December health update

I saw my neurosurgeon again just before Thanksgiving, and he was very excited by my progress. They took a CT scan of my back to see how things had healed, and he said that it looks good. He gave me the okay to take off my back brace while I'm in the house, which is great, because it makes showering much less complicated. Obviously, I'd like to not wear it at all, especially when I'm traveling to tropical places over the winter holidays (Okinawa and Nicaragua), where it's scorching hot even without a back brace on. But like everything else these days, I'll just have to wait to get my wish.

After my two-week trip to the East Coast where I had to walk everywhere, my strength and balance have improved considerably, and I don't use a cane anymore. My hips are much stronger now, and even my stubborn hamstring has improved somewhat. My calf, however, still does not allow me to push off well, thus limiting my stride length and walking speed. It's frustrating to do the same stupid exercises over and over.

The doctor thinks that I'll be able to start swimming by March, and that by the summer, I should be able to go hiking and backpacking. When that actually happens, I'll be grinning from ear to ear. But for now, that seems very far off, not in terms of time, but in terms of recovery. Right now, walking two miles is enormously tiring. In order to function well, I have to sleep about ten hours each night and two hours each afternoon. While this may sound okay to some people, I much prefer the philosophy of the great Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Man is not designed to be a sedentary animal. He was made to walk twenty miles a day and hunt saber-toothed tigers."

Now that it's been more than five months since my accident, it's getting harder to stay motivated for continued recovery. Please keep praying that my leg will get stronger, my back will heal fully, and that I'll be able to enjoy the freedom of movement again. I miss it very much.