Today the target of going home next Friday has been finalised so the countdown is on. Obviously this requires a couple of targets to be met. The big one is the stairs. Both my Physio and Occupational Therapist agree with me in thinking that this really is a reasonable target that I can meet.
There have been a couple of positive changes today. The main one that I noticed is that I didn't require assistance to complete some of the bed exercises which I have been getting a little bit of help with. It wasn't easy and I wasn't working to my full range, though I was still actually getting somewhere with them which wasn't happening yesterday. Mostly it was the right leg that I was needing light assistance with for the leg bends where you keep your heel on the bed and for the abduction for the left just to get started off. I got through them today without assistance which was awesome. Some of the reps didn't quite look as good as the assisted ones but the milestone is actually being able to do them. I'm hoping this is an indicator that not only am I getting stronger but that my brain is connecting it all together properly so progression will continue along at a speedy rate.
I have started on little steps today, ones that are about half the size of normal steps so at least I am started on the path towards getting out of this place. I had two sessions down in the gym today that involved a lot more practice on crutches. I am getting a little more stable and can already see the difference from when I started yesterday. I'm still a little way off using them unsupervised. Unfortunately I change Physio's next week as the person that I have been working with for the last two weeks was actually a locum to replace the person who is actually assigned to me. It is a bit of a shame as I have a good working relationship with my current Physio and I think that he knows what I am capable of and what to push me to do so that we are seeing results. (It wasn't his fault that the gym was closed and he wasn't scheduled to work!) I am sure that the other one is good - it just takes time to get into a routine and build a working relationship with a new person and I don't want that time to detract from the benefit from time that I spend with the Physio.
It looks like I will be going on a home visit with the OT next Tuesday where we will go through everything in the house and see what additional aids I might need to purchase or have installed to assist with me living back at home. I think that we have an idea of most things that will be required, though there may be some little things that I hadn't considered. We will need to test things out like getting in and out of the shower, moving around the kitchen and even getting in and out of bed. It's amazing how many little things that you take for granted and it isn't until you do something like this that you realise the full magnitude of what you need to adjust in your life. I had wrongly assumed that the limitations that I had before and the things that I had learnt to overcome difficulties would be all of the same things and I would be fine. It turns out that even though I am reasonably well prepared, there is more than that and I am now aware of what I need and will continue to need for the next month or so as I continue to heal.
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