First Steps and New Beginnings

Best. Day. Ever.

I had an appointment with Aaron, my prosthetist, today. It was to check the fitting of the socket which attaches my residual limb to my prosthesis. My prosthesis is still being custom built at the factory so it's not ready yet. The socket is made to fit as tight as it possibly can over my residual limb. The reason for this is once I start walking, my residual limb will shrink at a must faster rate. By starting with the smallest socket possible it will help me keep a good fit for a longer period of time with my final socket. Getting my leg into this very tight socket was difficult and painful...very painful. It took almost 10 minutes to work my way into it but once I got in there it felt okay.

Then the most miraculous experience took place. I took my very first steps! The socket was attached to a loaner prosthesis so it was a little more awkward than my custom made one will be. At first I had to just practice putting a little weight on it. Then we moved to the double bars. I went all the way to the end of the bars and back! It was the most amazing feeling! I was surprised by how overcome with emotion I felt. I could not hold back the tears of joy. Aaron is so encouraging and tough at the same time. He strikes the perfect balance between pushing me to achieve my goals while having empathy and compassion at the same time. Aaron is a fellow amputee and we will be lifelong friends! He's very excited about my progress and drive. He says I walked farther today than most of his patients after having had their prosthesis for 3 weeks. I'm so encouraged by his words and I can't wait to really dig my heels in and get some hard work done over the next few weeks. At my appointment next Friday I will be coming home with a new leg! Aaron will give me the loaner prosthesis I used today if my own prosthesis isn't finished yet (it probably won't be.)
I'm so happy that I don't even feel the extra pain from having put my leg through so much today. I have to many good endorphins pumping through my body. I suspect tonight and tomorrow won't be so easy but it's all part of the process. I'm so thankful for everyone who knew I could make it this far. I'm not done yet so please don't stop praying for me.

Aaron feels my prognosis for running again some day is very good. I can't even complete that sentence without becoming emotional. That's really the carrot at the end of the stick for me. It's at the core of every difficult step I take to progress forward. Below is my new favorite video from the Canadian Paralympic Committee called Unstoppable.