Last week was pretty exciting for Mike as his new walker finally arrived! He always wants to practice walking, but it hasn’t been super safe for Mike or William the way they were doing it…with Mike holding on to Williams arm and William trying to balance Mike while walking backwards. The risk for falling and injury were pretty high!
We will all need practice using this walker with Mike, and we will still need 2 people….one to be in front guiding, and the other behind with the wheelchair for when Mike is too tired or shaky to keep going. The “saddle” will keep Mike from falling if his legs give out, but it is more of a safety feature, not something for him to take a rest on…plus he says it is not very comfortable.
The first goal is to work on Mike’s form while using the walker. We need to make sure he is standing up straight and taking smaller steps. He wants to do as many laps of the hallway as he can, but in order to get more stable while walking, form is more important than distance!
Wilderness Park and Park Lake
Mike was able to check out the new paved path through the Wilderness Park. It makes for a smooth ride in the wheelchair and its really nice! We did keep going on the gravel path to do a full loop and sit by the water for a bit..
We also spent one morning at Park Lake. There is just something so peaceful and relaxing about sitting by the water….good for the soul!
Paddling with Adaptable Outdoors
Mike went out on Beauvais Lake with Adaptable Outdoors last week too!! I got to see how they actually get Mike into the canoe, which was neat…I wasn’t really sure how that worked, because it is different than getting him into the trail rider, which is just a stand and pivot.
It was a beautiful morning, the smoke in the air actually seemed to keep the temperature down. Mike got skunked again as far as fishing goes, but got to enjoy the swans, eagles, loons…
and even got to see a Pine Marten eating a giant fish under some branches!
As always, thanks for following along on Mike’s Journey! If you would like to send him words of encouragement, you can text him at 587-257-3844, and someone will read your message to him!