Day 8… January 8, 2021
Occupational Therapy
Today in occupational therapy worked on brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, and getting dressed myself. I’ve been able to do toothbrushing pretty well since the accident happened, although with the sink set up here , I do have a hard time turning on the water. It is challenging for me to brush my hair with only one hand and that hand having a fractured wrist , but I get better and better at each day. Today I was able to get most of it brushes out without assistance.
We also played solitaire and we worked on typing. Card games such as solitaire allow me to practice using my fingers and get them stronger to compensate for the lack of use of the rest of my arm. With typing, I have a really hard time reaching certain letters because of the braces. With some practice, I was able to compensate pretty quickly.
In the 1st round, I scored between 300 and 400 points in hard mode. I could have started in easy mode but normally I am an excellent typist, so I want to see how I would do. In the 2nd round, I was better able to push the letters and compensate for what I couldn’t reach. I got up to over 6000 points. before we decided to close it out and move on to something else. With this particular game, you only lose when you make a bunch of mistakes and since I wasn’t making many mistakes, the game would have gone on forever. Right now, I don’t have access to a keyboard regularly, so I am still using voice to text, but it’s good to know that I can still type pretty well.
Physical Therapy:
The 1st session of physical therapy was tougher today. We are really working on me being able to slide both to the left and the right, because there are going to be situations where going to the right will not be an option. We are also working on me being able to go uphill a little bit because not everything will be level.
Going to the left is a lot harder for me, and I get pretty frustrated in the 1st session with my body for not moving the way I wanted it to.
In the 2nd session, we tried a different type of board that has a circle that you slide on. This help me to get the motion down better and, even though it was still difficult, I was able to slide to the left.
Other:
We took out the sutures in my right ankle today. It wasn’t quite as uncomfortable as getting the staples out in my stomach last week , but it stung a little. My ankle was then rewrapped. I am still not able to put weight on it, as it is still healing.
I also got a care package in the mail from a friend from our church. The package included a book hug. This tool is amazing and has allowed me to actually read books again. Up until now, I’ve not been able to hold one and turn the pages with my wrists being like they are.
I was also able to call and talk to my dad for a while. One of the amazing things about technology is that I’ve been able to continue to connect with family even though they can’t visit because of Covid. I usually video chat with at least one family member every day, but some days are more packed than others. It can be hard to chat much, but it’s always so nice to connect when we can.
Bible Verses:
From my Mom:
Another verse to focus on:
Songs:
Song from my mom:
Another song to focus on:
Therapy day 9…January 9th, 2021
Short day of therapy
Typically I would divide the sections up by OT and PT. Weekend schedules are different than weekday though and with today begin Saturday, I only had 30 minutes of OT and 30 minutes of PT; whereas I normally have An hour and a 1/2 of each.
We practice more of the same things in OT and PT, with getting dressed and ready for the morning during OT time and practicing the slide board during PT time. Tomorrow is a day off.
Other:
I spent most of my extra time today catching up on the blog. It’s amazing how much extra time it takes that used to. It is taking me about 5 hours To do what I could normally do in an hour and a 1/2 to 2 hours. I am hoping this will be easier with time, but it is definitely a challenge to cope with things taking so much longer than normal.
Don’t get me wrong, I am normally a very patient person. But having every single activity you do take at least twice as long as normal can be very frustrating sometimes. It’s not so much that I can’t be patient , as it is that I can’t accomplish nearly as much as I want to in a day. Everything take significant more time than it ever has before.
I also posted this on Facebook, but thought it would be beneficial to share it here as well….
I had a lot of questions about what a slide board is. This is a board that I used to get between my wheelchair and the bed, and we are working towards using it to get to the Commode as well. I use what I can of my right arm and my left heel to move on it. Everything else is non weight bearing. This is one of my biggest obstacles right now. It’s a little easier going to the right because I have total hip restrictions on the left, but I’m learning to do both. Some days are really rough,and I get a little frustrated and teary-eyed, but every day gets a little bit better. When you can’t put weight on most of your limbs, and have limited mobility, you use what you have. I will be in a wheelchair for awhile, but it shouldn’t be forever. Eventually, I will learn to walk again and will learn new ways to manipulate my left wrist. Slow but steady! #comeback #justkeepgoing
Bible Verses:
From my mom:
Another Verse I am focusing on:
Songs:
A song from my mom:
Another song I am focusing on:
Tales From North Country 