One of the first things I did when I got home from the hospital was go to Home Depot and get lumber. I had a plan, from my PT, for how to build a standing frame. Ben and friends did most of the construction; I supervised. Standing feels amazing: my living room regains the proper, familiar perspective. It feels like a nice stretch on my hip flexors, which are usually in the shortened position of sitting. And important weight-bearing happens. I stand and listen to podcasts or read. We also have a game of chess on there. Here is a photo of me using it for the first time (in December). I’m holding onto door handles, which are screwed into the top platform. Note the cast and back brace. Good riddance!

In March I started practicing taking steps: I would hold onto the kitchen sink and a crutch and walk until the counter ran out. This was an unsatisfyingly short distance and I didn’t feel safe doing it without supervision. It also required somebody to bring the wheelchair to where I had finished walking so I could roll back to the start of the counter and repeat (turning around with one crutch and one kitchen counter is hard).

So, in March, Ben and I made plans to expand the standing frame into parallel bars. We took another trip to Home Depot. Soon I had a safe wooden corral with my wheelchair parked on one end and the standing frame at the other.  The standing frame is used as a turnaround point so I can make it back to the chair on my own.

Here is a video of me using it to walk for the first time. Watching it was my first view of how much my body has changed. I have lost so much muscle on my legs and butt. Sharing it makes me feel incredibly vulnerable. In my eyes I look weak and broken. Far from functional. Here I am using ace bandages on my ankles for dorsiflexion. There thing on my right leg is a borrowed post-op knee brace.

Here is a video taken this week. I think I can see some improvement. Some must be from better bracing: my orthotics are much more stable than what I had cobbled together in March. But I think you can also see more strength and stability through my hips. My gait is looking a little closer to functional movement. I’m wearing the same shirt by coincidence. And for making the most accurate, unbiased comparison, of course.

This is my living room, by the way. Props to my housemate, Maria, for letting me turn our shared living space into my personal jungle gym.