Small steps toward big goals

Mickey Gendler began e-mailing detailed progress reports on his rehabilitation to friends and colleagues in December. He writes the updates via speech-recognition software, since his fingers can no longer type. The accident, he says jokingly, did not affect his compulsion to document everything.

Here are some excerpts:

Dec. 29, 2007:

"I am a long way from taking a step on my own. But I will get there."

Jan. 8:

"Yesterday I was able to lift my left foot a clear 2 inches off the ground while standing. My therapist Paul was holding me up, but still this was a major event for me ... Lifting a foot is a major step toward walking, figuratively and literally."

Jan. 30:

"The therapists and I spend time deconstructing and reconstructing the acts of standing up, standing, and sitting down. Sometimes my body 'gets it,' but my conscious brain does not understand how it happened ... My brother-in-law Mark said that he might not be able to walk and stand after watching my therapy session, because now he would be thinking so hard about each component."

Feb. 12:

"I can sit up in bed, and I can lie down ... My experience has changed my view of the concepts of 'success' and 'failure.' "

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com