Amelia's milestones

 

10/4/09

Out riding the trike Sat sand Sun on this beUUUtiful sunny weekend(Oliver& the kids went to a 1-night Cub Scout camp out and I soooo enjoyed peace & quiet for the weekend:) :) On Sunday's bike ride, I unclipped my right foot on a downhill and pedaled with my left only- granted... gravity was doing all the work, but even cranking my L leg around while coasting downhill means my L hamstrings are working!! OnSaturday's at a light, someone yelled something like"what are you doing?? get off the road!! The Amelia inside wanted to say-" I'm so sorry about your damaged self esteem and your tiny penis that lead you to compensate your feeling pf manliness by yelling at a disabled woman" Fortunately, I didn't have time to be so snippyas he peeled away (lucky since he was driving the heavier vehicle)! Spent the rest of Sunday making Sweet potato/ginger soup, veggie ;asagna, salad, and bread-maker bread and we had 8 adults & 6 kids for dinner- my friend JOdy came & helped, and we chose the marathon we're going to run together-- Avenue of the Giants, in May 2013 California baby!! (one adult  for diner brought his Segway, which I tried out (he uses it since he is also mobility impaired) and he rode my trike- so we each went hot rodding on a new toy- good fun! The Segway felt unsteady at this point for me, which is Ok since we spent our would-be Segway budget on the recumbent trike & motor. This wek I'll have my mountsin bike set up on an indoor trainer in the den so I can get more exercise :) and my sister Laura arrives Thursday, and we're making a trike video, so keep watch for when it's posted here!I MIGHT alsop try roller blading- we'll see.....

 

9/30/09

I still practice curling my L fingers one by one 1/2 inch each, and now I have a little flicker of extending my index finger- I'm often pondering how far/lonhg it is from seeing a flicker to throwing on the stadium lights, which will be when I can move each finger around in circles independently- whaddya think-will it be clockwise or counter clockwise first??

 

9/29/2009

At Greenstar market check-out line:I  rocked the grocery cart forward & back w/ my left arm ( w/o twisting my torso to cheat! Yeah baby! Oh Yeah! PT can happen anywhere! Told the clerk (when she asked what happened to me): "Olympic Ski Trials" Her: "OH Really?"Me: "Naw, but that's the story I'm spreading" Her: "Oh, I'm so gullible!"...then I told her the truth:) The grocery cart trick was cool and makes me feel mighty & powerful!

 

9/twentysomething.../2009 Can close each finger independently a half inch or so one by one

9/26/09

 

beat Glenn Swan in the CASCADILLA HILL CLIMB BIKE RACE WHICH GIVES ME EXCELLEN BRAGGING RIGHTS UNTIL THE REMATCH IN 5 YEARS

 

9/1/09 it's been so long since I recorded anything!! last week & this week, my new trick is walking around the housew/o the brace on and some times w/o the shoe on, something I gained confidence in trying because of pool therapy and walking in the pool. I'ts precarious, because my L toes want to curl up and not work, and my ankle too(I've started calling them puppies" c'mon puppies we're going for a walk, now stay puppies- good puppies!"It feels good to be trying some thing new and I thoink my ankle gets stronger and more coordinated by demanding this bit of work from it(and I have incresed confidence in, say, getting thru the shower and all after pool therapy, all on my own It helps to stay organized with my STUFF! walking brace-free freaks Oliver out tho, and Peter too a bit- he says " Hey dad, mom's walking to the bathroom without the brace on again!"and then oliver grunts a nervous sigh. I also noticed this week that I can flex my L thumb about 1/2 inch, independent of the otther fingers, with great concentration and total focus. i plan to try that withe each finger in turn now.... by the end of the week, maybeI'll have done all 5! 

8/9/09 while at our friends' house for dinner, i could flex my L foot a bit (lying on my side and w/ my footon a slippery smooth surfaceso as not to fight the weight of my foot or any friction, and with the moon at the right stage andplanets aligned, etc. then in the evening: lying on the futon w/ my butt at the edge, L lrg straight out, and right leg bent w/ foot on the floor to keep from sliding off, i can lift my L leg (old news) and then use L hamstring (I think it was my hamstring) to bend my leg and bring my L foot to the floor. new trick! ?C'mon hammies, we gotta go running soon!

[back to Amelia's recovery] 

 

Notes mostly from Amelia, directly. 

 

7/31 Wentto the bike shop in Alfred  and bought a recumbent trike, which we'll pick up on 8/14; it will allow me to get arounfd more, one I can figure out how to get my foot into the pedal by myself..... the sho is great, and mde some ADAPTATIONS FOR ME AND ARE MAKING A FEW MORE WHEN IT COMES IN. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

 

I've nen workin on the position of my knee while walking or taking stairs, and I' m getting ptetyty good at holding it strong, even without concentrating  200% constantly. also if my L leg is sideways lying down i can flex my foot up a bit toward my shin, and i can squeeze my L fingersaround someone's habd and crush their fingers! watch out- I'm going to hurt someone soo with not knowing my own strength and all got a new sling or myarm which works better and my shouder doesn't hurt so bad now. this week upcoin I have pool thrapyyay!! and 2 PT zessions.. my new outpatiey PT Alison i really like, and when I told her about the ironman in 7 yrears, hr response was a warm "we'll get you there" yahoo. and / my friend Nancy said she'd do it with me- a great thing, since we train together well, from other tri-club workouts....

 

 

7/234 Friday I made it to dischrge without screaming "-@*7 at the top of my lungs finaly I can go poop in peace.It's thstart of the next chapter in a very long book.There I go... turn the page.

7/23 Thursday

walking outdoors- we went quite fr:) ramps! uneven pavement! curbs! wind! it was a thrill-a-mnute!

7/22 Wednesday

 Had my neuro-psych assessment and realized that yes i CAAN still do math in my head, and pretty well I tried to do some of the interview in Sanish, which I guess constituted my wisecrack of the day. The doc laughed anyway.

cam move my lrft forarm like a windshield wiper in one direction (inward).

 

7/21 Tuesday

I got cleared to walk around the hospital if accompanied by Oliver or Pat (no therepist required). Now let's see what kind of trouble we can get into!

 

In PT, went up and down a flight of stairs several times, trying different strategies with the therapist in preparation for our stairs at home.

 

7/20 Monday 

i guess the milestone for theday was the 1st time goin somewhere in the hospital without wheels. aftwr 20 mins in the robot lwegs i spent 10 minutes in "treadmill mode" then walked all the way to the elevators and then dwown to my room (this part took about 10 mins of walking)

 

7/19 Sunday

Amelia is concentrating very hard to slide her left hand inward. This is also having the desired effect of working many of her face muscles.

 

7/17 Friday 

Today was "stairwell day, which I've been looking forward to since my old oommate told me about hers  her story:"they rolled me into the stairs and I thought 'are you out of your mind? are you trying to kill me off?' but it was fine and now i can do 2 flights" me-I did a half flight upo and down yahhhooooo!!!!!!! and it went great. other than that- more walking practicew/ my new brace and I selected new soes that re big enough for thr brace(oliver had bought a sampling to try out)- tery're New Balance runners 9  1/2s w/ pink trim. I lke 'em. I'll set my sights on my first "real run" in them for milrstone of note- I did ramps both up and down on my own (wheeling). The movie was fine but I got poopedp\- sitting up in that chair so long is hard on my butt and my left hip.....Came back for walking practice w/ PT and did great1!

 

7/16/2009 Thursday 

I goyt my brace today an \d pressec PT for "HOW long before people can usually chuck these? she seemed to think; in the \2-4 years range;w/ no guarantees a lot depends on when my brain can tell my foot to hold steady front-to-back and side-to side again I cant wait to wiggle my toes and put on my own left shoe again. 

 

7/16Thursday

 

Elvis has left the bulding! I can now stand on 2 legs(one braced) without getting Elvis-pelvis. Today I get my new orthosos(brace) which I was fitted for last week.

 

7/13/09Mon

Took a shower without once accidentally sprayig the therapist who was helping me(I'm sure Oliver and the kids will appreciate this skill in was they don't know yet.... Also got dressed fully w/out help.

 

More walking practice and I got in the bionic legs again. I shared my PT goals w/ pt and she said they jived w/ hers and &we  would do all of ghem. I love her! this week or next

)b4 i leave): walk all 3 hallways of the floor to the ends nd back;walk otdoors on pavement & grass; take on the flight(s) of stairs.all this will be amazing considering the 1stt time she had me stand at thw barre was about 2 weeks ago and my hips looked like Elvis'.

 

7/10/09 Fri

rode the statuonary bike( while sitting in the chair still. and the machine read that of100% of the work my r leg did46% and L leg did 54%  i guess that's my 1st bike ride... not enought to beat rhe Ithaca hills ( yet)

 

7/9/09Thu

 I tied y own shoes! OT brough me these elastic spiral laces you can tie w/ one hand today-I also think I've capitalized on all the benrfit of cry-therapy, of which I readily parook FOR THE LAST 4 days( grieving for a lot of loss and letting out frustrations about the indignity of  being handled like a baby for a month..... and so I had a nuch better emo day today- I am finally really be;lieviing that I will be mobile again.(not just saying it, but trusting in the process and feeling it in both my hesd and my hesrt.yay- this is huge!

 

went to brace clinic to get fittred for my soon-t-be-brce and te brace-guy bob complimented me on my steps while

I walked the runway for him to examine my stylish gait.(still w/ pt's help to walk- and I love her she's my fav and i totsally trust her which is great

 

 

went boating on the rivr w. TR- seeAnecdotes for a story... andI continue to progress on my "amelia-goals for rehab  Daily:brush hair and teeth,  eat all the dessert you can, cry whn you want and make some personal decisions for yourself and tell the nurses(politely) to bug off. make someone crrack up every dsay See"anecdotes" for some examples)

ne hand. Also  th

 

7/8/09Wed

 I diced a whole onion & a whole green pepper today-- went to therapudic recreation"s "cooking group"- they have nifty adaptive cooking gadgets- I'll be bringing some of those home- we got 7 people& 4 wheel chairs in the kitchen & made ziti asagne( both meat and vegetyaria,.& corn muffins & pudding for lunch &b ate it alnextI'll do a whole meal ofIndian food w/ 4 desserts watch out!

 

7/6/09Tue

Igot to walk a bunch more in PT today& practice w/ the fake step- both fwd and bkwd w/o my left knee folding like a pocket knife. I also got to use  the robot legs again and this timeI knew to wear my biking short which are less uncomfy w/ the tight harnesssnext they'll take me to the stsirwell & tell me to go for it. my roommate says the 1s t time they did that to her she thought they were insane but now she can do 2 fights- awesome!! 

 

7/6/09 Mon

OT taught me how to put on my bra- nd I did almost the whole thing w/o help!for all my wmen friends out there- go tr to remove& put on a bra without using your lft hand or arm. Even the men- you can go try it too!

 

7/4/09

I have come to appreciate the boot since it keeps my ankle from rolling into a sprain when i stand up. it still bugs the sh*t out of me all night tho. i took a stair 3x in pt tday. a step constructed from wood& rubber traction strips.  amazed i could stand on my l leg & stepw/ my righ(up and down)t w/o falling!

 

7/2/09

Today, i got cleared for te next-level diet. No more baby food!

this morning i swear i moved my L foot flexors & moved the foot back. also if I cncentrate hard on moving my L hand, after s=abou 15 mins it moves reliably! (Movements not confirmed in PT yet.)