Follow along on the adventures of an amputee Paramedic. I have now fell into activism/advocacy work for Insurance Fairness for all amputees. I occasionally do some Motivational Speaking, I'm writing a book, and of course blogging all that stuff here. Follow me through all my wins and losses in the fight to break the stereotype of what amputees are capable of. I may write about EMS, Healthcare, Amputees, or Nonsense. Follow the blog and see what today brings!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Work Hardening!!! Let's Get Pumped!!!!
I'm excited!!! I met my new physical therapist today. He's an above knee amputee, former military, and has committed to getting me walking without a limp. Our goal is to not only focus on strength of the effected leg but whole body strength. He has said if I stick to the program not only will I succeed on getting off of the cane, but I can lose my weight I need to lose. This process is called "Work Hardening." The goal is to teach me to adapt my work life around my amputation. To learn to carry weight up and down stairs, lift a stretcher with weight, move quickly and with purpose. To learn to adapt to working with no superfluous movement. He has warned me that working scenes in acclimate weather will pose a new set of problems, since I don't have muscle control of my lower leg and foot to help keep my balance. "You're gonna fall. I'm going to teach you how to fall. During the winter I always shovel my driveway, I probably fall 6 or 7 times, but I get up and keep going" I loved this statement. This is a wonderful summary of how I feel about returning to work and productive society. I'm going to fall, but I'm never going to fail, I might find thousands of way that don't work, but I'll eventually find my method of doing things.
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what is your physical therapist's name ???and what is his facebook name ??
ReplyDeleteHis name is Dennis Leasch (sp) I don't think he has a facebook page. I will be going to KORT and working with a gentleman named Hilbert. If you want more information Phlyy message me on facebook and I'll give you Dennis' number.
DeleteJoe
thank you so much Joe ..your blog is real great... how about your facebook ??? How about your health today????
Deletegreat your new leg...
Hi Joe
ReplyDeleteBeen following the blog for a while since Happy pointed you out. Nice to see things are on the up and up.
I don't know if you have time or any inclination to read books, but you quest to be a flight medic reminds me of another mans burning desire to fly.
The story is better known here in the UK, but let me give you taste.
A young man, a talented sportsman, good enough to play for his country, crashes his plane during training (his own fault he was performing maneuvers closer to the deck that authorised.)
He survived, just but only at the cost of a double amp. His biography describes how he got from there, his struggle to get fit, to walk unaided and fly.
He did finally get to fly in 1939 at the start of WW2, and the rest of the book details what happened during the war. I won't give any more away but his description of being suspended in the air below a parachute with his damaged plane hanging off his foot, will probably never leave me, nor his innovative golf technique.
He was called Douglas Bader and the book is called Reach for the Sky.
Best wishes
Snowy