A Blast From The Past: Learning Wheelies

This is the video of me after I first learned to do wheelies.

One small step for man...

In case you missed the article, Peter Exner can walk!!! For the article in the Daily Advance, I showed off walking around with one cane and my AFO(ankle foot orthosis) or lower leg brace. But now... I can walk without canes!!! I need the ankle brace to keep my foot from rolling out but otherwise I'm walking completely under my own power again.



When I arrived at PT I just wanted to test this out, see where my leg was and if I'd be able to hold my own weight at all. Unlike the full leg brace which I normally use this brace does not hold the knee at all. Needless to say my therapist was ecstatic when I was able to walk back and forth without using the bars! The video doesn't show my best attempts but is a record of what I can do now.


I got excited and tried to see how fast I could go; this of course led to me falling on the ground. While it was a little harder to get up than normal, I got back on my feet and kept going. Obviously this isn't ready for fulltime but this is a sign of where I am going. One day I will be walking around, without a wheelchair, without a leg brace, without canes, and maybe even without the AFO/ankle leg brace. I guess we'll see.

Encounters With The Press

Robert Kelly-goss of Elizabeth City's own Daily Advance wrote an article on yours truly. The article summarizes in a few paragraphs what it has taken me 20 months to realize, putting into focus the struggles, trials, and accomplishments of this long journey. We met at the one coffee shop in town, Muddy Waters, where we met before physical therapy. I knew already him from my time working with Encore Theater Company, the local theater company here in town. He said that he had had the idea for a story on my life since first meeting me, when he saw me go from using my wheelchair one day to my leg brace the next. I gave him the synopsis of my story: D.C. beltway to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, to the nursing home, to Kennedy Krieger, to here... with a few things in between. I knew it was coming but I didn't really know what to tell him when he asked "What was going through your mind when..." So much of these past 20 months have been a blur. I remember looking forward and thinking about how long it would be until I reached the year mark and now it's going to be 2 years this December. The thing I emphasized the most and he put in the article was that I didn't get here by myself, the support network behind me got me this far. I have an amazing family, a core of friends that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, and a network of relations, acquaintances, and strangers all supporting me from around the globe. It's daunting but you'd be surprised just how many people care for you until you see them all before you. Rob was right, that it does get annoying when six people in a row come up to me and tell me what an inspiration I am, though to be fair I do realize how cool my story does sound. We ended by going to my physical therapy session where photographer Brett Clark was there to take tons of pictures while I strolled around using only the one cane and AFO(ankle foot orthosis). The picture at the top of this page is the best photo I have of myself, or at least it's my favorite. Read the article here: Peter Exner Can Walk By Robert Kelly-goss The Daily Advance Saturday, September 10, 2011

Cripple On A Roller Coaster or Why To Always Reknot Your Laces

On Sunday of Labor Day weekend two friends and I decided to visit Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. It was a trip we had had in the works since the early summer. With a note from my PT, voucher for a motorized wheelchair in hand, and a sense of excitement at riding my first roller coasters since the accident, I was ready.

After the long ride up through Virginia we made it to the park. Then the fun really began. I had to get a wristband and a piece of paper saying which rides I was allowed ride, i.e. all of them. The girl working was reluctant to grant me access; she apologized that it was her job and she could get fired if she let me in and something happened. I kindly handed her my note and assured her that I had enough control of my leg that I would be safe. After conferring with her boss she relented, granting me my pass to all the rides on the park.


The first ride was Apollo's Chariot, a coaster with lots of loops. I was slightly anxious what it would feel like to be subjected to these G forces but I needn't have worried; there were zero problems with my back, leg, or brace.

The second ride went off without a hitch. We rode Moche Tower, a drop tower which takes you up 10 stories and drops you to ground, braking right before the end. I left the leg brace on because the attendants at the ride didn't ask. There were no problems with the ride whatsoever. I have a fear of heights which cause my endorphins to go off like Christmas lights. I fight with my fear and get rewarded in process; totally worth it. The line for the ride was one of the few times that being disabled was a real asset, as they scooted us to the front. The jealous people we passed stared daggers at our backs.

The problem we ran into was my shoe, on Alpengeist. The attendant noticed me wearing the leg brace and made me take it off. I, not thinking, put my shoe right back on after removing the brace. BIG MISTAKE. I noticed that the shoe was loose about halfway through the ride. A little while later, after bouts of yelling and whooping, I noticed that the shoe was completely gone.


I hope that my missing shoe, wherever it is, didn't hit anyone. Or if it did that they're alright. And if they're alright I hope that it was hilarious. I would've found it hilarious if a falling shoe hit me out of nowhere.

They gave me a pair of flip-flops at the end ride so I wouldn't have to go barefoot. The left flip-flop wouldn't stay on my limp left foot so I gave up on it and just wore my sock around all day. All in all it was actually a pretty good deal, to get a free pair of $30 flip-flops for one old worn out shoe. The rest of the day I spent limping without my leg brace, in one sock and one flip-flop. I was the epitome of cool.


The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, if you don't count all the water rides, roller coasters, and arcade games. It was a blast. It was a long day and near the end of the day I began to become more and more sore. I rode the Lock Ness Monster, an old ride from when the park first opened. Its uncomfortable seats and multiple loops made me start to feel uncomfortable so I avoided that ride from then on. I didn't have any other problems the rest of the day.

When I got home I was extremely tired but filled with a sense of accomplishment. I'd grabbed a piece of my old life back and integrated it into my new gimp persona. I felt like after today, there's nothing I can't do. I am gimp, hear me roar!

A New Spring In My Step

As should be evident from the fact that I'm writing this, I survived Irene. And what an interesting storm she was. I did end up walking outside, mostly just to say I could. The wind was not as much of a problem as I thought it would be. It knocked me around a little but not enough to floor me. So all in all a good experience. And now I can say I've walked through a hurricane. Things are looking bright. In PT I noticed that my AFO (ankle foot orthosis), or lower leg brace, gives me a little extra push that I hadn't noticed before. The AFO braces my ankle, keeping it at 90 degrees. When I walk through my ankle stays in the same position regardless of where the leg is; the force I put downward at the toe transfers to the support on my calf, springing my leg forward. I have a new spring in my step! Other positives have happened as well. In the pool I've been learning how to jump again. We've started this off by practicing bouncing over the giant lines on the bottom of the pool. It's rather fun, like I'm playing a giant game of hopscotch. Well at least when I'm forced to a high stakes hopscotch match I'll be ready. Now I'm feeling pretty darn good at the moment. This is thanks to a number of people who surround me. I didn't get where I am on my own. These are the people who get me out of the house, get me to walk down trails I never would have seen, get me to swing on a swing set again, the ones who pick me up of the ground when I fall, and give me a shoulder to lean on when I need one. Thank you for taking me this far. I'm strong and I'm getting stronger but no one ever really gets somewhere on their own, not really. We all need support and someone to lean on occasionally.

A Cripple in A Hurricane - 100th Post!!!

I'm writing this as I wait for Hurricane Irene to rip through the east coast, which seems as good a time as any to update people on my newest accomplishments. Hurricane Irene I haven't written much recently because of the start of the school year. I'm taking just a full semester of classes, all on campus this time. I took two classes over the summer to dip my toe in the water but now it's full throttle. To add to this wondrous experience I'm taking Organic Chemistry. Ich. I'll get through it. The important thing is that I get the exercise I need by walking all over campus three times a week. My Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy teacher Physical therapy goes well. I'm using the AFO (ankle foot orthosis), the leg brace that ends below the knee. It braces the ankle but still forces me to control the knee myself. I'm slowly building up my endurance with the hope that I'm going to be able to switch to it full time. The newest development, my physical therapist put me on a stairmaster. There are two rails on either side so that I can brace myself with my arms while I practice stepping. I have enough muscle control at the moment to pull my left leg (the right leg is perfect) up and down on low resistance. As the leg gets stronger we will slowly ramp up the resistance. My goal is to get to the point where I don't have to hold myself up with my arms in order to use the machine, a task which even my physical therapist admitted was taxing. All in all, doing pretty well. We'll be hunkering down tonight and tomorrow for the oncoming storm. I'm hoping it'll pass quickly, mostly because it limits my walking opportunities. Not that I mind a break from my responsibilities but I've already learned the consequences of being lazy. So here's to a quick storm and a sunny day after. Check out the video below. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan (a tear for the end of the series) and the song below was played by a friend on my way to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. It's simply amazing.

One Small Step For Man (or Why You Should Never Tell A Therapist You've Been Lazy)

After my last post I received some mild scolding for lying out and not doing a whole lot. But nothing compares to when I admitted to two of my therapists I had been a little lazy this past week.

My first therapist Courtney is my aquatherapist. We work at the YMCA pool exercising my legs, arms, core, etc. On a normal day she works me hard enough that I collapse into a small puddle when I'm done.


It's my own fault for telling her but I try and maintain a policy of honesty with my therapists. Her response was to make we swim endurance laps, kinda like wind sprints in the water. She had me swim a lap, wait a minute, swim a lap, wait 30 seconds, swim a lap, wait 15 seconds... you get the idea. She did this with the butterfly, then made me do it with just my arms with a piece of foam between my legs so I didn't cheat. Then she had me use just my legs using a kick board. Then all together. Broken up with underwater jogging, crunches and a whole lot of evil. Needless to say the usual puddle I melt into had turned straight from liquid to vapor. (take that metaphor how you like)

On Friday, apparently not learning from my mistake, I told my therapist I had a pretty easy week. We never left the workout mat, working entirely on core and abdominal exercises. What I normally do is bridges:


They are a hard exercise that work all your core muscles. I've been doing those for months in various forms. Now to make them even more work I wasn't even allowed to have my feet on solid ground. She put an exercise ball under my feet to turn it into this:

I know I deserved it but sheesh! During the workout she warned me "you will be sore tomorrow so prepare to hurt." ...and I did! So I got my comeuppance in the end for my week off. Oh well the summer is almost over and I ended it with a bang.

Speaking of a bang here is something for those who have kept with me this whole time: my first real steps!