Bill, Weds. March 19: videos self-standing +++

He stands from a chair without any assistance

He walks at a much better pace (and for a longer distance than I can record for uploading here)
 

And standing without the cane

 

His sister Dianne says he looks younger because she hasn't seen him this size since he was in high school.

Bill, Fri. March 14, lots of walking, lots of happy

Bill and Ayn have extended their Bay Area trip one more day. They will be able to attend the Grateful Dead Trivia Night, then on Monday have lunch with his boss and maybe some coworkers.

What has he been doing? His report:

"Just walked in from the cab to the hostess station, our friend Kate estimates a few hundred feet."

[Yes everybody put your hands up, put your hands up and say WOW.]

"I've been working on getting up from chairs on my own. Plus sitting in regular chairs in the restaurant. So exciting."

Bill: Tues. March 11: extended Bay Area trip

Almost everyone who is friend or family of Bill will have seen his post on Facebook, but for the few who aren't on FB, here is the scoop in Bill's words: (and if you don't know Grateful Dead, 'Phil' is Phil Lesh, original founding member of The Grateful Dead)

"A rare and different opportunity presented itself last night: After the show, Jill brought Phil over to say hi, and he asked what was up with the wheelchair. When I told him what happened, he asked whether we would be at the other shows this week. Since we were due to go home today, I told him we had considered it, but couldn't get tickets for those highly sought-after dates. He excused himself and came back with another fellow, who he introduced as his business manager and said he would put us on the guest list. So the guy took our names, and when we got back to the hotel (after a terrible cab ride), we extended our hotel reservation and changed our plane tickets back home, so now we're all set for Phil's birthday shows!"

As for continued advancements in walking: Bill is (rightfully) proud in texting often to say how much he has walked from the room to the cab, or from the cab into the restaurant, or standing 15 to 30 minutes at a time. "It's really adding up!"

Bill, Sunday March 9: lotsa walkin'

This outing must be really good for Bill. He reports he walked from their hotel room to the front door for the cab this evening.  Then he walked from the cab into the restaurant, and just spent a half hour standing in the showroom.

Bill: Weds. March 5: off to the Bay Area!

Today is Eight Months.

Bill and Ayn are fans of Grateful Dead music. This past week they set off to Terrapin Crossroads, a venue in the Bay Area for Deadheads! 

Here they are, preparing to go through TSA screening.  The agents were very nice.  Bill had called TSA the day before their flight, and got direct calls back from PDX and SFO within 20 minutes. An agent met us at the airline counter for the escort back. (The airline agent, however, was a bit of a ditz, but nothing fatal.)  As I watched from afar, I saw that the couldn't stack their electronics in one of those slide-through bins.  SO: one bin for a Mac Air, another bin for the other Mac Air, one bin for the two iPads, one bin for cell phones and one pair of shoes.  By the time they were ready to go to the hand screening area, I believe their were four or five agents to push him, carry his cane, and carry all the bins and carry-ons.

Bill posted various pics on Facebook, so if you're connected to him, these are just repeats.

The view from their first class, first row seat (you are looking at the flight attendant's jump seats).

First class appetizer

To get from the airport to their hotel, they had three buses. Two good drivers, one jerk. I guess that happens, but I have to believe humanity is better than that, and they just got a bad draw.
 
  Front row seats for the shows

 
 

Bill: week ending Feb. 28: two therapies, short shopping, long walk

Yes, Bill had PT and OT this past week. 

OT continues to work a lot on hand and shoulder stretches, as well as overall alignment.

PT was asked by Bill and Ayn to specifically work on getting into and out of the airplane seat. Next week is their trip to the Bay area.  Lucky them, they are flying first class so there is more room. The team worked through a mock setup of how tight the area might be, where Ayn should stand, and some other tips. 

After therapies, there was a short trip to Whole Foods. Oh, we also went by the post office, thinking we might try for the passport  again, but realized Bill's wallet (with both their ID's) was back at the apartment. Oh, well, another time when we can get there right at 9:00.

Speaking of the apartment, once we were back, Bill wanted to go outside and take a longer walk. It went well, even with a bit of wind chill, and he covered about 60 feet. The last part was even a little uphill. 

One final good note of progress: over the prior week, Ayn has been able to change her position for helping him stand from a chair. She had been at his front/side, stabilizing the left knee and helping with a p-u-l-l.  He doesn't need the knee help now, so she can stand behind and give ever-so-slight of a push when needed. Much easier and safer for her back and shoulder.  She's pretty small, and Bill's fairly big, so we have all worried about her getting injured. 

So as always, Hooray Bill!