Doug got his first chance today to walk using the parallel bars having both the support of his PT and Will. Will was behind him with the wheelchair and Kerry in front of him. He walked 8 feet 2 times. He was very pleased that he was up and getting to walk and felt very safe having this level of support. He said that today his legs did not shake and that they were pretty stable. He also felt good that he was able to pull himself to a stand using the bars. And so we are so grateful that this is another step in his progress.
Tonight he was able to put lotion on his feet and is able to sit up in bed when the head of the bed is only paritally raised. This is real improvement from when he came home. 3 weeks ago when he laid in bed he was not moving his legs around at all in bed. He could not use his legs to push himself up in the bed and could not roll from side to side without a lot of effort. While it is still not easy for him he can now roll from left to right and right to left.
He has been having bed baths since we came home, but I believe that Doug is now about ready to get a shower with a shower chair. Maybe we will try that tomorrow. Of course that means that I need to put the new hand held shower in tomorrow morning before that can happen. We will see how inspired I am to do that in the morning.
Overall this was an easier week. We have become more accustom to having new people in and out of the house all the time even with the changes in staff this week. Doug is more settled into being home and probably I am as well. We have developed some new routines that are working.
And so we pray:
God of New Life, we give thanks for the continuous changes and chances in this life. We thank you for spirits of hope. We thank you for strengthening our resolve to persevere when things are hard. Be with us this night as we sleep, that we may awaken tomorrow with hope to meet the challenges of the new day. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment