We arrived pretty early today, eager to talk to Drs. O'Connor and LeRoy. We met with them right after their morning visit with Tim, and we heard encouraging things. Tim is now actually able to wiggle several other toes on the left foot, and his triceps are "coming along." I asked what he meant last week when he said "this (leg movement) changes everything," and heard exactly what I had hoped to hear. Now, instead of focusing on rehab to prepare Tim to be independent with the use of a chair and other adaptive technologies, they will concurrently work on developing his walking. Wow.
First thing he has to do, is regain the ability to stand without getting dizzy - another result of low blood pressure. The exercise for that is the Tilt Table, which "stands him up" and puts some pressure on his legs. He's used that before, but the dizzyness was a bit of an issue. If he can't overcome that naturally, they are considering a blood pressure medication. Once he can handle that, Tim will make use of the "Locomat" - for those of you following closely (pre-blog), this is the machine featured in the NYTimes Science section on July 10, and pointed out to us by Drs. Kantrowitz and Crowell back at BMC. The article really got Tim pumped up in Pittsfield, and had the same effect today.
"Locomotion therapy supported by an automated gait orthosis on a treadmill has established itself as an effective intervention for improving over-ground walking function caused by neurological diseases and injuries." More on this including pictures at http://www.hocoma.ch/web/en/products/introduction_lokomat.html We went down to the 7th floor immediately and got a demo from a technician. We're looking forward to a mid-week start.
Tim had an exhausting PT session this morning, is resting now, and will start OT at 2:00. G&G are arriving this afternoon for a visit, because Grandma just couldn't wait til Thursday. Brian heads home this evening.
Completing this entry now from home at One Stockbridge Road. Discovered that while I was driving home, Tim, Jancy and Amy had a Dennis Leary marathon courtesy of West Stockbridge Video (thanks Sven!) and watched the second season (or something) of Rescue Me. Amy says that Tim was in high spirits, and that's a good thing.
Back to work in the morning for me!
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