Alright everyone, after a long talk with Karen this afternoon (I'm not calling her Skippy), here is the latest. She really had a good day today as she has previously posted in her brief update. It is difficult for her to type with only one hand, so she wanted me to convey the details of what transpired today to make it so great. Every couple of days her doctor comes in to check on her. Today when he came in to check on her progress she is making with her physical therapists, his first instruction was for her to stand up from her wheelchair. Her initial reaction was that this was an impossible task to ask of her, but setting her mind to it (well, half of it), much to her own amazement, she was able to do it! He then told her to walk across the room all by herself. She asked for her cane, but that request was immediately denied to which she replied "Wha...whaaaat?!?" She was initially reluctant and told the doctor that he better make sure he would catch her if she had a mis-step. He was there to steady her as she walked across the room all by herself! Her first autonomous bipedal forward locomotion in nearly three weeks! He then had her walking down the hall and back again, again, all by herself. She was very proud of herself and her accomplishments, and the doctor seemed very impressed as well - so much so that he said that she may get out of the hospital by as early as next week. This would upgrade her status from "inpatient" physical therapy to "outpatient" physical therapy.
From there it was onto her physical therapy session. One of her exercises put forth by her therapist was to discover what to do if she did indeed fall. Her therapist had her lay on the floor (all by herself) and then crawl across the floor to get back into her wheelchair (all by herself) just to learn how to do it. This may seem like a simple task to most with an able body, but with only one side to work with, a lot of things are involved. The therapist taught her about leg placement for both legs to gain the best leverage points, as well as how to keep track of her left arm to keep it out of harms way as well. Not to the surprise of anyone except Karen, she was able to do it. Like she said in her post earlier, she said "Wow!" a whole bunch of times today. All of the nurses, therapists, and doctors wish that all of their patients had the same strength, will, and determiniation to get better as Karen has.
Karen also reports that she is still suffering some vision loss in the lower quadrant of her left eye, which makes it difficult to see and read. She really absolutely LOVES and appreciates all of the emails that everyone is sending, and just because she has not responded yet, she will certainly try to respond to all of them. She says it is difficult for her to type one handed, especially with the small keyboard on the laptop, so answering every one of them is difficult. Please keep sending them as it helps lift her spirits.
This weekend she is really looking forward to a visit from her good friend Denys from California, and spending her first night away from a place where people in white check on you constantly and getting to sleep in a bed that does not have buttons on the side, bend in the middle, or plug into a wall (well, as far as I know)
karen_getting_better@yahoo.com
Will post more as I hear it...
Curtis
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