Service.

At my work there is a patient named Travis trying to regain the ability to walk. He had a spinal cord injury from falling out of a second story window and broken his upper back. For four months he had to wear a TLSO which is kind of like a hard plastic turtle shell to support and brace his back while it healed. From his injuries he has paralyzed but miraculously he regained sensation, and since April he has been working on regaining his ability to walk. It has been a long road of recovery I remember when I first worked with him he never complained of the pain and was always so positive and thankful to all of those who would help him in some way. He uses a device to help his right leg come into dorsi flexion (being about to lift his foot during walking) so that he can walk. The problem is these are very costly ranging in the thousands of dollars, and even more simpler models are hundreds of dollars because they have to be medical grade. Because Travis's insurance won't cover it he isn't able the afford this he has a hard time trying to move around when he is home. Without this device his toes drag behind and he can't swing his leg forward without tripping, and more importantly he isn't able to do this therapy at his home so his rehabilitation is slowed down.

I wanted to help in some way, so I went to the hardware store and found the necessary things to make this dorsi assist device. I put the it together and tested it our and it worked really well in all actuality. When I presented him with this gift he looked in the bag for a receipt, to pay me back. But I told him it was a Christmas present and his face lit up and he said it was the most thoughtful gift he had ever received. He and his wife graciously thanked me graciously.

I know it wasn't a huge thing that I did but I was grateful to be able to help in some way. I know he still has a long road ahead of him and the chances of actually regaining all of his ability to walk is uncertain. I am glad that I could help him out in some way, because he has been such a great example to me of being positive and focusing on the things that matter most in life.

lants

Sweeping the snow away!

I looked for opportunities to do so some service, and with the fall of snow i had my opportunity to do so. So when it came I set out to clear my neighbors snow. When I looked around for a shovel I realized that I didn't have a shovel...but I had a broom. So I swept away the snow. It wasn't too bad because there was only two inches of snow. But the next morning there was more just about six inches, and I soon realized that my broom was not the most efficient method of snow removal, but it got the job done. So with the weather predictions calling for more snow that evening I went to the store and bought a sturdy looking shovel. Sure enough the snow came and I was anxious to put my new shovel to use, but when I looked out I saw that all of my snow had been shoveled. My neighbor had beat me to the job. Looks like i'm not the only going to get the blessings, but we'll see what happens the next time it snows, it'll be a race for the blessings.

-lants