Swimming

Things are progressing with my recovery. My stitches are out and I now only have a couple of regular band-aids. I wear a shrinker on my remaining limb to keep the swelling down and to prepare it for my prosthetic. Next week I have an appointment with the prosthetist to make a cast of my leg and in 7 to 10 day I will have my first prosthetic. In the mean time I am starting to build up my strength and endurance. I am using a resistance cord bench at home for strength training and have started to swim.
Yesterday was my first day back at the pool since last summer. Some of you may know that since my feet were so compromised I took to swimming for exercise, no impact and great aerobic exercise. I utilized the pool before when I was getting ready for Mike and Beth's wedding and recovering from several breaks. So I know first hand it is a very effective way to get back into shape.
My sister Dee came with me and assisted me in and out of the pool and watched me diligently in case I ran into trouble. She of course said that she hoped she didn't have to help me because she didn't want to get her jeans wet. The pool does have a lift but there was no one there to operate it and they weren't sure if it was working. I lowered myself from the wheelchair to the cement and scooted on my butt to the pools edge and lowered myself into the pool. I love the pool. It is the one place where I feel almost normal. I can bounce on my left foot without much impact and I can stand without fear of falling. I am a good swimmer and my upper body is even stronger now from months of lifting myself and using the manual wheelchair. The one thing I was not ready for was my right leg having a mind of its own.
When I made my first lap I concentrated on using both my thighs for motion and not using my lower legs. It was not so bad, but when I tried to swim the backstroke and use my legs I could not get the mechanics right. I felt like my leg was not listening to me at all. When I stopped swimming and rested I noticed my leg kept floating up and I had to really concentrate on keeping it down. It was sort of funny, I say it is trying to get away and find my foot.
All in all, it was a good experience and I have 2 more sessions scheduled for this week and my goal is to swim 3 times a week. I know that each time it will get easier and soon I will do things automatically but for now it is still new and a bit challenging.