Today was a very productive day of therapy.  I got up early this morning and rode my FES Bike for an hour.  Today the bike ride went extremely well.  My legs responded very well today.  After riding I then put on some electrodes on my adductors (Inner Thigh) and used the Swiss Stim.  I stimulated my adductors to reduce the tone before I went to Dumas to stand.  This somewhat relaxes the muscles where my legs don’t seem to close together as I stand.  When I arrived at Dumas DeJuan went through some stretching exercises on the mat with me.  We then stood up in the braces.  I felt very stable today.  I also looked really good as my posture was much better today.  I definitely feel like I have made a lot of progress since my last visit.  It seems that my core has strengthened, which is allowing me to feel more stable.  We worked on doing some exercises while standing.  A lot of these exercises consisted of me taking one hand off the walker and trying ro maintain my posture.  This is somewhat difficult but I feel like it is getting easier.  The last thing we did was work on shoulder shrugs with both hands off the walker.  This was very difficult but I feel like I will get it down soon.  Overall I had a very productive day of therapy.  I will continue to keep you informed on my progress…  Thanks for all of the support!!!

Matt C

Today was another productive day of therapy.  I got up early this morning to ride my FES bike.  My spasms have been a little out of control these past few days.  The bike ride didn’t go as good as usual, but I am sure I will get that under control in the next few days.  I then went to Dumas around noon.  DeJuan and I got a lot of good work in today.  Also helping me out today was a very nice PT named Missy.  They worked me out really hard today.  My arms are a little sore, as are my other upper extremities.  We got up in the braces and worked on very good posture.  Posture is extremely important while standing.  It manages both my balance and stability.  DeJuan explained it like a pyramid…  You have to have your base to reach your peak.  We are working on getting my base as stable as possible.  They really pushed me today to maximize my balance.  We did some very challenging exercises.  Overall I feel like we got a lot of great work in.  I feel like I am getting closer and closer everyday to my goal.  I look forward to this weekend and watching a little football.  I will continue to keep you up to date with everything.  Thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support!  God Bless!!! 

Matt C 

Today I had therapy in Dumas with DeJuan and Amy.  I feel like we got a lot accomplished in the amount of time that we had.  This morning I rode my bike and used some electrical stimulation on my legs before going to therapy in Dumas.  I feel like the muscle spasms and tone went away from doing this.  That was good because I wouldn’t have any restrictions while standing due to muscle spasms.  DeJuan stretched me out before putting the braces on.  We then stood for quite awhile…  We worked some core exercises while standing.  The goal of that is to have great balance so I can one day stand without holding on to anything such as a walker.  This is ony possible if we attack my core area with various exercises.  We did some twisting exercises where I would reach across my body and hand Dejaun and Amy something.  This was challenging for me at first, but I think with time I can master it.  We then worked on me standing with great posture and trying to move my legs in a walking motion.  I can honestly say that this is the toughest thing I have ever had to do.  I have to concentrate and maximize all of my efforts to get the slightest movements.  With assistance from Dejuan and Amy, they would help move my feet as I focused on moving them as well.  This is tougher than any fastball I have had to hit, any pass I have had to throw, or any weights I have had to lift.  However, I believe if you want something bad enough and you give 110%, then it will happen!  I will continue to keep you up to date with this new journey.  Thanks again for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support!  God Bless!!!

Matt C     

Monday morning my mom and I went to Little Rock to pick up my braces.  They were custom made at Horton’s Orthotics and they did a great job.  They fit good and are very comfortable.  The next step will be walking in them.  Tonight I stood up in them in front of my Mom and Dad.  I felt very stable and had very good trunk control.  I even could swing my right foot forward with some ease.  The left foot didn’t want to cooperate as much as the right one did.  I did take a step or two, which was very encouraging.  Also I am starting a new type of rehab.  As most of you know, I used to have therapy at my house three days a week with an awesome physical therapist named DeJuan Daniel.  He works at Dumas Hospital and oversees the physical therapy.  Well, I am now going to go up to Dumas three times a week to work on walking in braces with him.  We accomplished more than anyone would have thought in our last journey…. Now we are starting a new one!  My first day was today where he mostly evaluated me.  He is very bright and full of a lot of ideas so I am sure we will be walking in braces in no time.  I am very excited about starting therapy with him again.  My goal is to be able to take fluent steps in my braces by the time I leave for Baltimore, which is a little over a month away.  I will try to update as my progression continues.  Thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support!

My last few weeks have been running smoothly.  I have been working out about every night.  I am also continuing to ride my FES bike every other day.  I can notice a big difference in the size of my legs compared to when I first started riding it.  I have a lot of muscle mass in my legs.  It seems that my legs are very active.  I am having a lot of muscle spasms in my legs.  It seems that something is going on down there.  

I recently got a new toy in this past week.  It is an EMPI stimulator.  What it does is really neat…. I place electrodes on my legs and they make my muscles contract (Just like my Swiss Stim).  I also have created a new type of exercise using this device.  I stand on my total gym and place the electrodes on my hip flexors and glutes.  I turn the stimulation on my EMPI all the way up to 100% and modify the settings so it contracts for 5 seconds and relaxes for 5 seconds (alternating).  Well while I am on the total gym it allows me to do squats through the stimulation of the EMPI.  So to break it down a bit more, I am standing on the total gym… When the stimulation is off for 5 seconds my leg stays bent, but when the stimulation turns on and goes to my glutes and hip flexors, my leg then straightens out.  So I end up doing squats with the stimulation.  I think this is really cool and something that could be “The Big New Exercise”.  I am looking forward to sharing this exercise with more physical therapists and doctors.         

I don’t have any plans coming up until the trip back to Baltimore after Thanksgiving.  I can’t wait to go back to Baltimore and do more therapy with all of the progression I made in the last trip.  I am expecting to get my braces for my legs in any day now.  I am looking forward to doing different types of therapy using them.  I think they will help take me to another level in my therapy.  I will continue to keep you up to date with all of my progression in the coming weeks.  Thanks a lot for all of your thoughts and prayers.   

God Bless,

Matt C