The weather gave me a good excuse to not look at nursing homes yesterday. Instead I decided to get to the hospital before the roads flooded.
I got to see the tail end of Jim's occupational therapy (ot). Liza had Jim in the bathroom learning how to groom himself without being able to move his fingers. He was even able to shave himself a little.
Annette had Jim on the standing table during physical therapy (pt). He was able to tolerate being almost completely upright. Annette checked his blood pressure every time she moved the table upward. She got him to hold a racket by wrapping his hand with an ace bandage.
Jim also started a group exercise class yesterday. THE BIG NEWS: Jim was able to kick out his feet. His right leg is much stronger than his left. The group therapist, Jamie put a mirror by Jim. He was able to see that his legs were moving. This gave him feedback that he was engaging the correct muscles and encouraged him to try harder. He kicked out his foot (as seen in the photo) all by himself. The leg movement is controlled by the lumbar region of the spinal cord. This is great news because his injury is way up in the cervical (neck) section of his spinal cord.
We continue to look forward to Jim regaining the use of his wrists and fingers. Jim's injury is at the C5 section of the spinal cord. Finger control is at C6. Finger muscles are slow to return because they are so small.
1 comment:
After I read your post yesterday, I cried buckets. Today, you seem more hopeful. Y'all are making progress. Keep it up, Joanne. You are the strength of your family now. You can do this. Love, Marguerite
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