Project Walk . . . Week 2

It was another GREAT week at Project Walk (PW). Andrew was put into a standing frame that sort of acts like an elliptical, and PW trainers move the feet back and forth as well as the arms to give him a cardio workout. Andrew loved it because his favorite exercise machine has always been the elliptical. He tries very hard to move his body with it and he is very tired after. He was able to do the FES bike again and they also began working on core control. They found that Andrew has excellent trunk control, which was a big surprise. He was able to provide a little feedback in his core muscles and his posture is awesome.

We have been successful at decreasing a lot of his spasticity meds as well as some of the nerve pain meds that basically assist to treat nerve pain by, well . . . paralyzing his nerves . . . crazy concept huh. Honestly, Andrew was on so many powerful meds, that it's believed that I (myself) as an able-bodied person would not be able to move or walk with all that in my system. They serve a function, especially in the acute stages of quadriplegia, but at the moment these meds will really hinder his recovery until we get them stopped. We'll get him there, just can't be done overnight. One thing that is happening with this medicine decrease is that Andrew is really feeling his body. A lot of "pins and needles" and muscle soreness . . . and something new tonight, which is very exciting, is some feeling in his bladder. He says he is feeling some "urgency" to urinate. I'm told bladder function is one of the first core areas of recovery, so although he's a bit uncomfortable, we are celebrating.

Andrew has an appointment on Monday with the VA Spinal Cord Injury center here in San Diego. I've heard excellent things about that center and we are thrilled that Andrew has finally been enrolled in the VA for medical care. That will help a lot, especially being here in San Diego as Yuma's VA clinic is just not equipped to help Andrew with his condition. I'm also told that they offer many benefits of which we currently pay out of pocket for, so I'm excited to learn more about that. The more we can save on care, the longer Andrew can attend Project Walk.

I have also started the tiresome quest of finding a place to live. We are looking for a rental near Project Walk and of course our kids are hoping for something close to the beach. We have our home listed in Yuma and are praying for a quick sale with that. We miss everyone in Yuma and are sad to have to leave, but we are happily looking to a brighter future for Andrew here in San Diego.

Please continue to pray for Andrew . . . God has touched his heart and his life and we have no doubt He is going to work wonders for him.

I will post again soon . . . and I'm trying to get some good video for you to see Andrew's hard work.

God bless you all!