January 13

Exercises have been picking up and I've been so exhausted this week! We've set the schedule for me to do the stim bike and lokomat treadmill on Mondays and Wednesday's. I've also been doing the glider when I have time. I know every part of rehab is important, but I love doing these things and focusing on leg strengthening. On Monday, I reached powers of 4.0 on the stim bike, which is a measurement of how much work I'm doing...the last few times, my average power was around 2.0, so I was really happy seeing a 4.0 on the screen. The therapist also said numbers over 4.0 are more significant since smaller numbers may result from background noise and movement. 

I've been working a lot of perfecting my transfers and on my core strength/balance. They're coming along, but there's always room for improvement. 

Stephanie has been such a lifesaver this week. She keeps saying she's not doing anything, but she has been such a big help. She makes sure I get a shower and everything in the morning, leaving her with barely anytime to get ready and she has never once complained. Friendships like this are hard to find and I'm considering myself more and more blessed each day.

Today, I did the lokomat and didn't even need to wear my binder! The binder is this compression material that goes around the waist...this and these talk compression socks help raise the blood pressure, so I've been wearing it especially when I'm standing for a long time or on the treadmill. I was relieved to have not needed it this morning, even with the longer set up time on the lokomat, making me remain static for about 5-10 minutes before the walking starts. 

I also did stim bike again plus tall kneel and quadraped (all fours)...four of the harder things I would do in therapy at the inpatient facility all in one day! Needless to say, I'm exhausted!