Time for a good news blog post I think! The past few weeks have been really good so I thought I'd share... I still don't know what the plan is for treatments now that IVIG is off the table, but in the meantime I'm making the most of my physical improvements and Prednisone-induced energy. I call it the 'Predni-Zone' (cue the music for Kenny Loggins 'Danger Zone').
I no longer need to take the wheelchair out of the house. Hopefully ever, but definitely for the foreseeable future. I still use it for a few things around the house (sweeping, middle of the night bathroom trips) but it is collecting dust and laundry much of the time. I can even manage to get around a little bit without the walker - as long as there is a counter, chair, wall, or Scott to hang on to. My new braces are no longer a hindrance and are really helping me learn to not stand with locked knees. Heck, I'm even getting some observable muscle tone back around my knees!
As a result of this new strength and confidence I have been checking off milestones both in and out of physiotherapy. In physio I have improved my score on the Berg Balance scale from 21-28 (in two months). This may not mean anything to my non-physiotherapist friends, but it's a pretty big jump (the scale is from 1-56 with 20-40 as the 'walking with assistance' range). In the spring I scored 17. She didn't tell me we were doing the test this time so I couldn't even 'study' (practice) ahead of time...
This is not the only milestone... I started using the treadmill this week! Yes, a moving sidewalk, and I didn't fall off! I have used it 3 times and am up to 8 minutes with a whopping 0.6 resistance (I'll be running in no time:)). My physiotherapist would not let me see the resistance or time the first day because I am apparently too competitive with myself... tee hee. So that's fun. The other new thing happened yesterday - I stood on the bosu ball for the first time. This is a half-exercise ball with a flat top used to improve balance and challenge every muscle in the legs and core. It kind of reminds me of pogo balls from when I was a kid. Course, I was never very good on those either. Anyway, it went better than expected (I did not end up in the ER or on the floor). I used the bars to stabilise myself and had 2 spotters hanging on to me. It will be awhile before I can stand on it without holding anything (let alone use it for squats). But still, I'm excited that we can even try it.
Our other main focus right now is slowing down my unassisted walking. I am a bit of an anomaly here as apparently she spends most of her time helping people walk faster. In my case, I go fast and rely on momentum to keep me up instead of my muscles, so we need to slow down and work on control. I can't get away with anything;)
Things are going well outside of physiotherapy too. I mentioned my outing to Louisbourg in my last post. This was a catalyst to get out more and more. I walked a kilometre or so with my brother and his girlfriend last week on the boardwalk at Dominion Beach. Two days later we all drove up the Cabot Trail to Ingonish and I did a little walking at the top of Smokey and Wreck Beach. I'm getting much more comfortable pushing my walker through gravel and up and down small hills. Last but not least, I reached a major milestone on Wednesday - I walked down the (steep) driveway and accompanied Scott and Barney on part of a dog walk! Walking the dog is one of my favourite things to do and I miss it terribly. It used to be how I cleared my head each morning and readied myself for the day. I can't handle the dog yet or go very far, but I'm getting there. I'm going to try to do this as often as possible to build up my stamina.
So there you have it. Only good news for a change:) Hopefully the improvements continue but I'm just taking things a day at a time and not stressing about what-ifs at the moment. I see my neurologist next week to figure out what's next for treatments and will post again once I know more about that.
Happy Labour Day Weekend!
No comments :
Post a Comment