August 3

Second to last week went great! The power on the stim bike has jumped like crazy with numbers over 8W. I remember when 2.0W was a big deal and therapists told me it wasn't really significant until it was over 4W. But this week, the average for a whole hour was almost 6W. It's crazy that it would change that much in just a week. I know things have been changing in my legs, but this week was evidence. The pool went the best ever- on Monday, Beth set a new "record" for doing 30 minutes straight (she's a little competitive), but then Kim and I went 41 minutes straight! This was a big deal not just because of the timing, but also because Kim and I don't normally walk well together. She's a lot shorter than me, so she has a hard time reaching my legs. Eric usually has to help by holding my hips forward and pushing my legs forward so she can reach them. But on Tuesday, I was bringing them forward enough for her to do it all. She kept looking at the water and I knew it was because she wanted to know how much Tim was helping her. I was happy to be able to tell her that all the was doing was helping at my hips. And even then, he said he was doing "minimum" help. I even went to say my goal for when I came back was to be able to stand in the water without hip support, then Tim took his hands away to show me I was already accomplishing that goal. I couldn't do it for too long and it was pretty hard, but I did it! I guess a better goal will be to not need much help of land by the time I come back in December. 

I had a personal training appointment with Vicki on Wednesday and she kicked my butt like usual. We talked about what workouts and exercises I'll be able to do by myself once I'm home and back in school. She's actually setting up a program online so she can send me workouts. Then I found boxing gloves and mitts and an arm bike online for pretty cheap so I can use them for cardio. I'm working on writing out different workouts so I will have everything organized for in two weeks when I'm on my own. 

I've also spent a lot of time looking up different scholarships and grant applications this week. There are a lot out there and I know every little bit I could get would help in paying for the bike and stander. I know I can do a lot of strengthening for my arms and core, but those two pieces of equipment will be essential to strengthen my legs.