Thought it would be nice to send you into the weekend with this uplifting video of Lane on the bike at SCI-FIT. We hope it puts a similar smile on your face as Lane gets as he works the pedals. Thanks again for your support as your donations enable Lane to be in the SCI-FIT program. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Sacramento is HOT, but thankfully not as humid as Thailand. My life reminds me of the movie Ground Hog Day. Wake up, get dressed, stretch, eat, appointment, eat, PT, appointment, eat, stretch, undress, go to bed, repeat……………… I have been busy since my last update. As you all know I started SCI-Fit and am really enjoying it as they are pushing me hard which is exactly what I need. I was able to do walking motions on the treadmill two weeks ago while being assisted by the PTs. Last week they had me up in a special type of walker and I was able to take a few steps. The focus right now on my PT is core strength, arm strength, and back strength. This week was the first time I have actually felt sore which is an uncomfortable but good feeling because it tells me that my muscles are waking up. I am gaining strength in my triceps, back, and abs with my current goal of being able to prop myself up and roll in bed.

I met with Dr. Zhao last week who is the SCI doctor at UC Davis. She is astonished by my progress given the level of my injury and is excited to see how I will progress. While focusing on my present condition and what needs to be done she shined some light on my future and potential ability to drive and work. I am working on weaning off of all of my medication which makes me very happy as most of you know I do not like meds. I met with the urologist yesterday for my pre-op and will be going into surgery next week to aid with bladder functioning. I’m continuing with massage, acupuncture, and daily PT with Aunt Sally. She has me sweating and doing lots of work all while I am hooked up to a heart rate monitor so I get instant feedback on my iPad as to how hard I am working. This is very motivating to both of us (thanks Aunt Sally).

In case anyone was wondering my cell-phone decided to go swimming but failed to realize that it is not water proof so it is out of commission. I will be getting a new one shortly so if you need to reach me you can do so via email and I will get back to you when I am able.

I am enjoying the Big Rigga mobile and took it to Ancil Hoffman yesterday to participate for the first time in a long time in a weekly golf game with my buddies. When I say participate I mean drive around the course like a mad man and talk smack to my friends. Just like old times. It was great to be out in nature and spend some time with friends.

The new website should be launching shortly and has been completely redone (A huge thank you to Ben Koo and his team). I am very excited about this new site and all of the potential it brings. Once it goes live I will let you all know. You can also “friend” Loving Lane on Facebook to stay up to date on what is going on. Both the website and Facebook pages will also have an upcoming events calendar on them.

For now the upcoming events are as follows:

Zumbathon: Friday September 19th from 7-9pm with cocktail hour to follow.

 http://Tinyurl.com/Zumbathonsac

A big thank you to Aunt Sally and her friend Corene Marshalek for putting this event together.

Wine for Lane!: Friday August 29th 3:30-7:00 pm at Ridge Vineyards

Facebook: Wine for Lane!

A big thank you to Dan Cronin for organizing this event.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support!

We’re happy to announce a new Loving Lane fundraiser set for Friday August 29th at Ridge Vineyards in Cupertino. The event starts at 3pm and tickets are $50. There will also be various items auctioned off. You RSVP at this Facebook link.

Some more information below:

Ridge Vineyards has graciously offered to host us for an afternoon of good wine, good food, and good times to raise money for Lane Edwards. Please bring your checkbook and an item to auction off. Also, 25% of all purchases in the tasting room will be donated, so get ready to re-stock your wine collection. The entry fee is $50 per person. All proceeds will go to assisting Lane’s recovery.

Below a message from Lane’s mom:

Yesterday I met Lane and Lindsy at SCI-FIT. It was his first visit where they actually did therapy with him. He was able to push a pedal with each leg and both is legs. Best of all they hooked him up in a parachute harness to a treadmill and with the help of a therapist guiding his legs he WALKED! He has all the muscles to do that but can’t feel his feet yet. Lane made it clear that he would like to develop his triceps so he can use his arms. He will work on upper body strength, trunk support and control, and arms as well as legs. He was so exhausted after the two hour session

It was soooooooooooooooooo good seeing him in an upright position.

Keep all your fingers, toes and paws crossed. Lane is giving it his all. He is the greatest athlete trying to achieve the goal of recovery!!

Below is a video about SCI-FIT so you can get a feel of what I’ll be doing. 

Not my actual van, but basically the same thing.

I never thought I would say this but I am loving having a mini-van. The Big Rigga Van arrived on Sunday evening last week (Big thanks to Mike Simmons for driving down to LA and turning around and driving back with it). So I have a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan that is all white with a ramp that folds out of the passenger slider. It’s awesome! A big thank you to Josh for making the donation happen and a HUGE thank you to the Jewish Federation and the Berk Family for donating the vehicle. The van is allowing me to have the freedom and independence to come and go and not be dependent on para-transit. I can’t wait to put some beats in it!

I went to Ryan Perini’s wedding over the weekend and I must say I still look good in a suit. I had a fantastic time being amongst friends and supporters. A big benefit of being in a wheelchair on the dance floor is that everyone makes room for you and you can entertain people by doing donuts, plus I have a legitimate excuse as to why I can’t dance. That being said I wish the wheelchair was waterproof so I could have gone in the pond like my good friend Caleb for a late night swim. It was really unexpected and a little overwhelming to have so many people come up to me (a lot of people were friends of friends that I did not even know) and tell me how inspiring I am and how much my story has touched them.

I am continuing on with my acupuncture as well as the massage and am on a temporary lunch time break from PT while Aunt Sally is riding her bike across New York, so I am excited to go to SCI-Fit this week for the first time and do my assessment so I can get started. One of the trainers (Mike) has been working with me for the last month or so doing massage work and feels that I will gain a lot by being in their program. Their goal is to get me out of the chair and moving. You can learn more about them at http://www.sci-fit.org/

I visited a new GP (General Practioner) last week and he is light years beyond they last one I had. He is also my Grandmother’s GP so I hope he realizes that I am the one with SCI and not the one with Alzheimers.

Aside from that not much else to report. Thank you to everyone for their continued support and a big thank you to Lindsy and Josh!

It’s been another good week here in Sacramento. I went to the fund raising event at Vanguard in downtown Sacramento (thank you to Ryan P for organizing it). As much as I dislike being the center of attention it was great to be able to talk to everyone and be in that type of social setting. It was surprising to see so many people as there were a lot of people there that I did not expect to see and was very happy that they came.

I attended a wedding on the 4th of July which was my first social outing where I did not really know anyone. Thank you to Uncle Perry and Princess for getting me a trailer for my chair and thank you to Seth and April Astle for getting me and the chair to the wedding. I had a great time!

I am looking forward to Ryan P’s rehearsal dinner and wedding next weekend. I can’t wait to get out on the dance floor and do donuts in my chair. I will be offering free lap rides to any females under 50 years of age and 120 pounds. This will be a great experiment to see how my sexual functioning is progressing.

I have been utilizing para-transit to get to appointments and a few social activities. This service has worked out well. That being said I am extremely grateful to Josh, Irit, and the rest of the Jewish community for coming together and securing a mobility van donation for me. My awesome brother and Mike Simmons will be heading to Los Angeles tomorrow to pick up the van for me. I am so excited as this van will open up a number of doors for me with regards to independence and my ability to get to appointments and events in a safe and comfortable manner. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

As I mentioned last week I went to see my spinal surgeon in San Francisco. He was very impressed with my progress and has given me the OK to start PT at SCI Fit and the neck collar will be coming off permanently on August 9th. I am bending the rule a little bit and when I am I make sure I am nowhere near a curb!

As far as my progress goes I have been doing OP PT with a new therapist which seems to be going great. She was surprised by my progress considering what had been written about me in my file. I also do almost daily PT with Aunt Sally and she is kicking my butt. It is neat to see the iPad display that shows my heart rate as it keeps me motivated. I am getting some workout mats donated and a number of people have asked what they can do to help when they visit. If/when you visit be prepared to get on the floor and help me with physical therapy and stretching.

I have not gained any new movement. Between massage therapy, acupuncture, and PT I am getting stronger and my flexibility is improving. The massage therapists and my caregivers have noticed a difference. I am also slowly weaning myself off of my compression socks and BP medications.

A big thanks to Adam Starr, I got rid of my hospital bed and am in a big boy’s bed so my living space feels homier rather than like a hospital. I get to see Trapper daily and am getting more into a routine which is very helpful.

As I mentioned work is being done on the new www.lovinglane.org website. I am looking for “appropriate” pictures of me with friends and family, so if you have any please email them to me for the site.

Josh and Irit continue to be very accommodating with visitors. Out of courtesy and respect to them and their family please coordinate all visits with myself and or Lindsy.

Thank you for everyone’s continued love and support.