Lets turn our attention to something more positive than whats wrong with my body or if the apartment is burning down. Namely, why don't we talk about what rehab is all about and a day at Mt. Sinai.
As I have said Mt. Sinai is a pretty amazing place. You are surrounded by dedicated experts in their fields, be it Neurosurgery, Physical Therapy, Orthopedic Surgery, and commonly those specialties are broken down into finer subgroups (i.e. Lower Lumbar Spinal Surgery, or Shoulder and Elbow Orthopedic Specialist). To say the least, the staff is knowledgeable.
An average day begins with me getting up at 6:00 am and washing myself. Maybe a little help from the nurses, changing the linens, and first doses of pills, vitamins and drugs. Breakfast follows soon after and then I have a few minutes before rehab starts at 9:00am.
The first class is a one on one Physical Therapy session. Physical Therapy is focuses on the lower part of the body. Working on the legs and mobility by strengthening muscles, stretching, range of motion, practicing walking, electric stimulus on the nerve damaged areas, and a host of other exercises. Primarily this is an exhausting hour of pushing yourself to repair and rebuild whatever was lost in your legs and the mobility that comes along with it. I am extremely lucky to have Ryan, a PT who is knowledgeable and demands a lot out of you, but it can be an ass-kicking class.
Second, at 10am, is a group class that is an upper body workout. Done from wheelchairs it is a combination of stretching, range of motion, weights, and aerobics. An hour of just rebuilding some of the muscles that have been inert for so long. An interesting class in that you are surrounded by a group with a range of spinal ailments that is mind-boggling. Each person working on the areas of weakness that afflict them.
And the last class of what becomes a brutal 3 hour block is a one on one Occupational Therapy session. Where Physical Therapy concentrates on the legs Occupational Therapy concentrates on the upper body and teaching you skills to manage your daily life that take into account some of the long term disabilities. Not only do we work on strengthening and range of motion, but classes will be dedicated to normal daily tasks like, putting on pants and shoes with limited mobility, getting in and out of shower chairs since standing for long periods is dangerous, building dexterity and strength so you can write and hold eating utensils. It sounds basic but in many cases you are giving people the skills to be independent. I cannot tell you how much better you feel about yourself when you can feed, wash, and clothe yourself instead of relying on others.
This is followed by a break of an hour and a half that includes lunch and usually a quick nap from pure exhaustion. Possibly a few more painkillers.
And the last class of the day is a walking class. It is exactly what it sounds like, a group class where the therapists work with each patient in a round, giving them a few minutes of walking time followed by a break as they work their way through all the other patients. Then they come back to you and start the cycle over. This is a particularly emotional class. Over the period of a few weeks you will see patients progress from just standing up (in some cases for the first time in months) to taking there first tentative steps on the parallel bars, to seeing them walk with a crutch or walker on their own. There are a lot of congratulations thrown around the room, and I can tell you they are well deserved. Few things have frightened me more or been more exhilarating than taking those first steps. The fear of the unknown, the fear and mistrust of your body, and the hint of freedom that mobility implies, mix together for a lot of tears of fright and joy at the same time. It is a pretty amazing experience.
With the classes over for the day there is usually a bit of afternoon exhaustion before an early dinner at 5:00 or so. I also try to stretch or work on certain exercises in bed. And then I have been blessed to have Naomi come every night as well as the ever fun rotating cast of characters that are my friends. To see some familiar faces and laugh and joke for a few hours at the end of a long day makes everything seem much better.
Showing posts with label Rehab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rehab. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Beyond the Spine
So my spine has been stabilized and seems to be in good working order. Of course it is still stiff, painful, and needs a brace when I am out of bed, but all in all, is in decent working order. Just to fill in the blanks though, there are some other ailments from the accident that I'll talk about to let you know what I am working with in rehab.
As the doctors told me right after the operation, I was lucky and should be thankful that my body did what it was suppose to do. Namely, my bones took the brunt of the impact. There were many fractures but my skeleton absorbed the shock and protected my vital organs from major damage. Other than a quick flare up of the pancreas everything was left in tact, and for the force of the accident the doctors were very impressed with the lack of trauma to the organs.
Of course, that now means I am rehabbing with a host of minor and major ailments. First and foremost I have 5 or 6 fractures in my ribs. These are all expected to heal just fine but as many of you probably know, they heal slow, are easily aggravated, and can be very painful.
The frustrating thing is that each limb has its own problem. Some minor, some a little more worrisome. As for the left arm I have a fracture in the clavicle. It is not bad, although makes a funny bump on my shoulder, but the break is close to some ligaments. If I was to aggravate it in rehab it could damage the ligaments and mean another surgery, so for now, I keep it in a sling during workouts and it will be reexamined in a week or so.
I also have a fracture in my pelvis, it is thin and and doctors are not too concerned but the fracture does extend down into my hip bone. I just got the thumbs up to do weight bearing on it, but I would lying if I said it wasn't painful. It is frustrating because each small movement can set it off leaving me with shots of discomfort shooting through my body. Even with the pain, weight bearing means I am able to practice walking, so I will gladly work through some discomfort if it means I am able to walk.
The right leg is a bit worrisome. The right foot has nerve damage. Other than the instep of the foot I can't feel anything. I am able to move my toes downward and just a bit upward but not much else. This is a direct result of the location of the spinal injury. Based on the movement the doctors believe that feeling will return to my foot, but they say it may take some time, many months, possibly over a year to return, none the less the outlook is positive. It does make it hard to walk though when you can't feel your foot, and may mean I wear a brace for some months after I leave rehab.
And lastly my right arm. This is another area of nerve damage. It is not directly related to the spinal injury but probably more related to the flailing limbs in the crash. The doctors believe that I pulled, stretched, and damaged some nerves in my arm, and the results are a host of ailments throughout the limb. The thumb and pointer finger are painful, kind of an interior pain that hurts and tingles. The rest of the arm has a bit of a pins and needles feeling and an overall weakness to it. The wrist is extremely weak, picking up a one pound weight causes the wrist to crack at the joint and droop down. I can't fully extend the arm due to tightness. And lastly certain muscle movements are comically weak. All of this I am rehabbing, small workouts of all the individual ailments, and improvement has been pretty impressive already.
Each day the parts get just a little stronger, with a little more force, with a bit more range. Its encouraging but slow, very slow. It is nice to see improvement. And now that I can put weight on the left leg I am back to practicing walking. Two days ago I walked without assistance from the physical therapists, and with the aid of only one crutch. Fred Astaire I am not, but damn it it felt good to do it on my own. To feel a sense of independence, mixed of course with a sense of fear. The funny thing about rehab, each new movement is frightening, will my body do this or that? But after the first time, the second time is easier, and easier still after that, until you place that little bit of movement or action into the 'Can' folder instead of the 'Can't' folder.
As the doctors told me right after the operation, I was lucky and should be thankful that my body did what it was suppose to do. Namely, my bones took the brunt of the impact. There were many fractures but my skeleton absorbed the shock and protected my vital organs from major damage. Other than a quick flare up of the pancreas everything was left in tact, and for the force of the accident the doctors were very impressed with the lack of trauma to the organs.
Of course, that now means I am rehabbing with a host of minor and major ailments. First and foremost I have 5 or 6 fractures in my ribs. These are all expected to heal just fine but as many of you probably know, they heal slow, are easily aggravated, and can be very painful.
The frustrating thing is that each limb has its own problem. Some minor, some a little more worrisome. As for the left arm I have a fracture in the clavicle. It is not bad, although makes a funny bump on my shoulder, but the break is close to some ligaments. If I was to aggravate it in rehab it could damage the ligaments and mean another surgery, so for now, I keep it in a sling during workouts and it will be reexamined in a week or so.
I also have a fracture in my pelvis, it is thin and and doctors are not too concerned but the fracture does extend down into my hip bone. I just got the thumbs up to do weight bearing on it, but I would lying if I said it wasn't painful. It is frustrating because each small movement can set it off leaving me with shots of discomfort shooting through my body. Even with the pain, weight bearing means I am able to practice walking, so I will gladly work through some discomfort if it means I am able to walk.
The right leg is a bit worrisome. The right foot has nerve damage. Other than the instep of the foot I can't feel anything. I am able to move my toes downward and just a bit upward but not much else. This is a direct result of the location of the spinal injury. Based on the movement the doctors believe that feeling will return to my foot, but they say it may take some time, many months, possibly over a year to return, none the less the outlook is positive. It does make it hard to walk though when you can't feel your foot, and may mean I wear a brace for some months after I leave rehab.
And lastly my right arm. This is another area of nerve damage. It is not directly related to the spinal injury but probably more related to the flailing limbs in the crash. The doctors believe that I pulled, stretched, and damaged some nerves in my arm, and the results are a host of ailments throughout the limb. The thumb and pointer finger are painful, kind of an interior pain that hurts and tingles. The rest of the arm has a bit of a pins and needles feeling and an overall weakness to it. The wrist is extremely weak, picking up a one pound weight causes the wrist to crack at the joint and droop down. I can't fully extend the arm due to tightness. And lastly certain muscle movements are comically weak. All of this I am rehabbing, small workouts of all the individual ailments, and improvement has been pretty impressive already.
Each day the parts get just a little stronger, with a little more force, with a bit more range. Its encouraging but slow, very slow. It is nice to see improvement. And now that I can put weight on the left leg I am back to practicing walking. Two days ago I walked without assistance from the physical therapists, and with the aid of only one crutch. Fred Astaire I am not, but damn it it felt good to do it on my own. To feel a sense of independence, mixed of course with a sense of fear. The funny thing about rehab, each new movement is frightening, will my body do this or that? But after the first time, the second time is easier, and easier still after that, until you place that little bit of movement or action into the 'Can' folder instead of the 'Can't' folder.
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