The sun was shining when I pulled up to Barwis so Dan was training someone outside and Megan was using the table just inside the door. I showed her my socks and wheeled inside.
(Mike took this picture for me at the end of my session.)
There were 3 other wheelchairs inside. NICE. I waited by the chairs but all of the doors were open so it got a little chilly after a while so I moved to just across from the blue table. Someone in a wheelchair left and another wheelchair came in. When it was my time and Mike took me to the blue table and kneaded my calves. I told him to look at my socks (they had flying pigs on them) and he told me to show Megan. I told him that I already did and started laughing. He asked where I got them and I told him TotallyRadSocks.com. He told me it was more like TotallyStupidSocks.com and I corrected him. He asked if me and Megan shopped there together and I told him that we shop separately. I looked around at the wheelchairs and told him that I used to be the only “First Stepper” who came in the evening. I told him that right now, I felt like in order to be cool, you had to be in a wheelchair. Last winter, a man with a camera came up to me as I got into Barwis and greeted my and told me, “Hi, you must be Jen.” I wasn’t sure how he knew my name but then he explained that he was going to take pictures for the First Step Foundation and most of the First Steppers came to workout earlier in the day but he waited for me. Then it made sense. I was the only one in a wheelchair so of course I was Jen. I am a First Stepper. But now, I felt like it’s a wheelchair club right now. I took a picture of the new decal that was on the wall because of it.
Mike stretched me really good but it wasn’t as painful as it has been. I snapped this picture as he was doing this. Just to be sure I had a pic of my totally rad socks.
When he had me lay on my stomach, I asked him how I felt. He told me that my range of motion was great and soon we would do some TNF stretching. I asked what that was and he told me to look it up. I texted Nick yesterday to find out what it was. He told me that he had no clue and asked if I meant PNF. I told him that I didn’t know and told him that Mike told me about this after he told me that my range of motion was great (I REALLY liked hearing that by the way!). Then he texted back with the explanation. Apparently:
PNF stands for Proprioreceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation which is a way [Mike] can modulate the central nervous system to improve not only activation but inhibition of movements.
I thought of Phil and I was just happy that I knew what “proprioreceptive” meant. I can’t wait to tell Mike that I know what it means but I’m NOT sure I’ll tell him that Nick told me. I let that text sink in and I read it a few more times. I think this means good things for my walking and that excites me!!! My legs were relaxed when I drove home and my butt feels like it did some work but doesn’t hurt so badly like it did before. Just as the weather is breaking, I feel that progress is evident and that feels good!!!