I love the weekends because that's when my parents come. It's so exciting to see them, especially because so much changes in the 5 days they're gone. An added bonus is that Mom brings me home cooked food each visit. A lot of firsts occurred this week (some before I started the blog). I started to feed myself, brush my teeth, change the tv channels, brush my hair, use my contacts, etc. They were amazed and it made me proud and more aware of all the progress that has occurred. Today, I got to have chicken salad, hash brown casserole, and leftover gluten free pizza from home because 1) My mom is the best and 2) I GOT UPGRADED TO A REGULAR DIET!! I'm still so excited about this.
I sign up for extra therapy sessions on the weekends (I'm here so I might as well stay busy and work hard, right?) For PT, I got on the tilt table, which slowly brings you into the standing position. It's nice because you can be raised up in increments so the blood pressure can be monitored. Unfortunately, blood pressure tends to drop when you've been sitting for so long, so you have to do it several times to get your body used to it. Before, I had spent 45 minutes on the table, working my way up to 55 degrees. Today, I was able to do 55 minutes and get to 71 degrees. I know I can stand all the way though because I don't have any problem when I'm on the treadmill. The main difference is that you are constantly moving, increasing BP, as soon as you stand up on the treadmill and are strapped down on the tilt table.
In OT, the therapist worked on my fine motor coordination. She gave me some baseline tests and seemed genuinely surprised at how well I did them. It's pretty obvious that my left hand is coming around slower than my right, but I've gained a lot of strength this week. She also worked with me some on a machine called the rickshaw that helps build the strength needed for transferring from the chair. The day before, I could barely push the bars without help and today I managed to do 20 on my own.
My brother, James, got here Saturday night. I hadn't seen him in several weeks (since I was in the neuro ICU at UVA). He's a student at George Mason and also works a lot, so I was happy that he finally had some time to drive to Philly (and I think he's coming next weekend too!)
It's exciting to see people that visited me at UVA ad knew how bad my illness had gotten and how immobile I was. I couldn't control my high temperatures, had nerve pain, and was on the ventilator. I still have poor temperature regulation, but at least I haven't really had a fever in a while. Luckily, I don't remember much from the month of September. I remember being sick and going to the emergency room in Winchester, but I don't remember being admitted or being flown to UVA. I started remembering about 2 weeks before I came to Philly. And when I got to rehab, all I could do was roll my wrist and barely wiggle my fingers. I also couldn't talk, so anyone that hasn't been to see me here sees a huge difference.
Sunday was nice and relaxing. I didn't have any therapy and it was nice to give my muscles a break. I've been having a lot of cramps in my hands, so they started a new medicine Saturday night. I'm taking it 3x a day, but you have to get several doses before it makes a big difference. Hopefully, they'll be better this week because they hurt and prevent me from doing tasks like driving the wheelchair and holding my silverware.
Other positives from today included: still no suctioning, the doctor said I can get the trach out soon, I ate tacos for lunch and wings for dinner, I felt like my legs, feet, and hips were asleep. I get excited about that because that's how I felt before I started to get feeling in my arms. Mom painted my nails and Molly did my eyebrows, so I'm starting to look more like myself. The day was made even better by watching the Redskins win (HTTR!)
I have loved having visitors and my family isn't able to be here during the week, so I am so thankful for the friends that have come to spend time with me. They are not strict about visiting hours here and are always nice to my visitors that come with me to therapy.
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