Always Up for a Challenge

It has been almost three years since I had brain surgery. Sometimes I can't BELIEVE it has been that long, and sometimes three years seems like no time at all. When I think about what really happened, and where I was to where I am today, I am almost impressed! But I didn't get to where I am today by just doing an hour of therapy 3 days a week. That is what I started out doing, sure. But soon, I was just itching to work out. I am, and always have been, a naturally physically active person. I have always liked "the burn" when I worked out; I love pushing my physical limits, breathing hard and sweating. It is the ultimate release for me.  I admit, this is something that not everyone is born with.

My brain injury essentially stripped me of every single natural physical ability I seemed to have. But in my head, with every thing that I have ever done since my injury, my attitude is that, "I'm an athlete; I can do this." This attitude can both elevate me, and absolutely devastate me. To go from a place where something is easy and natural, to a place where the same things are now excruciatingly hard or seem nearly impossible, is one of the hardest transitions I have ever had to make. But like many things, I could only cry about it for so long.

The first workout I did on my own was the Nu Step. I got bored with this very quickly but kept going just to feel like I was working out. Soon, I started going to the pool, which was a dream. In the pool, I almost felt like myself again.  I worked on strength with water weights, and natural water resistance, walking, and even did some aqua jogging. During this time, I got rid of my wheelchair. Between the Nu Step, pool, and weekly physical therapy I was feeling better and better. But it still wasn't enough for me.

Nu Step machine!!That is not me; I don't think I ever looked that pleasant on it.

I will start off by saying that I am very lucky and blessed that my father worked where he worked. At the time, he worked with a college football team that had an indoor practice facility was a huge, beautiful place housing a field turf football field. In the evenings, I started going there with him where we would do all sorts of activities from 2 footed jumping down the hash marks, side to side shuffling, back pedaling, even some jogging (until I couldn't stop hyper extending my knee and it got a little dangerous). I felt so good!! I felt like I was really working and that I was getting stronger and more stable. To this day, I credit those workouts to kick starting my real recovery.

While working out in the practice facility, I caught the attention of the football strength staff. The head strength coach, Mike, approached me and offered for me to come to the weight room and workout with him one day. He had been working already with an incredible guy named Brock, the brother of one of the players, who had been paralyzed from the waist down in a tragic car accident. He was getting Brock to walk again. You don't often see something like that first hand, so naturally, I was impressed. I went in the next day to work with Mike and within moments he was testing how I walked and had me doing squats with a weighted vest (I did have spotters!). I could tell, in that moment, that my world was about to change. From that day on, for about a year, I went in to the weight room for 2 to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. Within that year I can't even tell you how much I changed both physically and mentally. I was pushed beyond any limit I had. The change in how I walked, held myself, and moved in general was outstanding. Not only that, but Mike and his staff made me feel like I was a part of a family. I had friends my age that saved me physically and mentally.  The girl that worked with me every single day, is one of my greatest friends of all time.

I can't stress how important it was for me to not only work out, but to be pushed so that I noticed myself getting better and better (which means more and more normal). It gave me confidence; it gave me the release I needed; it gave me what I really needed - it made me feel like me! When I moved back to NYC, I took the lesson that working out truly helped get me better and worked out for a couple of hours 5 days a week, and still do it today. Yes, a lot of my natural physical ability was taken from me, but I am still an athlete, and I can do just about anything!



I will post more on my actual workout's soon!

To read more about Brock Mealer and his accident: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/the_bonus/08/31/brock.mealer/index.html

To see Mike's facebook page, visit https://www.facebook.com/BarwisMethods