Those Forty-Four Steps

A huge therapy day for Robb, starting in the morning with Marcella with whom he mostly worked on balance issues.

Then, as they had previously planned, Robb walked -- unassisted -- down our stairs, out the door of the apartment, crossed the street, walked a steep block down the hill, turned and walked two more blocks to the gas station, where he met Doreen, his physical therapist.

This is the first time he has left the apartment by himself, and the first time he has walked stairs without supervision.

They walked to the shops nearby and picked up some strawberries and prescriptions. Robb was supposed to carry his purchases back up the hill in a backpack, but he the waist strap on his backpack was broken, and the shoulder straps were compressing his spine and causing back pain. Doreen carried his pack. They'll try this again later in the week.

Telling me about this afterwards, Robb said that he felt safe, but also naughty. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was going to see him doing this, and that he was going to get into trouble.

But that wasn't all for his physical therapy session. He stood by to our dining room table and worked on balancing on one foot. Linguine kept batting at his hands, trying to get him to pet her. Previously, Robb could barely balance on one foot. Now, he can do this for around forty seconds.

But that wasn't all. They worked on kneeling, which Robb finds freaky because it goes against all the spinal precautions that were drilled into him immediately following his accident.

But that wasn't all. Robb and Doreen did what he called excruciating stretching exercises, followed by electrical stimulation.

And after all that, he cooked dinner for us.

What a guy!