What a week
Linda says this was a boring week. I felt good about it though. Linda says, "I did not do anything neat." That's probably true. Linda can pretty much do everything now, and the focus is starting to change to getting stronger. On Wednesday, she did a lot of weights with her arms and lots of squatting exercises for her legs. She's been pretty much a noodle since.
This morning, finally, Linda seems a bit less tired. I asked her if she wanted to type, but she said no. Typing is very exhausting, and she wants to enjoy her "not tired" feeling a bit longer. I may be able to talk her into it this evening.
We had some big firsts this week. Linda tried the stairs for the first time. Fred was a bit reluctant. He likes to save the stairs for last because they are the very hardest thing, and he doesn't want it to discourage patients. But Linda is pretty hard to discourage, so he was OK with it. It took three of us, plus Linda, to get up and down 4 steps. So we did it twice of course. It was a lot of work for everyone, but especially for Fred and Linda. I just now asked Linda if the stairs were actually the hardest thing she has done yet, and she said, "Oh yeah, no contest."
Linda is feeding herself all of her meals now. We just cut up her food and arrange it, and then she pretty much goes. It's a bit messy, but not as messy as Ellie used to be. She'll probably just graduate from feeding group soon and get a little help from me or the nurses instead. She doesn't really need feeding group for swallowing any more, and we have for some time been free to eat wherever we like.
Speaking of eating, Linda is now officially allowed to use a straw. The order was recorded early this week or late last week. She had been cautiously using one for some time successfully. She was also changed to a regular diet from mechanical-soft (which wasn't bad either). She can pretty much eat whatever she likes, and she does. She orders Mountain Dew with every meal except breakfast. Last weekend, I was commenting to my aunt and said, "I think she feels like with everything that has happened she is allowed to have Mountain Dew for every meal if she likes." I noted that she never skips dessert either. Linda looked over and very clearly said, "I can have anything I want." It had a distinct air of entitlement to it.
Speech is going pretty well. Linda is getting easier to understand. Her "pressure consonants" like P,B,T,D,K are getting better and that really helps. We also have a lot to work on. She still speaks in a monotone for the most part and loses breath support quick. But she does just get better and better at everything, so there's no reason for despair yet.
We have nothing on the schedule for today other than meals. We'll work on something--we always do. But it seems like a good day for getting out some. This time when we go to the coffee shop, she'll be able to drink her own coffee. Cool.
Linda says this was a boring week. I felt good about it though. Linda says, "I did not do anything neat." That's probably true. Linda can pretty much do everything now, and the focus is starting to change to getting stronger. On Wednesday, she did a lot of weights with her arms and lots of squatting exercises for her legs. She's been pretty much a noodle since.
This morning, finally, Linda seems a bit less tired. I asked her if she wanted to type, but she said no. Typing is very exhausting, and she wants to enjoy her "not tired" feeling a bit longer. I may be able to talk her into it this evening.
We had some big firsts this week. Linda tried the stairs for the first time. Fred was a bit reluctant. He likes to save the stairs for last because they are the very hardest thing, and he doesn't want it to discourage patients. But Linda is pretty hard to discourage, so he was OK with it. It took three of us, plus Linda, to get up and down 4 steps. So we did it twice of course. It was a lot of work for everyone, but especially for Fred and Linda. I just now asked Linda if the stairs were actually the hardest thing she has done yet, and she said, "Oh yeah, no contest."
Linda is feeding herself all of her meals now. We just cut up her food and arrange it, and then she pretty much goes. It's a bit messy, but not as messy as Ellie used to be. She'll probably just graduate from feeding group soon and get a little help from me or the nurses instead. She doesn't really need feeding group for swallowing any more, and we have for some time been free to eat wherever we like.
Speaking of eating, Linda is now officially allowed to use a straw. The order was recorded early this week or late last week. She had been cautiously using one for some time successfully. She was also changed to a regular diet from mechanical-soft (which wasn't bad either). She can pretty much eat whatever she likes, and she does. She orders Mountain Dew with every meal except breakfast. Last weekend, I was commenting to my aunt and said, "I think she feels like with everything that has happened she is allowed to have Mountain Dew for every meal if she likes." I noted that she never skips dessert either. Linda looked over and very clearly said, "I can have anything I want." It had a distinct air of entitlement to it.
Speech is going pretty well. Linda is getting easier to understand. Her "pressure consonants" like P,B,T,D,K are getting better and that really helps. We also have a lot to work on. She still speaks in a monotone for the most part and loses breath support quick. But she does just get better and better at everything, so there's no reason for despair yet.
We have nothing on the schedule for today other than meals. We'll work on something--we always do. But it seems like a good day for getting out some. This time when we go to the coffee shop, she'll be able to drink her own coffee. Cool.
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