So, I tweeted this yesterday:
And believe it or not, Kevin did it.
He needs to be on his feet as much as possible. The more he walks, the more he works those stiff muscles and the easier it will (eventually) get for him.
We have gone to the mall once. He didn’t walk the entire length of the mall, but he walked quite a ways. He took frequent breaks (sitting on the seat on his walker) and we stopped to buy a pretzel and drink some lemonade.
That was his “reward” for making it all the way down to Auntie Annie’s Pretzels.
His walking improves every day. He’s picking up his feet and no longer shuffling along. He’s still having trouble standing upright entirely, but he’s working on putting more weight on his legs and less on his arms.
He is still experiencing a lot of swelling in his right leg. It looks about twice the size of his left leg by the end of the day. We’re not sure what to do about that and we’re hoping most of it goes away when he stops taking the Coumadin (blood thinner). He has enough Coumadin for another month’s worth and we’re thinking when that runs out, the doctor won’t require him to be on it anymore since the whole reason he was on it to begin with was because he was immobile. And apparently, when your body has been through the trauma that Kevin’s body endured, your blood thickens and gels around your vital organs as a self-preservation tactic.
At any rate, he has retired his wheelchair. He no longer uses it, actually, he flat out refuses to use it anymore.
He’s doing more and more things on his own. He made his own breakfast this morning (and we’re not talking cereal and toast, we’re talking scrambled eggs and sausage) and though it’s hard for me to step back and watch him, it’s necessary. Though Kevin’s attitude has been amazing throughout this whole ordeal, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that there are days (like yesterday), that he just gets sick to death of the whole situation and though I wouldn’t exactly say he feels sorry for himself, he gets very irritable and impatient.
I can totally understand why.
He has two more weeks of physical therapy, well, four sessions. I think we’re going to try and get him on stairs this next go-around, or sometime this week, at any rate. He also REALLY wants to get into his truck. He won’t be driving, of course, but I can certainly drive him around (it would come in handy when he has band practice).
Driving. I should ask the PT’s about when they think he might be capable of driving again. I mean, he can lift his legs and move them now so … the only issue I see is the reaction time. Though I know he’s dying to get back to normal, I think driving will likely be the last thing he attempts – we certainly don’t want to put him, or anyone on the road, in danger.
A little over two weeks before we go to New York. The question is: walker or wheelchair?
Write From Karen 