May 2012
“heeling”=”healing” for me. I finally realized something in therapy this week… heel strike in both legs is impaired… Especially in the left foot with ataxia. It has finally gotten to the point where I can start to control the placement of my left leg. We were focused on foot placement for so long, that I can now fine tune the movements. Placement is not 100% yet, but I have enough control know where I can focus on what used to be minor details… In the normal gait cycle, a definitive heel strike is necessary for proper/efficient loading on the stance leg. I had a tendency to throw my left foot out in front of me and launch myself off a stiff left leg (stifler”). No control of weight-baring/ loading at all on the left leg. Now I’m realizing that I need a more controlled left heel strike to load weight on the planted left leg. We’ve also noticed that: I need to make sure the left knee is not stiff, my trunk is not rotated too much to the left, and I need to maintain a narrow base of support by activating my hip adductor muscless. Things are making more sense now! Consistency is the key! there are so many things that I still have to consciously think about! Things are really getting interesting! Stay tuned… I need to consistently practice this…
“LET’S KICK IT!” Inaugural mAss Kickers Foundation Charity KickBall Tournament recap
San Diego, CA – Liberty Station. May 19, 2012 mAss Kickers Foundation hosted the inaugural mAss Kickers Foundation Charity Kickball Tournament. The event was created by four friends in the San Diego area that wanted to create a unique and fun event to support the efforts of mAss Kickers Foundation. The event was organized by Lyman Ng, Brent Glova, Joyce Tam, and Eric Galvez. With little event planning experience, the team was eager to attempt to create the event last year. But due to busy personal schedules, the event was difficult to get off the ground. The addition of Joyce Tam finally got the ball rolling and brought much needed event planning experience and structure to the table. We wanted to create a fun event to support newly diagnosed patients and our loved one affected by that diagnosis. mAss Kickers Foundation prides itself on creating unique events! Every summer, we partner with Hell Survivors Paintball Field in Pinckney MI to host our Annual TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit. Eight San Diego based teams participated in the inaugural kickball event. Teams were encouraged to come up with their own unique team names. These are the teams/team colors:
- Sexual Chocolate – Burnt Orange
- Ball Busters – Red
- KickaDoodleDoo -Kelly Green
- The Jenemies — Carolina Blue
- All-Stars – Lime Green
- SoCal Riot – Own Jerseys
- Self Esteem Busters – Grey
- Menace II Sobriety - Pink
- Event Staff – Orange/Yellow
The morning of Round Robin group play determined the seeding in the afternoon competition. It was also a time for players to reacquaint themselves with their favorite elementary school recess past-time. The Urban Eats food truck stopped by at lunch to provide delicious community oriented gourmet food for the event! The intensity of the afternoon games was heightened after the announcement of Individual Championship P.I.M.P. (Pugilistic Individuals Masskicking with Pride) Cups. The teams playing for the Championship and the Consolation Titles were: The Ball Busters-SoCal Riot and All-Stars-Sexual Chocolate. Congratulations are in order for the winners of the 2012 mAss Kickers Championship P.I.M.P. Cups, the SoCal Riot. Sexual Chocolate won the Consolation bracket! Everyone had a great time and we look forward to hosting this FUN event next year with a little more experience under our belt!
Special thanks goes to Cynthia Comacho of the Cabrillo Rec Center, Urban Eats, Joey Evans, Aaron Lebsack, Amanda James, Gabby Penn Farmer, Marie Pancotti, Lorraine Painko, Athena Feinauer, Mark Feinauer, and Jaime Schnable.
Inaugural mAss Kickers KickBall Tournament Preview
We’ve learned that tumor/cancer survivorship needs a little more “attitude”, AKA “thrivership.” mAss Kickers Foundation (MKF) was born out of the necessity to supply those affected by tumors/cancer with that attitude. MKF has grown leaps and bounds since we were created, but we still want the newly diagnosed tumor/cancer patient to feel a little less scared after hearing difficult news. One of the first things a newly diagnosed tumor/cancer patient loses is confidence. To make up for that loss, we figured out that Attitude = Confidence. More importantly, we learned that an individual’s confidence can be strengthened though UNITY. We decided a Charity Kickball Tournament would be a fun way to support newly diagnosed patients. We will be hosting this event at Liberty Station in San Diego, CA on 5-19-12 from 8:30AM-4PM. Registration is at 8:30. Games start at 9:30 with round robin play to determine seeding. Championship bracket play begins after lunch. This will be the inaugural event, so we need your support to ensure it’s success.
Please consider a tax-deductible donation in order to support our efforts to assist everyone affected by a new tumor/cancer diagnosis.
FOR MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO SUPPORT THE MKF KICKBALL TOURNAMENT,
CLICK HERE!
ANNOUNCEMENT:
++All teams will break for lunch between 12:30-1:30PM. Our featured food truck My Urban Eats will be stationed in the parking lot from between 11:30-1:30PM to serve hungry players and participants.
++Urban Eats is a community oriented Gourmet Food Truck focused on “Fresh Affordable Fare”. Urban Eats delivers honest food at a good value, utilizing local ingredients and enterprising healthy consumption.
If you can’t make a donation at this point, help us reach our goal by sharing this page on Facebook and Twitter! Please send a personal e-mail sharing this page to the friends who maybe be interested in supporting our cause. Thanks so much for your generosity!
About mAss Kickers Foundation
mAss Kickers Foundation takes pride in providing tumor/cancer patients & their loved ones with a “puglistic” attitude to fight this intimidating diagnosis! Together, we can build a strong support group and defeat these horrible diseases. We call it ”Tumor/Cancer Thrivership with Attitude.”
Had another eye open session of physical therapy this afternoon. I’m not spending enough time on my L Leg in the gait cycle, always resulting in a quick R step. I have a tendency to rush the through the step, neglecting the weight bearing through the L knee (Stiffler should be gone and I should be spending more time on a bent knee.) I have a tendency to rush through everything, so we are working on slowing everything down and spending more time on the L leg… L leg placement is still a little bit hard to control, but I can feel a difference already! (Need to focus on preventing L foot IR) L hip control definitely is being addressed more. We revisited lateral weight shifting in sitting. Lateral weight shifting in my hips is definitely lacking and has not been addressed in a while. I typically walk with a wide base of support. I just need to keep it narrow! I guess I can refocus on it now! Narrowing my base of support when walking is something I can work on! This is something that I’ve been told numerous times, but now I have a strategy to practice it!
Yesterday, San Diego lost one of our brightest stars, Junior Seau represented all that is good about San Diego: a successful professional football career, hometown pride, a unique Pacific Islander background, a charitable soul, and a friendly persona. The surprising news hit me like a ton of bricks! I ran into Junior twice at his restaurant last year! (I like to think he recognized me the second time. hahaha!) Both times he was very friendly and seemed to genuinely enjoy talking to everyone. I met him for the first time on my birthday at Raw Mana Sushi for Aloha Wednesday night at his Restaurant (which conveniently is a short scooter ride from my place.) The second time I met him was at a celebration the day he was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Ring of Honor. I ran into him in the upstairs portion of his Restaurant. I wanted to personally thank him for hosting such a unique event before I left. I had not seen a large showcase of Asian Pacific Islander talent since my days in college. Since I use a mobility scooter to get around, I needed to take the elevator to get back downstairs. He stepped away from his table and actually rode with me in the elevator and walked me all the way to the entrance. I couldn’t believe a millionaire/ former NFL All-pro football player escorted me on my way out! Such a cool thing to do! I’ll never forget the way he treated me like family. I’m still shocked at the news of his passing. Junior, your family and friends are in my prayers through this difficult time. I really hope more research is done to figure out how this could have happened to someone with such a big heart. The brain is very complicated. I hope that this at least puts the spotlight on post traumatic brain injury issues. I’ll never forget the way you treated the little dude in the scooter. I still look up to you, only now I’ll be looking up at the sky. Rest In Peace Kuya.
Dude! I’m a HUGE FAN of 90′s cheesy songs! HAHAHA! It is only fitting that I integrate it into my personal rehab. (btw “Lisa Turtle” from Saved by the Bell is in this video!) Today in therapy, we refocused on increasing the weight bearing on my L leg (“Stifler”.) This time we focused on spending more time on the L stance leg and not take a quick R step vs what I should be doing… a controlled R step. The L stance leg appears to be the limiting factor in my gait cycle. I realize now there needs there needs to be:
- more L hip lateral control/ (slight) hip adduction lateral movement,
- narrower base of support/ foot placement
- more bend in the L knee in the stance phase (no more “Stifler”), and
- longer weight bearing/stance time on the L LE with bent knee.
I can feel myself slowly recognizing how to walk again. I have a tendency to speed everything up, so I’m definitely going to try to slow my gait cycle down! Things might get interesting the next few weeks!
