December 17-21

What a week!! I've been so busy getting ready to go home that I haven't had any time to update the blog...and people started asking what was wrong or where I was! With the holidays quickly approaching, Magee has gotten pretty busy and many people are trying to get home sooner rather than later. My friends Greg and Lenny both left this week, so I was glad to have many visitors since the dining hall would be much quieter without them. The other day at breakfast, my friend Regina got upset about everyone leaving. She is a middle aged Indonesian woman who is always smiling, but when people started talking about me going home, she said "no Greg, no Lenny, no Kelly...." and started crying. It broke my heart! I thought she was upset because she wasn't going home for Christmas, but she later told my mom that she was sad because all her friends were leaving. I'm looking forward to coming back and visiting though.

That brings me to an update on outpatient rehab--I'll be starting at Magee's outpatient facility on January 6. That means I'll have two weeks at home to figure everything out and work through a new routine. I have lots of exercise programs and am looking forward to using the standing frame that Dusty made. We just found  out that the new insurance doesn't count the day rehab I'll be receiving as my therapy days...basically, I get so many days of outpatient therapy and we're fortunate enough that the time I spend doing Magee's outpatient program won't count as any of those days--that means more therapy for me! I'll start off with at least 3 weeks and then they'll re-evaluate it. When I'm done there, I'll be able to transition to Kennedy-Kreiger in Baltimore for more therapy.

I got to try out the Lokomat this week, which is the robotic treadmill I had talked about. I couldn't try it before because my blood pressure wasn't stable enough to stand statically while the machine was set up (it usually takes about 10 minutes and I wasn't able to stand that long before). The Lokomat was great--I joked that I was dressed up as a storm trooper in honor of the premier of Star Wars, haha.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with family training- lots of transfers! We were relieved that the car transfer was fairly easy and we didn't have much trouble with moving up or down the stairs either.

My last post mentioned how I'd gotten the catheter out and was self cathing every 6 hours. I also said that bladder control is usually the last thing patients with a spinal cord injury get back. Somehow I've had bladder control this week! I only had to cath the first two days and then I was able to go on my own...I can even tell when I need to go sometimes. The nurses and staff are really impressed and can't believe I've gotten that ability back, especially since that function is lowest on the spinal cord. This is even more proof that the leg function and nerves are all there and intact, the muscles just need to become stronger in order to produce larger movements.

I was able to stand in a standing frame during therapy for 20 minutes and then again for 25 minutes yesterday...for once my posture was straight and I was able to lift one hand at a time. This morning, I did my morning routine with Natalie as part of my discharge. This included a shower, dressing, and the rest of getting ready (hair, makeup, etc.). Everything went really well and literally the only thing I need help with is getting my pants on all the way- I'm hoping this will be easier when I'm home with a bigger bed...I'll have way more room than in these little hospital beds.

They re-evaluated some of my arm motility and most motions are 100% recovered! I did the stim bike one last time and learned how to set everything up myself so that I can do it on my own time at the outpatient place. The last thing I did was make one last dish with Tracy--gluten free mac and cheese!

It's sad saying goodbye to everyone, but I'm looking forward to visiting while I'm in outpatient rehab. People I don't even know are coming up to me and saying they heard I was leaving and wishing me luck...and some of my nurses and other staff is crying when they say goodbye. I already know that tomorrow is going to filled with more emotional goodbyes, but I can't wait to be home in less than 24 hours!