A few loose screws

Today's picture is not the bargain bin at the local hardware store, that is my elbow. It was essentially crushed in my tipover, and the joint has been replaced with what looks like a door hinge. It's easy to see the wires and pins right at the surface that are giving me some grief - they are why I have to wear the pink bracelet all the time. That wire is in a figure 8, and was used to keep tension on the screw when it was first inserted. Over time the big screw will grab hold, and that bit of hardware can come out.

On the inside of the elbow joint you can see the bone that is building up. This is called Heterotopic Ossification (HO) and it's stopping me from flexing my elbow more than about 90 degrees. The HO will require another surgery at some point so that I can get the range of motion back, although there is some controversy about when to do have it done. If it's removed now, there is a danger of it growing back even worse, so some doctors think waiting until it's run its course and then removing it is best. Waiting, however, means the tricep muscle could atrophy, since it isn't getting used, and then that would need surgery to fix.

The doctor here at the Casa and the doctor that fixed my elbow originally are hopefully going to come to an agreement about what to do in the next few days. Fixing it now means a bit of a delay in getting home, but at least it would be done and we wouldn't have to worry about it later.

Sing'n In the Bathtub

It was a pretty full day today, and more than just the usual exercising. I started with stretching, and I'm getting more and more able to stretch my own legs. Part of that is because I'm getting more limber and can reach them better, part is strength, and part (as with most other tasks) is technique.

After the morning stretch another T patient and I worked on uneven transfers - getting from the mat to a cushion lower than the mat, from a low mat to the chair, and the opposite. It was pretty tough, especially going up to the chair. Following that, some stretching in long sitting, and then I practiced another transfer to the tub bench. The tub bench sits half in the bathtub and half on the floor, and eventually I'll be able to sit on it and shower. For now I'm using a special chair in a roll-in shower, but our apartment has a regular tub and I'll need to learn to use the bench. And all that is just before lunch!

After lunch I worked on sitting balance, something that has been giving me a bit of grief lately for some reason. And finally, the last hour was spent working on wheelies and getting up curbs in the wheelchair. That is something that is going well, I guess I've had lots of wheelie practice on bikes, that's got to help.

Debbie was here and is learning along with me, spotting me on the transfers and the wheelies. I don't need much help for straight transfers now, just someone to make sure I don't make a mistake. Doing wheelies, though, the anti-tip bars come off and someone stands behind with a belt attached to the chair's axle, so I can't tip over.

Week 8: Done!

On the one hand the time has really flown by, but on the other it seems ages since I first got here. My original goal for the stay at the Casa was six weeks, but I realized right away that was way too optimistic. I was then hoping for eight, but again I know now that's still too optimistic. Some things this week pointed out just how much my other injuries and the bed sore have set me back, but overall I'm still really happy with my progress and am not complaining. I can see the end of the tunnel and the pathway there is clear. There is a small handful of tasks that I have to learn and get comfortable with, and that will be it. As I've said before, though, the last few things are the most difficult in some ways.

Putting it all together

It's pretty satisfying to finally get a whole sequence of things down pat, put them all together, and get one step closer to independence. I've worked on transfers, rolling, stretching and sitting, mostly separately, but today it all came together in therapy. I got to an exercise mat, transferred to the mat, got on my back, did some leg exercises, got to the edge of the mat and back in the chair, all on my own (although someone watched over me during the transfers).

Then this afternoon, I went to the cafeteria and bought a coffee, the first time I've done that on my own. I didn't realize how intimidating it was until I headed over: Will I be able to get in the door? Can I get to my money? What if I can't reach the cups today? Of course, I worry too much about those kinds of things, and it was no problem at all.

I'm no chef...

...but I did manage to cook a half decent breakfast this morning. We had a ham-and-cheese omelet, bacon and bagels. It all went smoothly, although it took me quite a time. Mostly it was a matter of finding out where to put the chair to do things like open the oven or fridge door, cut something on the counter or work on the stove. I had some help with some things from Suzanne the therapist, but I did most of it myself, from getting the food out of the fridge to washing some of the dishes and putting them away.

The good thing is that Debbie was here and we got some great ideas on how to fill the shelves in our kitchen and what special bowls and utensils we can get that will make things easier. And I got to cook her breakfast!

We found out today that our home evaluation is coming up, and as part of that I'll get to go as well. And not only that, the home evaluation is in the morning, and I'll be able to stay home all day and get picked up in the evening. There are so many things that I want to do when I get there that I can't decide - I'll probably end up just sitting in the middle of the apartment and loving every minute of it.

Going Mobile

It was a pretty quiet day as I had a doctor's appointment in the middle of it, but after the day was officially over one of the therapists showed me a car transfer. I got into the passenger seat of our Civic, although I did lose my balance at one point and bonked my noggin. I'm a ways from doing it on my own, but it's a start, and it's great because when I get this down on my own, it means I can get a day pass to go out with Debbie somewhere.

Wheelie?

It's been a busy couple of days for both Debbie and I, hence the missed posting and no pictures, but we should be back on track in a day or two. Yesterday was moving day to the new apartment, and it all went well (for Debbie...I had nothing to do with it). While she was busy looking after that, I was practicing wheelies in the courtyard. The task was to wheelie around a planter, in a circle. I thought I was doing okay, but the tech looking after me must have been bored because we gave that up and we started jumping curbs! It all sounds so easy - just get some speed up and head right for it, then wheelie over it. Piece of cake, until you don't clear the front wheels and everything comes to a halt very quickly.

I've also been trying to wheelie up a ramp, and eventually will have to do it going down. After all that practice I put it to good use yesterday afternoon: The exercise mat was too high, so rather than reach down and push the foot control by hand, I jumped the front wheel of my chair up on to the control, and moved the mat that way. I was happy not so much that I could do that, but rather that I'm starting to think about how to do things the easy and creative way.

On Tuesday I also had to go grocery shopping, because on Friday I have to cook breakfast. The shopping was no problem, although I couldn't reach things on the top shelves, and we've checked out the kitchen a couple of times now and learned a lot. I'm looking forward to Friday, it will be pretty interesting.