Neurorehabilitation From The Trenches: Walking

The irony of me, of all people, writing this guide to walking is not lost on me. With that said, I want to share some wisdom I have picked up, when it comes to walking from A to B. I think the important thing to try to remember when it comes to walking is how complex it is. Even without the balance and coordination problems that I have, there's still the orchestra of muscles and brain to consider.

Fortunately, for ableds, there is no need, beyond toddlerhood, to consider any of this; it just works. What I have learned of late, is that walking is little more than controlled falling. If I cast my memory back to my premorbid self, I took for granted that I was moving along mindlessly. Now that I'm trying to relearn to walk, I was hoping that, one day, I'd find myself ambling along, absentmindedly; then I'd be cured. But now I realise that I will have to brave up. Toddlers have the advantage, over me, of being able to topple over relatively comfortably, not to mention their comparatively supreme plasticity.

The main advice I would give to myself of a year ago, would be to remember that walking is hard. The ableds don't know this because they don't need to; if you find yourself feeling a little unsure of yourself, that could mean, not that you're doing it wrong, but, that you could be doing it absolutely correctly, keep doing it! Do more of it. But I should add, don't do it unobserved or without your phone in your pocket.