This morning on my walk, I had an amazing breakthrough! My walking has already gotten much better, more natural, with the ability to pick up my right leg more quickly; my shoulders and torso swing in rhythm and I'm much quicker. I told Betsy this morning that it helps my right arm to straighten (it wants to grip up) if she just momentarily touches it. If she holds it, it fights her and resists; but if she just touches it, it automatically relaxes. Much like a horse's mouth, I suppose! A few minutes later, my arm was gripping, and she DIDN'T touch me, but I THOUGHT of her touching me, and boom; my right arm relaxed! I did it several times! The brain must send different messages; if I think, "arm down", it fights me, but if I imagine Betsy touching my hand, it relaxes immediately! It's so interesting to learn the different ways the brain responds.
We had another interesting discovery last week. I was working hard at getting my right knee to bend, so I was picking each of my legs up very high, like exaggerrated marching. Betsy began to do it beside me in the hopes that my body would mimic hers. I learned about "mirror neurons", and it may not be exactly like this, but this was our mirroring effort. Sure enough, it was better!
My plans for Houston are progressing extremely well. The horse I am riding, owned by Kathleen Jones, is named Rondo Del Rey. Rondo's sire is Regazzoni. The owner of Regazzoni, Esther Noiles, wants to do an auction of a breeding to him to help cover my expenses! That's SO amazing because, as I'll have a sponsor if I make the selection trials, Houston is all on me, and despite the amazing help, it's really out of my budget. I am working on a horse for the trials and have a couple of promising options. I'll keep you posted!
One final big possible change. Since my accident, I've had a great deal of trouble sleeping. 4 hours is a good nights sleep for me. But last night, I slept pretty well! This is my thinking; although I've been menally active with writing articles, reading, playing words with friends, managing my business, etc., my brain wasn't tired enough to shut off. With all this preparation for the paralympics i.e. arranging the horse, where to stay, creating a freestyle, finding and organizing my show stuff, a mountain of paperwork, by the time I go to bed, my mind is exhausted enough to rest!
I can't tell you how great it feels to have something to work toward! That's what I love about para; it gives people the abilty to work at being the best they can be even if it's not the best in the world. For me, it gives me the chance to work toward being the best I can be RIGHT NOW. I'm getting first hand experience of the joy that offers.
We had another interesting discovery last week. I was working hard at getting my right knee to bend, so I was picking each of my legs up very high, like exaggerrated marching. Betsy began to do it beside me in the hopes that my body would mimic hers. I learned about "mirror neurons", and it may not be exactly like this, but this was our mirroring effort. Sure enough, it was better!
My plans for Houston are progressing extremely well. The horse I am riding, owned by Kathleen Jones, is named Rondo Del Rey. Rondo's sire is Regazzoni. The owner of Regazzoni, Esther Noiles, wants to do an auction of a breeding to him to help cover my expenses! That's SO amazing because, as I'll have a sponsor if I make the selection trials, Houston is all on me, and despite the amazing help, it's really out of my budget. I am working on a horse for the trials and have a couple of promising options. I'll keep you posted!
One final big possible change. Since my accident, I've had a great deal of trouble sleeping. 4 hours is a good nights sleep for me. But last night, I slept pretty well! This is my thinking; although I've been menally active with writing articles, reading, playing words with friends, managing my business, etc., my brain wasn't tired enough to shut off. With all this preparation for the paralympics i.e. arranging the horse, where to stay, creating a freestyle, finding and organizing my show stuff, a mountain of paperwork, by the time I go to bed, my mind is exhausted enough to rest!
I can't tell you how great it feels to have something to work toward! That's what I love about para; it gives people the abilty to work at being the best they can be even if it's not the best in the world. For me, it gives me the chance to work toward being the best I can be RIGHT NOW. I'm getting first hand experience of the joy that offers.