Friday, October 7, 2011

One Stroky’s Journey: My New Rehab Center

One thousand steps a day with a walker is not an impossible goal, but with the short unobstructed stretches available in my home it can be a little frustrating. Even so, going outside solo to take advantage of wide open spaces is against the rules for me right now.

Fall decor at my new rehab center

Enter my creative therapist, hubby Walter. He introduced me to my new rehab center last week – Walmart!

The aisles that parallel our local Walmart’s interior walls are perfect: perfect weather inside the store, a perfectly even surface, and wide, uncrowded aisles. I can do 400 steps in one circuit of all four sides, rest on a convenient bench then go again, all while husband Walter accomplishes our grocery shopping. The added benefit is that the potential for shopping therapy is always close at hand.

It helps that we prefer to shop during less crowded times and days, and I keep a lookout ahead of me in order to take evasive action and stay out of the way of other shoppers.

My therapists had only recently turned me loose to walk solo as long as I use a walker. My medical equipment angels, neighbors who have loaned me all sorts of sturdy equipment that has been meeting my stroke recovery needs, also loaned me one of those walkers with wheels and brakes.

Then Brenda, one of the therapists, mentioned that 1,000 is the minimum number of steps that one should take each day with the Bioness L300 foot drop system. She said that number provides optimum opportunity for the electronic “reeducation” of the muscles and nerves that need to get to working to help me walk more safely.

That sounded like a great daily target, and I counted steps of my routine paths at home and at my new rehab center, even though I didn’t have the Bioness system.

The good news is we ordered the device, it arrived yesterday, and we are scheduled for next week to meet with Ashley and have it calibrated to my stride.

And then . . . just call me bionic woman when you see me at Walmart!

6 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! There is a thing going around that my pastor asked me to do, I haven't done it yet. It's called "How I saw Jesus At Wal-Mart" and the goal is to spend an hour in Wal-Mart observing, then tell how you saw Jesus. Phil would be better at this than me, I can't take my eyes off the merchandise, while he is observing people.

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  2. I guess that would be an exercise in identifying "the least of these"?

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  3. a fantastic idea. i tell everyone i get my Saturay am walking done by going to the 4 corners of WM. but if i went every day and went around several times, i would be broke in a week.

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  4. Awesome therapy Linda.
    Your Honey is really clever figuring our that adaptation for you.
    I think that kind of walking would be good for all of us. Of course the shopping therapy helps too.

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  5. Great idea. I know a lot of people do mall walking in the winter. Keep up the pace. You are awesome.

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  6. Fantastic idea, glad to hear you are doing so well and persisting with the exercise.

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