While we were at St. Luke's, Linda and I discussed the possibility of mall-walking as a good way to aid the recovery process. This morning we went to Target and looked for a few items. Though it was only a few items, Linda was on her feet for quite a spell, going from one department to another.
Linda took her first shower at home this morning. All went well. We did discover that the addition of a shower stool in our walk-in shower made for cramped quarters.
Linda has set up her nest in her recliner with all her necessities close at hand: TV remote, newspapers, water and soda containers, side tables, pen/pencil, cat blanket, etc. She still uses the walker, but she is becoming more and more steady on her feet.
In an earlier post, Melissa reported two concerns for Linda: mobility and vision. Her mobility improves every day. Her vision is a complicated issue. Since the surgeon had to go through the vision area of Linda's brain to get to the tumor, her vision is affected. It's not a "blind spot;" it's called a "vision cut." She just fails to see the full right side of her environment (the tumor was on the left side of her brain). She thinks she is seeing everything, but she only sees what her brain can show her, so she has to learn to constantly scan from left to right to see what is on her right side. She has gotten pretty good about this. We can't know for sure what the days, weeks and months ahead will bring. She may completely recover her full range of vision, or she may only recover part of it. As you have read in this blog, she is slowly increasing her range of vision. The good news is that even if she never recovers her full range of vision, the condition can be rectified with glasses. There are lenses available that contain prisms which bring things on her right side into her view. She will be able to drive and do anything she wants to. We will wait for a few months before we resort to this, but it sounds like a workable solution.
Linda wanted to go out and see her flowers today, so we took a stroll in the (uneven) yard. She pulled a few weeds out of flower pots and was happy to find a red pepper on her pepper plant.
More later.
I did a lot of mall walking, following my dicharge from St. Lukes. It does help, although settle in for the long haul.Six years after my event, I am still recovering, buy my progress from the early days is remarkable. Linda, keep working hard, the improvement will not be as fast as you would like but it will come.
ReplyDeleteRon Wenman
Phil, thank you for the updates. Please tell Linda I am thinking of her constantly.
ReplyDeleteJudy