January 14, 2013

Just when I was starting to think we'd maybe hit a plateau -- and John was starting to be bored by therapy -- he had a wonderful PT session today.

I was working in the waiting room and saw him and Marilyn pass by out of the corner of my eye. John was sort of dribbling a soccer ball (definitely pushing it down the hall with his feet), as they walked from the treatment room out to the lobby. And then this weird thud -- thud -- thud noise interrupted my proofreading. So I wandered out into the lobby, and saw my husband kicking a soccer ball against the wall! He may not be ready to exercise his 4 years of eligibility on the ND soccer team (yet!), but he was able to keep his balance while he kicked the ball a few times! Then he got to hit a tennis ball with a racket for a couple of minutes, which gave him the chance to work on side-to-side movement. Again -- far from ready for a real court, but by summer time, he should be able to play with Nora, a thought which makes my heart burst with joy and gratitude -- and pride in his determination and hard work.

Not surprisingly, he topped off this morning's therapy session with a good long nap this afternoon.

He has hit a small speed bump in the recovery road -- his right shoulder and arm have been bothering him for a long time, and although OT and PT have been working strengthening the muscles all around them, both Angie and Marilyn think he has tendinitis in the shoulder. Since iontophoresis and taping it aren't really helping, he needs to see an orthopedic doctor to see if there's an underlying issue causing the pain. So we get to meet another doctor on Thursday.