January 17 (has it really been that long?)

Friday was the last day of the week and the last day in Baltimore.  Kelly spent the morning on the RT600 with stim to all of her walking muscles followed by walking "over ground" suspended in a harness.  The harness is hard to tolerate because of the upper body support it gives.  Erin was able to rig a harness that didn't have any upper body or core support.  It seemed a lot more comfortable for Kel.  The comfort was exchanged for support and that meant when walking with the walker Kelly had to support her upper body herself.  After one lap across the gym she was spent.  This is the first time that I have seen Kelly say she was exhausted.
Pool time in the afternoon allowed Kelly to walk with the water walker.  Sarah told me that the difficulty in working with Kel came in waves.  At first she was easy to work with in the pool because the therapists did all the work, then it became hard to work with her when her body started to fight and spasm against the walking and now it's easy to work with her again because she does all the work.  Kelly can definitely feel that!  She is working so hard!
We had a nice weekend home and came back to Baltimore on Monday evening so we could start in the pool at 830  today.  Kelly had an amazing day!  She started in the pool crawling and walking on her knees UNASSISTED!  Kim has a way of making Kelly do things that she has never done before!  Then she spent her gym time with Julie (someone we hadn't met before but because Liza was sick we got to meet her).  Julie gave us so much new information about STIM and how to use the bike to it's ultimate uses.  It's wonderful that having a "substitute therapist" is a way of getting another set of eyes on her.
She wouldn't stop after a full and exhausting session of ab work on her hands and knees.  She had to spend an hour and half in the wellness gym using the bike.  We can't say enough about how great the staff are at problem solving and making sure that she is getting the most out of every session.  Kim and Damon in the gym help us to make sure Kel is positioned well and getting the most out of every session.
Back at our place tonight, I went out to the kitchen and talked to my friend, Ali, who I spoke had spoke to briefly last night.  He told me that he and his wife are thinking about relocating someplace warm because they have been so unhappy since leaving Lebanon.  He asked about Kelly and I quickly told him her story.  He thanked me for sharing and confirming his need to relocate his family from Michigan to Florida.  He said, "you don't know what tomorrow holds and it's so important to be make the most of today and be happy".  He told me that he would pray for Kelly to walk soon and I told him that I would pray for him to find happiness and to have a safe trip home tomorrow.
I would not have picked this path in life but it has been an amazing journey with some of the most amazing people.  I am thankful every day for the people that have put in our path.  We are on a journey with some of the greatest heroes I have ever met.