Mike Took His First Jog!

Mike is doing well. He has continued to strengthen his lower body with physical therapy and last Thursday his PT "Bob" said it was time to try jogging on the treadmill. Bob said this is the one piece of equipment in the gym he gets his patients on last because it takes more than just strength and coordination to use. I have to admit I was a little bit nervous about it...there's a little more for me to worry about than Bob does, and Mike and Bob could tell when Mike got on the treadmill by the look on my face.

Mike began with a fast pace walk for about 5 minutes and than began a fast jog...it lasted for about 1 minute and then Mike brought it down to a slower jog for another 2 minutes. This wiped him out. He finished his trek on the treadmill with walking for the remainder of the time (about 12 more minutes). I was so proud of him. He said it felt really good but was hoping to make it longer than a 3 minute jog. Bob and I reassured him that this is HUGE progress considering where his was just less than 3 months ago.

Mike usually has to take a nap after his therapy sessions. We are still going 3 times a week plus the visit with Bob. He's managed to get his weight up to 182 now. He says it's all going to his gut...I told him that's the last place it leaves and first place it returns...for everyone. He has a great sense of humor about this all and continues to crack jokes.

Mike has taken the opportunity to look at photo's from his accident and has a hard time seeing himself in the pictures. He says he doesn't like looking at them. He has yet to read the blog or even the journal that I kept during all this. He says in time he will. I know this will be his final hurdle. It's him realizing what the kids and I went through, and I know it is, and will be hard for him to see the reality in it all. I know he will read it all when he's ready. We have had a lot of good conversations about what he calls his "dreams". These are times that people or I would be with him and he has no conscious memory of. He remembers them as dreams and they are very choppy. He'll describe a "dream" to me and then I tell him if it really happened or where it was. Even these are hard to listen to for him. I can't imagine what it would be like to have no or little memory for 3 weeks of my life.

The kids are continuing to enjoy having dad home all the time. Especially Stevie. He's really become attached to daddy's lap. And that's a good thing.