#headbandsandhightops

day 167 : i’d define this as “killing the hand control game” . #priuslife . i feel like a superhero most of the time because i’m driving with my hands and people can’t tell. don’t know why it makes me feel badass, but it does. . except when people cut me off or drive super dangerously. then i’m like, HELLO IM DRIVING WITH MY HANDS 🤬 . please drive carefully this holiday season and every time you get in a car. whatever it is, it’s not worth your or someone else’s life. . spinal cord injuries (and worse things) are real! . . . #itcanwait #spinalcordinjury #handcontrols #superherostatus #headbandsandhightops

day 144 : putting gas in the car for the first time! . somehow it’s been the little things i haven’t been able to do that have hit me the hardest. . if you haven’t been let in to the secret, gratitude is the secret of happiness. with that said, training your mind to be grateful for what you have is not a piece of cake. especially when you tend to gravitate towards realism and sometimes even pessimism (not proud of it, just being honest with myself). . for those in the US, gratitude is a big thing this week. can’t say this holiday is even remotely close to my favorite (celebrating stealing a country and mass genocide really isn’t my thing 🙃), but i will always appreciate the opportunity to be mindful and thoughtful of life. . i challenge you to be mindful and appreciative of all those mundane tasks in your day today! . . . #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife #paralysisrecovery #lifeafterSCI

day 140 : today i got these two loves of my life back. . everyone meet lucy (left) and bubba (right), crews & i’s fur-babies. . crews got to see them briefly while getting our car from florida before hurricane irma, but otherwise we haven’t seen them for 4.5 months (shoutout to @tracyshandmadesoaps for putting up with these two derps, especially ms. pillow destroyer over here) . if you know these two, you know a good picture is damn hard to come by. i’m inept at taking selfies, lucy hates the camera more than i think anything else in life, and well, bubba’s just cute. this was the best one i could get and it’s still really blurry! you don’t even want to know how lucy & i selfies came out 🙄🐶#diva . . . #theadventuresofbubsandluce #pettherapyisthebesttherapy #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife #paralysisrecovery #lifeafterSCI (at Tampa, Florida)

day 135 : reliving our road trip times by watching hgtv in a hotel room and seeing what new movement i have. . right leg slides up and down without a hitch! 😬 . . . #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife #paralysisrecovery #lifeafterSCI

day 123 : TFW the first doc you go to in years (other than, ya know, the past 4 months) is blown away and perplexed by your progress. . we’ve learned over and over again that i am an anomaly with this injury, and i’m grateful for that every minute of every day. but when doc has to double check what year you were injured because this progress does not match her 25 years of experience, it really hits home how incredibly lucky i’ve been and continue to be. . feeling good that doctor is settled. now to get PT set up! #adulting . . . #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife #paralysisrecovery #lifeafterSCI

day 122 : i am ridiculously proud of this crawl! . hadn’t done this in a while and i’m so surprised that it has changed so much. . baby steps....literally. . hope your halloween was great - i made crews get the rest of the trick-o-treaters once i transferred onto the floor to do exercises 😈 . . . #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife #paralysisrecovery #lifeafterSCI

day 121 : finally got myself to do an adaptive yoga class online. . thank you to @nchpad for creating a yoga video for people with an SCI that felt real and had challenging pieces in it. a lot of what i’ve found and experienced has been “gentle yoga” or just some stretching and breathing. it was a tough class and i’m glad it got me out of my chair! . getting back into something that i loved and that defined me has been harder than i thought. more than once while doing face-down poses did i find myself sticking my face into tears that had fallen. but i did it. and i did way more than i thought i could do. . i WILL get back to taking a class in a real studio (although youtube is awesome). . . . #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife #paralysisrecovery #lifeafterSCI #adaptiveyoga

day 119 : flutter kicks are my new party trick the last couple of days. . finally feeling my spirits lifted a little. i’m starting to get used to home slowly, and, with the help of dear friends this week, i was finally able to transfer to the floor yesterday (let’s be honest - chair to floor transfers just were NOT gonna happen). . i truly believe movement is the key to a life of happiness and every day i gain a little more freedom. i am far beyond grateful for the recovery i’ve experienced so far and optimistic for everything that’s to come. . p.s. - don’t worry, plants are recovering nicely after their 10-day roadtrip. i still suck at taking care of them but am doing better every day! 🙃 . . . #headbandsandhightops #spinalcordinjury #extrarepsfortrish #trishstrong #wheelchairlife