Rehab: Part 2

Ok, trying to recall a typical day in rehab recap: sleepless night, rush to eat, dress, wash up, brush teeth, and dress, maybe meet with doctors and then OT meets me in my bed at 8am. OT work with dressing, getting into wheelchair using slide-board technique, getting in the car, and eventually getting home and into the house!

It's all a blur now, but I think I had a period of time after that which was filled with a variety of appointments. Sometimes my doctors, a social worker, therapist, and calls from Kaiser. I also had to squeeze in lunch, medicines, bathroom schedule (because I was not yet going on my own and they didn't want my bladder to explode like a popped balloon;). And sometimes I would just grab a nap if I could. I believe I was scheduled for group exercise in the gym, but I often missed it or only went some days because of all of the above. I felt frantic to make my appointments and felt horrible when I missed them, but I had to take care of these things and the schedule was SO tight. Finally, I came to the point where I accepted that a nap was as much a part of my recovery as exercise. Plus, I really wanted to feel good in my favorite class: Physical therapy. I had a GREAT therapist. Her name was Jennifer. I loved her! She was firm, but fun. And very encouraging. She would get excited with me. This is me my first time standing up in a standing frame.

At first, I could only stand for a few minutes. In time I could go longer. And then Jen started throwing balls at me to catch! She made it fun! We started with stretching. I loved it! I can't tell you how good it felt to move my body after weeks in bed and in a wheelchair!

When we were done, I had some free time for dinner. Then there was an evening class that everyone was invited to. It covered topics related to spinal cord injury. Alot of it was self-care: Checking your skin (because you don't have feeling skin can become damaged or cut without you knowing), bladder care, bowel programs (you don't want to know), spine injury levels and getting a better understanding of spinal cord injury. One thing many people don't know is that your central nervous system regulates your temperature and blood pressure. I remember how cold my feel felt when I got home and was going without my blood pressure binder.

There were one or two evenings that was based more on us sharing why we were there with the group and questions we might have. I loved those times. It was great to talk about what was going on with people who understood and to hear their stories. There were several of us with young families. We also had former patients come back and share their recovery stories.

I think by 8 or 9pm, I was pretty beat. It took a little to get ready for bed.

I should mention that most of the day I had my mom or Sam or my sister with me. I often had the kids brought by in the evening for dinner together. There were some days I was just too tired. But when they came, they did great! They played in the courtyard, we ate together, and just were happy to see each other.

I guess that covers what my days were like. Busy, exhausting, productive.

I knew I was in the best place for me.

I was shocked to learn I would only be there for 2 weeks!