Thursday, November 8, 2012

SPINAL FUSION - REHAB Walk therapy

Yesterday
The admitting doctor comes in and announces that she's disappointed in me.  The PTs from the day before have said I didn't work hard enough.  I gave her a step-by-step recap of that day, including a detour into the group room to play a few notes standing at the piano, and walking farther than the PTs' goal.

Today:  the complaining PTs have disappeared.

The brace, the dumb socks (my Clark's have been pronounced unsatisfactory) and the walker.  We're out in the hall.  I'm told that I walk with my feet too close together.  (This gait is a lifelong habit, but I guess it is really dangerous for my rebuilt spine.)   We also work on this.  I work on my posture, and standing upright inside the walker-- breaking the habit of leaning slightly and pushing it.  I tell them I need repeated posture reminders, since slouching was the norm in high school and I still slouch.

In the hall I see a woman seated in a wheelchair, quietly looking in front of  her.  Her head is held motionless in a tall wood frame. I realize I have a lot to be thankful for.

There is a wheelchair in my room, so I get to sit up and eat like a normal person. After last week of not eating, the food suddenly looks good.

The chair is locked, however, and I can't unlock the right lock without way too much pulling. (Pulling hard has been a no-no since the spine problem was first diagnosed over a year and a half ago.)  So I'm trapped until someone comes, in the too-tall wheelchair that hurts the back of my thighs.

I can't reach my book, purse, phone.  I experiment with pushing the wheeled eating table/bedside table to see if I can rotate it enough to reach at least my water.  That actually works. 

An occupational therapist is due.  Maybe we will work on something besides putting on socks.

I haven't had a shower since the morning I reported for surgery. 

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