Weekend Update

Saturday, Sept. 6
By Doreen (as told to Judy)

Doreen asked Judy to contact Clay to update the blog. (Note that she has not seen the blog much, but she knows about it and wants to keep it updated. We are looking forward to the day that she can write her own updates!) Judy asked what she thought should be reported on the blog, and below is what Doreen listed:

She walked about 100 feet using the walker on Friday. She also took about 60 steps through the parallel bars with minimal support. She wanted to tell you all that the therapist said that she was making exercises look easy that other people in her situation find really difficult.

She has used the T-Stim (an electronic stimulation tool to stimulate particular muscles with electrodes) a couple of times to improve her swallowing. She thought it was helping.
She is eating well, but she is getting a little tired of some of the food!

Judy’s report:
Mom is clearly getting stronger. The transfers from bed to wheelchair and back are smoother all the time. She requires only minimal lifting and assistance (depending on how tired she is at the moment). We took some walks in the hall, and she “walked” the wheelchair part of the time, but she does have to work extra-hard to get her left leg to do an equal amount of pushing.

On Saturday, Mom’s eyes were closed much of the time again, and she seemed quite tired. It may be that she needed to catch up from, working hard over the course of the week, or maybe she had not slept well the night before. She did express some frustration with being isolated from everyone, because she doesn’t have a phone. She does have a phone in the room, but she can’t reach it easily and would have difficulty with dialing and holding the receiver to her ear. Judy called some family members on her cell phone and let Doreen talk for a while. It helps for her to feel connected. The cards help with that, too.

Again, thank you for your continuing support. It makes a difference for all of us as we struggle through the uncertainty of the future.