Thursday, April 17, 2008

Mark had another full day of therapy. They have decided to add an additional hour of physical therapy each day starting next week. They will probably take him about 9 a.m. and bring him to therapy and keep him on his belly for about half an hour with heating pads on his legs and back. This seems to work extremely well for stretching his muscles and makes the therapy easier and more productive. He will then have his regular session each afternoon.

Today, he was sitting up and working with the occupational therapists and an electronic programmed metronome. He and the therapist had earphones on and are hooked up to a computer. When he hears a certain bell he extends his hands to reach the therapist's hands and a sensor which records whether he is on time, late or early with his response. He did very well with the exercises. He has to use all his muscles to do this. Like I have said before, it is amazing how we take these simple tasks for granted, but this exercise took a great deal out of him. He has to remain upright and move both arms at the same time as well as concentrate on the sounds he hears in the earphones. It was fascinating to watch. They are going to continue with this therapy and record the improvement he makes.

He also made a milestone step by using a self propelled wheelchair. He will be slowly transferred from the heavy duty "Hummer" wheelchair he is currently in to a sleek "sports car" version. The new chair has been modified with a special padded, curved back which makes him sit upright more on his own and will build back and neck muscles. He will have to learn to propel the chair himself. Currently it is awkward because his left arm is not as strong as the right and he tends not to slow down the right arm enough to move the chair evenly. Even so, his attempts today were far superior than any of the previous practices with this chair. They are going to start using it next week for several mornings and then use the old chair in the afternoons as he starts to get tired.

They are also hoping to clear him for pool therapy next week as well. This will help him with building his leg muscles by using the water for resistance. He's looking forward to that quite a bit.

We had a very productive day and are looking forward to tomorrow and the weekend when Rich and our friends Carolyn and Neil will be here with us from Cleveland. The Family Support Group has their annual picnic planned for Saturday and we are all going to attend.