Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Donna Exercises By Standing To Build Leg Strength

The text and photos for this blog post are from a visit to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday, December 30.

Donna, pictured here, has been building up her leg strength by standing. She uses the exercise bar attached to the wall and has two staff members from the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome available to assist her to make sure she is safe.

When these pictures were taken, Donna, both staff members, and two other residents of the SmartHome loudly counted to 20 while Donna stood. During and after each repetition, there was a lot of support and cheering from those who were present. Donna stood about four times while everyone counted to 20, then she requested trying it for 30 seconds, and she did. Alex, one of the SmartHome counselors, told us that Donna has stood while holding onto the exercise bar for up to 50 seconds.

Donna said it is her goal to be able to walk again someday. It will be a long road, but as Donna said in a recent blog post, “Now that I’m here in the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, I can do almost everything.”

Keep up the great effort Donna, and a nice round of applause is owed to her housemates who provide heartwarming encouragement to Donna.

Donna is preparing to pull herself up to a standing position with Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome
Residential Counselor Alex on her left and Site Supervisor Chantelle on her right.
Donna churns her arms in celebration after standing for 20 seconds. 

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