Boy oh boy was I sore this weekend! Day 1 was on a Friday so I got 2 days to recover & I needed it! You name it & it was sore. Bob & I went to check out the Congaree park near here. It has a 2 mile loop of boardwalk mounted above the swamp. I made it 1/2 an hour and my leg was threatening to give out on me so we turned back.

So, today was Day 2. Hour 1 - that treadmill. One person messing constantly with my foot and one person standing behind me (straddling the belt) to 'correct' my hips. I got really frustrated. The hips person kept trying to hold my hips still & straight forward - try walking like that, it is hard and frustrating. The foot person grabbed my foot, turned it inward (my foot keeps trying to 'duck walk') and when she was looking away would make me almost pigeon-toed. Also impossible to walk that way. I got really really upset and frustrated by the end. I was trying so hard. By the end, I'm not proud to admit that I was just focusing on fighting the pigeon-toed and trying to be able to sway my hips so that I could walk. My anger was very near the surface so I said I needed a bathroom break. I asked Bob to come with me & told him that I needed 2 minutes to vent and 3 minutes to gain a better perspective so that I didn't just walk away from the whole thing.

That is how upset I was. I was glad that I recognized that my emotions were getting the better of me (right after stroke, they just overtook all rationality) and I calmed down considerably.

Anyway - Hour 2 - outside for walking and focusing on 'heel strikes', steps, and baby walking lunges. Hour 3 - inside for balancing and theraband strength training.

At various times, they wanted me to throw a ball around while doing something else. They don't realize that a stroker is brain damaged and may not be able to do 2 things at once. I tried to explain, but didn't feel heard.

Bob noticed improvement with dorsiflexion and I think I am getting better. I noticed that, once again, more sleep is necessary for my brain to work through this and recover.

Lastly, I am enjoying the accent here - the added syllable (hee'ul for heel) and the y'alls.