I didn’t know how tight my legs were until I got to Barwis and Phil started to stretch me. He stretched me for a long while and then told me to head over to the table. I asked if we were NOT standing and he told me that he was going to stretch me a little bit more. Maybe we would get some stands in today. So we head over to the table and Phil pulled it away from the wall so he could get on both sides of the table. He started stretching my legs out. They were really tight! He talked with Eric as he was doing this and Eric came over and grabbed my right leg to see how tight it was. He asked me what I was doing and I shrugged and put my hands up. I had no control of my legs resisting and curling up, “boing”ing almost. Phil stretched me for a long time. For like 45 minutes.
Phil told me to head back over to the Keiser machine and he stretched me a little bit more. He had a mark on his hand and I asked what it was. He told me that it was the remnants of a Tinkerbell tattoo that a 7-year-old client gave him. He wore it for her. That’s super cute! She is physically disabled as well. I asked him what it was like to have so many disabled clients who he works with. He said it “was hard… but rewarding.” I really liked that answer. Then he had me stand. It was very difficult. I told him it feels like I’m Calobos from Clash of the Titans. The 1981 version. I asked him if he had ever seen the movie and he shrugged. I explained Calobos’s transformation to him and told him that is what I feel like when I am trying to stand. At least today. Most days. He looked at me and kind of smiled and said, “I’ll research it.” because he had no idea what I was talking about.
Here is Calobos’s transformation. I feel like this when I try to stand up straight.
II stood a few more times and even *BINK*ed for a second. But it was very difficult. Phil looked at me as I was sitting in my chair resting and he said, “Well, at least you’re looser.”
I WAS looser. I felt it in my legs on my way home. Even going to sleep last night, my legs did not “boing” up. But then I woke up this morning. It’s really frustrating that every day is another accident as Jesse told me so long ago. Because I felt super tight this morning. As I got out of bed and was getting things ready for my shower this morning, I noticed that even though my legs feel super tight, my knees were not touching and my feet we’re straight forward and not a curving inward. These little things are things that I have been working on at Barwis to regain my leg strength. So there is progress. I want a lot more progress but I guess it’s coming. Too bad I stink at this patience thing!