Pumping Iron

Fortunately my upper body strength has a spared and I have much the same upper body strength as I had before the accident. This is very good and means that I have enough strength to run my wheelchair and performed many operations of daily living. However, I have never been an athlete and certainly do not claim great muscles. As I move to a
where I am using my arms for everything that I do I will require much greater arm strength than I currently have.

Every day, on my own and with the aid of my therapists I am pumping iron. The therapists have a series of exercises designed to strengthen every muscle in my upper body and I am applying myself to these exercises with a vigor that I never applied myself before the accident.

I have never been very interested in sports and certainly never interested in raising my competitive level with bodybuilding. Now I am on a forced march and I carefully choose the maximum weights but I think I can handle. I know where my body is going with this and I may end up being surprised at what my body looks like at the end of this process.

On the other hand, one of my great frustrations is the inability to perform maneuvers that would be relatively simple for a six month old. Chief among the these is the ability to scoot my body in the bed either toward the head or to one side or the other. My therapist describes the way to do this which involves pushing back with your elbows, raising your body and slowly walking to the right position. Needless to say, I am not even close.