New big thing!

The secret that I’ve been waiting to tell you is… I stood! Without further ado, I share some of the videos that I took while at therapy.

It’s a bit long…

Day 2 of standing – that moaning isn’t me, it’s my little “nephew” Rowan who came to help

What my future might look like…
In order for me to maximize my potential for regaining function, I will continue to need intensive therapy from spinal cord injury specialists. Since I moved to Kindred, I have been shipped out to the best facility in Western Washington (Pushing Boundaries) for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Pushing Boundaries’ mission is to provide intensive exercise therapy that strengthens and supports people living with paralysis, and their families, to maximize health and improve quality of life. Three to five times a week I take the van to Redmond for 2-3 hour one-on-one sessions with exercise therapists. If you would like to learn more about Pushing Boundaries, here is the link: http://www.pushing-boundaries.com/.

Here is a video of some other activities that I do during my time in therapy.

Just to give you some background on my injury…
My spinal cord is bent, not severed meaning I have an incomplete injury. This means that there are messages getting through my spinal cord and that there is hope that I will continue to gain feeling and movement, but we won’t know exactly how much until we see it. In contrast, if I had a complete injury it would mean that what’s done is done and the brain doesn’t have a pathway to communicate anymore through the spinal cord. Although I have limited mobility, the silver lining is that I get to eat meals like a queen; getting fed by the spoonful with someone gently waiving palm fronds to create a tropical breeze while I enjoy my delicatessens.

Here is another little video treat that shows you more of my abilities. I am really good at showing you all the great things that I can do, but I have a very long way to go. I don’t often show you some of the challenges that I face during my therapies, here’s an outtake.

The tentative plan for my future is that I will stay here for about six weeks and continue my sessions at Pushing Boundaries until I have my major knee reconstruction, which will take place in the middle of April at UW Medical Center. A few days after surgery, I will return to Kindred for another six weeks or so, until my knee heals. Beyond that the hope is that I will return to Harborview for a shorter inpatient rehab stay and then move out of state to one of the most prestigious spinal cord injury facilities in the United States.

As you can imagine, the cost for this level of therapy is extremely expensive, and most of it is not covered by my insurance. The money that so many of you have generously donated has allowed me to rent a wheelchair accessible van that can take me to and from my therapies and appointments, and has paid for my sessions at Pushing Boundaries. The cost of the therapies mentioned above will likely be hundreds of thousands of dollars out-of-pocket. Please know that everything you are doing for me is being put to good use.

Love,
Jessie

http://www.helphopelive.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/EC3BB5C7-DCAD-81B7-1C7A32460EBAC363

A little bonus treat. 🙂 I am just too strong