These past three days have been very rewarding as I have been able to see the results of working hard since my accident.    Everyday when I wake up I can’t wait to get to the therapy facility to get started with my therapy.  Today was another day of productive therapy.  I arrived at Kennedy Krieger today motivated to do more therapy after this great week.

When I arrived at Kennedy Krieger this morning I first got on the FES Bike.  Today my tone was worse than it has been since I have been here.  I was very tight and had a lot of muscle spasms.  I rode the bike for a bit to try to get rid of some of these spasms.  After riding the bike for a bit I couldn’t tell very much difference in my spasms.  They were still pretty crazy and my legs were jumping around everywhere.  We then went over to the mat to get hooked up on the Gait Trainer.  Today we were going to get on the treadmill first and then walk in the hall.  The treadmill seemed to go pretty good.  Claire and another therapist named Chris helped move my legs and Kim held my hips in place as I portrayed the walking motion.  We would walk on the treadmill for five minute intervals.  This puts a lot of strain on the therapists as they move my legs in a constant motion.  I am really impressed with Claire…  She is in top notch shape and doesn’t miss a beat.  My legs seemed to respond fairly well to the walking motion.  My goal was basically to concentrate on bringing my legs forward while I leaned my weight on the opposite leg.  We continued to walk for a couple of five minute intervals before getting off and heading into the hall.  I was harnessed into the Gait Trainer and then rolled towards the hall as Claire held my legs.  Well, out of the blue, another spasm set off in my left leg and this time it kicked up and hit Claire upside the head.  I felt bad about this because it was a pretty hard kick.  I guess it is a good thing she has a pretty hard head…  My Dad told her that she had permission to kick back!  Well anyway we then got in the hall and started walking.  This was kind of the same thing that we were doing yesterday.  I would pull my legs forward as Claire guided them.  We did this for quite awhile before coming up with a new idea.  Claire put electrodes on my hamstrings and hooked it up to the EMPI device so it would recieve stimulation as we walked.  The stimulation helped push my knee up as I would pull it forward.  We went down the hallway and back three times.  This was another awesome experience as I covered ground by taking steps.

I felt like today was a very productive day.  I also feel like I am progressing more and more as the days continue to pass.  I believe that with hard work, determination, and prayer anything can happen.  Thanks for all of the comments, emails, text messages etc…  I am very thankful for all of your support!  Thanks again and God Bless!       

Matt C

The days keep getting better and better at Kennedy Krieger.  I had a very busy morning of therapy followed up by a very informative tour tonight.  After yesterday’s great news, I couldn’t wait to get back to Kennedy Krieger for more therapy.

After arriving at Kennedy Krieger this morning Claire handed me off to another therapist named Cara.  Cara was going to perform some more motor and sensory tests (Asia exam).  We went through some of the same tests that I did with Dr. Sadowsky.  There were also some other things mixed in that I didn’t do yesterday.  This test was a lot like yesterday and maybe even a little better.  The biggest discovery in this test was new movement that I could make happen on command.  I was able to move my big toe on both feet when she told me to.  I didn’t move it very much, but you could see it flinch forward when I told it to.  This was very encouraging to me because my toe is the farthest body part away from my brain.  So if the message can get from my brain to the farthest part of my body then there is a lot of hope for other body parts and muscles.  After doing this I was then very motivated to get going with therapy.

After doing this for a bit, I then met back up with Claire.  Claire set me up on the FES Bike to ride for awhile.  Again my legs responded well to the stimulation.  After riding the bike for a bit, we then proceeded to get hooked up on the gait trainer and work on walking.  Yesterday I worked on walking on the treadmill.  Today we were going to work on walking on the floor.  The gait trainer is a harness that helps keep me straight in a standing position.  We then went into the hall.  At first Claire was moving my legs for me.  However, after a couple of minutes I was then taking steps as Claire guided my legs.  In my mind I was focusing on putting all of my weight on one leg as I brought the other leg forward.  For example, I would lean most of my weight on my left leg and then would try to bring my right knee forward and vice versa.  The tone in my legs would try to pull my legs together, but Claire with all her might kept the legs from scissoring.  We went down the hall and back several times.  It was an amazing feeling to take so many steps and cover so much ground.  This is the first time that I have taken steps like that since April 22, 2006.  I feel like everyday I am progressing more and more.  

Tonight my family and I went to Kennedy Krieger where the research doctors told us all about the stem cell research.  It was very informative and explained in a manner that we could understand.  The stem cell research is a very complex system that is starting to make a lot of progress in science and health.  After hearing about the stem cell issue we then went on a tour of the research laboratory.  A very nice research scientist named Molly gave us the tour.  She was very informative on what was happening in the lab on stem cells.  It was very neat to see a lot of the equipment and what it’s purpose was. 

Today was another very productive day.  I am very excited about my therapy and the progression that is being made.  I also feel blessed to have such a great therapist, as I have in Claire.  She gets the best out of me and pushes me to do my very best.  I can’t wait until tommorrow for more therapy.  It seems like I have already accomplished so much in such a short time.  I can’t imagine where I will be at in 2 1/2 more weeks.  Thanks again for all of the thoughts, prayers, and support.  It really humbles me to have such an awesome fanbase.  I will continue to keep you up to date with all of my therapy.  Thanks again and God Bless!            

Today was my second day of therapy here at Kennedy Krieger Institute.  This was probably one of the most encouraging days since I have started therapy.  There is a lot more on that later…  I had therapy this morning and an appointment with Dr. Sadowsky this afternoon.

My morning therapy session went very well.  At the beginning of the session Claire got me in my braces and we went right to work.  We went over to the parallel bars and worked on walking in the braces.  It is tough for me to walk because of the tone in my legs.  When I try to make my leg go forward it also tries to scissor inward.  However, we have noticed that it doesn’t close in as much when I don’t tense up and really strain.  Claire and I decided that our best interest in taking care of this problem would be a Botox injection into the adductors.  She sent the request to Dr. Sadowsky so she could perform that during my afternoon appointment.  So we worked on walking back and forth for quite awhile.  Also helping Claire today was one of my friends Scott, who is a PT assistant.  I really believe that before I go home I will have this walking thing down.  After walking in braces at the parallel bars we then rode the FES Bike for a bit.  My legs really responded well to the stimulation.  After riding the bike we took a stab at the gait trainer treadmill.  During my last visit to KKI, I also walked on the treadmill.  Today Claire set me all up and it went very well.  I can notice a big difference from when I walked then as compared to now.  She keeps commenting on how I have such good hip flexion.  I have some voluntary control in my hip flexors.  This is a very encouraging sign.  We walked for a good bit, which wrapped up my session.  I am very happy about both the therapy and work ethic that Claire has me doing. 

This afternoon I had an appointment with Dr. Sadowsky.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, many consider Dr. Sadowsky as one of the best spinal cord rehab doctors in the world.  I feel very privledged to have her as my doctor.  Anyway Dr. Sadowsky came in to the room full of energy.  She jumped right in to see if she could see what was triggering the tone in my adductors.  She basically wanted to see if there was something that was setting off my tone that made my legs close together.  After not being able to pin-point the trigger she then recommended the Botox injection.  The Botox injection is very simple.  It basically paralyzes the part of my muscle groups that produces the tone for a period of time so it doesn’t act in an uncontrollable manner.  I know a lot of you are thinking, why paralyze the muscle?  Well with the uncontrollable tone it is limiting my rehab.  The injection lasts for about three months.  It also doesn’t reduce any regeneration or such.  So this is my best option at this time…  It is not uncommon for spinal cord injury patients to have these injections.  Dr. Sadowsky and another doctor named Dr. Recio performed these shots.  It was very simple and didn’t take anytime to do this. 

After doing this we then went on to the next step.  She examined me to perform a motor strength and sensory test.  A spinal cord injury is generally defined as a complete injury or an incomplete injury.  A complete injury is defined as the absence of sensory and motor functions in the lowest sacral segments.  An incomplete injury is defined as preservation of sensory or motor function below the level of injury, including the lowest sacral segments.

The extent of the injury is defined by the ASIA Impairment Scale, using the following categories:

• ASIA A - Complete : No sensory or motor function is preserved in sacral segments S4-S5. 
• ASIA B - Incomplete: Sensory, but not motor, function is preserved below the neurologic level and extends through sacral segments S4-S5. 
• ASIA C - Incomplete: Motor function is preserved below the neurologic level, and most key muscles below the neurologic level have muscle grade less than 3 (Movement against gravity but not against resistance). 
• ASIA D - Incomplete: Motor function is preserved below the neurologic level, and most key muscles below the neurologic level have muscle grade greater than or equal to 3 (movement against gravity but not against resistance). 
• ASIA E - Normal: Sensory and motor functions are normal.

When I was evaluated in July at Kennedy Krieger Institue I was classified as an Asia A Complete injury.  As you can see, that meant I didn’t have any sensory or motor function below my injury including the sacral segments.  Today Dr. Sadowsky has classified me as an Asia C Incomplete.  As you can see that means that I have voluntary movement and function of some key muscles below my level of injury.  This is the best news that I have heard since my accident.  As Dr. Sadowsky told me that I gave her a big hug…  She told me, “I am not sure where this will go, but it is an extreme positive”, with a big smile.  Both of my parents were filled with both emotion and hope.  I don’t believe that any of this would be possible without God’s will and the support of my friends and family.  I feel very blessed to have these opportunites to continue my therapy with the support of my friends.    

As I am very happy today with these astounding results, I am still not satified.  I will continue to work hard to maximize my progression.  I feel obliged to thank everyone for helping me achieve this goal…   You guys know who you are and I am very thankful for all of you.  After today I can’t wait to get back to therapy and get going again.  I will continue to keep you up to date with everything that is going on.  Thanks for all of your support… God Bless!

Matt C   

Today was my first day of therapy at Kennedy Krieger Institute.  It was really good to see a lot of the therapists again and get back going with therapy.  My therapist is a really awesome girl named Claire.  She is full of energy, knowledge, and ideas when it comes to spinal cord therapy. 

Our therapy session lasted from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm today.  We started out with an evaluation to see what was working in my lower half and what wasn’t.  Claire said she could feel some muscles firing, which was very encouraging.  During this evaluation she would lay me on my side and tell me to bring my knee to my chest as she supported it.  After focusing on the task I then brought my knee towards my chest.  This is the first time I have ever tried this.  I knew I could move my legs on command at times, but this is a new discovery for me.  After the evaluation we then got on the FES Bike for about thirty minutes.  I usually ride it an hour a session, but didn’t today due to being pushed for time.  This was also the first time I have been on the bike since the early part of last week.  My legs, being well rested, responded really well.  After riding the FES Bike we then put on the braces.  We then went to the parallel bars to do some standing and work on taking steps.  It has been really difficult for me to take steps because my legs seem to cross when I try to take a step due to the tone.  Claire had an idea about stretching them while I was standing up.  As I stood up Claire moved my left leg as far left as possible.  She then moved my right leg as far right as possible.  This looked like I was performing a very poor job of ”The Splits”.  I would not suggest you to try this at home.  After doing this for a bit we then got back to working on taking steps.  As I would try to move my leg, Claire would be behind me to guide it forward.  We did this for quite awhile going back and forth down the parallel bars.  I felt like the more that we did it… The better that I got.  It was a pretty good workout to say the least… 

I felt like today I got in an extremely good workout.  Most of the time, at rehabs or therapy centers, on the first day you don’t do very much. Usually the main goal is getting acclimated to the new experience.  However, today was not one of these days.  We jumped right in there and had a great first day.  I am happy about that because I feel like Claire is really going to push me and get the best out of me.  Tommorrow I will continue therapy in the morning.  I also have an appointment with Dr. Sadowsky tommorrow afternoon.  I want to thank all of you for the continued out-pouring of support and prayers.  I feel very blessed to have such a foundation of great family and friends.  Thanks again and God Bless!

Matt C           

Both my parents and I arrived in Baltimore on Friday.  We had a very good flight that took about two hours from Little Rock to Baltimore.  Right before taking off Arkansas was leading #1 LSU 21-14 in the third quarter…  Boy was I hoping our flight was delayed.  When we touched down in Baltimore I hurried and looked on my phone to find out that Arkansas won in triple overtime.  The flight attendant then asked me who won and as I told her she announced it over the intercom.  The plane bursted into a big cheer…  While on the plane, I have been told that I missed the greatest football game in Arkansas history… Thanks Mom!  I am sure one day my son is going to ask me if I remember watching that game…  My reply will be short and simple, “No son, I didn’t see it.  I was 30,000 feet up in the air above some clouds.” 

Arriving in Baltimore we were greeted with some very cold weather.  It is a lot colder than I ever imagined.  We are staying in a nice condo that is very neat.  The condo building has a nice library where I can do my school work and also a neat leisure room where we can relax and watch football.  Our balcony overlooks the harbor so it is also a pretty view.  I start therapy tommorrow at 9:00 am.  I am very excited about therapy and building on what I have done in the past.  I am also excited about seeing some of the therapists again and interacting with other patients.  After therapy my parents and I have plans to eat lunch with the people that are involved with the FES Bike from Restorative Therapies Inc.  They are a lot of fun and I am eager to hear about my progression with the bike.  I will continue to keep you up to date tommorrow with what is going on.  Thanks a lot for all of your thoughts and prayers…  God Bless!

Matt C     

Tommorrow starts another new chapter in my life.  I am flying out to Baltimore for some more therapy at Kennedy Krieger Institute.  I am very excited about this trip and all of the new experiences that come with it.  I also can’t wait to see some of the therapists again that are both very determined and passionate about spinal cord injuries.  I also can’t wait meet some of the new patients that will be attending.  Our flight leaves out tommorrow afternoon at 4:00 pm.  Be sure to check out my page daily as I will continue to keep you up to date on all of my progress.  Thanks for all of the kind words and support… 

God Bless,

Matt C