Christian Horse-lover's Club

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!!

September 2009.  My it has been too long since I have updated the progress of my healing.  I am continuing to gain more deep muscle feeling and gaining strength.  It is very slow, but it is progressing, God is working in me.  Robin has continued to faithfully take me to the pool on Fridays to do the exercises we learned in Calif. last summer.  My hip flexers are much stronger and so are my core muscles.  I now have a new back on my chair so I can sit up straighter.
With the help of a small "Functional electrical stimulation" machine my core and back muscles have really begun to "wake-up."  I started riding in Therapeutic Riding in Feb. and through the spring and summer session too.  Not only is it my favorite exercise, my instructor has really seen tremendous improvement.  I sit up straighter and have learned the different ways to ride as a para.  The horse I ride is "Spot," she is very well trained.  She Western reins and really listens to my seat cues.  Looking where I plan to go is vital for a para rider!  I am riding independently, but people still walk along side, for if Spot would suddenly turn sharp I do not have enough core muscles to follow that quick of a movement. 
In July my instructor noticed that my foot moved as I cued Spot to go forward.  We all celebrated.  I do isometric squeezes every night and can now see my leg move inward slightly.  For a while in the pool I would "pretend walk" -swing my legs forward and set them down while holding on to a noodle.  So in August I started putting on my leg braces and really walking in the pool while holding on to the side of the pool and Robin for support.  I swing my legs forward and put them down.  We even videotaped it and showed it to my Dr.  He is very willing to write to the insurance company to get help with some physical therapy help (besides riding).
I have been able to ride my horses a few times, but I don't like to bug people to walk with me.  It takes three people besides Robin to put me on the horse.  The Lord keeps encouraging me when I need it, with songs on the radio and when I wake up in the morning, reading scripture upholds my strength and CHC keeps me ridiculously busy.  But we are excited that there are now clubs in: Calif., Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey.  Wow look what God is doing! 
Thank you for all your prayers and please continue.

October 2008.  It has been over two years since the accident occurred that originally left me paralyzed from the waist down.  Much has happened since my last report.  In April, I was doing my isometric squeezing of the muscles I felt: my lower back, back-end and my thighs.  I decided to "test" them.  As I was laying down flat, I pulled up my knee with my hands and held it from falling side-to-side.  I worked hard to push down my leg, using only those thigh muscles I "felt."  After 5 or 6 very hard tries, I was finally able to push hard enough to make my foot slide forward and leg collapse.  I did it!   Next I did it with the other leg.  I showed Robin (my husband) and we were both excited that I actually could do "something" with my legs!  I started doing this on the nights after I swam, for I was not so stiff and spastic.   We told my Dr. and he said that was nice.  I kept working on it and in July, Robin insisted I show the Dr. what I could do.  Dr. Orr was impressed enough to write me a prescription for physical therapy. PTL!  The physical therapy was to  include functional electronic stimulation.  That is what Robin was praying and pushing for.
NEXT:  In Aug. we took a trip to visit my brother and his family in CA.  My sister-in-law Carol spent a lot of time lining up some special things.  One was a special physical therapy session in a pool at a Santa Barbara clinic.  This wonderful therapist did her best to show me more than 20 exercises that I can work on in the pool.  I'm so thankful my brother taped it, for I wouldn't have been able to remember them all.  She was excited about the strength in my core and back.  The most exciting thing is that she showed me ways I could move that I did not know about!  As I floated, I moved my legs out and in a few inches and bended at the knees.  I could move my feet up and down a bit.  In one exercise I floated with a neck float and was able to push myself away from her and pull myself in to her using my hip-flexers.  WOW and Praise the Lord!!!  I have connection..... my core, back, hip flexers and thighs ARE listening to my brain!   I am able to move in the pool because of the buoyancy of the water.   Robin and Gini (a friend from our church-New Life A/G) are both helping me to work on these exercises every week. 
So PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR PRAYERS....GOD IS HEALING ME!  It is a healing work in progress!
Some days it seems so slow, but I remind myself of  how far I have come and that the timing of my complete healing is in God's hands!
Carol also set up a therapeutic horse riding session which went quite well.  I rode a thinner horse than Honey that had a real side-to-side sway to his walk.  But I did great, so great that they encouraged me to completely let go and do the "airplane" with my arms.  I was quite nervous, but she told me to trust my walkers.  I did it just fine, all I needed to do was trust and let go.  Hmmm, I think there is a spiritual application!  I was also able to actually western rein the horse and that felt good!
Our fund money is used up so now I will not be able to ride more than 1 time a month unless my husband is able to finish the ramp he has started with the help of some friends, Jerry T. and Mike C.  Thanks, guys!  I can't wait, but I must.  The girls who help me have been training the horses to walk through the ramp, stand and allow mounting.  Horses Foxy and Sequoia have been doing great.  I truly believe riding had a huge part in bringing back recovery to my hip flexors and core muscles.
Robin has remained a steady help and support in this ordeal.  It is an ordeal for him as much as for me.  He is very protective, always looking out for me.  Pray for him.
Thank You for your prayers and please continue to remember me.  Pray for less pain.  As I get recovery there is a lot of nerve pain in the paralysis band area.
              
                                           Alive in Christ for His service,
                                         
                                           Kim Shanks


May. '08  Five more months have passed.  I am gaining strength in my stomach and core muscles.  I try to exercise everyday, swim on Fridays, and ride a horse in physical therapy on Wed. at SMILES.  I am waiting for the day I can ride our own horses here at the ranch.  Robin plans to build a ramp by our outdoor arena.  I try to remember to use my core muscles more, for I am so used to depending on my arms.   There has been more improvement, but it is little by little.  Please keep praying for the healing of the spinal chord nerves to GET CONNECTED! 
                                    Thank You,

                                    Kim

[DEC. '07 I have been riding in horse physical therapy for several weeks now and I keep getting a stronger core and better balance each time and A LOT of sensations during and afterwords. Last Wed. I even got to hold the reins and "kind of " steer the horse. I ride a Belgian/Morgan cross.... a Belgian? Her name is "Honey" and she is sweet, nice and wide. That first time I rode I could not believe how weak my core was... the centrifugal force of the turn at a slow steady walk made me lose my balance! Reminds me to be thoughtful of those beginning riders in lessons who can't seem to use those core muscles. As with all, this time of year is a busy one, but do remember:THE REASON FOR THE SEASON IS JESUS and enjoy that fact! Merry Christmas to all! b]November update: [/b] It has been over a year since the horse accident. In many ways the year has gone by quickly.... maybe because I slept half the year away. I need a good 10 hours of sleep even now. The Lord has encouraged me along the way with His Word, both logos and rhema. (written and repeated or whispered by the Holy Spirit).  My list of scriptures to read and review has grown. I am learning to speak spiritually correctly about my healing. I am continuing to improve in strength and in attaining some more feeling sensations in deep muscle areas. I can do isometric squeezes in my thighs, calves, even my toes, but as yet I can not move anything. In my pool workout I can now do 80 sit-ups and .65 of a mile and other exercises. One time I was able to move my lower leg a little with the added buoyancy of the water to help. We are finally set up with a place to begin Hippo therapy. We found out SMILES will work with adult paras. I am excited to finally get back up on a horse. I wish they just called it horse therapy! My husband plans to build me a mounting station at home so I can ride my own horses! I have been blessed to continue giving lessons. And with help of 2 young friends (CHC girls), I've continued with the training of both Josiah, a 2 1/2 year old Moresian and our new Moresian filly - Jhenhi. Josiah is the CHC mascot and Jhenhi is for sale. Both horses are very friendly, people horses and are doing very well! June update: I continue to get stronger. In our pool therapy exercises I can do 40 sit ups and 24 laps, plus we've added other exercises. I do have more feeling in the deep muscles of both my legs, but am not able to move my legs YET. I have great confidence and hope in my healing and recovery. Many times God has repeated hope in different ways, including a "word" that came from the folks praying on the 700 club. God answers prayers! I am waiting expectantly with much hope!  I have been amazed by the prayers going up for my healing from around the nation and even beyond. The care pages were a beautiful encouragement for me while I was in the hospital for those 5 weeks. This has been a difficult mt. to climb; at times, it almost seemed like a bad dream so I just need to awaken, but it is reality. The LORD has been with me in so many ways. He has strengthened me, comforted me, given me peace when I needed it. I have kept myself in His Word, and it has sustained me. The Holy Spirit has reminded me of scripture verses; they have come up in my spirit when I needed it most (rhema). For the verses that have helped go to About Kim I am going through one of the most difficult transitions of my life, but He is giving me the strength each day. My husband, Robin is going through this transition with me.  He has been an amazing care taker. God is working in both our lives. My spinal cord is not severed or even stretched, it's just bruised, but those nerves are very, very delicate. CHANGES: In Oct. before I came home I began to feel my upper abs working. PTL! The first month when I came home, I noticed I could "feel" more in my back, which did mean I felt more pain, but that's what pain pills are for. The next month, Jan. 2007, I noticed the paralysis band, which is like a very tight girdle or girth strap always tight around my ribs, actually expanded down to my hips. At first I was annoyed, for it is not very comfortable, but my physical therapist reminded me that I could "feel" it .... Oh yea, feeling is a good thing! Now in Feb. I have control of a very small group of muscles below my hips that I did not have before, so that is a very good improvement! So, the healing is in progress, so please keep praying for us. April update: Changes are happening, but they are very small. Unfortunately I have had more pain issues, but some say that it may mean my nerves are really working to connect . I hope and pray that is true. Robin and I have seen improvement each time we go do some pool exercises; the water's buoyancy helps. I can do 25 sit-ups at the pool's edge, I've swimmed 6 lapsand do a lot of core exercises to build strength. I was even able to show Robin I have a slight bit of action at the back of my thighs: with the buoyancy of the water to help, I could lift my thighs up just a bit. Small, yet big changes compared to last Oct. SO PLEASE KEEP PRAYING! Love in Christ for the praying family of God, Kim Shanks