She's a Pirate!

Kat's Journey includes some new happens! Sorry it's taken so long to post. Today (Tues, Feb 10, 2009) the occupational therapist order Kathy to wear a patch over her right eye when she reads, watches tv ... BUT NOT when she walks (balancing issues). So right now she's a pirate!

Other than that, she's been working on a new electronic stimulus device to help curb her tone. Her arm, wrist and hand relax quite well with this new device. The OT is trying to get one, cost-free for Kathy so it will stimulate her muscles in her arm to relax and her hand to not tone up tight. It is a very costly unit, but the OT and the company rep believe it is availble to her.
Walking is only hindered by her leg muscles toning up at times. When that occurs, it feels like she is no longer tight in her leg/ankle brace which gives her the stability she needs and the lack of drop foot. Without tone and a good fit she walks very normal-like. When she began walking, she would lift the leg from the hip but now she looks like she walks with her leg even with a slight knee bend!

So, she is getting around (even in this winter-type tundra of ice, snow and wind), going to the pool for therapy and working through eyesight and brain connection testing. We have much to be thankful for. Thanks for joining in on giving God thanks (as well as friends and her therapist, Melanie). Visit back soon for more on the journey!

Back to the Pool

After a two month absence, Kat returned to the pool at the Pemi-Baker Aquatic Center in Plymouth (across from where Mike works at Walmart. You may recall she was coming home from the pool back in October and walked on a root causing her foot to turn and fracturing her ankle (her bad foot without her leg brace). Last month, she was given the "all-good" to return to the pool, but finances wouldn't allow pool membership and the weekly visit at Healthsouth. Since Mike's health plan goes back into effect this month, he can afford the monthly dues for membership at the pool again ... so she returned today!

The cold and wind has kept her inside most of the time, but she has found a spot to walk where it's safe and a bit out of the wind. It's at the Hannaford shopping center where she can walk from Hannaford's to Marshall's protected by the hall walls and a nice clear walkway.

Last year, Kat was recovering from her injury and a bit unsteady so we decided to run the wood stove on occasion instead of using it as our main source of heat. Amazingly, Kat has strengthened to the place where she is now able to keep the fire stoked and the house warm. Mike was able to get wood from a friend and the price is the best around! It's now 12 degrees and the wind is blowing at around 25mph, and we are warm and toasty in our home!

So there's the update! Come back to learn more of journey!

She's Still Doing It!

Here is the evidence of Kat's hand usage! She is doing a great job! Melanie is her Occupational Therapist and has great hope for Kathy's relearning to use her hand.

With the Saebo FLEX on she tightens her hand around a ball ...

Picks it up ...

And then releases it!

So, it takes time but is a great encouragement to see how she does it. Mel even has Kat try to get the ball without the FLEX and with some difficulty, she does it! We've got to learn how to take video with our camera ... but we did video her today on the cell phone. If we can find a way to convert it to the "blog" file, we'll post those soon! Thanks for your prayers and love support! MORE TO COME!!!

SHE DID IT!

Today Kathy was able to use the SaeboFLEX at her therapy session and she picked up and dropped balls with her left hand! This hand has done nothing since her stroke in late April of 2007. This is a tremendous, significant achievement! Mel (the OT) came and got me (as I usually study in the cafeteria during her sessions) so I could see the achievement. When Kat finished her session, Mel told me that Kathy even picked a ball up after she took off the FLEX! Hey! This is BIG! Hard work, perserverance and the prayers of many have brought this along. Thank you, Lord. Thank you dear friends! Thanks, Melanie!

Next week, I'll bring my camera and we'll take those pictures. Keep connected. More of Kat's Journey coming!

Great Day @ Therapy!

Kat had a great day at her therapy session at HealthSouth in Concord today. Her Occupation Therapist Melanie, saw some great improvement with Kathy's left hand stretch. For a few months now, she has been wearing an arm/hand splint to keep her hand outstretched. She naturally (since her hand has been paralyzed these past 18 months) clamps up into a sort of fist. The plastic splints were more of a problem than a help but this special splint called the "SAEBO Stretch" (see below) has been the perfect solution for Kathy's tightened hands.

We purchased the "stretch" so Kat wears it at night and a few hours during the day. Mel says Kathy has improved enough to begin using the SaeboFLEX. It looks like a mechanical hand... but it aids in retraining the brain to flex the hand and fingers. So next Tuesday (yes, election day), Kat will be trying out this device working the hand to pick up and drop rubber balls. This is an exciting turn of events. See the photo below:

As you can see in the picture, the patient has a ball grasped in his hand. This is the goal for Kathy. Pick up and grasp the ball then release the ball. We will update you with her progress.

MORE NEWS

Today, Kathy heard from DHMC in Lebanon where she had been receiving botox treatments to relax the tone (muscle tightening) in her hand and leg. She is scheduled for the next treatment November 10th. Mel has singled out to the Drs. where the muscles are that need treating. So there is a lot of good news in our home today! We are grateful to God for His working in this way!

More coming ... keep connected to the journey!

FINALLY ... An Update!

SEPTEMBER>
Much of September (and this month) has been working on Kat's hand at HealthSouth Rehab with OT Mel. We purchased a Saebo Stretch which helps the tone in her arm to keep the hand from always clamping tight.

OCTOBER>
A few week's ago, Kat was walking in the house after a pool visit. She didn't have her brace on her leg/foot and she twisted her ankle badly. Xrays show she suffered an Alvusion Fracture where the tendon pulled a piece of bone away from the ankle. OUCH! They treat it like a bad sprain. Some of her swelling has really gone down but her tone is really making it difficult for her to walk as it loosens her brace often through the day.

HOSPITAL VISIT>
On Monday (Oct 20), we travelled to Boston Medical Center to visit Kathy's oldest sister Barb. All her siblings and her Mom were there. Barb is having difficulty breathing and the meds she is being given don't seem to help. Barb appears to be in discomfort. We are praying for God's healing for her.

It was a long trip for Kat, even considering the next morning she had to go to Concord for her visit at HealthSouth with Mel. She is doing amazing as she goes on this journey. More to come! Keep tuned!

Back to the Pool!

Kathy has taken off pool therapy during July and August. She did some at the pool in Concord @ HealthSouth. Beginning in early September, she'll be going back to Pemi-Baker Aquatic Center in Plymouth three days a week. She is looking forward to getting back to work.

At HealthSouth this past week, Kat worked on more vision exercises to get back to driving. She is advancing as she practices all the time at home. On our way back home, we were passed by a Honda Element (see picture). As the car went by, Mike noticed a note in the corner of the back window and it said this: "YOU'VE JUST BEEN PASSED BY A TOASTER!" What a good laugh we had on that on! And, you know, I appreciate the cleverness and wit of people and their willingness to share with others, aren't you?

Well, the summer is coming to a close and fall will be coming closer. More of Kat's incredible journey will be posted right here. Come back and visit!

Follow Kat on Twitter!

Kat just opened her new Twitter account ... it's a place to follow her and what she's up to! Here's the address: www.twitter.com/katykleen. See you there!

Long Overdue

Well, here's the long overdue update. It's been a month since we gave any updates. Kat's summer is busy and full. She seems to have days with more energy but still usually needs her mid-day nap.

Since the beginning of July, Kathy has suspended her 3xs a week visit to pool therapy. This is because she goes once a week to Healthsouth in Concord (where she was a resident after her stroke) and gets specialized treatment. Further, the stuff at Healthsouth is to help her to get back to driving. That will help in getting around. She also is spending time watching Brent (our grandson) this summer.

She's been in the Healthsouth pool and has made great progress with outstretching her left arm! Also, she has been in the lake and the Conference pool a couple of times. On our last visit to Concord, we decided on a seafood lunch and went to a new Seafood resturant. After the meal we took our regular visits to the bathroom but Mike went out to the car to put away the doggie bag first. When he came into the bathroom he was hoping to use the larger handicap stall but it was occupied. So he chose the next one over. After a few seconds Mike thought he heard a soft child's voice but dismissed it until it was louder saying, "Mike, is that you?" Kat was in the handicap stall and she saw his keys dangling from his pants down by his feet. Mike replied, thinking how did I end up in the ladies room, "Kathy?". Then it hit him ... he walked by the urinals to go to the stalls -- she was in the men's room! As we rushed her out (seeing no one else came in) she wanted to wash her hands but Mike said, "not in the men's room go across the hall to the women's room!" Kat said there's another think she can claim 'brain-damage' for!

This past Sunday morning, Mike spoke at a new church start and led in some music. He wanted to teach the group a new song so he asked Kat to get up and sing with him, which she gladly did. This was the first time since her stroke that she got up with Mike to sing! PROGRESS! She had a full day that Sunday, with the morning worship gathering and the late afternoon SNC gathering.

So now we've updated you as her journey goes on! Come back -- we'll get the info out sooner.

Hair, Feet , Shoulder, Wrist, Hand

In case you're wondering ...
Kat had her hair done last week! Her two good friends came over for a visit and other things. When Mike stopped in for a quick moment, he saw Sue on guitar and Beck on the Zither! They had a food fest and song fest together. Then after the fun, Beck took Kat to her daughter's hair dress shop down the road and Billie Jo cut and later (like on Saturday) permed the hair. I think it looks real cute. Thanks girls for your kindness and love!

Lately, Kat has been trying different things to aid in her walking. Her brace with the swivel heel is the most stable of her aids but it gets bulky by the end of the day. We also noticed that even though she walks more briskly with it -- it hinders her leg muscles. So Kathy tries a variety of her swedo (cloth ankle brace which ties and straps around itself) and her old air brace. I've noticed her walking around the house barefoot much improved!

Now it seems we've learned something new! Her visit to Healthsouth last Tuesday was nearly canceled as the therapist called out. We were in Tilton when the phone message hit my cell phone. I called but they found a replacement so they said keep coming. Mel was tagged to be Kat's 3rd OT since she began back at Healthsouth as an Outpatient (the other 2 were in their lasts days when they worked with Kathy -- you think she may have been too much for these poor OTs?). Well, this week, lo and behold ... Mel was back! The new thing she told us was that Kat's tone in her wrist and hand had to do with tightness in her shoulder blade and that needed to be worked on regularly. So now she has work to do in the pool and at home as well as vision exercises. She keeps busy with all this homework. This week, Mel worked on a new wrist splint for Kat so she would keep her fingers extended through the night and for a few hours during the day. It is working out pretty good. We did remove it at around 6am this morning as her hand tightened up.

Mike's mini vacation (along with Brent being away at his mom's) allowed for a few special trips around the area. We also relaxed at home on occasion. So this has been a good week and there seems like promise for movement real soon to occur in her hand and wrist.

Continue to join us as we learn and work toward stroke recovery! The journey goes on!

Driver Eval -- Step One

On Monday June 9th, Kathy returned to HealthSouth in Concord for the results of her Driver Evaluation and update her on what's the next step. Kat failed a timing test and some visual perceptions. The new OT (for Kathy as Janell was no longer there), Linda, gave Kathy some special exercises of homework to do to help with vision and timing. She is seemingly still struggling with left side vision deficeit. Even though she has a lot of homework, we both left encouraged and Kat was re-motivated to work.

She had been out of pool therapy for a week as she was fighting a nasty cough. That's gone now. We've been in a three day heat wave here in New Hampshire so her main job is to try and stay cool.

Well, there are more days ahead of OT, PT and Pool Therapy so we'll update you as it comes! It's back to a visit with the Neurologists and the Botox doctor next Monday. Come back for all the Journey information!

The picture to the left is the one we tried to post a while back at her Mom's birthday bash. Enjoy!

REPEAT POST FROM OLD BLOG

Kat has involved with a couple of things that are very interesting. Every week she goes to pool therapy (on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Before climbing in the pool, she goes into the gym and works her leg either on the eliptic (sp?) walker or the stationary bike for about 15 min. It’s amazing to see the speed in her walking pace now!

On Tuesday (May 27th) she returned to HealthSouth as an outpatient. She worked with OT Janell, whom she had while a resident so they knew each other well. Janell gave Kat her pre-evaluation for driving. The results are coming. Janell said she’d like to work more with Kathy, so it seems we may be going down to Concord a few times for this purpose. Janell wants to help Kat prepare to use Saebo (a device that will help her hand react to open and closing and thus retraining her brain to make it work).

It was abit of a reunion. Beside Janell, Kat hugged and visited her 2 PT’s … Maggie and Derek. Maggie showed us her new office (as she had been promoted) and there she had pics of her new baby boy, David — what a cutie! Derek visited with us as we were leaving the lunch area. He really pushed Kat hard while a resident and he saw the fruits of his labor yesterday! It was a great time.

ANNOUNCEMENT
mike.blog has been having difficulties trying to post pictures etc. — so there will be one more post here with a new link to another blog. We will not close this one so many can revisit the trip so far. The new link will have a new name as well so watch in the next few days as we post that link. The journey goes on and very soon at a new address link … come back soon!

Kat's Journey Continues

Welcome to the new site for Kathy's Journey! New Posts will be coming soon! Visit our old site at mike.blog (mtis4gvn.wordpress.com).