Hello Elaine, Yes it is very hard work, but after you are straightened out and lined up, maintaining what you have gained should be easier. I have to fight laziness every day, coasting is what I do best. I am trying to quit a walker that I have been pushing for a year. Those things are not the direction you want to go. I believe in excercise to tolerance as I ride a spin bike 5 days a week and will walk very carefully on flat smooth floors until I judge that I need to quit. My PT experience was different as I was in an acute phase of Amyotrophy and was losing muscle mass as they were working with me. My balance and strength have been returning slowly and I am thinking about going back to PT to learn how to walk again. It will be hard when you go, but please bring home a routine that will strike a balance that will allow you to stay upright and walking. Good Luck, Ken in Texas.