October 30

Friday was one of the hardest days of therapy yet. In PT, Steph had me get into tall kneel...they put a big bolster in front of me to hold onto and they held my hips. I was to lean forward, then push myself back, straightening my trunk (basically a kneeling push-up). They used sim to make sure my back was straight when I pushed up, working on my posture. I did well, but it was exhausting. Next, they got me into a manual chair...I didn't do too bad with it, but after the first exercise and about 15 minutes in the manual chair, my arms felt like jello. They're going to slowly introduce me to the manual chair next week, having me get into it a little bit each day. (My arms are going to be jacked at the end of all this! I'm pretty sure my triceps are already bigger than they've ever been!)

OT was also very difficult. I have a fear of leaning too far forward...I don't like seeing the ground getting closer to my face, knowing I wouldn't be able to catch myself. Natalie had me sit at the edge of the mat, feet on the ground, and lean forward onto the bolster. I then had to push myself back up. The next exercise was to lean forward and to the left or right, setting bean bags onto the top of the bolster. The leaning forward and side to side drills were to prepare me for transfers. Right now, when they want to move me, they use a sling that goes under me and attaches to an overhead lift. The next step is to be able to do transfers since it's not like I'd have an overhead lift at home. Well, I did my first tranfser from the mat into the chair at the end of our session! 

Tracy and I made gluten free chocolate chip banana muffins in rec therapy. My arms were so tired and mixing the ingredients didn't help. (Oh, and I cracked the eggs with one hand again, haha). They took a really long time to cook, but it was well worth it!

During my short break for lunch, 7 of my classmates came to visit. There are 3 suites at clinic and different sections...we are all suite 2 section C. Overtime I go to clinic, I'm with the same people. It;s confusing, but anyways, it was my clinic group that came to visit me. It was nice to catch up and laugh like we usually do. I just wish I had more of a break in my day!

My day ended with Mom arriving early! She brought Thai food from my favorite restaurant at home. It was so great to have time alone (eating really good food!) It was the perfect way to end the day.