My Most Challenging Client

In the process of going through some old papers with my wife recently, I came across some photos and a little thank you card from a man I trained several years ago. His name was Ronny, and he was by far the biggest challenge of my career as a personal trainer! He was also one of the most fun clients I've ever had.

Let’s start with how Ronny and I first met. There was a woman who had been a member of my gym nearly from day one. Her name was Carole and she was an amazing lady (still is). She was one of the first woman jockeys, and she had suffered a head injury from a bad fall while riding. She used to be in that gym every morning, pushing herself harder than any of the rest of us.

One day she told me about someone she'd met at a head injury support group. She said this young guy (25) had been thrown off a motorcycle and had a head and neck injury. She said he was confined to a wheelchair and that his mother had been told there was nothing more that could be done. She said she had told him and his mother about me, and the gym, and that she thought I could help him. I felt great that Carole had so much faith in me, but I also was very hesitant as this was way out of my scope of knowledge.

I called Nancy (Ron's mother) and she told me in great detail everything they had gone through, finishing with, "...and after several months of physical therapy they said this is the best he will be." I was very honest, telling her I had never worked with anyone like Ronny before but I was willing to give it a try. We set up a meeting for the end of the week.

I took the few days leading up to the meeting to do as much research as I could. I consulted with a couple of chiropractors I knew, as well as an MD, an osteopath and even discussed him with an acupuncturist. I didn't get much in the way of positive feedback.

The morning of the meeting came and Carole was there waiting with me. She was so sure I could help him. I didn't share her confidence but the more I had thought about it the more I wanted to try. Right on time a woman walked through the door pushing a wheelchair. We made our introductions and I realized that his speech was very hard to understand. Ronny tried to shake my hand and missed at first. I held my hand still and after a couple of tries he grabbed it and tried to crush it. He was strong and he had a big smile on his face, so I squeezed back and just stared at him. We both kept squeezing and eventually we both started laughing and that was it. We were friends. Between the test of strength and the Hendrix T shirt he was wearing, I had no choice but to like the guy.

We talked for a bit, then I put him through a series of strength and coordination tests I had devised. He was strong, very strong (my sore hand reminded me)but there was a short circuit somewhere between his brain and his limbs. He could move his arms and legs but didn't have a lot of control over them. We quickly came to the conclusion that free weights were out of the question when he easily pressed a dumbbell over his head and promptly dropped it, narrowly missing my foot, which of course he laughed at. I quickly realized that in spite of his injuries I had a young guy with a real wise a** attitude on my hands, and the best way to handle him was going to be to throw the same thing back at him. As that morning progressed I started to get excited about the possibilities. They had nothing to lose and it was obvious that, A) Nancy was at the end of her rope and B) Ronny really wanted to be in the gym. I had been told by the handful of medical professionals I had consulted with to stay away from the situation. It made for an interesting challenge ...and I LOVE a challenge!

We made a plan to get started the following Monday. I spent the whole weekend wandering around the gym and making up things to have him try. I couldn't get it out of my head. People must have thought I had lost it, as I was going from machine to machine talking to myself, and then getting on the floor and pulling myself up on machines while trying to keep my legs totally limp.

Monday came and I am not sure who was more excited to get started, Ronny or me. I wheeled him over to a leg extension machine and said, "OK, get on it." His mother and a few other people who were watching started to give me a hard time and I told them to please be quiet or go away. I repeated "get on the machine." I then showed him what to do. "I've got you, man." I told him, "I won't let you get hurt." It took several minutes but he dragged himself from his chair into position on the machine!

We both were exhausted and covered in sweat as I had to help him a little. I placed his feet under the pad and had him do some leg extensions. He was quite strong but couldn't control the lowering portion of the movement so I had to hang on to the apparatus to keep it from crashing down.
I then helped him back into his chair. And I do mean only helped. I made him do most of the work. We set a machine with a bar about 4 feet off the ground, and I told him to get on the floor and get under the bar. Again people started butting in, and this time he told them to go away. He got under the bar and I told him to grab it. It took a few tries for him to get both hands on the bar. Then I had him pull himself up. That’s right I had him doing modified pull-ups while sitting on the floor!

By the time we were done that morning we both were totally beat. He was as happy as anyone could be. Nancy couldn't stop thanking me. She said she hadn't seen him have so much fun since before his accident.

And that’s how it started. We met three mornings a week. Once Nancy wheeled him in the door, we parked his chair at the counter and he crawled from machine to machine. He would pull himself up on to the machines, sometimes with a little help or sometimes without it. We kept working at it until he could stand holding onto one of the machines. Then, holding on to one, he reached out and grabbed the frame of another and pulled himself to it! Sometimes he fell, and many times he cursed me ... and of course I cursed him back, and we both loved every minute of it. When a stranger might be in the gym and see all this I am sure I must have looked like the meanest bastard walking the planet, and I really didn't care. We worked hard for several months and I really can't recall what caused us to stop. We got to the point that he could pull himself into a standing position and, by holding on to the machines, he could get from one to another. My secret goal was to eventually get him on his feet with no support but I guess that was just too much to hope for.

And now? Well I am still in contact with Carol who, at 70+ can still do 20 pull-ups. And Ron and Nancy? I actually spoke to them several months ago. They are living in AZ., and Ron goes to a PT clinic/gym a couple times a week, and from what Nancy says he still loves it!

Below the image of the original thank you note is a transcript of the note itself:

Dear Bill,

Ron and I wish to thank you so very much for working with Ron, several times a week, for the past five months. Your patience (due to his difficulty of speech) and physical disabilities was endless. You did so very much, not only for his physical, but mental well-being. By receiving the physical workouts, his self-esteem was positively affected. Your offering and giving your time free of charge was truly a blessing.
May God bless you.
Thank you.
We will always be thankful.

Nancy and Ron