|
Post by Claire on Sept 28, 2008 21:43:39 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by james13 on Sept 28, 2008 22:09:53 GMT -5
he's also making the choice to seriously destroy his back!!!
|
|
|
Post by Triassic on Sept 29, 2008 7:57:00 GMT -5
i don't know about that. his hip joints are taking something of a beating, tho. what's weird is his gait is kinda similar(tho better and more functional)than mine was as a teen; same stiff-legged, side to side swing. really, its hard for me to see this guy as 'paralyzed'. he's obviously got motive power in his lower body. he's not dragging himself along by shoulder and arm strength alone.
|
|
|
Post by Triassic on Sept 29, 2008 8:08:30 GMT -5
but i wish for this dudes sake that he'd be satisfied w/what he's got, and quit trying to push it; going for more distance, better times, etx..what he''s got-being able to stand up straight, to sit and rise, to walk at speed for a couple hundred yards, to handle stairs, that's plenty. i had all that at 22; but i wasnt satisfied with it because i was comparing myself to Normal. now i'd be ecstatic to be able to just stand upand ambulate 20 ft.
|
|
|
Post by roger888 on Sept 30, 2008 1:08:41 GMT -5
Dont like to think what nerve damage he is doing ot his hands too thats if he is real,even though he has got a better action than I ever did when I was younger.Reason why I stopped using the sticks & calipers,if your arms & hands take a beating doesn't do your mobility in a chair much good in later life.
|
|
|
Post by james13 on Sept 30, 2008 1:29:34 GMT -5
its just not practical. i wouldn't be able to hold my coffee!
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Sept 30, 2008 7:12:01 GMT -5
Fubb, he's not a fake; take a look at his other videos and the comments on the video: This guy was a part of the Sit Tall Stand Tall rehabilitation program. The site details their program and shows bios of graduates of the program...many walking like this. Check out the "No Chairs" section. I wondered what you guys would think of the concept. What are the benefits of walking like this compared to wheeling? Seeing eye-to-eye with people? Health benefits of standing vs. sitting? Some kind of psychological thinking that it's better to walk in any manner possible than to use a wheelchair? Increased accessibility? Watching the videos, what strikes me the most is the sheer slowness of it compared to wheeling.
|
|
|
Post by mrjefffurz on Sept 30, 2008 11:59:24 GMT -5
there's something most people simply never quite understand,,,on a day to day basis as we conduct our lives the chair is usually the least of our problems,,,,its just a different manner of getting to the parking lot to the dance floor,,,its all the OTHER stuff that goes along with our different disabilities that have the major effect on our quality of living...when i was in rehab they really pushed returning for a second rehab to learn to use braces & crutches to do the gaiting thing,,,i could see that the amount of stress this would put on my arms wouldnt be worth the being upright...
|
|
|
Post by BA on Sept 30, 2008 20:50:44 GMT -5
Fubb, I totally agree with you. I was actually offered a job at one of these places and turned it down flat, on principal, despite the fact that there would have been loads of eye candy there for me. FWIW, I also feel that it preys on people and their wallets at a time when they are most vulnerable. The bottom line message is that using a chair is unacceptable and that you are a failure if you can't stand up, walk and throw your chair in the garbage.
Granted, weight bearing excercize is very important and has great benefits all around, specifically for bone density, bowel, bladder and circulation, but what this guy is doing will all come back to haunt him. We now see thousands of people who had polio as kids, who have been walking around for years, completely breaking down from Post Polio Syndrome. They have totally fatigued what muscle they had left and end up with more disability than they had in the immediate aftermath of their illness.
Unless you are quite incomplete and have a functional gait, this is a total and cumbersome waste of time and energy that could be well spent elsewhere.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Sept 30, 2008 21:11:36 GMT -5
Thanks Fubb, I appreciate your reply. I was perplexed by the whole thing...it didn't make sense to me. But I didn't trust my judgment not to be completely skewed on an issue like this. As always, I'm glad to hear from you guys.
|
|
|
Post by Triassic on Oct 1, 2008 1:39:53 GMT -5
well...hold on now; if this guy really IS a t12 complete para, what he's doing here is pretty amazing. SOMETHING got him walking. he's obviously reasonably stable on his feet. he's not straining a whole lot...at least in that hosp. corridor he looks like he's doing very well. let's acknowledge that anyway, however one feels about the whole rah-rah 'get out of the w/c you loser crip' vibe.
|
|
|
Post by BA on Oct 1, 2008 14:13:36 GMT -5
What got him walking was many hours of hard work, balance training, learning how to use accessory muscles and plenty of cash. Rah! Rah! Rah! If this is what he wants to do and it is of paramount importance to him to be a "the para who lives upstairs", then more power to him. He must use a chair at some point, b/c once those braces come off he doesn't have a leg to stand on...unless he likes the dusty butt method of getting around.
|
|
|
Post by dolly on Oct 1, 2008 15:51:03 GMT -5
He must use a chair at some point, b/c once those braces come off he doesn't have a leg to stand on...unless he likes the dusty butt method of getting around. it appears he prefers the dusty knee method. he claims to "walk" 100% of the time. www.risetowalk.com/to each his own, but james13 has a good point! its just not practical. i wouldn't be able to hold my coffee! i echo the concern that these programs (and their clients) often seem of the mindset that using a wheelchair is some sort of failure if you have any ambulation ability at all. i can understand a person wanting to get as much functional return as they can, however even so it seems to me that using a chair would often be a more sensible/practical choice and one that allows for a much fuller life in many cases. and the danger of wear and tear would definitely be a concern. i think for someone like this guy to be determined to "walk" 100% of the time, it has more to do with self-image than anything else. and hey, that's cool if that's what's most important to him. he seems to be doing pretty well! but i can't imagine that for most folks it wouldn't be a pretty limiting choice.
|
|
|
Post by E on Oct 1, 2008 16:24:13 GMT -5
Definitely increases his options for sexual positions...
|
|
|
Post by james13 on Oct 1, 2008 16:59:27 GMT -5
after seeing that last video i'm just not buying it at all. maybe someone with a t-12 can help me but with a t10/11 i could never even dream of crawling. i too am complete and that means total paralysis from site of injury down. do t12's have hip flexors? he definately has full use of his hips and from the look of it some of his glutes, hams, and quads. i'm not questioning his sci i just think he got diagnosed as a complete at first and was really incomplete after the initial damage healed. that kind of thing does happen alot and most doc's have no idea what they're talking about.
|
|