Rehab! Full Send!
Today was Tyler’s first full day of rehab. This means he had an hour of PT in the morning, and another in the afternoon. An hour of OT, and an SCI information class at the end of the day.
Despite the long day, we managed to get some outside time in the garden between sessions. The difference between where Tyler is now compared to a 2 weeks ago, even 1 week ago is astounding. It was nice to sit in fresh air, and just be together.
We met with Tyler’s case manager today. She informed us that Tyler’s discharge date is March 7. A little thing about case managers: their job is to operate at the junction of care and insurance. The March 7 date is a recommendation based on his current status, so this could change as he continues rehab.
His main goals for the next week are to do moderately assisted board transfers, dressing (including shoes and pants, and to do self CIC. We’re still feeling overwhelmed by these goals, but even after today’s work, it seems more possible then this morning.
The afternoon’s PT was pretty great. Remember how OH was getting in the way of his rehab? Well, today he tried a tilt table. We’re not allowed to take photos in the PT gym, so here’s an illustration:
Basically, a table that tilts him up at specific angles, and the PTs would measure his BP per angle. I love the methodology of this, it’s something exact in a sea of inexact outcomes. So at 15° his BP was 101/60, but at 50° it was 81/45. So the session was about finding a nominal angle that allowed for a decent recovery. At 40° his BP was 93/59 and rose to 101/68 after 10 minutes. (These details are really for our PT and other medical friends out there, but it does serve as a good indicator of progress). The main takeaway is that Tyler was overwhelmed by the sheer number of pop culture references and jokes he could make. Does one go Baron Harkonnen? Han Solo? Silence of the Lambs? The pop possibilities are endless!
There was so much to learn today that I learned some things too. Like how to strap Tyler into a lift and how to do a pressure relief tilt every 20 minutes. Pressure relief is when you tilt forward, backward, or side-to-side to prevent pressure sores. We went with tilt-backs and once you get the hang of it, they’re pretty easy and a nice reason to break and just hang out for a couple minutes.
It was a long day, but a good one and now off to bed. Tomorrow is Arthur’s first day back at school since the accident. So Tyler isn’t the only one feeling the pressure of goals, wish our little boy luck tomorrow!