Getting this leg moving!

It's funny that I've been such a mover for the past twenty-nine years, and now I'm re-learning how to just walk.  It's amazing how quickly life can change.  Maybe my nine-month-old baby and I can have a race to see who gets on their feet first!  I've actually been able to take a few (very awkward) steps on my own this week!  I'm determined--and my therapist at Agape Physical Therapy has been incredible.

Here's a glimpse of my PT routine...

I spend most of my sessions in the underwater treadmill.  

The water is so helpful. There are jets around my legs that desensitize the muscles so that I can move with less pain, and the pressure and warmth of the water compresses my legs so that I can actually mobilize them.  I have rails all around me that I use to hold my weight in my arms as much as I need to.  The water is soothing and helps me, more than anything, to mimic the pattern of walking and do other exercises that keep my muscle memory active. 

Other times, I use the anti-gravity treadmill.

I wear a neoprene harness and get zipped into this treadmill.  Then, the machine inflates around me, weighs me, and zeroes the gravity beneath me.  There is a screen in front of me that shows what my legs are doing on the treadmill.  My physical therapist can adjust the percentage of gravity that's holding me down, from 0% to 100%.  This machine is more difficult for me than the underwater treadmill, because my leg doesn't have as much of that compression support around it that the water gives, but its still pretty amazing!

And, it wouldn't be a great physical therapy post without me giving you a little glance at the before-and-after... 

Here's before a session (cold and reddish skin from my knee down, with one or more toes being white and others purple):

And here is what it looks like after a session (splotchy, slightly swollen, and gray):

And after a different session (extra splotchy, extra swollen, and all the colors!):

This all takes a lot out of me, and I'm basically toast for the rest of the day after each session.  I know it's working, though, because I'm regaining flexibility and range of motion, and it's helping to reduce some of the skin sensitivity.  The pain has started to spread into my hips and up around my waist, and we will just add new PT exercises with each new angle that the CRPS throws at me. 

I'm so thankful that we have incredible medical advances like these. I'm also thankful for the process, because I know that God is carrying me through every step of this journey--comforting me, strengthening me, and shaping my heart as we go.  

AND, a huge blessing from this week is that one day, was able to hold Jack long enough for him to fall asleep in my arms. I haven't been able to hold him for more than a few minutes at a time so far, because of the pressure it puts on my leg.  It was SO beautiful to get to snuggle my baby!! 

So, here's to lots of physical therapy.   Here's to God's amazing love and power and plan.  Here's to my weakness constantly and so beautifully reminding me of how much I need Jesus.  And here's to choosing joy through the process!!

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me," (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).