Reflections One

I have not written an update in quite a while about how therapy is going. It is a hard three hour work out each day and I end up exhausted by the end of it. I push myself to do more, stronger, harder sometimes to my own detriment. I just want to get back to normal as soon as possible The rehabilitation doctor was in today and said I had a few more weeks to stay here. One day at a time.
Below are some things I have been doing in physical therapy.
* Kicking a ball (not soccer star, more like uncoordinated toddler)
* Opening my hand enough to pick up soft squishy beanbags
* Leg exercises (extending legs, marching in place while seated, rotating feet as much as possible, etc.) with a pound weight on each leg (the weight seems to help me be more aware of my leg and move it easier))
* Working on balance by sitting on the edge of the table/mat and reaching forward to place objects on pegs or to roll a ball
* Shifting weight into my left leg
* Raising my left foot high enough, and properly, to place it on a step
* Getting myself dressed and taking care of daily needs
* Practicing standing balance by standing with support and a walker and shifting weight from side to side or front to back
* Riding the exercise bike thing from Hell (not recently as my lungs have been bothering me)
* Working on swallowing different textured foods
* "Walking" with a walker and support about 30 feet (my left leg drags and does not pick up to step yet)

Sometimes I do not see the successes but looking back over it I have come a long way in two weeks. When I arrived I could not move my left side at all really. So there has been progress, hard progress, frustrating progress, slow progress, but progress.

I still have my migraine but now finally have pain medicine for it. So hopefully it will at least be controlled if not broken. I also started on breathing treatments 4 times a day because the Mitochondrial disease is making it harder to breathe.. It feels like the muscles in my diaphragm are week and difficult to work, making each breath an effort. My lungs also get tight. My pulse ox stays high enough to be safe, but it is exhausting and painful. The nurses and physicians assistants would not listen to me or understand, but the doctor knew what I was saying and was willing to do something about it. I am still waiting for something for sleep. He does not feel comfortable adjusting or adding medicine because I am on a lot of "psychiatric" medications (One is used for my muscles from the dystonia, the other is supposed to help me sleep) and he wants the psychiatrist to decide what to do.

I am getting used to having a roommate after over a week of a room to myself. She is a sweet older lady, but there are some issues. She must be hard of hearing because her TV is always set to jet engine loud. She is also incontinent and struggling with diarrhea which makes for late night visits from aids to clean her up, and oh the smells. But she is kind, and she provided me with information on a way for my Mom to be able to visit me here (the city buses do not go this far and neither one of us can drive). I am hoping to see Mom on Christmas Eve.