Therapy

Therapy: As I mentioned before I had home occupational and physical therapy for 5 weeks, 4-5 days a week, 2 hours a day. In October I started going to out patient OT/PT at Victory Physical Therapy in Mullica Hill, NJ. Michael is my main therapist but physical therapists Joe and Stephanie as well as the PT aide Brian, are always there to support me. I go to therapy 3x a week for 1½hrs a day.


I am going to therapy to help "wake up my nerves"- to re-train my brain how to use my right arm and right leg. Pretty much my right arm and leg do not work as much as they use to. My brain is not connecting with the right side of my body. I can tell you it is pretty frustrating when your arm and leg are not broken and you stare at them and they aren’t moving- I sometimes yell!!!! Some doctors relate me to Parkinson’s disease because I have some of the same neurological deficits. At times in order for my leg or arm to move I have to stare at it ( it is like with me staring it is sending the signal from my brain to my arm or leg to move). When I don’t look sometimes they do not even move.

My right arm: In order for my right arm to get better I need to do many OT activities. In my previous post I mentioned things that my home therapist had me do in out-patient I am working on getting my brain to connect with my arm. In the beginning I had to do this block shape puzzle, putting the shapes into their spot- a puzzle that I had in my preschool classroom! I would do this puzzle and they would time me- I could only use my right hand to complete the puzzle. In October it took me 2:45sec to complete the puzzle, by December I was completing the puzzle in 35 seconds! My right arm was starting to work again!! Another activity that I never want to do again is Bop-It! Yes, the game, Bop-it: twist, pull it, bop-it! That was good for me to play because my brain had to tell my hand what to do by listening to the game. I started off in October with a score of 5 I ended up in December with a score of 60! I lift weights- I am up to 7 lbs now and started out not even being able to life 1lb. I am doing salt and pepper using 4lbs, using an arm machine, 37.5lbs on the row machine, lifts 2lbs above my head.. so I am making great progress on my arm! I am able to blow dry my hair, pull up my hair, cut my food, eat and drink using my right hand, type, writing on the whiteboard and writing on paper. But it is not where it was and I am still dropping items out of my hand at times such as a drink or my phone. Working hard to get back 100%!


My right leg: I started going to out-patient therapy with a walker and my leg brace. They tried to get me to use a cane but I just couldn’t figure out how to walk with it- my brain wouldn’t let me. I need this brace to help me walk because my right foot doesn’t have a dorsiflexion therefore causing me to have a "foot drop". The brace helps my foot dorsifelx so that I can walk. If I do not where the brace my right foot just drags. The brace only fits into sneakers and Uggs so those are pretty much all I wear. So from September until about November I was using a walker or a wheelchair but now I am only using a brace ( picture of the brace was posted previous to this post). In PT I do some exercises with the brace on and some with the brace off. I am on the treadmill going at 1.8 speed with my brace on and with a therapist standing behind me incase I fall. Sometimes my foot drags with the brace on the treadmill but the past 2 weeks I have been doing better with that (as long as I watch my foot in the mirror in front of the treadmill). When we take off my brace I practice walking with a gate-belt around me so that the therapist can hold on to me incase I fall and he/she also holds my hand as I walk. I practice walking, running, stooping, balancing, sit to stand, kneel to stand, squat to stand, I always have to wear that belt for safety. Because of the Lyme being in my brain I can’t drive not only because I can’t move my right foot but also because my reaction time is off- so for safety for myself and others- I can’t drive.. and I feel like a prisoner in my own home and I have to be dependent on others. Also, because I can’t run or move very much I have gained 23lbs since August from medicines and not being active. My life has just totally changed and I am working hard in therapy 3x a week to get it back! I am going to post videos of me in therapy last Thursday, February 2. I just started video tapping so I do not have videos of how I was prior to now but hopefully these videos will lead up to be running and back at teaching my class!