A few, not many, but a few have asked why....

Let’s all consider the “Sweet Dreams” video to be a demonstration of “chaotic” behavior. The random occurrence of some highly unpredictable or, some might say, unlikely event. That’s how I feel about my recovery from this spinal cord injury.  When you exercise every day with the objective of discovery and improvement, it’s bound to happen.  And when it does, it’s an exciting and invigorating experience (much like filming oneself working out in a zebra print spandex singlet (http://www.spandexman.com – behold, the internet)) One of the goals of the Sweet Dreams production was to pass along that fun experience of unpredictable recovery.  One day it’s just a Monday morning and then BAM! Some guy shows up at your gym wearing a zebra print nothing, lip-synching sweet dreams with no music on, while his wife films him and he acts like nothing strange is going on. Or BAM! I can voluntarily contract my left calf muscle today, and I couldn’t yesterday. Or BAM! I’ve got 27” biceps! Well that last one hasn’t happened yet, but you get the picture. I’m sure everyone was thoroughly....excited. Anyway, when “getting better” is your job, and you love what you do, and you work with great people, recovery is fun. If a spinal cord injury is anything, its fertile ground for improvement.  I’ve been working out at project walk for a year and two months, and there’s lots of things I still can’t do, but that list is getting shorter all the time. The list of things I can do though continues to grow. This is the life of exercised based recovery from a spinal cord injury. Months or years spent in a gym punctuated by random, exciting and fun episodes of marked improvements. And by the way, thank you ALL for making this possible. From my family and friends, to random donors, to the people at Project Walk and of course my wife. Thank you for helping me make my recovery my job and my focus.  Thank you for keeping me motivated. Thank you for making something hard, something fun (that’s what she said). And thank you for your continued support. Anyway, statistical anomalies aside, when you embrace exercised based recovery less as a method and more as a lifestyle, functional improvements become less of a goal and more of a consequence. What at first blush seems odd and outside the standard curve of human experience (or SCI recovery experience), becomes a statistical inevitability, like me in zebra spandex. 

I must say I also pulled this stunt because one of my trainers decided to take a three month vacation to help her sister get married and have a baby (she’s the blonde in the video).  It was kinda like a welcome home punishment.  Let it be known the next one who leaves me for three months is coming home to a two hour session in a g-string and pasties. Wink, wink, nod, nod, say na-more! Sweet Dreams.

Thanks to everyone who has been posting their memories.  I read them all and I read them often, with a smile on my face every time.  I’m posting a video with the update tonight.  Sorry it’s not the Run for Robbie or Steps to Recovery video.  I feel terrible, they are on their way, but, I acquired some footage I just could not sit on so I put a quick video together this afternoon.  It’s a Thank You video to the good folks over at Project Walk, who continue to make being in the gym something to look forward to.  I’ve taken todays two hour session and condensed it into a three minute masterpiece.  Enjoy!  No news on the house yet, thanks for all the Birthday wishes, Sweet Dreams!
Rob