Practising sitting and balancing
Thursday 23rd April, 2020
This afternoon I had a session in the gym with Adrienne, Sam and Aaron; Adrienne wanted to see how well I could balance and support myself sitting on the edge of a plinth (which is what they call the padded table in the gym). Sam was sat behind me on a huge ball holding my shoulders and stopping me from falling forward whilst Aaron was in front trying to stop me from leaning to my left; Adrienne was also in front supporting me as I really have no core strength!
I was scared and felt that that I was going to fall flat on my face on the hard floor several times, but I knew that these guys knew what they were doing and so I put my trust in them and (hopefully) didn’t show how nervous I was. They kept apologising for manhandling me and I kept telling them that that was the last thing they needed to do.
The outcome was that I need some kind of support or cushion on my left side, as I have a strong tendency to lean against the wheelchair armrest, which gets uncomfortable after a while. I left the gym with a pillow shoved down my side and slightly behind my back with the promise that we would do future sessions and get a proper cushion made.
When I got back to my room I realised that I felt really, really exhausted, more so than I have in a long time. Even though I was exhausted and aching a lot from the effort, I did feel a small sense of achievement.