Kandice and I talked early in our week at the start of this month about me having an extra session with her to check in with my progress before I went back to Germany. Today I went in for my final appointment prepared to get my butt kicked; I was not disappointed. Kandice had a whole new routine that involves a lot of standing exercises which require my butt to be fully engaged. It's a weak muscle, and I have a lot of work to do, but I'm excited for the potential locked in my glutes. Over the last three weeks, I've been really intentional about engaging my glutes each step I take. The muscle was practically non-existent before one of my German therapists focused on it for weeks, and it was still incredibly weak when Kandice met me at the start of this month. I have a long, long way to go to get my butt into high gear, but it's going to happen someday. [...]

One of my students told me she was twitter famous because she had a really high number of followers. When I told her how many blog hits I had, she told me that was a lot. I've discovered I'm sort of internet famous. It's a weird feeling. I don't feel like I should be famous, but people recognize me on the streets of my tiny German town. I've had the odd experience of people coming up to me in the States and knowing a lot about me through my parents or from reading my blog.[...]

Trauma is a difficult thing. It affects everyone differently. I’ve tried very hard to be open about my experience, but I need to reiterate that my fall was a traumatic experience. It was traumatic for me, for my friends who witnessed it, and for those who are closest to me. We are all still processing that in different ways. I’ve been incredibly open about my experience, but there are details I’ve chosen to withhold from the internet.[...]

My body has been through a lot in the last five days, and it's been an incredible experience. Kandice and I worked through a lot of different exercises and practiced getting on and off the floor as well as some crawling on my hands and knees. She also put me back in the big walker, and we practiced more steps without using my hands for support. I let go and took three controlled steps on my own. We were hoping I could make it up to six to top Tuesday, but my record today was four - for good reason. Kandice emphasized that my steps today were controlled and much, much better than when I sortof toppled along Tuesday. [...]

I'm so grateful for the physical therapy care I've been provided over the last year and a half. From Saskia at the hospital the first week after my accident to Alex and Andy at REHAB Basel to the staff at Physio Neubert to Kandice and her colleagues at ADAPT. Because of the quality care I've received, I am more advanced for my injury than anyone expected. I thank God for the miraculous advancements as well as for providing me with the best care all over the world across three countries and two continents.[...]

With the bar set high from yesterday's adventure, I showed up after breakfast with one of my favorite students ever ready for more amazing discoveries about my body. We started out with a similar routine to yesterday focusing on my hips and talked a lot about the reactivity and muscle function in my feet. Kandice adjusted her plan for the day as we talked as she went to spend a few minutes feeling the muscles in my feet and calves. She discovered some interesting responses in my ankles and asked a colleague to look at them. [...]

Yesterday being such a full day, I slept hard and struggled to get out of bed this morning. However, I was eager to get back to work with Kandice and see what else she might teach me. I certainly wasn't disappointed as about a quarter into our session Kandice matter of factly said, "I wouldn't call you a paraplegic." I had been able to do all of the exercises she asked though some with great difficulty. "You're just really, really weak, but this isn't what I would call paraplegic. I know some able bodied people who have never had an injury who can't do what you're doing right now." She got a couple other therapists in the room to confirm what I was doing was a difficult task for someone without any prior injury. She stepped away for a moment while I continued doing exercises with another therapist, and when she returned told me a colleague had asked doubtfully if I was actually a spinal cord patient.[...]

As I hinted at before, I have a week of intensive therapy planned here in Portland. Today was day one of my therapy at ADAPT Advanced where I'll be learning lots of new things about my body and exhausting myself in order to advance beyond my current state. [...]

These past two weeks have been a blur for me, and as exhausting as they've been, I've been so blessed by my extended family. I wrote last week about spending time with my Embassy family in Denver, and I was overjoyed to get to share with them on Sunday about the work I'm doing in Germany, and I loved getting to hug Jacqueline for the first time in almost two years, to be prayed over by Derrick, and to meet some future missionaries to France raising support while attending the Embassy this year. These people are my family, and it is so good for my soul to spend time with them just as it was so good for my soul to meet my little nephew Parker for the first time the day after his first birthday. I loved watching him crawl around and pull himself up to take tentative steps around his environment.[...]