Success in Nebraska

I'm icing my back at the moment. Not because I've re-injured myself but because it feels good. That's the current advice of my latest Physical Therapist here in Seward, Nebraska. "If heat feels good, use some heat. If ice feels good, ice." My family successfully made the transition to Krista's parent's home in Seward, Nebraska with uneventful flights. Krista in particular appreciated the assistance of sympathetic fellow travelers as she unloaded and collapsed the double stroller at the end of the jetway and tried to maintain the two boys, diaper bag, and FAA-certified (heavy) carseat. Her second flight, on a much smaller plane, had a little more eventful boarding, with Josiah voicing his opinion that the plane was much too small to be as fun as the last plane. Fortunately, Krista and the boys were the last to board, so everyone got to hear as Josiah hollered all the way down the short aisle, "Not this airplane! But not this one!"

My journey to Nebraska, on the other hand, was quite uneventful. I took advantage of Denver's long terminals to stretch and walk a few miles between my flights. My physical therapist in Nebraska picked up where I had left off in Washington State. Overall, unfortunately, I had more bad days than good but the general trajectory of recovery has been positive. One day in physical therapy he had me starting to bend forward to start to regain some flexibility. All was well until my back cracked - just like you crack your knuckles - but when it happened, all those unused muscles in my back panicked and tried to "catch" me from falling by tensing all at once. The crack was fine - I just hadn't bent that way in months - but the sudden tensing of long-unused muscles sent some of them into spasms and gave me a sore back and general feeling of unease for almost a week. Shortly after that settled down, I was feeling much better and without thinking, I picked up my leg in the shower to wash my calf and bent over to do so. Again, unused muscles protested and attempted to "protect" me from injury with stabbing, shooting pain in my lower back. For a few days I couldn't bend over far enough to wash my hands in a sink - I had to kneel on the floor so I could keep my back straight and get my hands under the faucet. A few days after this I scared Krista half to death when I reached for a toy as I knelt on the floor - just a little too far and another unused muscle fired those pain signals so quickly and strongly that I do believe from Krista's response that I actually yelped. But this too has now passed as I restrengthen these muscles and continue to add to my considerable daily stretching, rebuilding, and walking regimen. My weight limit is now 25 lbs as long as I keep the weight within 12 inches of my body. So I can pick up my kids again as long as I hold them close!

Despite these minor painful inconveniences, we made most of our speaking engagements here in Nebraska, although we did cancel engagements that were more than a 3 hour drive from Seward or would have required an overnight stay. And now we're back on track with Mission Central in Iowa tomorrow, a visit to Cedar Rapids on Sunday, and arrival in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving by Sunday evening. I already have Physical Therapy lined up in Wisconsin for our short two-week stay. That therapist, too, should take me to the next level probably with more work strengthening muscles, work on recovery of range of motion, and probably some work on lifting dynamics. And, we hope, no more protesting muscles, spasms, or other symptoms. It's still frustrating to have to take it easy when there's so much I want to do. Fortunately, with feeling better physically and getting back into our speaking schedule, my minor depression and self-pity is starting to lift as well. I'm excited to get to our next destination!

-Shauen