, weight machines, cushions of varying colors and sizes, parallel bars and a set of stairs.
We began the process with the therapist asking Kevin questions about his accident, where he had the most pain and what he felt he was capable of doing.
The doctor hadn’t put any restrictions on his range of motion so really, the sky was the limit.
So, the therapist wheeled him over to the parallel bars, locked the wheelchair, wrapped a gait belt around his middle and said, “Okay, let’s see how well you stand.”
He stood.
“Great. Now, let’s see if you can take a few steps.”
And though he was shaky, and I could tell it took some effort, he walked.
But he didn’t stop there. He walked the length of the parallel bars twice, then held onto a walker and walked several feet using that while I followed closely behind him with the wheelchair so that if he got tired, he could sit down and rest.
It was truly amazing to SEE him back on his feet. I mean, even though I KNEW he would walk again, I think there was a small part of me that wondered if it would truly happened.
Well ladies and gentlemen, it happened today and it was truly amazing.
When I asked Kevin what he thought about being on his feet again, he said, “I felt like I was floating.”
I think we’re all floating with relief that he’s walking at all.
He’ll go back for rehab twice a week until right before we leave for our vacation. Now that’s he’s taken those first few steps, I have a feeling I’ll be chasing him all over the place.
And you know what? I don’t mind. 😀
Write From Karen 