Go, go gadget legs!
Yes, as of August 8th I’ve started using my new standing legs braces as an integral part of my rehab program. I go to therapy three times a week and at least two of the three days I’m doing some sort of work that gets my legs moving. The idea is that, even though I’m not yet able to move my leg on my own, moving my legs through the walking motion is very beneficial in keeping up muscle strength, bone density, blood circulation, hip and leg flexibility and so on, that doesn’t happen with me just sitting in my chair all the time. Also, it is believed that by doing the assisted walking we may be able to retrain or rewire my body to do the walking motion on its own.
So the new pictures I put up in the photo gallery show me doing some of those exercises. The first two (blurry) pictures are of me using the unweighted treadmill walking system. I get strapped into what is basically a parachute harness and then get suspended over a treadmill. My therapists can control how much weight is taken off of my legs and then they move my legs on the treadmill. My job is to try and stabilize my body from swinging back and forth too much, but the therapists end up doing most of the work. This exercise will often cause me to have muscle spasms that make my legs want to straighten out which the therapists have to work against. But after walking for a few minutes those spasms tend to go away and I usually get about twenty to thirty minutes of walking done.
The rest of the new photos are from the first time using my new leg braces. They don’t necessarily look like it, but they do indeed cost $14,000. They’re custom molded to my legs, made from carbon fiber, and contain a special German-engineered knee joint that, according to the orthodist, is what makes them so special. In days of yore, a standing leg brace could be set in two positions, unlocked at the knee for sitting, and locked for standing. My braces, because of this new knee joint can be set in those two positions, but also in a third setting that allows the brace to lock and unlock based on the position of the leg. So, for instance, if I’m wearing my braces on the unweighted treadmill they will lock as my leg swings forward through the walking motion so that I can bear weight on that leg. As my leg swings back the knee joint unlocks at a certain angle to allow the knee to bend so my leg can be brought forward again. At least that’s how they’re supposed to work. We’re still working the kinks out on that one.
In the pictures of me with my braces on, besides noticing what a tall drink of water I am and that I really needed a hair cut, you’ll see that the braces are always locked. This is because all of my weight is being supported by my legs. The walker I’m using is designed to help me stabilize my upper body, so it has arm supports, bracing in the front and back to help keep my waist secure, and a sling-like seat, but the braces allow me to stand completely upright. What I’m doing in the pictures is shifting my weight from side to side to allow my therapists to move my feet forward. In time, as I get more trunk control and stability back, the plan is that I’ll be able to use my torso to swing my legs forward on my own.
