Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Mega Update Of Progress




9 months ago I got rid of my old spine Dr who wanted me to have risky procedures and take more pain meds and I started attending a physiotherapy gym 2-3 times a week to see if I could increase some stability in my joints.

When I started at the gym even walking was extremely painful, my arms could do 5lb reps for less than a minute before muscle spasms meant that I would loose control of my arms, my legs couldn't do much better at 20lbs. Everywhere I went so did my wheelchair.

Going to this gym 2-3 times a week was a massive strain on time, I still had to work and work doesn't stop because you have several hours a week you need to dedicate to therapy. The first few months were hell, it was painful. very painful, I would get back home after a session and not want to do anything but get in a bath and go to sleep. There was massive a increase in muscle spasms that made it almost impossible for me to sleep at night and mentally I was drained.

I went to see my PCM / GP because I was getting extremely depressed, as I am not someone who typically suffers from depression I knew it was just from months of poor sleep caused by the muscles. My Dr gave me an anti-spasm drug used for MS that I could take at night before bed. Now instead of being woken up hourly I often get 4 hours of sleep before a spasm wakes me and just being able to sleep again gave me the drive to dive back in to things I had shut out of my life.




Now I want to take a moment to thank some people. I am a very fortunate person to have a strong group of friends around me in Paintball, friends who don't let me not do something because I feel I won't be as good as I should be and I really want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for never letting me say no. A few of you are in the pic above but those who aren't, you know who you are. Without you guys I would have given up a long time ago.

Now this isn't a happily ever after post but it's one of real progress that 9 months ago I didn't believe was possible. Today I leg pressed 90lbs (reps over 3 mins), my arms managed 48lbs (reps over 3 mins). This month I have gone to the grocery store twice, leaving my wheelchair in the car. While I was in agony by the time I returned to my car it was still a massive improvement and using a shopping cart to help me walk I didn't fall!

So whats next? Well I keep going, keep upping the weights to try and get my muscles around the ligaments and joints that are causing the issues stronger. I hope that my close group of friends are still stood by me pushing me and motivating me to continue. I just got cleared to use the assisted sit up machine at the gym which means I can start to get rid of some of the extra weight I have gained and get toned again which will in turn bring my confidence in my body back up. I will still need the chair when lots of standing / walking is involved as my issues with my lower spine will never go away, but, every goal I hit at the gym, every lb i add to the weights is a sign of an improvement in the quality of life I have in both the short and long-term.

So for now I keep on doing what I am doing and try to increase muscle mass as much as humanly possible in the hope that the stability given by them slows down the spasms.




Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Update on Broken Body

So I know a bunch of you have been asking for health updates so here goes.
I have been sent to a new spine clinic, it's set up as kind of a spinal chord injury rehab but they have some fancy smanzy torture devices. With the 2 hour examination they give you before they do anything they found some more problems. Most people when you stand up your legs stop when they are straight, mine keep going. On top of that when i bend my legs they fold inward so the ligaments don't support the joints which are already eroding and now the muscles are trying to do the work of all 3... this has caused insane weakness in my legs which is causing me to fall often and I almost need to lift my legs with my arms - I see the strength weakening on a weekly basis. Because of them being so flexible in ways they shouldn't be I have to get fitted for some leg braces. I went in today but they decided normal ones just wouldn't work so I have to go to a prosthetic place and get some custom ones as these will be for long term use. Oh an my legs aren't aligned either, they be wonky as hell.

These braces don't mean I am wheelchair free, they simply will provide me with a bit of extra support while I am walking around the house and hopefully prevent me falling.

Ok so that's the legs, now the top part of the body. Spine is eroding around the lower Facets, nothing can really be done about this, but around that I also have scoliosis so my spines pretty bent and curved in a way that's affected my entire posture - and straightening into what it should be is a painful process. Right now long-term this seems to be my life. These guys are great and hope that I can at least increase my muscle tone but have made it very clear that the problems I have can't be fixed beyond that so the braces / cane / wheelchair are long-term plans and look to be permanent.

Right now pain is a daily issue but I keep myself busy and distracted. The biggest thing is the muscle spasms, they come out of nowhere and can be so incredibly painful it is hard to keep a straight face in meetings. The hope is that with this special work out equipment they have I can strengthen my muscles to reduce the spasms.... which would be amazing because for the last 8 months I have been in a constant state of exhaustion and I know because of it I have neglected many of you. So thanks for being patient guys and enjoy my badly written essay.

So if you are out of date the list so far:

Osteomylacia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Facet Erosion, Ligaments too long, Scoliosis

On a good note because of my insanity I have decided in a few weeks to come back to YouTube on my own personal channel, coming out of the 'cripple closet' so to speak and maybe share my journey into the world of limited mobility.

FYI: No pity please, I can still kick all your asses. #fightmeatpax