Mom’s therapists continue to be so encouraging with mom and her progress. They seem surprised that she continues to get stronger. I think a lot of people are waiting for her to hit that plateau but she’s not there yet. Even just shy of 6 months, she continues to show improvement.
Yesterday during OT she was able to use the little portable exerciser with her arms. I had pretty much written that gadget off since it was pretty useless the last time we tried. She had not grip and even with wrapping it up, she was in more pain than it was worth so we stopped using it. She even had difficulty using her legs. Her hip flexors were so weak that she couldn’t keep her knee straight enough to use it. She also had the problem of her foot always slipping off of the pedal. Well yesterday we tried with her arm. And she was able to do it! She used it for a couple of minutes without it needing to be wrapped up. But soon she started to fatigue so the ace wrap was applied. She probably pedaled about 10 minutes with that thing. What an improvement! Her should is getting a lot stronger and that will ultimately help with the subluxation issue she is still battling.
So THAT was good news. What else has she done? She’s learning to sit up on the edge of the bed by herself! I still have to help move her feet to the edge of the bed (so they are sort of hanging off). But she can wiggle herself enough to start to turn and eventually position herself to pull herself up to sitting using the guard rail. She has done this twice!! This is HUGE. It requires a lot of balance and core strength and I’m glad to see that the exercises she’s been doing are starting to pay off. I have begged her though NOT to try to do this when she’s alone. I told her that if she goes too far forward it’s possible she could take a header and fall face first onto the floor. She could really hurt herself if she’s not careful. I have already threatened her with sending her to a nursing home a couple of times… I’m pretty sure she knows I’m kidding but not kidding.
Today I was helping her with a transfer. I had her stand up BY HERSELF (using a grab bar) and pivot before sitting down. She did that totally unassisted. When it was time to transfer her back she was able to do it all again. Of course I had my hand on her “just in case” but she was so strong and looked great. Again, I had to tell her not to try this on her own. Why do I have to keep reminding her? Well, to be blunt about it, I DON’T TRUST HER. Just today – after all of my lecturing and threats, I caught her trying to stand up at the sink by herself after she brushed her teeth. That might not seem like a big deal, but think about it. She tries to stand up, loses her balance and falls. She’s going somewhere – ideally it will be back to sitting in her locked wheelchair (which she DID NOT have locked) OR, into the wall on one side where she might have a chance at catching herself since it’s her stronger side. Or she’ll fall toward her weak side and fall into the toilet, then the wall, then end up on the floor. Or, last but not least, she’ll crumple forward and bang her chin on the sink as she goes down. Do any of these scenarios sound like they’ll have a good outcome (aside from the very first one, but with unlocked wheels that’s not gonna be pretty either).
All in all, she’s doing really well. She had a friend come by for a visit today and it was really nice to see them catch up. Hopefully he’ll be by again the next time he’s in the area. Right now we’re going to go relax and watch some Forensics Files. I’m glad I finally have someone in the house that likes these shows as much as me!