October 11

Well this past month has been busy for Kelley.... we went to Julie Mungers wedding at the end of September where she saw alot of people from many of the past worlds both Julie and Kelley have been a part of over the years. And of course many people who have not yet seen Kelley since this all happened. It was of course great to see everybody, but also frustrating to not have much mobility. The new wheel chair tires helped alot, but still pretty tough negotiating "natural" ground. We were both in the ceremony and it was truly special to be part of such a wonderful event in our good friend Julie's life. Afterwards Kelley came back to Tahoe with me, since Kurt was out of town for a few more days on a trip to Minnesota. Fortunately Kelley was able to bring her "easy stand" , a great machine that enables her to stand up right in a supported manner. So she was able to recoup some from the weekend, and start getting back into her exercise routine a little bit. Fortunately the weather was great, so Lisa and I took her to a handicap accessible trail next to Lake Tahoe at Taylor Creek. This trail is absolutely gorgeous, the kokonee salmon were in full spawn, and we even got to watch an 8 month old bear cub play around in the creek trying to catch a salmon for about 20 minutes. Its been the closest to nature I think Kelley has been since this has happened, and she was soaking it in....I then took her to her "killer" thursday, which starts with a visit to Dr. Zhu in the morning (gots lots of needles in her lower back for the first time), and then to SCI FIT. I am amazed at how hard they work her in her 2 to 2.5 hours there. Pretty much continuously moving from exercise to exercise, and much of it is supported weight bearing. The research is really showing that weight bearing exercises rebuild the nerve cells and brain connections more quickly, and Kelley continues to show progress. Her left foot can push pretty darn hard now, and she said that last week the trainers at SCI FIT really feel she has made some significant progress and can really see some quad engagement now. Unfortunately killer thursday is followed by painful friday, as it seems clear that the exercise does aggravate the pain response....and so it goes. The last news is that her adaptive canoe seat came in, and Kurt bought a 2 man canoe that is suitable for them to use. So they are hoping to take it out sometime this weekend. Although Kelleys life is not easy (and that is an understatement, believe me) she continues to focus on the positive and looking forward. Til next time, Sue