Monday
It's a good thing Linda took it easy this weekend, because she hit everything hard today. In OT this morning, Linda did weights. She keeps getting stronger, and her form is better as her coordination improves. We started on the tricep machine. She sits between two handles which she presses down along her sides, like a 'dip,' only sitting and further apart. The second machine was like a pull-up. She wheeled under a bar hanging from a cable which runs over a pulley to a stack of weight, and she had to pull it down to her lap.
This afternoon she walked with her "regular walker" in PT (so I could see it). It went very well, and the therapist said she should retire her platform walker. So we have now retired two assistive devices, the light-gait and the platform walker. She didn't seem all that pleased with her performance, but I noticed a small crowd gathering to watch her do it. People were very impressed. She sets her standards too high.
In speech, we started working on pitch. Actually, Linda and I had worked on it yesterday, so we already had a bit of a head start. Yesterday, I nagged her over and over with "Do, Re, Mi", moving around the scale and having her try to match the pitches (or even to just make some sounds higher than others). Today we met in the Meredith's office, because she has a keyboard. I thought it went nicely. We found the pitches that Linda can match. She has a range of about 4 steps, just enough for Mary Had a Little Lamb. She can't exactly sing it, but she did manage to match each of the notes in it, more or less in order.
Tonight at dinner, we had a funny moment. At least it was funny to me, so I'll share it. Linda ordered a chicken salad croissant. It was messy and hard for her to pick up, even when cut into parts, so she wanted some help.
"I need help with my sandwich."
I wanted to check my email and update the web site while she finished dinner, so I said, "Well, just tell them, and I'm sure they'll help you. And if they don't, tell them you want to take it back to your room, and I'll feed it to you later."
She still wanted help, so I added that we could have time to do something later or watch a movie if I did computer stuff while she was eating. "So, you gonna be OK?"
She looked at me with wide emphatic eyes and answered, "No, it's on the floor." She had already tried and dropped some of it, and was obviously not being successful. So I fed her the sandwich and I'm here now. After dinner.
While we were eating, she lamented the fallen bite, saying, "I really wanted it too."
It's a good thing Linda took it easy this weekend, because she hit everything hard today. In OT this morning, Linda did weights. She keeps getting stronger, and her form is better as her coordination improves. We started on the tricep machine. She sits between two handles which she presses down along her sides, like a 'dip,' only sitting and further apart. The second machine was like a pull-up. She wheeled under a bar hanging from a cable which runs over a pulley to a stack of weight, and she had to pull it down to her lap.
This afternoon she walked with her "regular walker" in PT (so I could see it). It went very well, and the therapist said she should retire her platform walker. So we have now retired two assistive devices, the light-gait and the platform walker. She didn't seem all that pleased with her performance, but I noticed a small crowd gathering to watch her do it. People were very impressed. She sets her standards too high.
In speech, we started working on pitch. Actually, Linda and I had worked on it yesterday, so we already had a bit of a head start. Yesterday, I nagged her over and over with "Do, Re, Mi", moving around the scale and having her try to match the pitches (or even to just make some sounds higher than others). Today we met in the Meredith's office, because she has a keyboard. I thought it went nicely. We found the pitches that Linda can match. She has a range of about 4 steps, just enough for Mary Had a Little Lamb. She can't exactly sing it, but she did manage to match each of the notes in it, more or less in order.
Tonight at dinner, we had a funny moment. At least it was funny to me, so I'll share it. Linda ordered a chicken salad croissant. It was messy and hard for her to pick up, even when cut into parts, so she wanted some help.
"I need help with my sandwich."
I wanted to check my email and update the web site while she finished dinner, so I said, "Well, just tell them, and I'm sure they'll help you. And if they don't, tell them you want to take it back to your room, and I'll feed it to you later."
She still wanted help, so I added that we could have time to do something later or watch a movie if I did computer stuff while she was eating. "So, you gonna be OK?"
She looked at me with wide emphatic eyes and answered, "No, it's on the floor." She had already tried and dropped some of it, and was obviously not being successful. So I fed her the sandwich and I'm here now. After dinner.
While we were eating, she lamented the fallen bite, saying, "I really wanted it too."
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