Physio progress

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for not being the most diligent blogger lately. It seems that “virus” I had a month ago did not actually go away but is lurking within, waiting to pounce the minute I get a little tired or run down. I woke up with a sore throat and swollen glands this morning again and don’t even get me started on how I spent most of my weekend. But that’s a ridiculously negative way to start a blog post especially when Mum’s made such great progress.

Mum has had some really good physio outcomes lately. Wrapping up from her time in Prince Charles, Mum’s friend Anne (yes Mum, it’s ANNE), who has spent quite a lot of time observing Mum’s physio sessions said:

I think she’s doing wonderfully. Every time I see her there’s more ease in her movements. I saw her stand unsupported a while ago but am now seeing her stand with such control. I think her confidence about standing and moving is improving and she’s able to do it without a second physio supporting her.”

Mum can now stand with minimal support (and for short periods with no support). She can do pivot transfers and is standing up holding a rail in the bathroom. This has made showering and toiletting so much easier: it’s not only cut down her transfer time between bed/toilet/wheelchair/shower, and the number of nurses she needs to help her, it’s also helped with the “accidents” that can happen when you need to gather a team of three or four to toilet somebody.

When Mum transferred from the Prince Charles RAS to the Townsvile Sub-Acute Care Unit (known from now on as SACU), she was a bit upset about leaving a place where she was comfortable and knew the nurses and the routine. We’d heard really good things about the rehab at SACU but, of course, the devil you know is always more comforting. Mum had her physio, OT and speech assessments last week but, because her transfer was so sudden, her rehab schedule hadn’t been finalised yet. Because of this, she was feeling a bit negative about the centre and worried her progress would stall.

Well, it seems her fears were unfounded because Mum’s first two days of physio in SACU have been as challenging as RAS; maybe even more challenging.

Mum is still having two physio sessions a day and OT and speech once a day. She’s now up to doing 100 10 degree single leg presses with her left leg (100!) and 50 calf raises. She’s also standing unaided and unsupported for 3 minutes; a full 2 minutes longer than the last time I saw her stand unsupported.

Dad was heartened to hear a physio at SACU declare their aim was to get Mum walking. Considering the average outcomes for someone with a stroke of Mum’s severity, that is a big call. A really really big call. But I doubt the physio would have made it if they didn’t think it could be done. A month ago I would have been skeptical at what I would have seen as an overly optimistic goal for Mum but, seeing the progress she’s made over the last few weeks, well… let’s just say we’re feeling hopeful.