Adaptive Aquatics Class
by Michael J. Roberts
The first time I heard about the adaptive aquatics class was from Anne at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UW-M). Anne was the recreation therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital where I was treated as an inpatient in the brain injury rehabilitation unit for 3 months after my stroke in 2000. She told me that many patients found the class a good way to transition back into the community after leaving the hospital. I’ve always been kind of a medium swimmer, not a non-swimmer but not a particularly fast or gifted swimmer either. I can’t say enough about swimming as a road back to health.
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When
I began to attend class, I couldn’t walk more than a few steps and I needed
help even with those. I began going to the class in my wheelchair. Some of the
other students came in wheelchairs too. A family friend John Lunz helped me get
through the locker room. I had two options for entering the water. I could
transfer from my wheelchair to a hydraulics chair lift and be lowered into the
pool or I could sit on a wet vinyl mat at the edge of the pool and be dumped
in.
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I
opted for the lift on all but one occasion. Nothing wrong with the dump but I
had to ride the lift out until I could manage the stairs. Even transferring
from the chair to the lift and back was scary and painful at first.
An
allied health student volunteer was assigned to work with me. His name was Joe
and he was taller and heavier and quite a lot stronger than me. We started out
just getting used to walking back and forth in the pool.
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The
pool in the Klotsche Center for Physical Education at UWM is a competition pool
and not a therapy pool. It is not heated. An addition to the facility to
include a therapy pool is in the works. The pool was too cold for me at the
beginning. I would shiver uncontrollably and my teeth chattered audibly. Worse
than that, my affected left arm would begin to spasm in the cold. The spasms
interfered with the efforts to range the joints and recover movement.
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My
sister, Bobbie helped me out by buying me a wetsuit. My wife Linda made certain
there would be no confusing my wetsuit with any other by sewing a Batman logo
patch on it.
The
suit took some getting used to. My stroke made putting on bifurcated garments
difficult. Even shorts and tee shirts can be baffling .A one-piece garment with
arms and legs all connected like a wetsuit is a virtual mobius strip to don.
Linda had to help me get it on for a long time. The next problem I encountered
was hauling my swimming gear out of the building. A wet wetsuit and wet
swimsuit and towels are heavy. Our children were around to help me for a while.
On one occasion I ran into an English professor who I’d taken a few classes
with as I was leaving the locker room. He carried my bag to the outer door
where I met my ride.
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This
walking back and forth in the swimming pool didn’t seem like much until one
afternoon when I was walking around downtown with my son. I had gotten
comfortable enough to walk leaning on my cane or some one’s arm. I think we
were trying to catch an elevator. My son said “Come on, Let’s go” and then
“What are you doing?” I had forgotten myself and was walking ahead without my
cane or my son’s arm.
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Now
I look forward to getting in the pool at last twice a week. I swim several
laps, sidestrokes and scissor kicking one way and using the elementary
backstroke and flutter kick to come back. Get your feet wet!
Michael Roberts and his 2
daughters, Allegra and Melinda (L-R) at the West Suburban YMCA, 5 months
post-stroke
Some Swim Resources
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Copyright © June 2002
The Stroke Network, Inc.
P.O. Box 492 Abingdon, Maryland
21009
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