Getting Dressed
Today started with a milestone. This morning, I was able to put my pants on by myself for the first time since the accident. If you’d told me two weeks ago that I would be dressing myself before the end of February I would have laughed at you and, depending on our relationship, given you the finger.
I’m simply in awe of what the PT/OT team here has done for me (and inspired me to do) during my stay in Vallejo. During this morning’s session I was able to roll onto my stomach with no assistance. Then, with the help of Reese stabilizing my feet, I was able to prop myself on my elbows and walk them back until I was on elbows and knees. Using my new-found core strength, I was able to straighten my back and do a number of balance exercises until my chronic neck pain flared up and we had to go back to the mat. While this is frustrating, I’m happy that my shoulders have gained enough strength that they’re no longer my main limiting factor.
And due to the shoulder and core gains I’ve made, the PT/OT team has decided to finally put me in a standard wheelchair. Throughout my stay so far, I’ve been in a ponderously heavy high-backed reclining chair. Admittedly this chair was super comfy but it just wasn’t going to be practical going home. The new chair is more like what you probably picture in your head when someone says “wheelchair.” It’s still going to take some getting used to, but I am determined to make this work (and not regress back to the comfy recliner chair).
Once I was situated in the new chair, Wilton (my main OT) decided to torture me by playing a game of mahjong with me and two of his students. Long forward reaches—like the kind of movement needed to grab mahjong tiles across a large table—are still difficult due to my balance issues and secondary injuries. Add in the discomfort of a new chair and it should have made for an unpleasant, painful hour. But because I was focusing my cognitive energy on learning a new game I forgot all about the pain as I tried to win. Credit to Wilton for knowing how competitive I am and devising a way to get me away from the pain.
After lunch I had a surprise visit from cousin Rachel and her daughter Nori, the world’s third-most-adorable baby (after Arthur and Althea). Rachel brought pastries from Kopi Bar, a locally-owned Indonesian coffee shop in Walnut Creek. Rachel, I know you’re reading this so I just have to say: thank you and damn you for bringing such tasty food. And Dacia and Arthur stopped by at the same time so we had a nice conversation that was only interrupted every time Nori did something cute. Which was often.
In the afternoon they strapped me into the FES bike where I once again put out a massive 2.6W effort. Power numbers aside, it’s great to see my feet moving again. It’s great that I get to do this three times a week.
The rest of the day was quite relaxing. I got to catch up briefly with Cory Brugger via slack and Toast, Jillian, and Dacia via FaceTime (Jillian was preparing Pad Thai for Dacia and the kids). And after sending a number of texts and one video of questionable moral character from the top of the Serene Lakes palisades, Jeff stopped by for a quick visit on his way back to Oakland.
Tomorrow is a lightly-scheduled weekend day, so I’m looking forward to the respite from therapy—and visitors like Luke, Heather, Jeff, Chris, and whoever else wants to drop by. There might even be pastries left (there won’t be any pastries left).