Today’s physical therapy was awesome.
I started stretching by myself while Amy took care of something and when she came back to the room she said “Look at you, showing off.”
She has this way of making me realize how far I’ve come. It’s good for me. Not like how someone you don’t really know might just say “that’s a great job!” in a really exaggerated voice. She’s really genuine and I’m going to miss her honest yet critical feedback and support.
Later, as I did my side plank she asked “Have you tried 45 second yet?” I told her about how I had tried it once — just once — because it was really hard. When I finished I felt dizzy and was glad I already was on the ground so I couldn’t fall. I held it for about 40 seconds in therapy today.
(Tonight, while laying on the floor next to my son while he played, I held it for 45 seconds, twice in a row on my left side. I still have to do the right side later.)
The “wobble board” kicked my butt! I felt like I was teetering on the edge — or about to go down a black diamond hill on a snowboard I don’t know how to use. It was really hard and I have no idea how long I was on that thing. It couldn’t have been too long because she had me stop for a little break and go again. But it was a transition for me in a way.
It didn’t hurt. And this time, somehow, I knew it wouldn’t hurt. I was focused on holding my balance rather than on how my body felt. I was thinking about my feet, my legs, my back and my pelvis. That was pretty cool.
The last thing we did today was the elliptical. I got my heart rate up to 122 and kept it there as best I could. It made me think of my OB in Omaha, before we moved, who’d told me not to overdo it exercising because of baby’s heart rate. When I got close to the six-minute mark, where I stopped last time, I asked Amy if we were going to six minutes.
“You’re going to seven,” she said. I felt like she’s said “I dare you” and I was pumped! It was wonderful. I even started to imagine myself on the machine for 30 minutes. I told my husband as soon as I got back to campus.
“Seven minutes on the elliptical today, Baby!”
One day at a time. A step forward at a time.
Separated at Birth 