My story of how I contracted TM is pretty unremarkable - it could
match any of your stories easily enough.  For the record, it was
caused by CMV - Cytomegolovirus.

I was given a chance to rebuild my life with a a stay at the rehab
unit located in Wilmington Hospital.  I was determined to get the
most out of the program that I could.  In order to do so, I needed
to trust my PTs and OTs and the decisions they were making for me.

Fortunately, I worked with some very good students who were
overseen by top notch PTs and OTs. They made some decisions for me,
that at the time, seemed rather forceful since I was not consulted.
But, literally, what did I really know at that point?

For instance, I had made friends with a guy who as an accident
victim was left a quadra-plegic.  He had hoped to be able to
develop the strength in his arms to use a lightweight manual
wheelchair.  However, he was unable to, and wanted to lend me
the chair.  This apparently caused a terrific disagreement between
my friend and the PTs and OTs.  They had determined I was going
to be discharged on my own two feet and had no intentions of
teaching me how to use a wheelchair.

My student PT probably only weighed 100lbs.  However, she asked
me about stairs, and so I told her we had them at home and work.
She decided, I guess, that stairs were not to be an issue for
me, and so she took me out to the concrete stairwell/fire escape
steps had me work on those stairs.  There is a powerful motivating
factor to not fall when you are looked at steel-lipped concrete
stairs, I can tell you.  Stairs have never been a fear since.
Very annoying for quite some time, but they never limited where
I could go because I was afraid of them.

That's a big factor.  Once I was home, I think we spent most of
next several months largely upstairs.  Stairs were still hard
physically.  Mentally, they were never a barrier.  Mental barriers
are much higher than physical barriers, I think.

Immediately upon returning home, I started with a physical therapy
program.  I eventually shifted to the University of Delaware
Physical Therapy Clinic.  We did a great deal of work there.
Some basic training for walking, strength training, and E-stim.
A graduate student, Scott Stackhouse, was interested in persuing
suspended bodyweight treadmill training with me.

That worked well.  We started at something like 1.0 or 1.1mph and
eventually got up to 1.8mph.  At this point, we ran out of ideas.
I was asked to go back to Dr. Kerr for further advice, but I was
truely afraid I would be told "well, that's all you can expect", so
I didn't make the appointment.  That wasn't the best idea because
it left my therapist with no ideas, and so I was discharged with
a home expercise program.  Much later, I realized my mistake,
made the appointment, and I can assure you that Dr. Kerr didn't
say "well, that's all you can expect".

I stuck with the home exercise program, and eventually injured
myself.  I started with a new local PT program to get the injury
sorted out, and stayed for a great more advanced work with a
wonderful therapist, Chris Brinton.  We had no way to work on
BWSTT, but we came up with a way to tie Theracords so I could walk
on a treadmill.  Eventually, my speed increased to 2.4mph, with
the bands, and holding on.  But still, that was fast.  Here again,
trust in your therapist was crucial.  We worked on standing on
rocker boards, walking sideways while pulling weighted cables;
all sorts of things.

This past December, I discovered that the University of Delaware
opened a second clinc called the "Neurologic and Older Adult
Physical Therapy Clinic".  I am now able to take advantage of a
clinic that specializes in injuries much closer to what I have
actually suffered than before.

Backing up a bit.  I became aware of Therapeutic Horseback Riding
and a specific program called "Freedom Hills".  I checked into
Thereapetic Riding and discovered that it is a bonafide treatment
and exercise program that has helped many people regain strength
and retrain the motions their body needs to go through in order
to relearn to walk.  I started to ride at Freedom Hills in April
of 2005.

When doing Therapeutic Riding, the rider is given all the
assistance needed for safety.  You will likely start with people
walking along each side, and a leader for the horse.  As you
progress, you may not need sidewalkers or even a leader.  The
process is gradual and safe.

Technically, I usually do therapeutic riding, which basically
means horseback riding within whatever limits you personally
have.  Hippotherapy is a set of specific exercises done on
horseback by a PT, OT or speach pathologist.  I've occasionally
done hippotherapy, and if it would benefit you, I highly
recommend it.

However, I personally just prefer plain old riding. I've gotten
to the point where I can do a rising trot.  I can see from
the video that it's not always in time, but I'm getting there.
I'm willing to work on cantering, but currently I have too much
tone to fully relax and ride with the horse's motion.  We have a
trick to try that might help with that, though.  I've done some
little jumps with Ziggy, and will almost certainly increase in
height over time.

And trail riding is just plain wonderful.  It's great to get out
into open spaces and just move.

Without the wonderful help of all of the folks at Freedom
Hills, particularly Renee Sherrard-Luther, I wouldn't have
this experience.  By the way, riding is also something I can
do with my daughter, Annie.  We often ride in the same lesson
together, which has been great fun.

And finally, I'd like to thank my wonderful wife Bonnie, Without
her help and support, I'd not like to think where I would have
ended up.