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grover
climber
Northern Mexico
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Neebee and John.. all is well.
BM is not belaying from a harness, he is using a block of granite instead.
Someone buy this man a harness dammit!!!! ;)
Great to see you outside amongst the bluffs Mike!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Grover read the fine print! :)
Yea. No leader falls for this guy yet. Top rope with anchor supports only!
Jefe i'm down! I have a feeling a big ol' roadtrip will be in order when the time comes!!
I have lots of taco friends to come visit!!
Great to see you outside amongst the bluffs Mike!
Thanks bud!! Twas simply amazing to be there again!!
Some better shots of my belay setup by Aislinn Merkel
Gotta keep the belay hand strong!!! ;)
Check out http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1618401&msg=2105550#msg2105550
For more pics and info from yesterday!!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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So I know I've been slacking on the progress reports. Truth is i've been pretty darn busy, and got tired of the daily thing a bit. My recovery continues at a rapid pace. I had an amazing weekend at home thanks to my beautiful girlfriend.
Thursday night she picked me up after a very long stressful day. The ride home went well but we stopped for dinner first so i spent a large amount of time sitting before we ever even left the city. I managed up furry creek hill before we had to stop so i could stretch my legs. After a couple more stops we made it home and was very thankful to jump in my cushy bed.
Friday was straight chillin. I didn't get out of bed until noon. It was heavenly. Then lots of tv, followed by a nice dinner with Sandra and some cuddles on the couch.
Saturday was more of the same, with some friends coming over in the evening for a very nice get together.
Sunday was a chillaxing day for both sandra and i. We slept in late, and lazed around the house for a bit. In the afternoon we went swimming, followed by a little sushi dinner.
Monday morning i bid Sandra adieu as she was ever so nice to pack up all my stuff for me.
Then kyle and nina picked me up, and brought me to the smoke bluffs!!
Nina chillin
Brownie says Whattup!!
Ryand gets his groove on
Yula looking cute while Brownie rigs up a rope harness
I was pretty wired that night and had some trouble hitting the hay..
Yesterday was good. I stepped it up in strengthening pt after figuring out how my ankle worked a bit better this weekend. In ot we figured out my hip flexors a bit more and worked on those. Then they moved me to a new room! I'm now in the south wing which is the more independent wing. I get my own room now! Pretty sweet. Less nurses stopping by too which is even sweeter!!
After moving all my stuff i was pretty tired so i asked the drug and alcohol counsellor to come grill me in my room. That all went pretty well and then she left me with 20 mins to snooze before my pt.
I was pretty bagged when i got there so we just did some testing to figure out where my new baseline was with my legs after all the strengthening work i've been doing these past couple weeks. I still need lots more work on my hips, so we did some floor exercises and i got tired pretty fast.
I managed to get my butt off the floor with some tricks she showed me last week, and she sent me back to my room early since i was so bagged from all the goings on of the day. We met one of the vendors in the hallway and went up to my room to discuss the few things i would need to purchase for when i went home. We arranged to look at some forearm crutches, as well as some butt pads. Then my pt took my wheelchair away! No more wheeling for me!!
I passed out for a bit on the other bed, then cleaned my bed (they put all my stuff on it when i moved!) and went to dinner. After dinner, a little taco action, and then my tuesday night pool session. I managed to find some reserve energy in the tank, but kept it pretty mellow. We got back around nine and then i passed out just after 11.
I slept pretty sweet in my own room with little distraction. This morning i got up and went to strengthening, and had another pt right after, where we worked on some driving exercises for my left clutch foot, followed by a little bike time.
Then i had ot where i worked on hip strength again. After a short session i looked at my schedule and found that i was in the pool at one! I had a nap before lunch and then it was off to my first pool pt here in the building!
Pool session was pretty sweet. We did some stretching and then some walking, forwards sideways and backwards. We finished it off with some kicking.
I went back to my room for some taco'ing but it was such a nice day eventually i got bored and had to go enjoy some sun, so i went and grabbed a ball from pt, and played some hoops outside in the courtyard. That wore me out pretty fast so after 45 mins or so i went back to my room to lay down again.
I found myself nodding off around dinnertime, and struggled to get down to the dayroom to eat. I was supposed to go to Tai Chi after, but just didn't have anything left, so i came back to my bed refuge and taco'ed some more. That's pretty much it..
I'm almost walking normally now. Playing ball was pretty tough with a crutch in one hand.. ;)
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harryhotdog
Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
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Good to see you are so busy that you can't get bored. One day you will look back at this as a distant memory and just a blip in your otherwise productive life.
Playing ball was pretty tough with a crutch in one hand
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Post 700! Read that stoke baby!
Good morning Mike, hope you're doing well today. Really happy to see you back out and on belay duty, that's awesome. Keep it up!
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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So I know I've been slacking on the progress reports. Truth is i've been pretty darn busy, and got tired of the daily thing a bit. My recovery continues at a rapid pace.
Great!
Yup, probably best to concentrate on your pt, let other things slide. With a spine injury, the first few weeks and months are critical. Good to hear you are off the wheelchair.
With climbing, I'd recommend an indoor wall and toproping (no leading!) on juggy stuff that is vertical or just slightly overhanging. You can use your upper body to "spot" whatever your legs and feet can stand on/push off of. Lower-angle terrain, however "easy" mightl be pretty challenging. Keep the toprope tightish.
And careful with lowering to the ground, have your belayer go slow and easy.
It's excellent therapy, once your body feels up for it.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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One day you will look back at this as a distant memory and just a blip in your otherwise productive life.
My life's been productive? ;)
Nice pic Harry! Some inspiration for sure. I don't think i'm gonna need these things for that much longer tho... Six months tops.
Look forward to seeing you when you are well again. Do me a favour and give bmacd a call, if you haven't spoken to him lately.
happy to see you back out and on belay duty, that's awesome. Keep it up!
Ya man! Stoked to get out there again! For sure!
For you, BigMike, it's calm waters from here on out!
Thanks ekat! That looks fun! I could totally paddle right now. That would be sweet.
With climbing, I'd recommend an indoor wall and toproping (no leading!) on juggy stuff that is vertical or just slightly overhanging. Keep the toprope tightish.
Yup! That's the plan for sure. Everything else is secondary to my therapy for sure. I just started setting up my room today. It drives Sandra crazy because she stresses when things aren't done, but i have my priorities straight. Everything else will happen in due time..
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Roots
Mountain climber
SoCal
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Looking good Big Mike!
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, just checking up o big mike :)
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Scrubber
climber
Straight outta Squampton
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And now for a message from our sponsers: Uncle Ben says "Hope your mending up well. Have a beer."
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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My life's been productive? ;)
THAT cracked me up! Gak, isn't that how we all feel sometimes?!
I've heard that kittens are good in helping improving rehab time.
So does thinking fondly of your countrymen in uniform.
Just trying to help man.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Thanks Roots and neebee! Good to see your looking out!
Hi Kris! Tell Uncle Ben i'll have one but no more as they mess with my pain meds and dilute them! No fun!
Yowza Bruce! I like kittens!! ;)
Well another day on the gf spine ward. My day started off with my nurse waking me 15 mins early. I wasn't super pleased about it, but i asked her nicely if she could please refrain from doing so in the future..
I started doing a bit of exercise for my morning commute..
I made it to pt early which is rare. Strengthening went well and i bumped up the weight a bit for my leg exercises. I had pt directly after that, and we did some more driving stuff.
Then we focused on my shoulder a bit to help out an old separation i had which is nice, and then off to the bars for some balancing. I was on one of those soft half balls, but upside down, and it was not too hard.
The she says "try it with your eyes closed! " That was hard. I managed to stay upright, but not too much else. We did some more foot routines for my clutch foot, then calf raises followed by some tippy toes walking.
I thought i had a appointment with my pharmacist, but it turned out i was mistaken so i just taco'ed a bit till lunch. Lunch has been quite fun lately, joking around with the usual characters, and some of the nurses.
I went back to my room and started to put up some of my pictures and stuff. It's still pretty disorganized tho, and i kinda like it that way, because it feels like my room growing up.
I got tired of standing after fourty five minutes, so i hit the sack for a bit and chilled. Then i headed off to OT where i had a medical student ask me if he could sit in on our session. I said yes so he started to grill me a bit. After a few questions i turned the table on him. Turns out he helped startup a energy solutions company that installs a lot of solar panels on houses and buildings in california.
Then Nigel showed up and we started off with some barefoot standing and stepping, followed by some short walking without the crutches.
We also did some more hip strengthening stuff and i tried catching and kicking the ball again. After a bit he told me to kick the ball with my eyes closed. I actually did better at that than with visual clues! ;)
We finished up the session with a walk, and a short stint outside in the pouring rain to see how i would fair on the wet grass. It was fine. At the end of the walk, i went back up the stairs that i started my day by going down.
The rest of my day was pretty mellow. Some taco'ing and a bit more room arranging..
Tomorrow is another day and then I get to go home again!! Thanks to Luke and Ais coming to pick me up!!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Great update Mike.
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 5, 2013 - 01:58pm PT
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Whoa man, I can't believe you are doing stairs Mike! That is amazing. The picture of the stairwell kinda made my arse pucker. That's where I screwed up my knee on Monday, at work walking down the stairs. I have a partial tear of my MCL.
Sooooo, ya. I'm stuck at home unable to walk while you are ripping up the carpet over there. Pretty funny ehhhhhh?!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Thanks Bruce!
Awww poor Relic! Which knee did you screw up? The bad one again?
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 5, 2013 - 04:33pm PT
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yeh the right one
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Ohh right knee.. No driving then! No!
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cowpoke
climber
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then I get to go home again!! Woo hoo!!!!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Heck ya!! I found out my appointment with my surgeon isn't till the 29th, but my resident dr, said she would send him an email to ask if it was ok to climb in the gym again!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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I missed a couple of decent pictures when i got behind last week.
Jim Brennan was kind enough to stop by and he, Sandra and i went for a walk..
The next day Sandra snuck me out of the hospital to buy some pants at mec.
Me making my first wheelchair purchase
It was a pretty sweet day and this view from the flagship mec rooftop parking lot.
Luke should be here shortly to pick me up..
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