CIDP and Me - Goodbye/Hello

Time for ye olde update around here... Things continue along as usual with a few changes thrown in to keep me on my (figurative) toes. I'm still really struggling with fatigue and trying to find a balance between rest and activity. No one is overly concerned about it - they just tell me to take it easy when I need to and to stop trying to do everything at once (you'd think they would know me better by now;). So I am trying to be more aware of my limits and am trying to pack a little less into each day.

That said, I have made some good progress over the past few weeks that I am happy to share here. I am cleared to go for short walks at home. I still have not braved the mountains that span my doorways but am getting good at walking the length of the living room and bedroom. I'm pretty sure I could manage the thresholds, just need to try it once...

I have also started doing some exercises while standing at the counter. I hold the counter for balance and march in place or kick my leg out to the side. I am also trying to improve my balance by holding on with only 1 hand then, for the tiniest millisecond, no hands. No hands really doesn't work yet. But it will.

Finally, last week I managed to climb 2 'stairs' in the parallel bars at physio! This is pretty awesome as I was really not sure it would work out. So, as long as every staircase I encounter has solid rails on both sides (3 feet or so apart), I should be OK. Oh yes, there can also only be 2 steps... OK, I'm not ready for the real world of stairs, but it's a start.

There you have it - Stamina, Balance, Stairs - the three pillars of my  recovery program at the moment.

I do have some sad news. I had to say goodbye to my most fantastic physiotherapist last week. She was covering a maternity leave and the regular person returned this week. I made so much progress with her and enjoyed working with her so much that this is proving to be a difficult transition for me. I met my new physiotherapist today and she seems very nice and competent. We are getting to know each other and will do a full assessment on Thursday before coming up with a plan. I'm sure it will be fine and that I will continue to improve. Who knows, a new perspective may lead to new improvements:)

Here is a pic of me at the counter. I know, I never post pics and really haven't taken too many over the past year. This is not me at my most flattering, but hey, why not, it's still me (and I love my nerdy Dracula t-shirt). I call this "Look Ma, One Hand."

Ciao ciao.