Outlook = Optimistic!
My sinus/chest cold lingers, but is better, thanks to twice daily ingestions of Tylenol, Claritin D, Musinex, Echinacea w/Vitamin C, and Multi-Vitamins. Musinex, particularly, has helped the coughing, and aided sleep. Thanks, cousin Karen. Now, time for less blegh, more blog.
Her short-term memory is improving. It is a very, very good thing for that little train to chug along the tracks. Mom's balance is improving. Her physical strength is improving quite rapidly. Nancy is back, and she is the Nancy you have always known. The only question is whether she will come all the way back to, for instance, again work if she wants to, or again drive her Yukon all around Ft. Worth. Those now loom as real possibilities. Thanks for all the prayers. They surely have made a difference in getting to this point.
As have 4 1/2 hours of neuro-cognitive therapy each day. This week, Mom moved to Pate's upper level of neuro-cognitive therapy. She had entered somewhere in the middle level of Pate's neuro-cognitive program, and had spent 5 weeks working through the remainder of that level.
Therapists say Mom continues to have problems with "impulsivity". Impulsivity is a function of short term memory. Mom momentarily forgets that her strength and her balance are not yet normal. As a result, she continues to make some dangerous physical maneuvers. I witnessed Mom - when stymied by a narrow aisle of chairs - lift her walker up to her shoulders, then carry it forward for two steps, before setting it back down onto the ground. It brought a therapist running across the room, to remind her "that is not a safe maneuver." What can we glean?
Mom is doing fantastic!
Her short-term memory is improving. It is a very, very good thing for that little train to chug along the tracks. Mom's balance is improving. Her physical strength is improving quite rapidly. Nancy is back, and she is the Nancy you have always known. The only question is whether she will come all the way back to, for instance, again work if she wants to, or again drive her Yukon all around Ft. Worth. Those now loom as real possibilities. Thanks for all the prayers. They surely have made a difference in getting to this point.
As have 4 1/2 hours of neuro-cognitive therapy each day. This week, Mom moved to Pate's upper level of neuro-cognitive therapy. She had entered somewhere in the middle level of Pate's neuro-cognitive program, and had spent 5 weeks working through the remainder of that level.
Therapists say Mom continues to have problems with "impulsivity". Impulsivity is a function of short term memory. Mom momentarily forgets that her strength and her balance are not yet normal. As a result, she continues to make some dangerous physical maneuvers. I witnessed Mom - when stymied by a narrow aisle of chairs - lift her walker up to her shoulders, then carry it forward for two steps, before setting it back down onto the ground. It brought a therapist running across the room, to remind her "that is not a safe maneuver." What can we glean?
- Mom sometimes is allowed to walk on her own, within eyesight, but not within arm's reach, of therapists.
- Mom, in lifting her walker into the air, is displaying Hulk-like 70 year old woman strength.
- Balance is still a problem, which is why the maneuver was dangerous.
- Short-term memory/impulsivity means Mom forgot that balance was still a problem.
- Reasoning is still in the improvement stage, as Mom could've closed-up her walker, then carried the closed-up walker through the narrow space.
- Morale is high. Self-confidence and determination are at high levels.
Think back to the days after April 17, when the possibility of death was a constant and near companion.... - Mom's current circumstances are quite a leap forward, yes? Yes!
posted by gcotharn at 5:31 PM
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