27 Laps
27 laps. That’s how many times around the indoor track at Walter Reed it takes to walk a mile. I’ve done it three times now. Each time, starting with the goal of walking only five laps. That usually turns into six (one for good luck). Then I figure that I might as well go for lucky seven, after which stopping on a prime number makes my soul feel off balance, so I go for ten. After ten I say that I’m less than four laps shy of a half mile, so there’s no reason to stop. And finally, at the half mile mark I realize that I’m over the hump, and it’s all downhill to a full mile.
Of course, after lap 27 I dread the fact that I might have miscounted… so I do lap 28 just in case.
You can watch two videos of my walking here:
Walking with Canes: http://youtu.be/Ejo5iy2xKO4
Cane with Harness: http://youtu.be/V0lzVflBiog
I have begun using my prostheses outside of physical therapy. Whether around the house or at a baseball game, I am trying to increase my time wearing the legs, and thus building my tolerance to them. However, if I’m doing one of my longer walks, I usually do it strapped into a ceiling harness at the physical therapy track that can catch me if I fall. Read more
