greetings from nyc...my recovery is continuing to go well...i'm grateful!...i actually left the house the other day without my cane!...it was just to go down the street to my psych classes but it felt like another big leap for me...it was wonderful to have my right hand available!...i've started working out with a personal trainer who i found on craig'slist...he's affordable thank god and i'm seeing him at least three times a week...i had some concerns working with someone so young but he's been extraordinarily patient and is quite talented working with a stroke survivor...i believe in pt very much...our muscles need to be recruited and stimulated to work and strengthen after the devastating trauma of a stroke...

it's definately a lot of work...the will to regularly do this is a prerequisite...and the results are worth every minute of it...i feel so much better about my recovery after each one of our sessions...doing bridging and situps on a regular basis again feels empowering...and all the squats are strengthening my left leg especially my quads which will get me back to functional walking...

my left arm is continuing to show improvement...my biceps are coming back!...i can now raise my arm against gravity with a 1 pound weight attached to my wrist...i'll have to wait for finger extention but if my wrist can extend so can my fingers...i believe it'll come back!...all my doctors in kiev repeated over and over how important it was to increase my physical exercise after the stem cells were introduced...

my acupuncturist has also been instrumental on my team of providers...he sees me moving towards a very good recovery thusfar...he's also a neurologist...and the only one i've found on my path that i deem worth listening to...he includes scalp acupuncture which stimulates the cortical area responsible for arm/hand movement...his brand of treatment is not for the faint of heart...he's aggressive with needle spinning...and again i feel it's worth it...i like the results i'm getting very much...

i'm hopeful that eventually our country will move closer toward more stem cell research and application to help people who are suffering from a variety of debilitating conditions...it's important to remember that other countries have forged ahead in this promising field and that this therapy is available today if one has the will and resources to leave the usa for foreign, more advanced countries...i'll wager that when this treatment is finally available here it'll cost three times what i paid for it...

i'll keep posting from time to time...my best to all my peers out there...richxxx