*To learn about Isaac’s story from the beginning, please visit the first blog post in this series.
It’s been three weeks since Isaac first turned on his Epidural Stimulator and moved his legs for the first time in four years. He’s been training hard, receiving daily therapy and making good use of the immune-boosting foods and supplements available to him at the hospital.
One of his physical therapists, Beer, has been with him every day, developing training exercises that helped with his core strength and his trunk muscles. His goal was to help Isaac be able stand up without the use of the parallel bars to support himself. He did this with a combination of light boxing exercises for mobility, aquatic therapy and core stabilisation exercises.
From being unable to use the muscles in his lower back and his abdominals, Isaac became able to stand longer and gain much more mobility in his trunk due to his and Beer’s efforts. So much so, that after three weeks he was surprised and delighted at the results.
He stated during his interview,
My trunk muscles are quite a bit better and I’m almost able to do a sit up now, which I thought would be impossible before this.”
Isaac was definitely reaping the rewards of his efforts and dedicated therapists like Beer and Yasinee, who you’ll remember was his acupuncturist. Not only was his body responding well to his epidural stimulator and to his training, his health was great. He felt more balanced and centred than he had been in some time. All that was left to do was continue to push forward and get his body ready to for the tougher days to come, when he would have to let go of the parallel bars altogether and take his legs out for a test drive.
Click here to read the next part of Isaac’s story.
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