As many of you know April of 2004 my life and those of my family and friends were changed forever. Two ambulance rides, 12 hours of surgery, four days in the nuro ICU followed by two months on the rehab for University of Michigan hospital were just beginning of my long and difficult road of recovery.
Once home I started outpatient rehab with the University of Michigan. Here the focus was on regaining balance and control of my life, strengthening was geared toward learning how to drive and transferring from chair to bed. Although very helpful I refused to accept a life of sitting in a power wheelchair and depend on others for my survival.
It was then that I took my first step away from the traditional medical model of spinal cord injury rehab and into the new and groundbreaking theory of recovery. This step took me to The Recovery Project in Livonia, Michigan. The program of intensive physical therapy three hours a day three days a week. This program included water therapy, un weighted gate training, and intensive strength training in a "real" gym. It was while at this program I heard of Project Walk, this program was one more step away from traditional medicine.
Along with being one step further away from traditional rehab it is also in San Diego California. After a four-day visit over the 2004 holiday season my family and I decided there was no better place to continue towards our goal. So the first weekend in February of 2005 we packed up the U-Haul and headed west. Project Walk has been all that we could have hoped for and more. Since moving to California I've left the power chair and now use a manual chair for getting around my upper body is much stronger than balance has improved tenfold. My legs which were beginning to look like sticks have started to regain much of their original muscle mass. With the high spirits of all the trainers in the other clients in building, it would be difficult to not be extremely positive and optimistic about recovery.
Without the support and help of my amazing family and friends I would never be able to get through these difficult times. Thank you to everybody who's been there and continues to be there for me and my family
~~Nate~~
~~Nremmert@emich.edu
