Today I was scheduled for a DEXA scan which measures bone density and muscle mass.  This scan is very important because it lets me know if my muscles and bones have suffered atrophy in my lower limbs.  I have been really worried about this and have been working my legs out as much as I am able to.  I do a lot of weight bearing exercises such as standing on my standing frame and riding my bicycle.  My mom and I took off to Little Rock where the scan was being performed.  The scan is performed with me laying on a table.  The guy performing the scan was very nice and his name was Scott.  The machine then goes back and forth to cover my whole body.  I am not supposed to move during the scan, but that is tough with the muscle spasms in my legs.  After it was over he read the results and I felt very blessed.  It showed that my bone density was Above Average of the normal clientele.  That is very important because I don’t have any chance to ever walk again with weak bone density.  I am very thankful for that.  Later tonight my Dad and I worked out.  We finally got my total gym together and we did a lot of leg squats, sit ups, and bench press exercises.  I also had a crowd watching me as the Day family came over.  I was really trying to impress them.  Tommorrow I will continue to work out and prepare for the weekend.  I am very grateful for all of the support, prayers, and comments.  If you don’t mind, I would also ask for you to pray for the other clients at Project Walk.  There are some true heroes at that place and I feel very honored to be a part of that place.  God Bless!

—Matt C   

Today I am going to talk about my therapists.  I don’t know if I need to call them therapists or personal trainers.  They really got everything out of me and helped me reach my maximum potential.  At Project Walk the trainers are divided up in teams.  My team consisted of Jerry, Michelle, and Kurt.  They were wonderful.  I don’t think I could ask for any better trainers.  I will briefly describe them so you can get a better feel for them.

Jerry-  Jerry was really neat to work out with because he was a former athlete like me.  Jerry ran track at Oklahoma State University and has been working at Project Walk for a few years.  He is also training for the Ironman Race with Ted (Project Walk Founder) on the side.  I worked with Jerry more than I worked with anyone else.  He reminded me a little bit of my older brothers in the fact that he wanted the best for you.  He really pushed me during the two weeks that I attended Project Walk.  The thing that stood out to me about Jerry is that he always thought I could do a little bit more.  He always strived for more, instead of settling for less.  I am thankful for having such a great trainer.

Michelle-  Michelle was also a great trainer.  She has only been working at Project Walk for a few months, but she has already put a stamp on the place.  Michelle is originally from Hawaii and is going back there to get married soon.  She also got the very best out of me.  The first time I started working out with her I thought, “This should be easy because she is a girl.”  Well, I was completely wrong.  She really made sure that I got a full workout.  She also was a very genuine good person and an awesome trainer.  I am very happy that I got to work out with her.

Kurt-  Kurt again was another great trainer.  He spoke a little different than what I was used to because he was from Great Britain.  He really got everything out of me as well.  When I think of Kurt, the thing that comes to mind is when the film crew was filming me.  I was doing some tough exercises and Kurt was helping me.  Well, the film crew was filming me for about 7 or 8 minutes and I never even took a slight break.  Then someone walked by and said, “Man you’re red…You know you can take a break!”  Kurt replied, “He doesn’t need a break.  We are just getting started!”  That’s exactly what I needed in a trainer.

I also worked out with Eric.  Eric is from San Diego and graduated from San Diego State.  Eric was another good trainer, but he was not on Jerry’s team.  He is kind of off to his own.  He is the research guru of Project Walk.  I really enjoyed working out with him.  He really helped me on a lot of different exercises.  He is very bright and knows the ins and outs of a spinal cord injury.  It was really neat to work out with him.

Also another person grew close to my dad and me during my tenure at Project Walk.  His name was Chad and even though he wasn’t on Jerry’s team, he still helped a lot.  He was a Texan. It was nice to have another southern guy there.  He ended up working at Project Walk when his wife suffered a spinal cord injury.  His wife was a soccer player at TCU.  After her injury they moved to San Diego for Project Walk.  Chad works at Project Walk and his wife does therapy there.  They were really nice people, even though Chad was a Red Sox fan.   

I am very thankful for this group of people at Project Walk.  They were not only just my trainers, but they also became my friends.  I am sure all the teams at Project Walk are as compassionate, hard-working, and driven as this team.  The trip to Project Walk was encouraging.  It was great to have such tremendous trainers.  I wouldn’t trade the hard-work, sweat, and tough love for anything.  I hope these guys know how much they mean to me and how thankful I am for them.  God Bless!

—Matt C        

It is good to be home back in McGehee.  My Dad and I pushed up our flight from Tuesday to Saturday.  We got home Saturday night.  Awaiting me at the airport was my mom, my brother Chris, and his wife Mandy.  It was really neat on the flight home because of some of the people that we ran into.  Our  American Airlines pilot for the flight from Burbank (outside of LA) to Dallas was from Fort Smith.  He was a very nice guy.  His wife had a serious injury from a car accident and faced a lot of medical treatment and rehab as I did.  It was such a blessing to meet him.  Then from Dallas to Little Rock I also saw someone familiar.  Stanley Reed and his wife were on the same plane as us.  Mr. Reed, President of the Board of Trustees at the UofA, has been very good to both me and my family.  He is friends with my Papa Jack.  He fixed me up with some great tickets to the Arkansas-USC football game.  He also visited me in the hospital.  He and his wife are very nice people.  San Diego was an awesome place and Project Walk was so uplifting.  It was amazing to see other people go through the same thing that I am going through.  I also learned that anything can happen through the power of prayer, hope, and dedication.  I feel very thankful to be able to participate at such a great rehab center.  Project Walk has been an incredible journey.  I don’t feel like I could go through this alone.  I am very thankful for the support of both my family and friends.  Today in McGehee, I started my therapy that I learned at Project Walk.  I did several upper body and core exercises.  I also stood in my standing frame with as much limited support that I could bear.  I then rode my research bicycle that I am involved in with UAMS.  I will continue to do therapy throughout this week and the weeks to come.  I also will continue to keep you up to date on my progress.  I am very thankful for the support from all of you.  I realize that without you guys, none of this would be possible.  I cannot thank you enough.  Tommorrow I will do more therapy and I am also going to get my mom more involved to help me.  Again thanks for all of your support.  God Bless!

—Matt C  

Today was the finale of the Project Work home based program.  I woke up today sore all over my body.  I arrived at Project Walk for therapy at 2:00 in the afternoon.  It was also a rainy day here in Southern California, so it wasn’t the pretty weather that I have grown accustomed to.  Well Jerry had a big smile on his face because he was ready to get everything out of me that he could.  We did all kinds of upper body exercises and not as many lower body exercises today.  We did bicep curls, shoulder presses, bear crawls, and even a little boxing as I stood up and worked on punching the punching bag.  He basically threw the kitchen sink at me today.  We ended the day on the Power Plate as I did some standing exercises.  It was kind of sad when it was all over because I am leaving some really great people.  I guess the best thing about it is that I am now going home to some really great people.  After therapy we said all of our goodbyes and also took a few pictures.  I even “Called The Hogs” for my therapists.  Later when we left Project Walk, Dad and I went to Burbank, California.  Burbank is right on the edge of L.A. and right beside Hollywood.  Tommorrow we are flying out of Burbank at 10:45 am and our arrival time in Little Rock is 5:45 pm.  I am very excited to get home to see both my family and all of my friends.  Project Walk has been an incredible journey filled with a lot of hope.  I am very thankful to my family, friends, and community for sending me to Project Walk and giving me this opportunity.  I truly can’t say thank you enough.  I will continue to work hard when I get home and never give up.  This is not the end of the mattcourson.org blog as I will continue to keep you up to date with my progress in both the days and months to come.  Thanks again for all of your prayers, comments, and thoughts.

—Matt C 

It is coming to an end as today was my next to last day at Project Walk.  Today was filled with more aggressive therapy and some filming of the exercises that I will do when I get home.  I started out working with Eric on some balance exercises.  We also worked by me getting on my knees and working on being balanced and controlled.  We then went over to the standing frame and exercised on it.  It is neat being on the standing frame because it supports my lower legs and I am basically standing up on my own.  We worked there for awhile before Jerry came and took over my therapy.  Jerry and I then went over and did some filming on the floor.  He was filming me sitting against the wall and doing some posture exercises.  The big deal about posture is that when a disabled person sits in a wheelchair their body seems to slump over and it is a major problem when clients get back on their feet.  So Jerry put together some posture exercises that are very difficult.  I would sit straight up against the wall and hold my arms straight out against the wall at shoulder height for one minute.  Every once in awhile my arms would try to sag down and drop but Jerry let me know about it.  He would always say, “Pick up those arms pumpkin”.  It reminds me of my younger days around the house with my two older brothers.  We then went over and got on the hand cycle. Jerry again would help me stand up and spot my legs as I would pump the hand cycle around and around.  At times I would get tired and start to slow down and again I would hear, “Pump those arms pumpkin”.  We finished up with me getting on the Power Plate.  We filmed that so I would have an idea on what I was doing when I get home.  I love ending my workout on the Power Plate because it wears out my legs.  I thought today was another very successful day of therapy.  After therapy we went over and did a little shopping.  Tommorrow is my last day of therapy.  It is a little bittersweet because I am ready to get home and see my family and friends, but I will also miss Project Walk and all of the friendships I have made.  I will continue to keep you informed tommorrow.  Keep me in your prayers as Jerry told me that tommorrow he was going to wear me out and get everything out of me that he can.  I am looking forward to it!!! 

 —Matt C      

Our stay in California and at Project Walk is starting to come to an end.  Today we moved into the filming stage.  My therapist Jerry started filming some of our exercises so that when I get home I can put in the tape and do my therapy routine.  We did a lot of the exercises that we have been doing the past two weeks such as stretching and abdomen exercises.  It was kind of laid back as we were getting everything on film.  I thought I was in for an easier day of therapy than what I have been accustomed to.  Well that changed towards the second half of the session.  Jerry said it was time to do some “real work”.  Well we got on the total gym and worked out my upper body the rest of the session.  From bicep curls to about any other upper body exercise you can imagine, we did it.  If you were wondering, it was some “real work”.  I am very tired and sore from arm to arm.  It was a very good workout, however.  I also met a guy today from Australia.  He was very nice with a little accent to him and is also heading home this Friday.  It is really neat to talk and meet other people who know what you are going through.  Tommorrow we are going to continue filming and by no means do I expect it to be laid back.  I will keep you updated tommorrow with everything that is going on.  Thanks again for all your comments, thoughts, and prayers.

 —Matt C