Author: Jen Rios

Because of the rain, my legs felt REALLY tight yesterday.  I almost hit a duck who was crossing the parking lot at Barwis!  I was getting into my zone and didn’t see it until almost the last second.  Phil stretched me out at the Keiser machine and I stood.  Phil didn’t time it but I think it was for an hour or so.  Seriously, might have been AT LEAST a minute.  It was a strong, sturdy stand; one in which my right leg joined the party immediately.  I sat when Phil told me to VERY slowly and with the UTMOST grace!  (At least that is how I perceived it to be).  It was even the first one and it WASN’T the worst!  I stood again equally as good.  On my third stand, Phil had me do squats in quick succession.  I did 19.  I was on my way up to make it 20 and he said, “I’m not taking you out to your car today.  The new intern is.”  Well, I lost my concentration with that so I had to sit.  I could have done like 30 maybe.. not really, I was already losing steam.

I rested and stood again but I only got 5 more squats.  He fist bumped me and “joystick”ed me.  I let him.  Phil yawned and told me that he was tired and that I was the 7th client he had with neurological problems that day.  I replied with a smile and throwing my hands in the air, “Lucky 7!”  That’s me.

I tried another stand and only completed one squat.  I was disappointed and Phil told me that I was tired.  Well, I guess I WAS.  I told Phil that, “I wanted to knock your socks of but I guess I will save that for “Walking Wednesday.” ”  He stretched me again before my time was over.  He told me I did a good job and we fist bumped like 3 times.  I think he was waiting for me to try to “joystick” him. But, I said that I’m not going to steal his thunder anymore… or am I?  It was nice to just fist bump again.

Zakk took me out to my car which I got into almost by myself.  I undershot the car seat a bit so he had to help me get onto the car seat.  I sat in the car for a while because I was  tired but it was a “good” tired.  I worked hard.  I wondered if I will ALWAYS have to work this hard.  I’m okay with that too though.  It’s bound to get easier!  It already has compared to the days BEFORE Barwis.  I ended up doing like 5 stands and 25 squats yesterday!  I think I can REALLY see walking on the horizon!  We’ll see what “Walking Wednesday” #28 brings…

I woke up to this thought for the day:

Well, I know that I am trying!!!  I just have to wait and either way good things will happen but I’d prefer “better”things to happen.

Yesterday, Phil started stretching me at the Keiser machine.  It was Friday.  The habit now is to immediately go to the mat.  I asked him why we were at the Keiser machine and he repeatedly answered my questions with his usual responses of, “Shhh,” and, “just.”  After he stretched me, we went over to the mat.  Phil moved it to the middle of the turf away from the clock as is the usual place now.  He told me to get down on the mat and he started stretching me more.  I was laying on my stomach and he was stretching my left leg.  My foot was up in the air and he was stretching me HARD-CORE!  He lifted my knee up a little and I began to laugh a little bit because it hurt SO badly.  He lifted my knee a little more and I yelled, “Unbelievable!”  It just came out because it hurt SO much!  Phil was amused by this and continued to repeat it for the rest of the hour.

After this CRAZY stretch, it was time to kneel.  Yesterday, it was a little bit MORE difficult because my butt, quads, and hamstrings were STILL hurting!  I can’t see the clock when it is time to kneel so I just kneel until Phil tells me to stop.  Phil says that I knelt 12 times for a total of 7 minutes.  I knelt 10 times for 30 seconds and twice for 1 minute. It felt like A LOT longer than that!!!  But, I just did what Phil told me to do.  I KNOW that it had to be longer because after Barwis, I drove straight to the Center for Performing Arts for the viewing of the Dearborn High student films. (My nephew was in one of them).  After it was over and the lights came up, it was UNBELIEVABLE how much my butt was hurting!!!

Phil had to put me into my car yesterday after my three failed attempts to do it on my own. I have decided to stop “stealing his thunder” after he gave me a forced “joystick” AGAIN and just let him do his worst.  So, my butt STILL hurts A LOT and this is a new “hurts so good” for me.  I KNOW that it is good that it hurts but I didn’t know that it could hurt this MUCH!!!  But I’ve said before that “I’ll do ANYTHING to walk” and if enduring this pain is part of that “anything” then BRING IT!

 

 

 

I was early for Barwis yesterday.  I knew that I needed to get “combobulated” for “Walking Wednesday” #27 and being on time was one thing to help with that.  It rained yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work.  Phil told me that, “It’s a mindset.”(to get over the weather) and I have my mind set on walking so I pushed through my shower.  I was feeling pretty good when I got to Barwis and Phil stretched me at the Keiser machine.  Then, he had me stand.  Now, historically, first is ALWAYS the worst so I prepared myself for it to be bad.  Not this time.  I pushed through and stood with a *BINK.*  I even proceeded to do 3 squats!  I sat back down and was surprised.  I asked Phil if he was impressed because I KNOW I was!  That was even the first attempt!  The first is ALWAYS the worst.  I did it again.  4 squats this time.  The bar was set lower for these two sets.  I asked why it was and Phil told me that it will work different muscles.  After I sat after the second set of squats, i again asked him how it was.  I told him NOT to patronize me and he told me that he wasn’t and told me that it was, “not too shabby.”  He told me to head over to the turf and I tapped his knee and told him that I was REALLY excited!!!  He half smiled at that and sort of laughed.  I rode down the ramp (with NO hands of course!) and lined up at the line he told me to as he got my crutches.

I got 7 yards on my first down.  My second down, I had a stutter step, or 2 of them!  On my third attempt, I got 8 yards.  I hit somewhat of a slump and only got 3 yards for my 3rd down.  I ended with 5 yards on my 4th down.  I got a total of 23 yards yesterday!  I was TIRED!  I got mostly into my car by myself yesterday and Phil refused to fist bump me on the turf.  We did get one fist bump in with NO shenanigans because it has been so long since he congratulated me like that.  He forced my hand into a fist when I was in my car and yelled, “Joystick!” and told me that I stink at those.  Well, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, PHIL!!!  I’ll SHOW him!  Eventually.

Mr. Curl says that at the top end, I would be worth about 9 million in the NFL with the average carry that I had.  I’ll take it! Today, as I write this; my butt is KILLING me!!!  My quads and hamstrings have decided to join that party and the are KILLING me as well!!!  i texted Phil, telling him that I am trying to decide which hurts the most.  I can’t decide.  They ALL hurt!!!  But this pain shows me that my legs and butt are contributing entities in my body to get me walking and that makes me feel SO good!!!

TOTAL YARDAGE = 323 YARDS AND 2 STEPS.

Yesterday, I was hoping for a good showing at Barwis.  After Friday’s work, I felt REALLY good.  Throughout the weekend I was standing taller which I believed would translate to a good show on Monday.  Turns out, on Monday, I was discombobulated.  Mr. Curl was NOT at work yesterday so I had to get myself into my car which took a little bit longer.  Traffic might have been heavier or something but the hour-long drive to Barwis was a little bit longer coupled with leaving work just a bit later made things even worse.  I FINALLY get to Barwis and Phil and I have to go to a different station because the Keiser machine was in use. Now, I am a creature of habit so running late (I HATE to be late) AND working at a different station equals me being discombobulated.  On top of that, my left leg was acting weird and it kept bending up and I wasn’t quite sure why.  I would get pain in my toe and then my leg would react by coiling up.  It took awhile for me to figure out that I had cut my toenails in the morning before putting my socks and shoes on so I was figuring that I must’ve cut the nail too short and that was why it was hurting.

Anyway, time to stand.  First is ALWAYS the worst but on my second attempt my right leg took the lead and was straight with my foot flat on the floor and it was supporting me because my left leg was still acting crazy.  I stood and it felt good.  I would stand until my left leg’s shenanigans would prove to be too much for my right leg.  I have called my right leg my “poop” leg throughout the duration of working at Barwis and I know that that leg will give me problems because it ALWAYS does.  But NOT yesterday.  It was doing what it was supposed to!  I sat after one of my stands and told Phil that it would be nice if BOTH of my legs were behaving at the same time.  But that was NOT the case yesterday, my foot was REALLY starting to hurt!  I am not sure how many stands we did but my right leg did well on each stand.  I even got into my car mostly by myself!  Phil “joystick”ed me but it didn’t count!

When I get home, I took my shoe off and expected to find my sock all bloody (that’s how badly it was hurting!) But there was no blood.  I took my sock off to discover a kind of  hang nail on my second toe.  That’s  why it was hurting!  I remedied the problem and as I was I thought that it hurt SO badly because I could feel that the nail was  getting snagged on my sock.  I could FEEL it.  It has been SO long since I have felt anything on my feet.  But now I can.  Wow.  It STINKS that I had a bad showing at Barwis for such a STUPID reason but I guess it wasn’t such a bad showing because my right leg showed me that it knows what to do.  So for “Walking Wednesday” I hope I get “combobulated.”  Which reminds me…

STOP READING PHIL BECAUSE THIS IS WHEN IT GETS STUPID BECAUSE I AM GOING TO TELL ONE OF MY “HORRIBLE” STORIES.

Phil has told me that he has read most of my blog “except for the stupid parts.”  In addition, he says that I tell “horrible” stories.  I know he is COMPLETELY joking with me and we laugh about it but he really doesn’t like my stories.  I tell him that they are pieces of me (to which he sings that Ashlee Simpson song in response) but he still thinks my stories are horrible.

Anyway, here comes one right now:

Sean had to be 5 or 6.  We were living in our second apartment at the time.  Now, anyone who knows my son, knows that he is somewhat scattered at times.  He has been this way since he was little.  Crayons and legos or whatever he was playing with end up scattered all over.  Shoes untied.  I would constantly tell him “you’re all discombobulated!”  Now, I love him dearly, but he’s a hot mess!!!  Anyway, we were coming home from somewhere and I pull into my space in our car port just outside our apartment and I turn the car off and take the keys out of the ignition.  I call over my shoulder, “Come on B, (my nickname for him) we’re home.”  He is seated in his booster seat and he says kind of frantic, “Wait, I have to get combobulated!”  I smiled to myself and looked over my shoulder to the back seat and I see two socks, two shoes, ( he ALWAYS took his socks and shoes off in the car NO MATTER what season) various snacks, figurines, and books scattered all over the back seat.   I got out of the car and opened the back door and began helping him gather his things.  I said, “Now son, I Love your deductive reasoning here.  Discombobulated is a big mess so combobulated has to mean order but combobulated is not a word.”Today, my son and I will occasionally say “combobulated” and smile a bit because I’ve shared this story with him numerous times.

So, with Monday behind me and my toe nails NEATLY clipped, I hope that I get “combobulated” enough to have a GREAT “Walking Wednesday.”