Tuesday March 6, 2012

“My legs are feeling more like my legs. I feel more connected to them now. They used to feel like they were in a vice grip all the time, and now they feel much lighter”

This was part of a conversation I had with Nick this morning. He also told me how good it felt when a friend and fellow client at Project Walk seriously asked him yesterday if he actually had a spinal cord injury. Less than a year ago his spine surgeons told me he would never walk again, and now he’s being asked if he even has a spinal cord injury. That feels good!

Speaking of feeling good. Nick got a 90 minute massage today. Again, why isn’t he doing this more often? I have massaged him quite a bit over the last few months, but not nearly enough. And today was the first paid massage he’s had in a long time that he felt was exceptional. I’m pretty sure he’ll be seeing her again soon.

Nick is beginning to get a really sensitive spot at the bottom of his right stump. He says it feels like the bone is going to poke through the skin. Now, we’ve been monitoring it, and it’s not going to poke through; it just feels that way to him. How his prosthetist explained it to us is that the severed bone is still growing, trying to attach to another piece of bone. It’s the same exact healing process our bodies go through when we break a bone. So the tip of the bone in his stump has actually grown a bit. You can feel it when you touch it. That uneven piece of bone growth is poking his skin and scar tissue just the right way to make it super sensitive. Thankfully he doesn’t notice it when he’s standing. If he ever does, that’s when something will have to be done. For now, it’s ok, but it’s just weird!