GOT BOTH FEET OFF THE GROUND AT ONCE

What Happened March 23, 2021
This was in a word, terrifying.  The ask from my PT induced a panic attack.  At this point it had been only six months of rehab and I was still very carefully planning  getting from point A to B.  Movement was in my head and had not made it to my body with any kind of automaticity (good word, right?). I was careful and not in any way moving with fluidity. I see it through the lens of language learning where a non-native speaker will get the words out, but it will not sound natural. My movement did not look natural.

Why it Matters
It had been a little over 7 months since my stroke.  This was the first time I was being called on to really trust my body to coordinate in a dynamic way.  I needed to leave the ground with symmetry, keep track of myself in space, then ‘stick the landing’ while maintaining my balance and stopping my momentum.  I cried tears of joy afterwards. It may seem simple, especially since research says by 24 months, 50% of children can jump with both feet off the ground. I borrowed this from the same source: Jumping helps to develop leg strength and balance. It requires coordination of upper and lower extremity movements... Jumping is a building block for more complex  movements, specialized skills, and general physical activity.