UPDATE on Erin: Erin continues to show us strength and determination every single day. She has come a long way since 2 months ago. Therapy sessions are still pushing her hard to get better every single day. In physical therapy, they are now having Erin walk without her cane and her left leg brace. This means she is 100% walking on her own! This is not a permanent change at home. She is still required to wear the leg cast when walking as well as using the cane while being home. They are slowly starting to ween more and more things away from her which is excellent. While walking in therapy, the therapist is still standing next to Erin as a guide. They will frequently tap Erins left leg/knee to remind her to keep it straight before stepping down on it. Currently while walking, Erin has a slight limp in her left leg. This frequent tap on her leg, will send a message to her head that this leg needs to remember to straighten out. This piece of the puzzle will take some time to perfect it. On Friday, Erin was able to use the treadmill for the first time since the incident occurred. She was able to go 5 whole minutes! They will continue to work with Erin to strength her left leg, remember to keep it straightened, and work on balancing. In occupational therapy, they are continuing to do activities to force Erin to use her left arm and hand. In Fridays session, they had her work on making a tie pillow. This forced her to use both hands to tie two separate strings together. It took some time but she was able to accomplish this task. Erins strength is getting better everyday. She is now able to lift her arm above her head and wave vigorously at us with it and shake peoples hands with a tighter grip. She does activities around the house that also works with strengthening that arm. Some things include loading the dishwasher and folding and putting away laundry. Erin is now able to shower and dress her self with little help from us. This is a big step for her to come this far and start to become more independent every day. Erin often likes to say to us, Guys, I can do it on my own, its my independence day with a big smile on her face. This past Friday, Erin had a consultation with the doctor. The doctor was amazed to see how far she has come since she was admitted to the therapy unit. This session allowed Erin to ask questions on various subjects. She asked what the outlook was on her being able to drive again and a time frame. The doctor stated that Erin will need to continue to heal from her brain injury and then take an in the classroom test. This test would consist of checking Erins reaction time to stopping and being able to see to her left side. Currently, Erin still struggles with remembering to look to her left side completely. For example, the clock will show 12:45 and she will think its 2:45. The concern with driving during this state of healing, is that she could refrain from seeing a car coming on her left side. Once this test is complete, she will then go on the road and take a test while driving. As far as a time frame, they are unsure as to when this will be. For now, we will take it one step at a time. This past weekend, we allocated Saturday to a relaxation day. Relaxing and resting are key components for Erins recovery as well as the pregnancy. This week, Erin has therapy 3 different days. Friday is one of her days off. We plan on taking Erin to get her hair cut and colored on her day off, which she is definitely excited for. This weekend, Erin will be heading back to the parents house to help celebrate her nieces 2nd birthday party. Along with that, she will finally get to see the new baby puppies that she has been longing to see. SMILE, and let everyone know that today, youre a lot stronger than you were yesterday.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 22:07:57 +0000
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