Therapy April 2nd
Mom continues to have both physical and occupational therapy twice a week. She continues making improvments and getting stronger every day!
Mom continues to have both physical and occupational therapy twice a week. She continues making improvments and getting stronger every day!
Mom continues making progress and working hard in therapy. She has been doing a lot of circuit training. In this session, she worked on jumping for the first time since her accident.
Mom continues working hard in therapy. She is trying new things and making improvements every session. Recently she has been jogging, lifting heavier weights and continuing to focus on floor transfers. This week in Occupational Therapy, they reassessed her on the block transfers, peg test and her grip strength. She had just done these assessments less than a month ago but already made improvements in every area! On the block test, she went from 38 blocks to 40 using her left hand and from 50 blocks to all 64 on her right! On the peg test, she got all the pegs in a minute, 35 seconds (previously a minute, 55 seconds) on her left hand and in 39 seconds with her right hand (previously 52 seconds). Her grip strength in her left hand went from 12 to 15 pounds and her left hand went from 0 pounds to 3 pounds.
In PT, mom did a circuit of exercises. The circuit included squat jumps, side stepping with resistance, picking up and throwing a 10 lb. medicine ball, and heel/toe taps. This was her first time jumping!
In OT, they have been focusing on stretching. Mom has been having shoulder pain and the movement in her left shoulder is a lot less than in her right. Her Occupational Therapist is working on stretching and getting movement back in her shoulder so I haven't been taking many photos of those sessions.
Mom is starting every Physical Therapy session with 10 minutes on the eliptical. Every sessions she increases resistance. In this therapy session, they focused on lunges and balance. They are working on getting mom up and down from the ground so mom can sit on the floor and play with Elli.
Mom started therapy today with 8 minutes on the elliptical. She then did stairs, focusing on one foot per stair and not using the railing. She went up and down to the third floor twice. Then she did the agility ladder and obstacle courses and a little running!
Today mom used the elliptical for the first time! She worked for 5 minutes and did a great job. She also did the leg press again and was able to press 125 pounds! She did this 2 weeks ago and was lifting 112. She also did single leg presses where she lifted 62 pounds (last time was 37 pounds).
In PT, mom is constantly working on her balance and going over obstacles. Today she had to walk forwards and sideways over small hurdles. She had to walk with high knees, balancing on one foot and holding her leg up for a second before dropping. She had to close her eyes and step forward on a balance pad. All of these activites help with her control, balance and confidence when she is walking around.
In PT, mom did another circuit today. She did step ups (12 inches high!), lunges on the Bosu ball, balancing on the Bosu ball and the balancing activity in the video below. While standing on a balance pad, she also had to roll the foam roller backwards and forwards. This was scary to watch but she did such a great job!
In OT, mom used Therabands to workout including rows, chest flys and more. Mom is still unable to grip the handle of the Theraband so they use something called 'active hand's that holds her hand in place on the handle. I was able to find something similar on Amazon so we are able to do these workouts at home!
In PT, mom was reassessed over what she did on her first day of outpatient therapy. Assessments included how fast she was walking, walking heel to toe, standing with her eyes closed, catching her balance and more. She did better in every single part of the assessment!
Below are two videos from the assessment. The chair squats are how many she can do in 30 seconds. The first day she did chair squats she did 11 in a row. Today she did 15. Typically women in her age range are able to do 16 chair squats in 30 seconds. She is just one squat away! The second video is her catching herself from losing her balance. She wasn't able to do this assessment the first day but she caught herself every single time today!
Mom had to pick up tiny objects (marbles, beans, etc.) and drop them into cups with weights on her wrists. Quite the challenge!
In PT, mom started with a step machine for 10 minutes for her warm up. Next she did a circuit of exercise. The circuit was..
Standing on a balance pad with an 8 pound medicine ball and doing squats. She had to do 10 regular squats and 10 with her eyes closed.
Crossing leg over, cross leg behind on a squishy mat (really challenging her balance and stability!)
15 lunges (each leg) using a Bosu ball
Standing on Bosu ball for one minute with her eyes closed.
She finished her session with stair walking.
In OT, mom did a few tasks while wearing two pound ankle weights around her wrists! She was hooked up to a machine that stimulates hand flection and extension. She had to maintain a grip on a cup as she transferred blocks from one cup to another, move tiny pegs on a peg board and twist washers off screws (a CHALLENGE). Mom has had some swelling in her hands over the past two weeks, making moving and accomplishing tasks a challenge. She still has limited movement/control of her hands.
Mom continues working hard and making progress each week! I love watching her kick butt in every therapy session.
Mom had to pull this piece of equiptment which they claim is about 50 pounds!
Mom used something called 'Active Hands' in therapy today. These allow her to maintain her grip. She worked with some dumbbells today, which was great to see! I was able to find an off brand version of the Active Hands and some dumbells for home workouts. We have a similar bar at the house and it is great for stretching!
For PT, she had a different therapist. He knows Kyle from Dodd so he had already heard about mom before their session. While working with her, he told her she has made an insane amount of progress and he was very impressed! He focused a lot on balance and stability. Whenever she stumbled, he was there just in case but actually didn't intervene at all! This is a great sign that she is able to catch herself to prevent a fall.
Therapy today focused on assessments for her new therapists to see where she was at. She will have 2 therapy sessions a week with an hour for each therapy.
Today mom did another one of the block tests, where she picks up blocks and drops them on the other side. Last week she picked up 30 on her right and 29 with her left. Today she got 34 with her right and 30 on her left. IMPROVEMENT! She also did the peg test again. The last time she did this test, it took her 3 minutes, 42 seconds to place all 9 pegs with her right hand and 2 minutes 47 seconds to place a single peg with her left. Today, she placed all 9 with her right hand in 1 minute, 28 seconds and placed 2 with her left in 2 minutes, 17 seconds. IMPROVEMENT! She shared her OT goals with her therapist which are shower independently, work on her computer, be able to prep herself food, pull her pants up and do a puzzle.
The first assessment mom did in PT was a 6 minute walking test. The test was to see how far she could get in 6 minutes. On September 13th, she completed this assessment at Dodd and walked 1,000 feet which equals out to .85 meters per second. Today she walked 1,200 feet or 1.04 meters per second. IMPROVEMENT! Normal walking speed is 1.4 meters per second so she is getting close! They also did a 30 second, sit to stand test, where she was sitting in a chair then stood as many times as she could in 30 seconds. She was able to do 11, normal for her age is 16 so she is also close to that goal! The goals mom has for physical therapy are to be more confident walking and going up steps, she wants to get back to working out and dancing, and she wants to be able to be out in the community on her own.
We are so sad to be leaving her physical therapist, Kyle. He came up with such fun activities and made mom stay motivated. She made such great progress in PT because of her hard work and his great ideas.
She started her session by walking around Dodd Hall on her own! This was the first time she walked completely independently . It was scary for all of us to not have eyes on her but she OF COURSE did amazing!
She was reassessed on her hallway walk from a few weeks ago. This time she jogged! Her first time walking the hallway, she made it in 38 seconds. Today she made it in 29!
She did some high knees, which have improved significantly since she first came to Dodd.
Kyle made her a barbell for her to do deadlifts and curls. She was lifting about 8 pounds in total. She said it made her feel like she was back in the gym!
Then Kyle rigged what looks like a punching bag for her to carry. We discussed how much Elli weighs and mom said she wants to be able to pick her up and carry her again. This punching bag weighed close to what we think Elli weighs and mom was able to carry it across the room!
In OT today, mom was reassessed on some tests to see how much she has grown.
Danica tested mom's grip strength on both hands today. Her strength right now is 4 lbs. in her right hand and 0 lbs. in her left. This will grow through outpatient therapy.
9 Hole Peg Test. Mom had to pick up small pegs and put them in holes. Her right hand was able to pick up and place all 9 (in 3 minutes, 42 seconds). Her left hand was only able to pick up 1 (in 2 minutes, 47 seconds).
The next assessment was mom picking up small wooden blocks and dropping them, tracking how many she can get in one minute. She is doing better with picking things up but has trouble with releasing. Her right hand picked up 30 blocks in one minute. Her first week at Dodd, she only picked up 10 in the one minute timeframe. Her left hand got 28 blocks. She only picked up 9 the first week. Great progress!
In PT, mom climbed 8 floors in a parking garage. This was a goal Kyle (Physical Therapist) had for her since day one. He has been mentioning this idea to mom since she started at Dodd and today was the day! He said in the 20+ years he has worked here, he has only had a couple of patients make it to the top. Mom made it all the way without stopping! It was exhuasting but she crushed it!
In PT, they are continuing to work on her speed, strength and coordination. Today, Kyle had her trying to skip, which was not easy. Mom rates it a 0 out of 10, would not recommend. They worked again on getting up and down to and from the floor. Mom did even better with this task today! She did it quicker and more controlled today than she did on Monday. She did the same circuit training she did yesterday but instead of 30 seconds per move, she did 45 seconds. She played goalie against Denny and played Pickleball with a balloon with grandpa. She had trouble holding the paddle so they had to strap it to her hand but her arm got tired quickly because of how heavy it was. Kyle had her working on maintaining balance with one foot by doing light touching with her feet. This was also a challenge! She had to try to "kick" a board and not knock the ball off the cup and then lightly step on the board to not spill any water (pictures will make it make sense, hopefully). She finished her hour and a half PT session by walking the 4 floors up to her room!
Today in Occupational Therapy, mom worked on 'aspects of daily living'. This involves getting her routines and tasks done with as much independence as possible. Today she focused on her morning/night time routine- dressing and undressing, washing her face and brushing her teeth. She was able to get all of her clothes off on her own and was able to put on her shorts, shirt and a sock without help. This is a huge step forward from last week, as she was really struggling with pulling up her pants and putting on socks. She also brushed her teeth and washed her face in the bathroom on her own with the Occupational Therapist there just in case.
In Physical Therapy, mom started with circuit training (similar to HIIT). She had 5 moves that she had to do for 30 seconds each, with a 30 second rest in between. The moves were jogging in place, kicking out to the side, squats, step ups and side steps. This was HARD work but she did great (of course). Scroll through the pictures to see her deep squat! At the end of morning PT, Kyle had her climb the steps to the fifth floor and come back down! She did a total of 80 steps with just one break. Later they worked on JOGGING! Mom started on the treadmill for jogging but it was hard for her since she couldn't control the speed. Kyle then had her try on the track and she was much more successful. She ran a ton of laps and was looking great doing it!
In OT today, mom worked on showering herself with the help of the therapist. In PT, Kyle worked with mom on the things that scared her at home the day before (stairs, lowering onto the toilet). They ran a few tests on her balance and timed walking, which they have been doing each week. She first scored a 20 when she first arrived at Dodd on one of her tests but scored a 48 today! In afternoon PT, Kyle worked on lowering herself to the floor so she can play with Elli once she gets home.
Today mom tried some new things! Kyle had her wearing pillow cases and sliding on the floor to develop inner leg strength. She walked forward, backwards and sideways on the treadmill. She walked at a speed of 2.7 MPH (her fastest speed yet) for 4 minutes. She walked backwards at 1 MPH for 5 minutes. She did way better walking sideways today than the first day she tried! OT had mom on all 4's, holding herself up. She really didn't think she would be able to do it but they had her raising one arm at a time to give an even bigger challenge! Check the pictures below the videos to see her doing LEG PRESSES! This lady was pressing 170 lbs today!
Today mom took a 45 minute walk to Neil Avenue! Her second PT session focused on maintaining balance using Wii Fit.
In PT, they are working on building her endurance. They are having her walk for longer periods and longer distances. She walked the perimeter of the building today for a total of 8 minutes. They are also working on her sitting and standing from lower positions. She is able to get out of her wheelchair entirely on her own but her chair is pretty high. They are working on getting her strong enough to rise from lower positions because the toilet at her house is only 16 inches high. This is quite the challenge but she is already improving!
No therapy on the weekend so we came up with our own activities!
Friday's in PT are for fun! Today they worked on her blocking a goal. She had to move side to side to stop the ball from going between the cones. She did a great job and only missed one or two passes. Her punishment for missing was bending down to pick up the ball! Hard work! She also worked on blocking Denny from getting past her while dribbling.
She got to be outside for a majority of her time. Kyle (PT man) had her walking on grass and up/down hills! He then had her walk on the treadmill where she walked at the fastest speed she ever has and for the longest distance! She walked at a speed of 1.8 for 7 minutes, 7 seconds and a total of 1,023 feet.
This week, mom walked up and down a flight of stairs with Kyle (PT man). Youtube only lets me upload videos if they are shot sideways so I apologize for the videos being sideways!
Many exciting things in therapy today! Mom walked on a treadmill and walked the longest distance she has yet! She walked 160 feet with only one person supporting her. In afternoon therapy, she walked up and down a flight of stairs twice. She then worked through a few different activities like playing with a balloon, kicking a soccer ball and bouncing a basketball. She did awesome with all her work today and had some fun! She also got to take a shower today with the OT team.
Shoutout to Physical Therapist in training Sydney Sharron for all the help!
Mom is working hard and trying new things in therapy! In OT, she rode an "arm bike" which is a machine with bicycle movement but works for your arms. The OT team is using electrodes to shock her arms and strengthen her muscles. In PT, they had her maneuvering around cones, using a step and walking backwards.
Here are a few pictures of therapy today. As mentioned in today's blog post, morning PT was canceled due to finding a small blood clot in her right calf. She got an hour and a half of OT this afternoon. She was cleared for afternoon PT and made AMAZING progress! She was able to transition to a wheelchair without it affecting her blood pressure too much. PT took her down to the therapy gym and had her work on standing with support. While standing, she did get more light headed so would have to take breaks but was a ton of progress from days before. She is able to sit without support and they even wheeled her outside! She was NOT happy about her hair but pictures are too great not to share!
Mom had an hour and a half OT (Occupational Therapy) session this morning starting at 8 AM. They will be focusing on arm strength and using her hands for functional purposes during their sessions. Today they worked on hand over hand hair and teeth brushing and evaluated where mom is at with mobility.
The first PT (Physical Therapy) session lasted an hour. The PT team will be focusing on mobility during their sessions. They have a wheelchair for mom but we are still having trouble with her blood pressure getting low when she is sitting/standing. Today they assessed her strength and mobility in her arms and got her sitting up with support. They had her standing in an attempt to get her into the wheelchair but she became dizzy and light headed so they sat her back down.
PT assessed and rated her on her muscle grade on a five point scale. He said she was mainly 4's throughout her legs (knee straightening, feet) but was a 3 in her hips. He said "we are in a good space" in regards to her mobility and strength!
Here are some videos of the progress Lynette has made.
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