Earl's Fundraiser April 26

A 2nd Annual Earl’s Restaurant Benefit Fundraiser

The benefit for Joel’s “Road to Recovery” is taking place on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at Earls Restaurant, Albert Street & 28th Avenue. There will be two sittings: 5:00 & 7:30 PM

Plan on coming down for an evening of food and fun, with a Silent auction and a live DJ. "Remember the fun and follies of the first Earl's benefit"

Tickets are $60.00 each, which includes a 3 course meal and all the fun you can have!

To make a donation of goods or services or obtain further information, please contact:
Joel @ 531-3131· Shane @ 539-4194· Donna @ 530-6625


To purchase tickets please contact:
Earls Restaurant @ 584-7733
(Purchase Tickets & Seating Reservations Only)·

As an additional prize, everytime you visit Earls' on Albert Street South, between now and April 26, Earl's will be selling a chance to win a $2000.00 Travel Voucher!

Moving forward!!

I wanted to inform everyone of some recent accomplishments of mine. At Wascana, twice a month we have been challenging my body to endurance walking sessions. As shown a little while back in a post, we use the squeaky upright walker to achieve our goals. My latest distance and time is approximately 400 meters in 27 minutes. Its a hell of a workout!

I also wanted to let everyone know that I am beginning to organize some upcoming fundraisers!

Hope everyone is well!

A Year-and-a half Benchmark!

So I just want to give her an update on how things have been going for me over the last few weeks. Today, the 22nd of January marks a year and a half since this new journey in my life began. I have much to take away from this. Surrounding yourself with family and friends makes any difficult situation much easier to handle and manage and having these people also keeps you on track and in line. I have also learned a lot about myself and how I cope when life throws a curveball. I have definitely had my ups and downs but the progression is still uphill - this battle never ends! Physically I'm doing everything I can to stay strong and ready for each up-and-coming workout, but the mental side of all this is so much tougher to deal with. I struggle day in and day out to find the energy to stay determined, motivated and sane. So far so good though, as the results I am seeing from physio and gym workouts is fantastic!

So I wanted to say a hello and thank you to everyone out there for their continued support and I hope to see everyone at some point.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.

Great achievement involves great risk!

I hope the holidays have been great for everyone. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

I wanted to make a small addition to the last post that I did about broken wheelchair that I had. Here is a picture of the Savior!

The last few weeks have been very good at the gym and rehab has been going well. We are still seeing good gains throughout my whole body. all in So below is the latest video from my training. In this video we are doing kneelups and I have 20 pounds of weight hanging on my arms.

WELCOME BACK.....

Hello to all! I know its been a while, so I apologize for that! It has been a very busy last couple months. I was in Toronto at the beginning of Nov. for a national SCI Conference. Very informative and interesting to see where research is headed in Canada on SCI. Although the majority of the info was geared towards new injuries it showed good post-injury potential. It keeps my hopes up.

Last weekend we were in Buffalo, New York to catch some Sabres hockey games. It was great getting family together and a trip like that is always a ton of fun. We had a mishap with my wheelchair - having a flat tire getting off the plane, so I spent my weekend unable to get it fixed leaving me in the "comforts" of a rickety beast of a chair.

The gym and physio have been pretty good. We have had some struggles with my upper body but my core and lower body have been consistently stronger with each workout. We have been attempting to work on endurance walking so below is a small caption of one of my latest walks. My record so far is 218 metres without stopping.

Here is a look at that attempt.

wascana walk..

Hello all! Happy belated thanksgiving!

I hope everyone is doing well as fall sets in and we get a teaser of winter.

I have been okay the last while. Fighting the odd cold and a few minor infections have set me back energy wise but I am now feeling better and re-energized. Ready to keep fighting.

Below is a clip from Wascana yesterday. When my body is feeling adventurous and mentally strong we as a rehab team leave the walker parked and push my body to its current limits. A little more like freedom. They are grasping my hips for support as we take steps around the room for about 15 or 20 meters. A very familiar feeling but overwhelmingly scary at the same time.

part of my routine...

last week, this week and in the coming weeks will be a portrayal of my regular routine at the gym. here are some more clips....



standing balance...

local updates...

Walking is getting that much better. Small steps but big confidence!!


Some sitting practice on the balance ball...

Back in the swing!!

Hello all! Life is good. I have been busy getting back to the gym for workouts. Progress forward!! I am working out with a family friend who owns 'Adrenaline', a personal training studio. I am also back at Wascana Rehab a couple days a week for physio and occupational therapies. Workouts are strong, intense and exactly what is pushing my body to gain strength.

In my down time I have been at the lake soaking up the sun and enjoying the weather. All to soon will winter be here. Nothing else to add at this point as this is my current routine. Thanks to all for their kind words and encouragement and I hope everyone is well.

Go RIDERS!

First year into ....

....today is one year. One year of re-learning, re-training and re-discovering myself. Today I am undecided as to how I feel about this particular day, but I do know how blessed I am to be surrounded by great people, family and friends. To all, I want to say the biggest thank you! My heart holds and shares a spot for everyone! It has been a tough day...and an even tougher year..

Great strides are being made in my recovery. I feel strong, motivated and determined. In one year I have gained back what some believed would not happen - how I will continue to prove to them otherwise. I have no doubt about my abilities to overcome this injury, the only variable is time....

some follow up.....

I wanted to add some last video from down south. These are both from my last day and a benchmark for me to come home with.

I have taken some down time to relax for a couple days, but start back with physio this Monday. I will be filling in spaces with a personal trainer and we are back in Saskatchewan speed. What a great feeling!!

I hope everyone is great and enjoying the sun!

Perseverance is key....

So ends California...

Dick's Last Resort Restaurant downtown San Diego - be prepared for some head-gear!

Sorry guys, it has been a little while since the last post. I have been putting in the extra effort at PW and squishing in all the extracurriculars within driving distance! 

I celebrated a great 27th birthday...(well behaved of course!), got some sun and for some reason got hooked on dirty martinis!!!

We have finished our stay down south and are back June 30th. It has been a great trip, producing fantastic progress and I would like the thank everyone for everything that they have offered! The fight will continue and I hope to see all of you soon! 

If anyone ever comes to the zoo in San Diego you will love the big, huge and intimidating hills, especially in a chair on wheels - sucks to be pushing!!

.... check out the hippo



..... good for skating beginners



....back extensions, hmm haven't done them in a while

A little more pw workings!

Still getting my but kicked... progress is still happening!

....leg press



... more walking, I can't get enough!

nearing 3 weeks till the end down south..

... they call this tread climbing, maybe....



... wednesdays walk session

Strength...

Its been another great week down here in cali. Have been touring the area lately, covering a lot of miles seeing some great sights. Will have a few snapshots to follow soon, but here is the latest from pw.















.... some core work



... balancing squats with some assistance. They have me attached to springs only helping with balance - working on standing up more straight.

Just over a month...

I have just passed the one month mark here at Project Walk and the trip is still going great! Here are some more updated videos of how therapy has been going...they have me up and standing for the majority of the three hours I am there and have been working on balance lately. 

Thank you again for all the comments and support!

Miss you all!

Bringing it... somewhat!

My first attempt at being Rocky Balboa!  Unfortunately the headbuts did not make it into this cut, but let me tell you they were my saving grace against the weathered bag.  

Here we have a video from Monday's workout session. My trainers have started to push me a little more into doing my exercises standing up so we are working really hard on balance. The other video is just riding the bike - I tend to stay later after workouts to ride the bike for 15 or 20 minutes.

Hello all! We made it to the Wild Animal Park this past weekend. A little african safari anyone? We are very near desert here in south california. Pretty cool to see, but no hippos.