Walk a Mile in Robb's Shoes

Robb walked a mile today.

We had a sunny day. Robb and his physical therapist went for a an hour and a half walk, which covered a mile of ground.

What's most exciting about this (for me) is that Robb walked most of this without his cane. Doreen would hand Robb back the cane when he was standing and resting.

The first thing Robb worked on was walking a very straight line, which he couldn't do. He apparently looked like a drunk out for an afternoon stroll, accompanied by a nice lady carrying his cane and occasionally grabbing onto the bottom edge of his brace.

Another thing they worked at was walking without spreading his feet very far apart, laterally. Up until now, Robb has been keeping his feet wider apart than is needed, which is giving him a un-natural gait.

When Robb got down to the lake, they walked along on the grass, which was squishy from the rain, and quite a challenge. Robb really had to concentrate on this walking, but when he paused, he told Doreen that it made him think of the DARPA Grand Challenge, which is a race for completely autonomous (that is, not operated in any way by humans) robotic automobiles that takes them through a course of rocky terrain and mountains. In the past, the cars had trouble processing information when they tried to both navigate the patch of land that they were on, and also look ahead and start to make decisions about the next part of the course.

Robb felt the same way. He also found that he had to think so hard about walking, that he couldn't spare any mental energy to talk to Doreen, and had to save his observations for breaks.

Doreen noted that Robb walked faster than she's ever seen Robb go when they were walking across a particularly hair-raising intersection.

And amazingly, Robb wasn't totally exhausted by all of this. He had dinner started, and when I got home, he went to lay down and had me finish cooking.

Saturday!!!

Robb's sister and her daughter arrive tomorrow for a visit. We're trying to figure out fun activites that won't be totally draining on Robb's stamina.

One thing we are not likely to do is go for a drive down Highway 1 near Pacific. The rain has caused sink holes along the stretch of road called Devil's Slide, so for now that road is closed. indefinitely. Darn it! I was hoping to drive down the coast, and look at the beaches and the harbor seals and their pups.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Fun activity not too draining and my most favorite thing to do in San Fran -- go to the Ghiradelli Factory. Who doesn't like chocolate????
Lisa said…
Sadly, They've moved to the outer burbs of San Leandro, and I don't think they offer tours.

But Scharffen Berger does!

http://www.scharffenberger.com/

Ans there's the Jelly Belly factory, which could be fun, but it is a bit of a distance from us.

http://jellybelly.com/
Anonymous said…
This gives a whole new meaning to the idea of walking a mile in someone else's shoes. I doubt that many people could do it as well as you did Robb. Congratulations!
Bobbie

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