A Hitch in My Giddy-up
- Lee Coogle
- Jul 23, 2021
- 2 min read
Thank you to those of you that have reached out to see how I was doing because I “hadn’t posted in a while.” It does mean a lot to me that you care how my recovery is progressing.
Well—like I stated last month, I’m in the slow recovery phase. I was a little down last week because it often feels like the NO recovery phase. I know I’m making progress, but I feel no improvement from day to day. I still have numbness in my toes; when I think back, I’m sure it’s better than it was, but then again, that may just be wishful thinking deep in my soles (sorry—couldn’t resist). (Christine here—I’m no longer his typist, so I guess he thinks he needs to apologize for his own puns now. As if he felt remorse!)
Yesterday was a good day that brought me out of my funk. I went to PT and it was assessment day, meaning I actually got to see objective measures of my progress over the last few weeks. As my dad would have said, I still have a “hitch in my giddy-up.” That’s because I still have weakness in my right hip, which affects pretty much everything. However, the following results show that my hip continues to gain strength:
Balance on one foot (eyes shut): initial assessment 48/56; yesterday 54/56. It took a couple of tries but I successfully balanced on each foot for 30 seconds.
2-minute walk test: initial assessment 234 feet; yesterday 662 feet. Close to 3 times farther!
10-meter speed-walk test: initial assessment 0.6 meters/second; yesterday 1.8 meters/second. This converts to 354 feet/minute or 4 miles/hour (as if I could sustain that!). The video below shows the hitch in my giddy-up, especially at the start.
I still have issues with feelings of numbness, cold, hot, and tingling (a.k.a. “nerve pain”) in my calves, back, right arm, and buttocks. When I asked my neurologist about it, he said that was pretty normal for spinal cord recovery and it should go away. Maybe. It definitely feels different than a few weeks ago and probably better. It started as a pain in the neck but now I have a much lower opinion of it!!
I love to hear from all of you!
Lee, I contacted your daughter because I've been thinking about you since your accident. She directed me here. So happy you are continuing to recover and get your groove back! I will continue to keep you in my prayers 🙏❤
Eileen Mengert Rarick
…so you have a ‘much lower opinion of it’…if your puns are indication of your recovery to normal…I’d say you’re there😂 We missed you while on vacation for almost three weeks. Now that we’re home, I hope we can catch up in person! We’ll call soon 🎈-Nancy & Bob
Lee, you are an inspiration. I’ve been struggling with pain in my back and can’t walk or stand without my lower back clenching. I finally made the move to physical therapy and a personal trainer and when asked: why now, I say: “I wanna be like Lee!”, and then i share your story and your progress. You are amazing. Thank u for sharing your journey with us! Stay the course, change is happening. Much love,
even with your "hitch", you're moving at a good clip! Glad your neck pain is in the past (fingers crossed) and that your butt pain is close 'behind'...couldn't resist. Managing your mood hour by hour is probably harder than a shoulder press. Keep working on it all and the rewards will come!
Great to hear from you again. Keep on keepin' on!