Welcome to helpChrisWalk.org

I have mentioned that Chris has regained control of some of his muscles since he started at Project Walk (PW). Here are the details.

Prior to starting at PW, Chris had full muscle control and feeling of touch and pain from his head to the middle of his chest. From the middle of his chest to his waist he had he had only partial control of his abdominal muscles and diaphragm. From his waist down, he had no muscle control at all. As far as feeling, from his chest down, he has limited feeling of touch and no sense of pain.

Chris’s ability to breath is compromised. If he gags on a piece of food, it is a serious matter since his diaphragm cannot function at full strength. I remember one evening when Chris was in the shower. He started choking on some water and was gagging for what seemed forever. He was not getting any better. I was ready to break down the door and do the upward thrust on his chest (the new name for Heimlich maneuver) when he finally was able to clear the water.

Chris also had frequent bladder infections and no stamina. He exhausted very easily.

Since starting PW almost 6 months ago, Chris has had only one bladder infection. That infection was during his first month at PW. His stamina is greatly increased from the regular exercise at PW. In addition, he is now able to lock his legs and stand when leaning face-first against an object! This is particularly important to Chris since he loves to work on his car. See the picture on the “Photos” page.

But the biggest news and reason to continue at PW is that Chris is now able to pedal a bike! See the movie of Chris pedaling an exercise bike on the “Video” page.

Project Walk’s specialty is recognizing and developing newly returned muscle control, not teaching their clients (they don’t call them “patients" ) how to live in a wheel chair. The equipment they use is often designed by their staff for this specific purpose. PW has specially modified a standard exercise bike for use by paraplegics. Using this bike, they can reduce the pedal resistance to zero. This allows the PW staff to detect the slightest muscle action in Chris’s legs.

PW’s staff, always pushing their clients, one day decided to put Chris on the bike. They started the bike themselves, and told Chris to see if he could keep it going. He did it! Chris’s grandparents were with him that day, and needless to say, there were tears flowing down their faces!

The bike is now part of Chris’s regular workout. He is able to pedal it longer each time before his legs exhaust. But the exciting thing about this is that returned motion often triggers additional muscle groups to start working.

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - (By Bob) Reactions, Fevers, Bed Sores

I now appreciate even more the job Lindsay has been doing keeping the website updated with the latest information… it’s been a week since my last update! Lindsay will be back today and so the frequency of updates should improve. This week has been very up and down, in other words stressful, for all concerned. It started out with some good news, namely all the blood tests came back indicating the staph infection was gone. However, the fever did not leave. It consistently peaked at 102 through the week. Because of this, the doctors continued looking for a source of infection. Blood test after blood test, gamma scans, X-rays, CAT scans, you name it. But everything came back negative, i.e., no infection. You’d think we would be happy about that, and we were. But because of the seriousness of the previous infection, the doctors needed to make sure they did not miss anything and repeated all the tests again. In the family’s eyes, their thoroughness was delaying Chris’s transfer to Casa Colina for rehabilitation.

But the doctors had good reason to be thorough. In the mean time, the pain level went from a 2 or 3 to a 10, there was a possible reaction to an antibiotic, bed sores developed, and the fever was now 103! Now enter the possibility that the fever for the past 10 days or so may possibly be caused by the trauma of the injuries and not an infection after all! And the level of pain was so severe that Wednesday, the day it started, Chris looked so horrible when Kim walked in the room to visit him that she called me at work and said, "Come, quick!"… Anyways, as of today, Sunday, the pain has started to subside, and all tests are still coming back negative. Chris has started eating again, and is looking better. The doctors are indicating that possibly later this week, they will release him for transfer to Casa Colina. As for his attitude, Chris is continuing to maintain a good attitude overall. After visits by a couple of pastors from our church where they told him it was okay to have periods of discouagement or depression, Chris realized that when he had those periods, it was normal and he would come out of it. He has worried about these times in the past and it was a help to him to know that the Lord God does not expect us to be perfect, but rather to trust Him daily for our need of the moment. That need can be for emotional strength, physical strength, or whatever, but we are only expected to trust and lean on Him and leave the rest with Him. We continue to pray for Chris's full healing.

Please join us in that! He enjoys your visits, but please let them end no later than 10:00 p.m. Chris and the family continue to make it through these days because of everyone’s wonderful support and encouragement. On behalf of Chris and the family, Thank You Everyone!