November 6

Lauren and Regina showed up for my morning PT session (with a pumpkin Dunkin Donut coffee in hand!!) During the session, I was put on my back and helped into long sit position. I then had to try to move my legs off the side of the mat and then align my hips. It was a lot of work and took a long time, but I did it!

I had lots of visitors show up from home after PT! It was such a beautiful day that we actually got to sit outside and talk. They all served as my audience as I cooked gluten free pizza from scratch in rec therapy. I did all of it by myself with the exception of a little mixing. Everyone was excited to see me crack the eggs with one hand (and a video is on Facebook, haha). The pizza turned out so well and people couldn't even tell it was gluten free.

In OT, we worked on more transfers and balance control. I struggle with good posture (which has never been a problem of mine!) Natalie said it's because the muscles in my lower back aren't strong enough yet, so I have a feeling we will be doing these exercises a lot more.

Steph and I spent the rest of the evening sitting in a conference room talking. We ordered Thai food (for the second night in a row) and then I helped her with a school assignment. For 25% of her grade (in OT school right now), she had to interview someone that had recently undergone a big life change (and can you think of a better situation?) She recorded us doing an "interview" and asked about different aspects of daily life, like personal care, hobbies, physical activity, etc. I was to identify areas I struggle with and how important those areas were to me. We decided it would be really interesting to watch the interview again in the future (maybe even by the time I go home in 5 weeks) and see if any of those goals/struggles have been achieved and what was still most important to me.

It has been so nice to have Steph here the last three days. Of course I wish my family could be here all the time, but how lucky am I to have a friend like her that rushes here in the morning, takes care of me all day, keeps me company, and stays late to make sure I'm in bed? Not many people can say their friendship goes all the way back to when they were 2 years old. That's why I think of her more like a sister and these past few days have proven that even more.