Today was therapy day - more of the same. Under the therapist's guidance, but without assistance and without the walker, I walked 70 feet down the corridor and back swinging my arms like a power walker. I still feel more comfortable using the walker in crowded and noisy environments. Around the house, I'm using the walker less and less.
The therapists are pleased with my progress and suggested that I start coming twice a week rather than three times. Sounds like a plan to me.
After therapy Phil dropped me off at Northwest Junior High while he went to the store. It was great seeing the Northwest family. The people are what I miss most about being retired but they are only a short distance away.
We may not be posting regularly since there are fewer milestones but I am pleased that I am getting better everyday.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Sunday, August 26
[Linda here]
Sunday afternoon my best friend, Loreen, from Calamus high school and her husband, Ted, came to visit. It was great to just "pick up our conversations" where we left off the last time we saw each other last summer. We don't live very far apart but getting our schedules to mesh always makes our visits few and far between.
Sunday afternoon my best friend, Loreen, from Calamus high school and her husband, Ted, came to visit. It was great to just "pick up our conversations" where we left off the last time we saw each other last summer. We don't live very far apart but getting our schedules to mesh always makes our visits few and far between.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday, August 23
OT (Occupational Therapy)
Yesterday, Linda was asked to recreate a pattern using a pegboard. She did very well. She was also quizzed about analog clocks: "What time is displayed on this clock?" Then she was asked to match a shape with one of the shapes below it. That started out pretty easy, but became more difficult when the shape choices were rotated sideways or toward or away from her. Then the shapes had darker and lighter portions. Another tricky task was to decide which shape matched the target shape, if the missing parts were filled in. Also, some parts of the shapes were hidden, so she had to guess the correct shape by what she could see. It may sound quite easy, but believe me, some parts were quite tough. Overall, she did OK on the spatial relations.
PT (Physical Therapy)
She walked, unassisted, backwards, forward, and side-stepping. She also did stretching exercises. Sitting on an exercise ball and performing balance maneuvers was a little tricky, but she thought it felt pretty good.
We walked at WalMart again.
Today, she had an appointment with Dr. Cheryl Johnson, her family doctor. Doc Cheryl is very caring and empathetic. She interpreted the pathology report and showed us where it said that none of the signs of malignancy were present in the sample. Apparently, they seldom say a sample is benign; all they can say for sure is what they don't see.
The doctor reviewed Linda's drug list and removed the dressing from her head and stomach (the discharge nurse said they would fall off by this time, but it didn't). Shampooing soon. Woohoo!
Yesterday, Linda was asked to recreate a pattern using a pegboard. She did very well. She was also quizzed about analog clocks: "What time is displayed on this clock?" Then she was asked to match a shape with one of the shapes below it. That started out pretty easy, but became more difficult when the shape choices were rotated sideways or toward or away from her. Then the shapes had darker and lighter portions. Another tricky task was to decide which shape matched the target shape, if the missing parts were filled in. Also, some parts of the shapes were hidden, so she had to guess the correct shape by what she could see. It may sound quite easy, but believe me, some parts were quite tough. Overall, she did OK on the spatial relations.
PT (Physical Therapy)
She walked, unassisted, backwards, forward, and side-stepping. She also did stretching exercises. Sitting on an exercise ball and performing balance maneuvers was a little tricky, but she thought it felt pretty good.
We walked at WalMart again.
Today, she had an appointment with Dr. Cheryl Johnson, her family doctor. Doc Cheryl is very caring and empathetic. She interpreted the pathology report and showed us where it said that none of the signs of malignancy were present in the sample. Apparently, they seldom say a sample is benign; all they can say for sure is what they don't see.
The doctor reviewed Linda's drug list and removed the dressing from her head and stomach (the discharge nurse said they would fall off by this time, but it didn't). Shampooing soon. Woohoo!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tuesday, August 21
[Phil here]
Yesterday was Linda's first therapy session since leaving the hospital. It included Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy. After some testing, the speech therapist was impressed with Linda's progress and decided Linda didn't need to see her again for a month. OT and PT will continue every Monday, Wednesday and Friday--45 minutes for each session.
Some people (Linda's family included) wondered why Linda needed speech therapy. As some of you may know, speech therapy involves far more than the ability to speak. It includes memory, math ability and reading/comprehension, among other things I can't remember right now (need some of that therapy myself).
Yesterday, the contractor arrived to do some bathroom remodeling. We had been waiting for him for some time and it the work will last for a week and a half. It will be nice for Linda to have grab bars in the bath/shower.
Today, we walked in the mall and did some shopping. Linda still feels more comfortable with the walker; however, she can walk unassisted. The therapist said her confidence in her ability to walk unassisted will improve and she will just naturally stop using the walker. When we shop, she pushes a cart and that works very well.
Linda tackled balancing our checkbook today. It went quite well.
Today, another milestone: she trimmed her fingernails and discovered she can now type much better.
Tonight, she's hoping the Cubs will be on TV. Nothing good on TV during the day :)
She wants you to know how much she appreciates your support: cards, calls, email notes, visits and continued thoughts and prayers.
More later.
Yesterday was Linda's first therapy session since leaving the hospital. It included Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy. After some testing, the speech therapist was impressed with Linda's progress and decided Linda didn't need to see her again for a month. OT and PT will continue every Monday, Wednesday and Friday--45 minutes for each session.
Some people (Linda's family included) wondered why Linda needed speech therapy. As some of you may know, speech therapy involves far more than the ability to speak. It includes memory, math ability and reading/comprehension, among other things I can't remember right now (need some of that therapy myself).
Yesterday, the contractor arrived to do some bathroom remodeling. We had been waiting for him for some time and it the work will last for a week and a half. It will be nice for Linda to have grab bars in the bath/shower.
Today, we walked in the mall and did some shopping. Linda still feels more comfortable with the walker; however, she can walk unassisted. The therapist said her confidence in her ability to walk unassisted will improve and she will just naturally stop using the walker. When we shop, she pushes a cart and that works very well.
Linda tackled balancing our checkbook today. It went quite well.
Today, another milestone: she trimmed her fingernails and discovered she can now type much better.
Tonight, she's hoping the Cubs will be on TV. Nothing good on TV during the day :)
She wants you to know how much she appreciates your support: cards, calls, email notes, visits and continued thoughts and prayers.
More later.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Getting back to normal
We had a very normal day at home today. Mom finished going through the newspapers from the last few days, Dad trimmed and mowed part of the lawn (Michael came over and finished it) and Mom and Dad together did the dishes while I dusted and vacuumed.
After leftovers for lunch we made a trip to Ghurties for some frozen yoghurt and Mom walked all the way around the building for some exercise when we were done.
After all of that excitement, we sat down to watch the end of the Cubs game and Mom and I both fell asleep!
Because Mom is doing so well, I am going back to Madison this evening. Mom and Dad will be able to take care of each other just fine, and I told Mom that if she wants me to visit, all she needs to do is ask. She doesn't need to go to the hospital just to get attention ;)
Updates will come from Dad from now on.
After leftovers for lunch we made a trip to Ghurties for some frozen yoghurt and Mom walked all the way around the building for some exercise when we were done.
After all of that excitement, we sat down to watch the end of the Cubs game and Mom and I both fell asleep!
Because Mom is doing so well, I am going back to Madison this evening. Mom and Dad will be able to take care of each other just fine, and I told Mom that if she wants me to visit, all she needs to do is ask. She doesn't need to go to the hospital just to get attention ;)
Updates will come from Dad from now on.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Mom and her cat reunited in her chair
The picture is a little dark, but you can see the black cat Fruity on Mom's lap. The cat doesn't like anyone but Mom so when she is gone the cat just meows and meows and complains to us that Mom isn't here. He was very happy to have her back tonight (and so were we!)
You can also see a bit of the bandage in her hair if you look closely. That will come off in the next couple days.
You can also see a bit of the bandage in her hair if you look closely. That will come off in the next couple days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)