A New Chapter For Matt

Through her physical therapy, she met a physical therapist who told her about a new gym that was opening in Waco called Waco Adapt. It’s a gym that is specifically for people with various disabilities that may preclude them from using a regular gym. It’s a gym where physical therapy, rehabilitation, and fitness all collide.

So Lisa and her husband Jon have been active at this gym since the doors opened earlier this year, and the stories they tell of the people, their triumphs, and their determination, have been so encouraging. And from the beginning, she has said, “Kristi, I really want Matt to come!”

I really wanted Matt to go, too. I just wasn’t sure how we could actually work that in. Over the last three years, Matt’s abilities have diminished (due to his M.S.) to the point that I literally have to do everything for him at this point. Until a couple of years ago, Matt had lost the use of his legs and his right arm, but he still had the use of his left arm (and he’s right-arm dominant). But he could still feed himself, pick up a glass of water and drink, etc. He didn’t have great fine motor skills with his left arm, but he could do the basics.

Then he got sick and had to go to the hospital. He went into that hospital stay able to use his left arm, and he came out of that hospital stay no longer able to use his left arm. I have no idea what happened. That wasn’t the regular progression of M.S. Matt was diagnosed with M.S. about 22 years ago, and his loss of motor skills has always been very slow. Progressive, but slow. But this was a complete loss of his whole arm and hand over a three-day hospital stay, which leads me to believe that it was caused by something else. I have no idea what that something else is, though.

Ever since that hospital stay a couple of years ago, Matt hasn’t been able to do anything on his own. His medical papers list him as a “functional quadriplegic”. He has never regained the use of his left arm or hand. That means that if he needs to eat, I have to feed him. If he just needs a drink of water, I have to give it to him. He can’t use a remote control to turn the T.V. off and on. Nothing. To say that life has gotten more challenging since that hospital stay would be an understatement. That also means that he requires much more of my time and attention, which means that I have less time to work. As the breadwinner of our household, that has naturally put more stress on me. (That’s not a complaint. I’m just describing our current situation. Matt isn’t a difficult person to take care of at all. Time-consuming, yes. Difficult, no.)

So when Lisa and Jon told me about this gym, I really wanted to find a way for Matt to go. I think it would be so good for him, not only for the workouts, but also for the community. But my main issue was time. I already have so little of it to put towards work, and I couldn’t even imagine when I could fit in taking Matt to the gym three (or more) times a week. So I told Lisa that I’d have to think about it and see if we could figure something out.

Well, this past Monday, Lisa and I and a few other friends went to lunch together. Since we have a wheelchair van, I picked her up, and on the way, we started talking about the gym again. I asked her if they had any kind of service where they pick people up from their home, take them to the gym, help them work out, and then bring them back. She said they didn’t because they don’t have a transport vehicle. Well, we were sitting in a transport vehicle at that very moment. We have a wheelchair van.

When I mentioned that, her eyes lit up. She said, “Kristi, we can take him!” I told her not to commit to anything just yet. I mean, it’s a big commitment, and she would need to talk to Jon about it. And even then, I figured it might need to start on a trial basis and see if this is even feasible.

But Lisa was so excited about it that she went home after lunch and called the owner of the gym (I’m assuming he’s the owner, but maybe not) to work out some arrangements. Then she texted me and said that even he was willing to come to our house and pick up Matt and take him in our van.

I was pretty amazed, to be honest. I mean, this is far more than a gym. I can’t think of any other gym where the people who run the place are so committed to seeing people get healthy that they’d come and pick the person up and take them.

So we haven’t worked out all the details yet, but I’m taking Matt to the gym tomorrow morning to meet the physical therapist and the other people there, to see everything they have available that may be of use to Matt, and to see if we can work out a plan of action.

I’m hoping and praying that this all works out. Matt is very excited about it. The most immediate goal for Matt is to regain the use of his left arm and hand. If he can do that, it will be a massive victory. Just that one thing would drastically improve his quality of life and free up so much of my time.

But they also have one of those machines that helps people with disabilities to stand. And two days before this whole gym conversation even came up, Matt told me, out of the blue, “Before the end of this year, I want to stand.” When he told me that, I had no clue how we could even make that happen. We obviously don’t have the equipment for that at home. Matt hasn’t stood in ten years, so getting him into a standing position, with his feet on the floor and his knees straight, didn’t even seem possible. But this gym happens to have the very thing that we would need in order for Matt to reach that goal by the end of this year. It would have to be a very slow process since he hasn’t put pressure on his joints in so long. But he seems determined.

Whether or not he reaches that goal, I’m excited to see him so excited. And even though we haven’t even been there yet, and we haven’t met any of the other people there yet, I’ve already gotten a small glimpse of the strong, supportive community they’re building there. So Matt’s new chapter begins tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see him become part of this supportive community. I think it will actually be so good for him to be around other people who have similar struggles that he faces and seeing them tackle those challenges head on.

By the way, if you live in the Waco area, Waco Adapt runs on donations from the community. Matt and I will have no problem paying for Matt’s membership, but I know there are a lot of people in the community who could benefit from this gym, but don’t have the money for a membership. If you’re interested in being involved in helping others with disabilities be able to work out, get the rehab they need, and be a part of this supportive community, there are opportunities to do so on the website: Waco Adapt.

Here’s a short video I found from a local news station about the gym: