As my mobility continues to improve the one thing that has remained about the same is my ability to go up and down the stairs. There have been little changes, my balance while doing them has improved and the action has become almost second nature. As a result I can take the stairs a little faster than I had before but it still seems painfully slow. On Friday I took a big step forward with the stairs.
I finally have a pair of modified shoes that have the correct lift height on the right (2.5") and are still very stable (unlike the first pair made that was tapered at the bottom). Now that I have the shoes I needed, I wanted to try going up and down the stairs just as the average person would. One foot per step. As is often the case when I go to try something new or increase the difficulty in whatever mobility exercise I am doing, there was really no way to tell if I would be successful or not.
Although I have been working on taking the stairs with just one forearm crutch, this was definitely an exercise requiring two. Not only was I able to do the stairs properly (with the addition of crutches of course), it was actually fairly easy. It felt so good to walk up and down the stairs "normally". It was the best feeling to be doing them at a good pace that was comparable to the speed at which any of my friends might casually walk a set of stairs. Like everything I'm relearning, it's going to take practice and repetition before it comes naturally. My therapist had me do it several times so we're already working towards making it second nature. This was a pretty big step for me so we shot a video to document my progress. It will also be great to have weeks, months, even years from now to see how much I've improved since that first attempt.
Sunday 26 February 2012
Monday 20 February 2012
Thin Blades
Underneath each sledge (used to play sledge hockey) there is either one blade or two. Your seat is mounted directly above the blades so the closer together they are the less stable the sledge is. When you are first starting out you begin with two blades set wide apart. As your balance and skills improve you progress to having the two blades closer together. Eventually you may even switch to having a single blade, but not until you are quite advanced.
Being new to the sport, I've been using a sledge with two blades set wide apart. If I was to estimate, I'd say there is about 4inches/10cm between them. That is, I'd been using this sledge up until this weekend. Our team for the game last week was actually a combination of two teams/levels from the same sledge hockey program. We practice on different days, at different arenas and my sledge was accidentally brought back to the wrong arena following the game. Thankfully the rest of my equipment, padding, helmet, etc. made it back to the right place. This meant I would have to choose a different sledge for practice though.
We have a couple extra sledges but not many small ones. Finding a sledge that's the right size/fit for you means looking at the size of the seat (bucket) and the length of the sledge (most are adjustable but only to a certain extent). Lastly, I was also looking at the blades. The problem was there wasn't a sledge with a small seat, that was adjustable to the right length and had wide set blades. There were a couple that had the right blades and would have been the right length but the seat was too large. I would end up sliding around in it and it'd be difficult to maneuver. The smallest seat on the extra sledges, which was still a little bigger than I'd like, would work but it's blades were much closer together (thin blades). They were only about 2inches/5cm apart.
I decided to give thin blades a try with the full expectation of tipping over way more often than usual. It requires a lot more work from your core to stay balanced on thin blades compared to wider set ones. For this reason, in that moment I was very thankful I had opted to skip the abs section of my usual work out at physio on Friday. I had done so with hockey in mind.
I did surprisingly well on the more advanced sledge. Not even just well considering I've only been doing this for 6 weeks, well for any player transitioning to thin blades. I did tip over more easily and frequently than usual but not as much as we'd expected I would. My coach even said he thought my turns and stops were much better in this sledge. He was definitely right. They seemed to come a little easier for me with the thin blades. I think being of such a slender build and lightweight, the narrower base made it easier for me to get up onto one edge/blade in my turns. While getting off the ice, the woman who is basically our team manager also said I had done a really good job on the thin blades. She even jokingly said I was not allowed to go back to using my other sledge. Although initially said as a joke, we both agreed that I will likely stick with the thin blades. I did well on them and am eager to develop my skills in the sport.
Being new to the sport, I've been using a sledge with two blades set wide apart. If I was to estimate, I'd say there is about 4inches/10cm between them. That is, I'd been using this sledge up until this weekend. Our team for the game last week was actually a combination of two teams/levels from the same sledge hockey program. We practice on different days, at different arenas and my sledge was accidentally brought back to the wrong arena following the game. Thankfully the rest of my equipment, padding, helmet, etc. made it back to the right place. This meant I would have to choose a different sledge for practice though.
We have a couple extra sledges but not many small ones. Finding a sledge that's the right size/fit for you means looking at the size of the seat (bucket) and the length of the sledge (most are adjustable but only to a certain extent). Lastly, I was also looking at the blades. The problem was there wasn't a sledge with a small seat, that was adjustable to the right length and had wide set blades. There were a couple that had the right blades and would have been the right length but the seat was too large. I would end up sliding around in it and it'd be difficult to maneuver. The smallest seat on the extra sledges, which was still a little bigger than I'd like, would work but it's blades were much closer together (thin blades). They were only about 2inches/5cm apart.
I decided to give thin blades a try with the full expectation of tipping over way more often than usual. It requires a lot more work from your core to stay balanced on thin blades compared to wider set ones. For this reason, in that moment I was very thankful I had opted to skip the abs section of my usual work out at physio on Friday. I had done so with hockey in mind.
I did surprisingly well on the more advanced sledge. Not even just well considering I've only been doing this for 6 weeks, well for any player transitioning to thin blades. I did tip over more easily and frequently than usual but not as much as we'd expected I would. My coach even said he thought my turns and stops were much better in this sledge. He was definitely right. They seemed to come a little easier for me with the thin blades. I think being of such a slender build and lightweight, the narrower base made it easier for me to get up onto one edge/blade in my turns. While getting off the ice, the woman who is basically our team manager also said I had done a really good job on the thin blades. She even jokingly said I was not allowed to go back to using my other sledge. Although initially said as a joke, we both agreed that I will likely stick with the thin blades. I did well on them and am eager to develop my skills in the sport.
Wednesday 15 February 2012
1st Sledge Hockey Game
This past Sunday I played in my very first sledge hockey game. I was super excited but kind of nervous. I've only had 5 practices, in my entire life, and wasn't sure how well I'd do in a game. I felt like I'd been doing well at our practices and have been keeping up with everyone else, who have been doing it longer, but I wasn't sure how well what I'd learned would translate into an actual game.
No matter the outcome of the game it would always be kind of special as it was my first. A couple of my friends, who love to go above and beyond the average support of any friend, managed to make it even better by coming to watch and cheer me on. It was an away game so 3 of my girl friends hopped on a bus for an hour to get there. A 4th friend of ours, who lives there, picked them up from the bus station and brought them to the arena. My parents also made the hour and a half trip from home, coming from the opposite direction. I felt pretty special having 6 people there cheering me on. Complete with bright green signs. It did make me a little more nervous knowing they were there though. No one had ever seen me play before and I didn't want to embarrass myself. I'm very aware that sometime how we feel or think we look like doing something is far from how we actually look doing it. But non of them had seen sledge hockey being played before, other than a couple videos I showed them online, so I was excited for them to see the game in general and to have a better sense of how it's played.
We did win by the way! 9-8 YAY!!! Going into the game everyone kept saying how good the other team was. I kept thinking "oh great, my first game and they're a really tough team". But in the end, it made for a more exciting win. We definitely had one really great player on our team but the other team had a few. Enough that they could have at least one or two really good players out on each line. Our goalie was amazing though. As a team we fought for that win but our goalie is really what kept us in the game. And it doesn't actually matter but as a side note, I was the only girl playing on our team.
Personally for me, I have 3 plays/things that stand out as what I'm most proud of from the game. One being the 2 on 1 I a was part of in the first period. The best player on our team got control of the puck and I was able to take off down the other side of the ice and keep up with him. I was in perfect scoring position. Unfortunately, he didn't pass to me. He did score though, so I can't be too annoyed.
I'm also proud of myself for winning all but one of the face-offs I took. At least 5. I think the most impressive part about this was that I'd never done one before. I hadn't even been shown how. I had been playing left wing but we changed up our lines quite a bit throughout the game and so occasionally I would play center. When one of our coaches called out the next line and I was playing center I realised I better figure out how to do a face-off and quick. The guy next to me had been playing for a while so I asked him for some pointers. That 30 second conversation is all I had to go on.
Lastly, but certainly not least as it was probably the most valuable contribution I made towards winning the game. With less than 3 minutes left in the game our best player got a penalty. We were only up by one goal and now down a man. The other team was deep in our end and I managed to ice the puck. Without an icing call of course because we were short handed. The only thing I could think of in the split second before shooting the puck down to the other end was "oh my gosh don't mess this up". I was worried I'd fan on the puck completely or the guy who was on me would steal the puck away or maybe if I did shoot the puck down the ice it wouldn't have the power and wouldn't get very far. The last couple minutes of the game were pretty intense but we just had to hold onto that one goal lead a little longer, I didn't want to screw it up. There was no need to worry though, I was able to send the puck to the other end and we were able to run out the clock in their end.
I was thoroughly exhausted following the game. Especially seeing I had played the day before as well. It's hard sometimes when I need my arms to walk. It was totally worth it though. I had so much fun.
Here is a video clip from the game. And a second video that shows I have the best friends/cheerleaders EVER!!! They even cheer for me between plays.
No matter the outcome of the game it would always be kind of special as it was my first. A couple of my friends, who love to go above and beyond the average support of any friend, managed to make it even better by coming to watch and cheer me on. It was an away game so 3 of my girl friends hopped on a bus for an hour to get there. A 4th friend of ours, who lives there, picked them up from the bus station and brought them to the arena. My parents also made the hour and a half trip from home, coming from the opposite direction. I felt pretty special having 6 people there cheering me on. Complete with bright green signs. It did make me a little more nervous knowing they were there though. No one had ever seen me play before and I didn't want to embarrass myself. I'm very aware that sometime how we feel or think we look like doing something is far from how we actually look doing it. But non of them had seen sledge hockey being played before, other than a couple videos I showed them online, so I was excited for them to see the game in general and to have a better sense of how it's played.
We did win by the way! 9-8 YAY!!! Going into the game everyone kept saying how good the other team was. I kept thinking "oh great, my first game and they're a really tough team". But in the end, it made for a more exciting win. We definitely had one really great player on our team but the other team had a few. Enough that they could have at least one or two really good players out on each line. Our goalie was amazing though. As a team we fought for that win but our goalie is really what kept us in the game. And it doesn't actually matter but as a side note, I was the only girl playing on our team.
Personally for me, I have 3 plays/things that stand out as what I'm most proud of from the game. One being the 2 on 1 I a was part of in the first period. The best player on our team got control of the puck and I was able to take off down the other side of the ice and keep up with him. I was in perfect scoring position. Unfortunately, he didn't pass to me. He did score though, so I can't be too annoyed.
I'm also proud of myself for winning all but one of the face-offs I took. At least 5. I think the most impressive part about this was that I'd never done one before. I hadn't even been shown how. I had been playing left wing but we changed up our lines quite a bit throughout the game and so occasionally I would play center. When one of our coaches called out the next line and I was playing center I realised I better figure out how to do a face-off and quick. The guy next to me had been playing for a while so I asked him for some pointers. That 30 second conversation is all I had to go on.
Lastly, but certainly not least as it was probably the most valuable contribution I made towards winning the game. With less than 3 minutes left in the game our best player got a penalty. We were only up by one goal and now down a man. The other team was deep in our end and I managed to ice the puck. Without an icing call of course because we were short handed. The only thing I could think of in the split second before shooting the puck down to the other end was "oh my gosh don't mess this up". I was worried I'd fan on the puck completely or the guy who was on me would steal the puck away or maybe if I did shoot the puck down the ice it wouldn't have the power and wouldn't get very far. The last couple minutes of the game were pretty intense but we just had to hold onto that one goal lead a little longer, I didn't want to screw it up. There was no need to worry though, I was able to send the puck to the other end and we were able to run out the clock in their end.
I was thoroughly exhausted following the game. Especially seeing I had played the day before as well. It's hard sometimes when I need my arms to walk. It was totally worth it though. I had so much fun.
Here is a video clip from the game. And a second video that shows I have the best friends/cheerleaders EVER!!! They even cheer for me between plays.
Friday 10 February 2012
Bigger Stronger Heavier
16 weeks ago during my second physio visit, my physiotherapist took measurements of both my legs. She recorded the circumference around three separate areas of each leg. Last week, after 75 physiotherapy sessions, we decided it was time we took the measurements again. Especially as you could now see a visible increase in their size.
While my right leg is still a little smaller than my left, both legs have increased by about the same amount. In 3.5 months the circumference of each of my calves has increased by over 2cm. My lower quads by nearly 6cm. And my upper thighs by almost 8cm. I suppose this helps explain how I've been able to put on so much weight. Or should I say, where I've been able to put on some of the weight. My arms are also stronger and noticeably larger than they were 4 months ago. I have been walking with crutches for nearly 7 months now and going to physio 5-6 times a week for 4 months, it'd be shocking if they weren't stronger.
Over the last 4 months I've managed to put on just about 20 lbs. I'm now only a couple pounds shy of weighing what I have weighed on average for the past 9 years. The healthy years anyway. This doesn't even take into consideration the 11 lbs removed during my surgery. I have finally put on enough weight that I no longer feel it necessary to add on or explain the 11 lbs to make what I weigh sound less unhealthy. I won't stop here. I will continue to push myself (so will my physiotherapist) and become stronger and put on more weight in the process. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to beat my record for the most I've ever weighed (at the time I was on my university's rowing team). 18 lbs to go! ... 7 lbs if I get to count the missing 11 ;)
While my right leg is still a little smaller than my left, both legs have increased by about the same amount. In 3.5 months the circumference of each of my calves has increased by over 2cm. My lower quads by nearly 6cm. And my upper thighs by almost 8cm. I suppose this helps explain how I've been able to put on so much weight. Or should I say, where I've been able to put on some of the weight. My arms are also stronger and noticeably larger than they were 4 months ago. I have been walking with crutches for nearly 7 months now and going to physio 5-6 times a week for 4 months, it'd be shocking if they weren't stronger.
Over the last 4 months I've managed to put on just about 20 lbs. I'm now only a couple pounds shy of weighing what I have weighed on average for the past 9 years. The healthy years anyway. This doesn't even take into consideration the 11 lbs removed during my surgery. I have finally put on enough weight that I no longer feel it necessary to add on or explain the 11 lbs to make what I weigh sound less unhealthy. I won't stop here. I will continue to push myself (so will my physiotherapist) and become stronger and put on more weight in the process. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to beat my record for the most I've ever weighed (at the time I was on my university's rowing team). 18 lbs to go! ... 7 lbs if I get to count the missing 11 ;)
Monday 6 February 2012
Real World Physio Experiment
While a large part of what I do at physio is centered around building up my strength, another vital part is improving my mobility and functionality in my everyday life. On Friday we made a list of everything that I was still having difficulty with or am not able to do at all "out in the community" or around my apartment. Amongst other things, grocery shopping was on that list. While many of the items from the list can be simulated in the clinic, like improving balance on the subway/bus or practicing stairs, we couldn't come up with anything to help improve my ability to do my own grocery shopping short of actually going to the grocery store. Field trip!
My physiotherapist and I have become good friends over the past 4 months. I am truly thankful for how well we get along. This not only makes for more enjoyable physio sessions but also means there have been times where she's definitely gone above and beyond her roll as my physiotherapist. Case in point, how many of you have ever gone grocery shopping with your physio?
We figure I can probably take a cab to get home from the grocery store and if I tip well, hopefully the driver will carry my grocery bags the 10 feet to my door. The question that still needed answering was whether I could manage the shopping on my own, buying more than just what my backpack can hold. We had one "rule", I was to do everything on my own. Even though she was there with me, unless something provided to be completely impossible, she was not going to help me. Not even a little bit.
The shopping cart was the key to making this a success. Unfortunately I haven't been in a single store since being back in the city where they've had electric shopping carts. If there was a grocery store nearby that had an electric cart I wouldn't consider shopping a challenge. But regular shopping cart it is. Once I had a cart, I traded in my crutches (I put them in the cart) and used the shopping cart much like a walker. This proved to be quite manageable. As long as I could get close enough to the item I wanted I was able to grab it and put it in the cart. It was a little challenging in busier areas of the store, like produce, where I couldn't always get right up next to what I wanted. But I made it work.
The only other slightly difficult part of the whole trip was unloading my cart at the checkout. I moved around to the front of the cart and had no problem unloading the bottom section. It was the couple items I had in the small top section of the cart that were difficult to reach. I was laughing at myself as I stretched to get the last couple items. It was quite entertaining. My physiotherapist was laughing too. At the same time, she felt kind of bad not helping me but she wasn't "allowed". That would defeat the purpose of our experiment / outing. After the cart was empty I grabbed my crutches so I could walk around 'normally' again. Then came what I think was my favourite part of the whole experience.
Once I had my crutches and was chatting with my physio, the lady standing in line behind her goes "ooohh she's on crutches". She went on to say she had been thinking, "is she really THAT awkward?" It was pretty funny. Once she knew I was on crutches and not just super awkward, you could tell she was wondering why my friend wasn't helping me than. We felt the need to explain how I was trying to do everything as if I was shopping by myself and that she was my physio, not just a terrible friend.
Overall everything went smoothly. No major difficulties. Afterwards I did have what felt like a bruise on both forearms close to my elbows from where I was leaning on the cart. I had the same thing just below my ribs as well. I will admit to putting my full body weight onto the handle of the cart and gliding down a couple of the isles with one big push off my left foot. If you're picturing the way kids often "push" the cart to make shopping more fun, that's pretty much exactly what I was doing. Maybe with just a bit more caution.
My physiotherapist and I have become good friends over the past 4 months. I am truly thankful for how well we get along. This not only makes for more enjoyable physio sessions but also means there have been times where she's definitely gone above and beyond her roll as my physiotherapist. Case in point, how many of you have ever gone grocery shopping with your physio?
We figure I can probably take a cab to get home from the grocery store and if I tip well, hopefully the driver will carry my grocery bags the 10 feet to my door. The question that still needed answering was whether I could manage the shopping on my own, buying more than just what my backpack can hold. We had one "rule", I was to do everything on my own. Even though she was there with me, unless something provided to be completely impossible, she was not going to help me. Not even a little bit.
The shopping cart was the key to making this a success. Unfortunately I haven't been in a single store since being back in the city where they've had electric shopping carts. If there was a grocery store nearby that had an electric cart I wouldn't consider shopping a challenge. But regular shopping cart it is. Once I had a cart, I traded in my crutches (I put them in the cart) and used the shopping cart much like a walker. This proved to be quite manageable. As long as I could get close enough to the item I wanted I was able to grab it and put it in the cart. It was a little challenging in busier areas of the store, like produce, where I couldn't always get right up next to what I wanted. But I made it work.
The only other slightly difficult part of the whole trip was unloading my cart at the checkout. I moved around to the front of the cart and had no problem unloading the bottom section. It was the couple items I had in the small top section of the cart that were difficult to reach. I was laughing at myself as I stretched to get the last couple items. It was quite entertaining. My physiotherapist was laughing too. At the same time, she felt kind of bad not helping me but she wasn't "allowed". That would defeat the purpose of our experiment / outing. After the cart was empty I grabbed my crutches so I could walk around 'normally' again. Then came what I think was my favourite part of the whole experience.
Once I had my crutches and was chatting with my physio, the lady standing in line behind her goes "ooohh she's on crutches". She went on to say she had been thinking, "is she really THAT awkward?" It was pretty funny. Once she knew I was on crutches and not just super awkward, you could tell she was wondering why my friend wasn't helping me than. We felt the need to explain how I was trying to do everything as if I was shopping by myself and that she was my physio, not just a terrible friend.
Overall everything went smoothly. No major difficulties. Afterwards I did have what felt like a bruise on both forearms close to my elbows from where I was leaning on the cart. I had the same thing just below my ribs as well. I will admit to putting my full body weight onto the handle of the cart and gliding down a couple of the isles with one big push off my left foot. If you're picturing the way kids often "push" the cart to make shopping more fun, that's pretty much exactly what I was doing. Maybe with just a bit more caution.
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