You know I’ve been sick when I haven’t shared great news for five days.

As you’ve probably learned by now, Danny goes through his physical therapy evaluations every 12 weeks. These evaluations are required by medical insurance, to provide documentation of progress, or lack thereof.

Following the Thanksgiving holidays, Danny struggled getting back into his therapeutic routine. The Monday after Thanksgiving, he was scheduled for his re-evaluation. I was nervous, especially since Danny had completed many of his transfers that weekend doing the hula-hoop shake.

Katie (super cool therapist) had to bring down some tough love on Danny, and me too.

He has to walk every day.

This is simple in theory, but as one who has fallen with Danny, seen him fall and has had to figure out how to get him off the floor after falling, the idea of Danny walking (with the walker) solo is a difficult transition a better normal.

But, Katie threw down some hard line goals and Danny (and I) agreed.

• Starting now, walking 1 hour a day that he is not in Beyond Therapy
• By the end of December, taking a 30 minute walk at the end of the day, Monday-Friday
• By the end of January, taking a 30 minute walk at the end of every day
• By the end of February, walking 150’ in the hallway by himself (while someone takes his chair to the other end of the hall)
• As of January 1st, no power wheelchair allowed in Shepherd Center, only his manual chair.
• Eventually, no chair at all inside Shepherd.

And, in preparation for all this independent walking, they will work on worst case scenarios at BT, practicing falls and how to get back up again.

My stomach is turning.

At this point, the issue lies with us. For so long, Danny had to work to get to this point and now it’s here. It’s a matter of us making walking a part of our lives, where for so long, it hasn’t been.

It’s scary and exciting.

It’s the final push.

Let’s compare the evaluation results from the first of this year to just last week.

I have to wonder how dramatically these results will vary when we apply the goals that have been outlined.

In three more months, how different can our lives look if we buckle down and do the work?

It’s been a long, long, long journey. It’s been a long, long, long time that we’ve been stuck. But, if we do this work, if we make the time that we can’t seem to find, to apply these goals, what will happen?

It’s scary and exciting.

It may just be the final push-the end of one chapter and the beginning of a better one.

Pray for us as we make every attempt to work these goals into our already full days. Pray that we work well together and as a team. Pray for our safety and Danny’s strength, confidence and endurance to grow, but that he would still be able to make safe decisions.

As always, we are grateful.