Saturday, August 25

Friday was therapy day. Here's a quiz. Which of the following activities is OT, and which is PT?

Activity set 1. Linda looking straight ahead for activities in this set.
Play catch, first with a big beach ball, then with a littler ball. Catch with your right hand, then your left. Throw the ball up with one hand and catch it with the other.
Therapist stood behind Linda and placed cones over her shoulder in various locations. "Tell me when you see the cone." From the front, therapist handed cones to Linda and asked, "What color?"
Therapist held playing cards at various locations, usually in pairs, and asked, "What suit and number?" "Which card is larger?"

Activity set 2.
Takes elevator to basement. Linda is told to look around and tell what she saees, especially on the right side.
Stand at counter, place hands near, but not touching counter. Side-step.
Walk heel to toe, parallel to counter, hand floating above counter.
Stand heel to toe. See if you can balance that way.
Stand with both feet together, close your eyes, balance.
Stand with one foot ahead of the other, close your eyes, balance. (Count to 10 for each of these activities.)

Don't try any of these at home.
Step over a cane that was laid on the floor, left foot first, right foot first, then backwards, then sideways, hand on a railing, if needed.
Hold exercise ball with both hands, move ball up/down/side to side, follow the ball with your eyes.
Sit on ball, hand on table, move arms up/down while balancing, move arms forward/back, then side/side. Lift legs, one at a time, then extend one leg, then the other.
Stand on foam pad, no support (next to a counter), shift right to left, bend at the knees, then come back up. March in place.

Give up? The first set was for OT, second for PT.

All in all, the therapists are pleased with Linda's progress. In future blog entries, we'll just report that today was a therapy day.

Today, we took a trip to Wheatland and Clinton to visit our parents. We didn't stay too long, but they were glad to see her. Linda's dad kept looking at the back of her head and saying, "Oh baby, what did they do to you?" She told him again and again, each time he asked.