Get up, stand up. Don't give up the fight!

What a wonderful day. Amy and Jance headed back on Sunday night - Amy to start the final push to prepare the Opportunity Dress Shop at the Harvest Festival for the Berkshire Botanical Garden, and Jancy for schooling purposes. So, I got a taste of a quiet morning at 9 Willow and headed down to Spaulding to talk with Tim a bit before his day got started. That didn't really happen because Tim slept late, which I approve of. When he did wake up, we discovered that he was scheduled for a outpatient session at New England Baptist and we hadn't been informed. Not a big deal, but off we went in a "Cabulance" for a delightful tour of Boston through Back Bay, the Fenway and beyond towards JP. It was a nice time to "just talk."


The session was routine and when we got back to Spaulding, Tim went off to therapy and I went to the lunch room and did some work on my laptop. I needed to leave around 3:00 in order to catch my bus, so I went down to the gym to say goodbye a few minutes before then.


Tim: Hi Dad. I stood.
Kaye: He stood.


So, there I was, needing to leave almost immediately, and also needing to stay in order to absorb this incredible news. So, I tried to get as much information as I could and headed out. I did call Tim when I returned this evening, and this is the full story:


Tim's right leg was put in a full length plastic brace while he was sitting in his chair, which locked his knee and gave that leg rigidity. Then, using a harness, Tim was lifted out of his chair and onto his feet, with legs bent. Gradually he was lifted into a near standing position - just a few inches shy. Then the harness was loosened, and he straightened out his left leg on his own and was standing under his own power and balance! He was positioned between two parallel railings and placed his hands on them for support. The therapist (Kaye) picked up his right foot and moved it forward, leaving weight on the left. Tim then took a step (not that pretty, but still a step) with his left leg. They did that a couple of times. Wow. I came in a little after that. How frustrating is that? I was checking emails about 100 feet away! Just before I left, Tim pointed to his right thigh and showed me a slight flexing movement that he was creating and controlling.


So, how could a day like this get any better? Red Sox Rally Monday, that's how. Tim asked his friend Emily to come down to Spaulding and escort him to tonight's rally at Government Center, a quick ten minute roll away. His status as a chair rider earned him front row spots and he heard speeches and performances by the Dropkick Murphys and The Standells - including Sweet Caroline and Dirty Water. Owner John Henry even sat in on guitar.


http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071001&content_id=2244399&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos



So, it looks like Tim's week is off to a good start! Meanwhile, back in the Berkshires, some cows got loose in Richmond.