PT again this morning

Hi. Just a quick post to let everyone know that Fiona is still doing better and better. She didn't require any pain medication all through the night. She only woke up to get drinks of water. When she got up this morning, she was really crabby. Unfortunately, I have to say it was a bit like the old Fiona, which is comforting in a way, but hard to take being yelled at and ordered around and not being able to leave her to get that morning coffee! She's mad about having to wear the diaper, and was having tummy problems because they overdid it a little on the stool softeners. So that was our major pain issue this morning - GAS! I managed to get her to the toilet herself, and she was a little lighter going to therapy.

I finally found the one show that she was happy about watching, which gave me 20 minutes to dart downstairs to get coffee and food to supplement my own Tylenol dose.

So PT was a continuation of review of post-SDR exercises. We have a book to show us the exercises, but we're just getting pointers on what is realistic to expect in these first couple of weeks. Also, how to gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise based on how she is doing.

A special message for Brenda B.: One of the exercises is "the bridge". The PT started by saying that this was really difficult for them and we will have to help her raise her bum for the first while. So then we show Fiona the picture of the exercise and she pipes up "hey mummy, that's the bridge like yoga". She then proceeds to lift her bum up by herself and hold it. The PT says, "Alright then, she can do that one I guess!"

In general, Fiona seems to be doing much more than expected. I'm surprised for a number of reasons but particularly because she is so out of it, from medication. You would think her strength is impacted even more so. We got the o.k. to make a trip to the zoo before our flight tomorrow, so that's great. The weather is supposed to be nice.

She has been sleeping ever since we got back from PT at 11:30am (It's 1pm now). I have to get her up and going at 1:30, for the next PT session at 2pm. I guess they will try to get her up on her feet this afternoon. We tried that a little bit this morning, but she was very weak and jello-like in her legs.

Since she went all night without pain medication, I am going to try to skip the Tylenol and see if that helps her be less floppy and more aware. The nurses will have it ready for when we get back. I also skipped her noon feed, so that her stomach could settle some more. It just seems that everything is an experiment to try to make Fiona both feel better and perform better (or at least get the most out of these first PT sessions).

I am not feeling very well this morning. A bit headachey myself. Probably just everything catching up with me. But you know how that goes... I was riding up the elevator with another mother from this floor (neurosurgery) and asked "what are you in for?". She described that her 9 year old boy was in for his 4th brain surgery to remove tumors, and for him to get radiation. She also said he has lost his speech as a result of the surgery and that all the research shows that it will come back but the time-line is from 8 days to 52 months (yes, I said months). She has 4 children - 17, 9, 7 and 5.

I felt my heart swell with empathy for this mother, but also with joy for me. I just about did a jig back to my room being overwhelmed with how fortunate we are.