Julian’s Progress

Well, it has been three years now since my spinal cord injury. I celebrated by visiting the Baha’i Shrine in Montreal yesterday, with my wife Suzanne, and our good friends Joan and Franklin from New Hampshire. We drove around the city in their car, did some shopping, and visited the Shrine. Here we all are standing outside the Shrine on Pine Avenue.

Joan, Franklin, Suzanne, and Julian

Franklin then took my camera and filmed me walking back to the car, using my canes.

I now use my canes outside when I know that I will not have to sit down in the middle of the street, or when I know that there are going to be places for me to sit when I get wherever I am going. If I know that I am going to have a long walk, I usually take my walker, so that I can sit down if I need to. I also use the walker to carry my backpack when it gets too heavy. At home I can manage to get around most of the time without using my canes at all! What I find most encouraging, is that I am still improving. I think that all the exercising I am doing at the YMCA is really helping. I am up to 15 minutes on the treadmill, 9 minutes on the bicycle, and I do various other exercises using the machines at the YMCA’s technogym (I guess it took a geeky approach to exercise to keep me interested).

My brother-in-law came to visit yesterday, and he brought a bunch of videos he shot at Esther’s wedding. This is one of my favorites, me dancing with Esther:

I have finally gone through some of the photographs from pilgrimage, and have found a few more that might be interesting. In many places at the World Center I had to negotiate steps. Sometimes these were in marble, and with the rainy weather we had, the stairs could become slippery. Here we are walking down the stairs outside the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. I always tried to find a wall or bannister on at least one side to help steady me on my way down the stairs. You can also see Jonathan and Suzanne ready to help me make my way down the last steps.

From here we made our way down the long path to the Shrine of the Bab. It was a very long walk, with many more stairs, but I managed to do it using my canes.Jonathan carried my bag and my walker most of the way, because the little stones are not very wheel-friendly. You can see the International Archives building in the distance, and we walked past that to get to the Shrine.

I call this next photo, my “Rocky” shot. I wanted to try to walk up at least some of the terraces that go up the side of Mt. Carmel, to the Shrine of the Bab. We could only do that on one of the days when it was not raining. So on that day, I managed to walk part way up to the first terrace. Here I am celebrating my climb.

Now for some more videos of me walking. These were all taken in Akka, as we were walking either to or from the prison in which Baha’u'llah was incarcerated.

I went through some of the hundreds of pictures that were taken at Esther and Jory’s wedding, and found a few that I feel show how I have progressed in my ability to stand and walk.

I was able to walk with Esther and Suzanne as we entered the room where the marriage ceremony was taking place.

During the ceremony, I was able to stand with Esther and Jory, without my canes, and read a prayer.

Then I made a little presentation about Esther’s life…

And we had a dance…

My family (which now includes my new son-in-law) and I just got back home from our pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was an amazing experience and very significant for me. We had originally planned to go to Haifa, the Baha’i World Center, in June, 2006. However, as noted on this web site, in April of that year I had my spinal cord injury. We already had our tickets, hotels, and so on, and everything had to be cancelled. After much planning, we were finally able to make the trip on December 20th.

The pilgrimage involves visiting many places in Haifa, Akka, and the surrounding area. Although transportation between these sites is generally provided by bus, there is still a considerable amount of walking. And the sites of interest in Haifa are all on the Holy Mountain of Mount Carmel. As a result, there are many stairs to climb up and down.

When we originally planned this trip, about a year ago, I expected to be travelling with a collapsible wheelchair. However, given my progress, when the time came, I travelled with my rollator and my canes.

Before talking about the actual pilgrimage, I just want to say a few words about the flight to and from Israel. Our booking was with bmi, and as a result we flew Montreal, London, Tel Aviv. I had made arrangements months in advance to have a wheelchair available in the airports so that I would not have to walk the huge distances that are customary. In every case, it was as though I had never made any request at all. Whatever service I received, was entirely dependant on last minute arrangements. In both Montreal and Tel Aviv these were very good to excellent. (In Montreal, in fact, there was an attendant who met me at the aircraft, and pushed me all the way through customs, helped get my baggage, and right out the door to a suitably large taxi! Door-to-door service!) Heathrow was another story. If at all possible people needing wheelchair assistance should avoid both Heathrow, and bmi, completely. The total lack of service and understanding is appalling. It seems this is what happens when services are privatized. bmi refused to take any responsibility, or to help in any way, and so they are now on my black list.

On to more uplifting events.

I will not deal with the spiritual aspects of my pilgrmage here; suffice it to say that it was a truly wonderful 10 days.

One of the first places we visited was Baha’u'llah’s prison cell in Akka. After that, we walked about 700 meters to the House of ‘Abbud. Here you can see me walking up one of the hilly sections of the old City of Akka, on our way to the Prison. My son-in-law Jory is pushing the rollator on the right, and my son Jonathan is on the left.

These stairs, at the House of House of `Abdu’llah Pasha in Akka are typical of what I had to climb up and down. The steps themselves are very uneven, and going down was certainly more challenging than going up. Having the assistance of my family really made it all possible.

The gardens throughout the Baha’i Holy places are truly magnificent to look at. One of the features that make them very special also makes them a real challenge for people with walking difficulties: Many of the paths are covered in small white stones, and others in the broken pieces of reddish roof tiles. Both of these surfaces are really very difficult for a wheelchair, or a rolling walker like mine. Whenever we came across these paths, one of the members of my family (usually my son) would pick up the walker and carry it (with my backpack), while I walked down the path using my canes.

You can just make out the two different kinds of path in the bottom of this photo:

It is quite a long way from the Bahji Visitor Center (where the bus drops you off) to the Shrine of Baha’u'llah. It takes about 20 minutes for an able-bodied person to walk that distance. Fortunately, there is a paved path as well, that runs most of the way to the Shrine. I sat in a wheelchair while one of the security guards kindly pushed me along.

The last bit, however, has to be done on foot, since the only path is one of small white stones, and it is very difficult to roll anything along that path, unless one has a wheelchair with really wide tires. So I used my canes and walked up to the Shrine. This is the view back from the Shrine to the Collins Gate, which is the distance I walked (twice).

There are going to be more photos, and possibly videos, on this site, as I get them from other members of my pilgrimage group. When they become available, I will add them.

Yesterday was my daughter’s wedding. It was a wonderful affair, and she and my new son-in-law organized the whole thing. It was a Baha’i wedding, with many elements from the Jewish tradition as well.

For the past several months, I have been working out at the YMCA, with one goal… that I be able to dance at her wedding! To think that way back when I was just starting out on this journey, at the physiotherapist’s at the hospital, I chided the physio’s assistant for referring to the joys of dancing while working with me, a quadriplegic who showed absolutely no signs of ever being able to stand, let alone walk or dance.

Well, I have been working out, practicing standing and walking, and generally getting stronger and stronger. Here I am dancing with my daughter:

What I find most amusing, is that before my spinal cord injury I hardly ever used to dance, and didn’t consider myself a very good dancer. 

It has been a while since I posted anything here, but that is largely because I have been teaching Computer Science full time at the College where I work. It is now the winter break.

I had quite a job convincing the College to take me back full time after being on the disability list for about two years. They seemed to be reluctant to make some simple adaptations to my work environment (principally the bathrooms), but after I consulted a lawyer, and he explained what I needed to say to them, they agreed to the adaptations. Also, they chose to disagree with my doctor’s assessment of my suitability to work, and requested a second opinion from their own physician. Since he too recommended that I return to work full time, with the proper support environment, they had to acquiesce.

It does sadden me, though, to think of the many “disabled” people who could be contributing both to their own sense of self, and to society, who are simply collecting benefits, living near the poverty line, just because some administrator somewhere does not want to improve the workplace so as to make it accessible. I also consider myself extremely fortunate in that I was in a position to be able to consult a lawyer. Not everyone has the means or the ability to be able to pursue matters to the extent that I did. Of course, I am also known for my determination.

So how was the teaching? Well, the first few days back were a bit challenging, but I had not been teaching for about three years, so that was to be expected. After that, my main challenges remained the physical environment, since many of the adaptations had not been done, and are only to be completed in January. The courses went well, and the students didn’t seem to mind being taught by someone in a wheelchair. As usual, the ones who worked throughout the semester passed, and those who did not, failed. All in all, academically speaking, a pretty normal semester.

It has been some time since I posted an update, but I waned to wait until I had something interesting to share. I have had a good summer, with some travel to Toronto and Niagara-On-The-Lake. I also celebrated my 6oth birthday with a number of friends.

I have also started working out at the downtown YMCA. I go to the gym twice a week, each time for an hour and a half. I also have been joining Suzanne for aquafit once a week. Helen Neves, from the YMCA, has prepared a wonderful exercise program for me there, and together we are working on improving all my muscles, as well as getting me to walk with fewer and fewer aids.

Yesterday Suzanne took a whole bunch of little videos, which I am sharing with the world. There are 22 of them, but most of them are less than a minute long.

First I stand up and walk a little without using any technical aids — no walker, and no canes.

Next I start walking down a long ramp, not holding on as much as possible.

Now I go back up, without holding on.

Now I walk down the ramp, as quickly as possible, using the bars to maintain my balance. I am always trying to maintain a good heel-and-toe movement. This is something which I am trying to teach my brain to do.

Now I go back up, again as quickly as I can.

Now we try walking backwards. This is really difficult, since I have to use muscles I rarely use. First we go downhill,

and then we go uphill.

Now we take a short walk to the gym. This is what they call a Techno-Gym.

Once I have checked in, I am ready to get on the treadmill. We start slowly, and eventually build up to a faster pace.

Here we go…

I like to fool around a lilttle while walking; it helps the time pass. All in all, I do about 12 minutes on the treadmill.

Walking along.

Now we pick up the pace a bit.

After all that walking (about 20 minutes in the hallway and on the treadmill) it is time to work some other muscles, in my upper body and my core. There are a number of machines I use to work on specific muscles.

I can now walk from one machine to the next.

Working on the upper body.

More exercises.

On to the next exercise.

I also do some execises standing up. This helps with both my strength and my balance.

We are also working on strengthening specific muscles in my legs by doing step exercises…

and more step exercises.

Near the end I also work on my back as well.

I generally finish this off with some balance exercises and some stretches.

For the last week or so I have been going out for a little walk in my neighbourhood. I use my rollator and walk down the street, around the corner, and manage to get as far as the local Starbucks (only $2 for a cup of tea!!) where I can take a break. Sometimes I get further, to the Provigo across the street (300 metres there, and 300 metres back). Although I started doing these little walks a few days ago, originally I had to take a rest on my rollator every few minutes. Now I can go much further without stopping. Here is a couple of videos of me walking to the corner:

I have also started using the stairs in front of our house, so I am not so dependant on the elevator.

Today I managed to tie my shoelaces! This is significant because it marks the point where I am finally able to dress myself completely, without any outside help. I now have enough flexibility to be able to reach my feet and do something useful while I am there.