Month: September 2015

Wednesday, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society arranged to have a photo shoot at Barwis with me.  The NMSS is changing their brand and they wanted to photograph me working out at Barwis.  So, I agreed.  Sean and my Mom were with me.  They are my two main supports.  They had a person to do my make-up (because I normally don’t wear any).  She opted to keep it natural because I WAS going to workout but it did not take away from the glam factor!  It was REALLY cool!  Then the pictures started:     

These above pictures were taken outside Barwis before I started working.  Patti with the Michigan chapter of the MS Society took these with her phone.  Then my time started with Mike and then I felt like what it must have been like to be famous.  The paparazzi surrounded us and there were a MILLION flashes!  Mike suggested that this was probably how it felt to be a Kardashian.  We laughed and discussed which one we would be.

   

As he stretched me out and we did PNFs, after the original flood of lashes subsided,  Megan came over to compare socks and my Mom took this pic because it was “Wacky Sock Wednesday” #32:

      

After we took this pic, we headed over to the ropes.  That’s right, the ropes. They wanted a good photo op and Mike told them that that was where we were going.  Well, ropes are the MOST DIFFICULT thing I’ve done!!!  Mike talked me though the muscles in my core I needed to activate and Megan kept me steady on the block.  My arms were extremely tired!  My Mom took this picture of me and Sean:

My Mom helped me onto the car and as we drove home, my legs began shaking and did not stop until I was laying in bed.  This shaking let me know that my legs worked A LOT and my tired arms and sore sides (I found that out Thursday morning pushing myself up the ramp going into the door at work).  Let me know my arms and core worked a lot as well.  I slept SO good that night because my whole body worked SO hard!

I got to Barwis on Monday and as I wheeled inside Mike walked over to me and we clasped hands as he asked where I was on Friday.  I couldn’t explain it and just said, “It was a rough day.”  I wheeled over to the chairs and waited.  I worked with Sue on Monday and I felt EXTREMELY productive.  She helped me on to the black table and we began PNFs.

They really felt good!  Sue was impressed and that made ME feel good.  When she would tell me to push my legs down, I did and it was surprisingly with deliberate force.  When I write “surprisingly,” I guess it is not a surprise.  I’ve been working for over 2 years and I guess it is starting to take hold.  I told Sue that I’m telling me leg muscles to do something… And they are starting to listen.  That feels really good!  I felt like my performance was promising.  To further the promise of my showing on Monday, my feet were having dorsiflexions.  I remember Jesse telling me about this, it looks kind of like a twitch but I know that it is SO much MORE than that.

Feeling is coming back to my lower extremities.  It has taken some time but I guess it is better late than never.  Sue had me sit on the edge of the table and positioned herself so I wouldn’t fall over and had me lean over pretty far to elongate my spine.  It felt REALLY good; almost as good as it feels to tell my legs to do something, for them to move a certain way… And they listen.

I had Barwis with Mike Morfitt on Friday.  It rained ALL DAY.  I didn’t make it there.  I felt terrible!!!

*Sigh*

Wednesday was my last day at ATI.  I was extremely tired and my legs were especially tight.  The tone was REALLY bad but it Was “Wacky Sock Wednesday” #31.  It goes for ATI also, Alanna joined in so I had her snap a pic:

She was in the tye-dye and I was wearing the stripes.  I worked with Greg and it didn’t take long for him to feel the extreme tightness of my legs and to see how tired I was.  He wanted me to lay on my stomach.  I was so tired that he helped me to sit up and called Rachel over to “teepee” the table.  As he helped me to stand up,she was to pull some bar under the table that would make the center of the table angle upward on both sides to make a teepee in the middle of the table.  She did this and Greg helped my to lay on my stomach.

It was surprisingly comfortable.  He said the angles of the table shouldn’t make my adductors work so hard.  I told him how Mike Rhoades used to tell me to lay on my stomach for 10 minutes before I went to sleep while I laid in my bed.  Greg agreed with Michael and we talked about American Ninja Warrior as he stretched my leg out.  It was SO comfortable laying on the “teepee” that I stayed like that for my ice and stim.  My mom and Kristin had to help me get off of the table.  I saw Megan as I was leaving ATI so we took a picture of our socks too:

I had ATI on Monday.  It felt like a long day at work and I  was tired going in My Mom helped me onto the movable table so I was laying on my back.  As I laid back, both of my legs bent at the knees and sort of “boing”ed up.  This fact kind of irritated me and I tried to relax them so they would lay flat like last Friday.  They didn’t.

I gave up trying to “will” them flat and just then, Luba came over and smiled.  She touched my leg and her eyes widened.  She could feel it too.  She’s at on the table beside my knees and tried stretching my left leg out so in would flatten.  It wasn’t.  She pulled my left foot and placed it on her shoulder.  It kept resisting her and “boing”ing up.  After some time, she looked at me sympathetically and told me that I was tired.  She said I was too tired to resist the extreme tone that existed in my legs.  She asked if I just wanted stim.

I was relieved to hear her ask that and nodded and added that I would like ice too.  She brought over a wedge to elevate my legs on.  Kristin put the patches on my leg, turned the stim on, and brought over an ice pack.  The stim feels really good on my hamstring.  It doesn’t hurt anymore.  Wednesday will be my final time at ATI.  I closed my eyes and basked in the good feeling on my leg.

My appointment time for Barwis was moved back to 7 so we could pick up Sean from football practice before my time.  He accompanied us to Barwis so I wouldn’t be late.  Sean has been to Barwis with me before but it had been awhile and I HATE to be late!!!  Mike helped me onto the black table and had to leave to get something.  I laid on the table and took notice that my legs were mostly flat on the table.  They weren’t “boing”ing up.

I was comfortable with my legs completely  flat on the table.  Mike came back and stretched my legs out.  As he methodically did this, I felt what felt like a warm liquid tickle down my right leg beneath my skin.  Obviously, it was blood and it makes me feel so GOOD to feel that!  My legs relaxed A LOT.  Mike was kneeling on the table and explained how I was going to move my legs for the next PNF.  He said, “Because my legs were so stretchy.”  I laughed.  He ALWAYS says funny stuff!

My legs felt good overall and Mike was impressed with my showing for my PNFs.  I like feeling that slow trickle of liquid down my legs.  I don’t feel it ALL of the time or even enough to not notice it.  On friday, I felt encouraged that maybe someday soon – the blood will flow freely throughout my legs so I won’t feel it because it will take place ALL of the time.  But for now, I appreciated the “stretchy-ness” of my legs.

I spent my 30th “Wacky Sock Wednesday” at ATI instead of at Barwis.  I hoped to see Megan before my appointment time at ATI.  I didn’t but I still represented.  See?:

I worked with Luba yesterday and I told her that I have been able to stand easier when my Mom transfers me.  I told her that I wasn’t sure what that would translate to in terms of walking but let her know that I understood the benefits of tone.  I laid on the table and she wanted me on my stomach first.  My Mom helped me roll over.  By “helped,” I mean that my Mom rolled me over.  As she did this, I said that it REALLY stunk not being able to control your body.  I have been fighting for SO long to gain control over my body but in this instant it was MORE than apparent that I haven’t won that fight… Yet.

I was unable to help AT ALL as my Mom rolled my body over.  I HATE feeling physically powerless and I COMPLETELY was in this instant.  My legs relaxed as I completely laid on my stomach and Luba was able to bent them back kind of easily.  We talked as she stretched me at remembered Adam (Phil) introducing us.  He introduced me as “Daisy.”  I told her that that name is pretty much non-existent now.  It’s an OG (Original Gangster) name.  Dan, Dusty, and Jesse gave it to me and Mike Rhodes, Nick, and Mike Morfitt don’t even know me by that name.  Deeds and Megan know that I used to be called that but rarely call me that now.  Luba told me that she feels that she should call me that because that was how Phil introduced us.

She had me roll back over onto my back (rather, had my Mom roll me over).  My legs tightened but Luba stretched them out so they eventually relaxed.  I thought about how much of a fight it is to gain control of my body.  I have not won that fight by far, but I feel that I currently AM WINNING that fight.  I am winning ONLY because I HAVEN’T given up.  It is NOT an easy fight by any means nor did I know it would be such a LONG fight but, it’s a fight that I feel is WORTH fighting.  Kristen (sp?) hooked the stim up to my leg (she works out at Barwis too) as Luba finished.  As I laid there on the table, Alanna put the big exercise balls away.  One got away from her and hit me which made me laugh… A LOT.  ATI also feels like home and that feels good.

I thought my appointment time was at 6.  It was at 5 on Friday.  When I got there, I had to go to the bathroom so I had an even BIGGER speed stretch!  I stayed in my chair and Mike stretched me as I sat there.  I was a bit preoccupied anyway so the little bit of stretch that I was able to get REALLY relaxed me.

As my Mom started the car, I told her my legs were warm.  She agreed that it was extremely warm in the gym but I explained what I meant by that statement.  My legs felt warm as in there was blood flowing through them.  I’ve felt that often at Barwis because NOW, blood flows all the way through my legs to the tips of my toes.

I told my Mom that the INSIDES (under my skin) of my legs felt warm.  That warm feeling ALWAYS makes me feel good!  It makes me feel as if walking is close.  It’s close because my legs often feel warm at Barwis and my bathroom floor is consistently cold.  Both of those things prove that I am FEELING sensations in my legs.  Brock told me that feeling heat and cold were catalysts to walking so even with my even BIGGER speed stretch (shorter time) on Friday, I am still progressing toward walking and that feels REALLY good!!!

I rolled in to ATI and I saw Luba (I think that is how it is spelled) stretching someone out on the first table by the door.  Phil introduced me to her awhile ago when I was training.  He introduced me as “Daisy” and introduced her to me as “Luba the Russian spy.”  Luba is Russian-born and I told her that’s NOT my name.  Luba smiled at me and told me that I was working with her.  I smiled and told her that I was excited.

My Mom put me on the table and I asked her to take a pic of my socks because I forgot my phone at home.  It WAS “Wacky Sock Wednesday” #29!:

Megan came in and hugged me and we compared socks.  My legs were pretty tight.  Maybe it had something to do with the extreme heat but Lyuba stretched me out as we had conversation getting to know each other.  I recounted my MS diagnosis story and subsequent pregnancy. She came to the U.S. in 1990 when she was 7.  My legs kept resisting  and Lyuba asked if my legs were always this tonic.  “Tonic.”  I really liked how that sounded.  I have never heard that form of tone and I dug it!  I told her that I haven’t felt this tight until around the time I tore my hamstring.  She told me about some of the benefits of tone.

My Mom helped me to turn over on to my stomach and Luba stretched my quads.  After some time of me laying on my stomach, my legs began to relax.  Luba asked if my legs always relaxed in prone.  My Mom asked what that was and she told us that laying on my stomach was “prone.”  Learn something new EVERYDAY.  She put the patches for stim on my leg and got the cold pack.  I LOVE this part (ice & stim)!  My Mom asked what her name meant in Russian and she told us, “Love.”  That’s beautiful!

I was extremely late to my appointment at Barwis on Monday.  My Mom was stuck in court in Dearborn (she didn’t do anything wrong – she was prosecuting someone else for their wrongdoing to her).  She is my driver so I just waited.  I knew that any stretch I would get from Mike would be worth it.  He helped me onto the black table and I told him that the “after-effects” had worn off.

He agreed but was able to stretch my legs well enough for me to feel it.  My legs were tighter than they have been lately but not as tight as they have been in the more distant past.  He had me lay on my stomach and I was able to feel a good stretch in my quads.  It was a stretch that I haven’t felt for a long time.  I asked Mike how I felt and he said, “NOT horrible.”  I laughed and told him that he’s good for some great sound bites and told him that I was going to name my blog post “NOT Horrible.”  He laughed and laid next to me on the black table on his stomach.  I asked him about it feeling so strange most of the time when I lay on my stomach.  He sat in my chair as I rolled onto my back.  He told me that my hipflexers were REALLY tight and told me not to sit down so much.  We both laughed!

I told him about Mike Rhoades telling me to lay on my stomach for at least 10 minutes before I went to sleep.  I haven’t laid on my stomach to sleep since before I was pregnant so it was weird but it progressively got better.  I don’t do that anymore but maybe I should start again.  I sat up on the black table and Mike told me that, “We’ll get to that,” talking about me not sitting so much.  It REALLY does feel good to hear ANYONE at Barwis voicing their confidence in me walking again because they ALL have that confidence.  He put me in my chair and walked with me to the roll-down door way.  I told him that I felt good and he nodded that it was good speed stretching.