Do you use the pool?

[dennis-turner]

I would love to use a pool for water therapy, unfortunately it would be very difficult to get me changed and then into or out of a pool.

I love the freedom water can give me.

[alyssa-silva]

I hear you. That’s how I feel about it too. Would be cool if there was a lift of some sort that could bring us in (and out) of the pool while keeping us submerged so we could move around.

[deann-r]

Last year I really wanted to try some kind of aqua therapy. I even bought a swimsuit. Being in the water is something I miss a lot. It’s the only place I’ve ever stood independently. Unfortunately I never found a pool locally with the accommodations I need to get into the pool. I would have to transfer to a pool chair at my house. Then after I’d have to travel back to my house in the soggy pool chair to change. No thanks. Plus for some reason my mom was super hesitant about the idea. If she doesn’t want to do it I’d have to find someone else. Who would I trust not to let me drown 😆

If you’re not a big pool fan how do you keep cool in the summer?

[alyssa-silva]

AC, lots of AC when I can get it haha. But at the beach, I’ll have my nephew go to the ocean and fetch a bucket of water to pour on my legs so I can cool off. He’s 6 and gets a kick out of it. Or at home, I’ll have a fan next to me or attached to my wheelchair if I’m outside for an extended period.

How do you keep cool?

[mike-huddleston]

Ahhhh, the pool. I am so very fortunate to have aqua therapy weekly on Fridays. It’s an indoor pool at a community center, which has two pools; one standard pool for swimming and another one for therapy. I started doing this in late 2016 and made very decent progress until a bit of a setback during COVID, when the therapy options were closed down for almost 2 years. In fairness, I don’t use this as a cool down opportunity, but focus on the therapeutic benefits of working with a therapists who has a lot of experience with SMA patients. I was very fortunate to find her and the pool within about 10 miles of our house.

I do use the pool’s transfer chair, so I transfer with a slide board to that chair and that is a hydraulic chair that lowers me into the water. When the session is over, it’s a simple reversed procedure.

Changing is a challenge for me as well. I do not change at the pool. I wear shorts to the pool that I stay in, and change from my shirt to a water shirt. I also wear yoga socks in the pool for traction. My therapists also adds about 8 pounds of ankle weights per leg, as I’m kind of “floaty” without them. This means my legs would constantly float up to the surface without them. I’m my own personal flotation device!!

After the session, I place an absorbent medical chuck/pad in my wheelchair before transferring back into it. I bring a towel and dry off, my therapists helps get my socks and shoes back on, and I take off the water shirt and put back on my dry one. This time of year, it’s pretty comfortable. In the winter? not so much. But IU bring a small blanket and lay that over my lap and put a jacket and knit hat on and I’m okay until I get back in my van. I wouldn’t want to be outside like this for an extended period of time, but as is, it’s a minute or two which is very tolerable.

I’m working on building back up to where I was pre-COVID, but the freedom felt in the water is amazing. There is truly nothing quite like it. I encourage everyone to pursue this as a possibility if you have the opportunity to do so – and can do so safely. And as a byproduct, it’s very refreshing!

By the way, access to the therapy pool is also available without a therapist. They have hours called “Wellspring” where you can pay a reasonable fee once or buy 15 passes at a time. If you need someone to assist you, they can do so as well.

[alyssa-silva]

This sounds really awesome. I don’t think we have anything like that around here. A lift into the pool is exactly what I need though. Thanks for sharing Mike.