It's been a little sparse around here for a couple of reasons. First, this was a CRAZY October. We were gone 4 weekends in a row. That's a lot in Old Normal Life, but in New Normal Life, wow. I'm the sole driver, and I logged almost 1900 miles, just in all the getting-there-and-back. More on the travel later.
Second, there wasn't a whole lot to report medically this last month. Steve finally plateaued in early October with his Kaiser PT, and decided to do all his therapy at the Biola gym and at home for a few weeks. He said goodbye to his PT, who choked up when he left, and we ended 3 months of PT there. His progress, as always, has been slow and steady. He's faster and more stable. But his feet still look like floppy swim fins, and there are other areas that are coming back too slowly for a report. Nothing out of the realm of our expectations at this point.
When we met with the surgeon, he reminded us that his nerves have a LONG way to grow. At only a millimeter a day, that is 100 days for one centimeter. We don't know the extent of the damage, and how much will have to re-grow, re-connect. The physical therapy, even for those parts of his body over which he has little control, is to prevent muscle atrophy, and to promote muscle memory so that when those nerves finally reconnect, they have something to "talk" to. Think of it like a freeway that has had a bridge collapse over it (think Northridge, '94). You have to have a working freeway on either side so that when the bridge is rebuilt, traffic can resume with fluidity. (Medical people, pleeease feel free to weigh in and correct me.)
So. Then TUESDAY, after FOUR months of back-and-forth, Steve actually for reals started his ongoing out-patient physical therapy at Rancho Los Amigos. He will do PT there twice a week until April, then they will reassess and go from there.
This is a new ball game. It's the difference between using salad tongs and tweezers to get out a splinter. There's no guarantee you'll get the splinter out, but you're using the right tools. Yesterday his muscle strength, etc. was assessed, which means they give numbers on a scale to his strength and mobility. They will periodically compare and reassess these numbers to chart his progress. They put him in a balance machine, which measures, well, his balance. All this helps them pinpoint and craft his home exercises as well. Today was the second appointment, and they did just that--focused on home exercises. They also talked about putting Steve in foot/ankle braces. This would give him far greater balance and help him likely go down to one cane. (Jaclyn, are you so happy about this or what?) Progress!
One major area that is still difficult is that he isn't driving yet. He never EVER complains about it, but he is completely dependent on others for his mobility. I'm thankful we live so close to where he works, because it makes my driving him so incredibly much easier. But it's still tough to time it all, especially when you add in my driving Lucy to OT and piano and Søren to piano, plus school, homework, and all the Stuff. If you are still praying for us, please pray that how we deal with the driving issue is resolved soon and with wisdom. We have some options but it's not yet clear what direction we should go.
Another hurdle is the difficult timing of the appointments that have been available at Rancho. They are during times when I simply do not have the option of driving him because of school pick-up/drop-off. So far we have had some stellar folks who've made significant adjustments to be able to take him, and we are so grateful. But how this will work out over a 4 month period could get very tricky, especially if we're not able to work the driving out soon.
In all, this is a week (and month!) to thank God out of the very deep joy we have had.
Stay tuned ... I've got more stuff to tell you/show you!
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