Progress!

Bob at the Parallel Bars

That's the good news here at The Pink House this week. Bob passed his first evaluation at Outpatient Rehab for Physical and Occupational Therapy. The evaluator was pleased with Bob's progress and another month of therapy sessions is being scheduled.

Bob was able to walk three times at the parallel bars on Friday with the evaluator, which is a big leap from the original three or four shaky steps, though as you can see on this picture, he is still leaning too far to the left and still requires two therapists to hold him up.

Bob at the Standing Machine

Bob also managed to handle 8 minutes in the standing machine. And he was able to hold his head up for the count of five.

I am pleased with these new therapists, especially Peter, who is one upbeat and positive thinking PT.  Peter told Bob that the goal is to be able to "walk over to that standing machine and stick your tongue out at it!"

I love it, and fingers crossed, he'll keep progressing.

DRAGON & Pencils

Last Christmas, my mom and dad bought Bob a set of colored art pencils. I had asked them to do this as I really wanted to get Bob back into his artwork. My mother, who is an artist in her own right, picked out a nice set that were a bit wider than the "normal" pencil, thinking they would be easier for Bob to hold in his left hand. She also bought him some professional art sketchbooks.

Since then, Bob has been drawing some incredible stuff. But try as I might, I could not get him to use any other color besides black... I guess he's just a "black and white" artist. And that one black pencil in the set was growing shorter and shorter...

Awhile back, I told my sister about Bob's penchant for using only the black pencil, and how that pencil was diminishing to a nub and she sent Bob this very cool set of Graphic Sketching pencils which contains 12 pencils, each in a different shade of black.

Of course, Bob was thrilled, but my formerly right-handed, now left-handed artist had some problems, at first, holding onto these pencils which are much thinner than the original one. I tried putting those foam "gripper" things on them, but that just seemed to make it worse...

But he tried, and alas, he finally got the hang of using the new thinner pencils. And now, he is drawing in all different shades of gray and black.

A second problem we encountered with the set is that the pencils are arranged, in order from light to dark, in a slim metal case, and each time Bob (who can only use one hand) tried to select a pencil--he ended up knocking the whole thing on the floor. And there I would be scooping up pencils and arranging them back in order. I finally put them all in a box.

The pencils themselves have numbers on them, but Bob either could not figure out what the numbers meant or just couldn't read them. Heck, I had trouble reading them because the numbers are really small. Bob insisted he wanted those pencils back in order "light to dark". So, I put on my "thinking cap" and came up with this solution:

using a thick rubber band to hold the pencils in place, which I thought was pretty clever--if I don't say so myself.


But enough about the pencils, what about this "Dragon" in the title of this post? Well, here it is. Bob's new drawing (and the first one using the new pencils) which he calls "Dragon":

DRAGON
by
Bob
(click to enlarge)

And, I think it's pretty darn cool!

Good News, Bad News

We went back to Outpatient Rehab on Friday. Physical Therapy was painful to watch. Again they got Bob up on the parallel bars, and again, he is leaning way too far to the left. I wish I had a video, but I don't, so I will try to describe the scene. Imagine this:

Bob has his left hand on the parallel bar. His left shoulder (which should be straight up from there) is hanging outside the parallel bar about 6-7 inches. As well as his head. From there, travel down his body, left leg stuck straight at an angle and his right affected leg, crooked and bent and sort of dragging. Two therapists hang onto his gait belt. One in front of him and one behind and they attempt to straighten him upright. But he's a Leaning Tower of Pisa, totally at an angle, trying to take steps, toe to heel, like walking on a tight rope. Like he's trying to climb up a wall. As he takes steps, his right leg begins to bounce uncontrollably up and down. Then his torso twists and his whole body is falling to the left. And the therapists yank him back into his wheelchair.

It's heartbreaking to watch.

They also tried to get him in the standing machine again, but the therapist who got him in it the last time wasn't there, and these two therapists could not figure out the machine. So no luck there either.

Occupational Therapy was worse. This new OT has a "push through the pain" attitude. His last OT was the opposite, stopping at any sign of discomfort. The new OT did range of motion on Bob's right paralyzed arm and, I tell you, Bob kept crying out "OW! OW!" but the therapist kept telling him "no pain, no gain" and admonishing him that if he did not do his range of motion, his arm would end up horribly deformed and even more painful. By the end of that session, poor Bob was in tears.

Honest to God, that was painful for me to watch, too. And I don't know what to do. I'm afraid if the OT continues with that therapy, Bob will not want to go back. And she wants me to do this stuff at home, and I don't know if I can bear to do it, if I can cause Bob that much pain...

All I can say is: oh dear.

(Big heavy sigh here.)

But I titled this post "Good News, Bad News" so here's the good part:

A Second Starbucks! And Not a Single Drop Spilled!

The Ghost in The Green Machine

Bubba says that all cars should have names. That a car with a name runs better and lasts longer than a car without a name. That a car with a name treats its owner right. And Bubba should know. He's been working on cars all his life. In his younger years, he worked at a Chrysler factor, actually building Dodge Darts like The Green Machine.

Bubba also says that all old cars are haunted...

The Green Machine came back to me this week. Bubba figured out the problem was a loose wire going to the amp gauge which melted against the metal frame of the car and, therefore, when the car warmed up, the wire got hot and pretty much sucked all the charge out of the battery and electrified the car itself. Or something like that. And that explains why I would be driving down the road and suddenly the car would just shut off, as if a ghostly hand had switched off the ignition.

But it doesn't quite explain this:

A couple of weeks ago, on a quiet Sunday morning, I had to make a quick run to the store eight blocks away. I got into The Green Machine and started her up, and as I reached for my sunglasses, she killed. I started her up again and when I went to reach for gear shift, she killed. Again, I started her up, again she killed. Four times this happened, at which point, I begin to freak out--because The Green Machine, for all her quirks, has never done this before.

So I went into the house and told Bob about the problem. Why, to this day, I even do this, is beyond comprehension. I guess I'm just used to Bob being the go to guy about cars and The Green Machine was his baby.

Anyway, I do this, I tell Bob how The Green Machine keeps killing every time I start her up.

And Bob says, "Kills?"

"Yes."

"Kills and kills?"

"Yes."

"Kills?"

"Yes."

"Kills and kills and kills?"

Well, all that was certainly a big help. By now, I am pretty flustered. But I really need to get to the store, just for one thing. Just to run into the store, grab one thing, and come back home. It will only take about 15 minutes.

I go back out to the car and open the hood and look inside. Not that I really understand everything I'm looking at, but nothing seems amiss. Then, because the hood is open and I've been meaning to do it, I check the oil. It's low. I get a quart of oil out the trunk and put it in.

Then I get in the car to try it again. She starts right up. And doesn't kill.

I'm a bit wary, but I start out for the store.

Keeping one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake at the first stoplight.

I turn onto 16th Street and I am the only car on the road. Ahead of me are 4 stoplights, all green.

Then it happens. Two green lights ahead of me. A gold car, coming from my right, whizzes right through the intersection. Must've been doing about 90. Just zoooooom through that intersection. Never even slowed down. I tell you, my heart nearly stopped.

I get to the store, a bit shaken. I shut off the car and look at my watch. I'm thinking, if I had gone to the store when I first got into The Green Machine... If The Green Machine hadn't kept killing... If I hadn't wasted about 15 minutes telling Bob about it, looking under the hood, etc... There's a good chance I would've been coming back from the store, going right through that very intersection when that gold car ran that red light.

A Ghost in The Green Machine?

And I think, The Green Machine maybe just saved my life...

Later on that day, I call Bubba whose been our mechanic for about 15 years. I tell him what happened. He tells me, quite seriously, that all old cars have ghosts. When I laugh at this idea, he tells that no way, it's the truth, it's a certified fact. And I am real lucky that The Green Machine's ghost is looking out for me.

Then, I tell him about the other problems I'd been having---the way the car just sometimes shuts off when I'm driving and also that every time I take my foot off the gas, the radio fades out.

He says, "Now that sounds like a wiring problem." Later that night, he came to get the car. He fixed those problems. But he never did figure out why The Green Machine kept killing that quiet Sunday morning. Except to say, it's a certified fact that all old cars have ghosts. That, and if a car has a name, it treats its owner right.

And, you know, if your car isn't old enough to have a ghost, and it doesn't yet have a name, well, you might want to think about giving her one. Because Bubba (at least when it comes to cars) is usually right.

Back in the Standing Machine

The Easystand 5000

We went back to Rehab for the second PT session on Friday and it does seem like we are starting from scratch as they put Bob back into a standing machine, though this one is way cooler than the standing machine at the other rehab center.

This standing machine is called The Easystand 5000, but I tell you, it was no easy feat getting Bob into it as it took two therapists to lift him, plus everything had to be adjusted for Bob's long legs. But once he was strapped in it, and adjusted, it worked like a charm.

I must say, it's quite a clever contraption! As you can see by this demo video. Because of the way the knees and back of the legs are supported, it actually got Bob up to his normal height.

I remember when Bob was in the standing machine at the other facility and he was just sort of hanging on it.

In this standing machine, I was amazed how tall Bob was and how it actually helped him stand straight, shoulders even, spine straight, legs straight. He managed to stand for 8 minutes and it seemed he actually rather enjoyed it.

He kept looking around and saying, "Wow" and "Remember?"

I can't remember the last time I saw him standing straight and tall. Or the last time I looked up at him while standing. (I'm 5'4", he's 6'3", so I was always looking up!) But now when we walk at the railing at home, Bob is so slouched over that he is about my height.

The therapists also got him on the parallel bars, where he took a few shaky steps. But they spent most of the time working on weight bearing and stretching his legs.

A big problem Bob's having is his left (good) leg has a contracted hamstring muscle and he is having difficulty pulling that leg straight, so when he stands his knee is slightly bent....

The therapists also asked me if Bob had an AFO (ankle foot orthotic) or any kind of leg brace for his right leg and were surprised when I told him that he did not. I had asked the female therapist at the last Rehab facility about a leg brace but she told me that an orthotic or brace was "so expensive" that "you wouldn't be able to afford it" plus she didn't think it would help... This was the same therapist who I always felt just did not want to work with Bob and who I had asked to be replaced, to no avail. That was the same therapist who lied at Bob's last session and discharged him without even checking the notes of the other therapists.  Click here for gory details. Well, these new therapists seem to think some type of brace or AFO will help get him on his feet. And I'm beginning to wonder if he shouldn't have had something like that all along.

I guess everyone has a different opinion. But I am glad we are going to a different facility this time. I am beginning to wish we had gone to this rehab center the first time around, as all the therapists so far have been just terrific. Unfortunately, they don't offer speech therapy which is why we ended up at the other place, the first time.

And hey, they have a much cooler standing machine!

A Heartbreaking PT Session

Yesterday, Bob had his first actual physical therapy session at the new Rehab facility. I tell you, it nearly broke my heart.

Last year, right before he was discharged from that Outpatient Rehab, Bob could walk ten times on those parallel bars.

Yesterday, he took four wobbly steps, both knees buckled and he nearly fell over.

Last year, before he was discharged, he was finally able to stand up from a sitting position.

Yesterday, it took three therapists to hoist him from the wheelchair.

So much that PT at the last Rehab Center who told me it "would be good for Bob to take a break from therapy".

Now, Bob can still get up from the wheelchair in our hallway without any help. And he can walk the rail in our hallway at least 15 times. Unfortunately, he leans heavily on the wall when he does this and at Rehab there is no wall by the parallel bars to lean on....

We go back for another session tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

But I tell you, it is hard to watch. And it feels like we're starting all over from scratch.