Today, Suzy was able to walk around “the block” (the big, long hallway) at the hospital with a cane and minimal help from the therapist. She also practiced stepping up and down a small step. At the end of her session, she got strapped into the stationary bike for 8 minutes of pedaling, which was a good workout.
The Physical Therapist told Suzy that she had a former patient who is now walking very well, and that patient was not able to walk without the therapist’s help for three weeks after her rehab started, so Suzy is well ahead of that patient’s recovery, being only one week after starting rehab. According to the therapist, Suzy’s balance is much better today than it was yesterday.
The Occupational Therapist is teaching Suzy how to keep her hand and arm flexible, and how to exercise them. With her arm and her leg both, the plan is to get Suzy doing very familiar movements—the kind that we do reflexively. Then her brain can make a “detour” to get the desired action, since the straightforward pathways were disrupted. It’s fun to see those normal, habitual movements actually taking place.
Another therapist told us that speech is the last thing to come back to a patient, so for Suzy to be speaking so well this quickly is a very impressive thing. She continues to improve each day, and her spirits are high. If you make it in to visit her, don’t expect her to be at the level she was before her stroke; just know that for those of us who see her frequently, she is improving rapidly and is often told by her therapists that she should make a very good recovery. These things just take time. ~Barbara
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