Slow and steady wins the race

 This week Mums Doctors arranged a family meeting to bring us up to speed with where Mum is at.  We had the meeting this morning which proved to be very valuable at painting the big picture for us. Although there have been regular visits, information has come in fragments which can leave you feeling like you are missing something.  This information void will no doubt feel familiar to you, so let's see if I can fill that in a little for you. 

Mum hasn't made as much progress as we had hoped in the last 4 weeks.  This has been concerning for us but is pretty well explained.  Mum has been dealing with some other complications with things such as blood pressure which have meant that the rehab team haven't been able to be as affective as they would have liked.  Every time Mum stood up, her blood pressure would drop and the rehab would have to stop. In the past week they have mostly got on top of this and have seen some change in the right direction.

The physio, which until recently had been making Mum much too light headed, have been working on getting her right leg going.  Again, our expectations have been managed about this, but for example she has been able to build more strength in her right leg over the last week.  

Her speech is improving by trying to slow down and concentrate on enunciating her words. She is also learning new techniques to do things like dress herself. She is also focused on transferring from a wheel chair to a seat and on taking some walking steps. Some strength has returned in these areas.

We were concerned the meeting was going to be about moving Mum out which it wasn't at all.  They said while there is good progress to be made they will keep her there, and they are only just starting to feel like they are making some progress.

They described her days to us which involve individual and group sessions and breaking down some simple tasks to their basic elements. And then practice.  With all this learning and concentration on things most of us take for granted, Mum is still getting really tired.  Mum is able to catch naps between rehab sessions, so for this reason our request for limits to visitation will remain in place.

Mum has a great team around her at Kenepuru and I am very thankful for their care and work.   I didn't really get much of a chance to talk with Mum but I understand that she is beginning to feel the benefits of this new momentum.  I'm pleased the rehab team have given her time to see what she can do with this new found momentum. 

I hope this helps fill a few gaps.  

-Mike


Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 19, 2021 at 3:20 PM

    Full steam ahead Sue, we are all behind you and your team of family and rehab specialists.
    Lots of love from the Christophers

    ReplyDelete
  2. SonjaMarch 21, 2021 at 9:25 AM

    Thank you SO much David for that update. That was very helpful. And good to hear that there is progress.
    Sonja

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RosemaryMarch 21, 2021 at 9:36 AM

      Yes thank you so much for letting us know. Hoping for good progress ahead. Thinking about you all.

      Delete
  3. Doug MacintyreMarch 21, 2021 at 9:32 PM

    Thanks Mike for the update, and as always we send our love and support to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Eva EApril 1, 2021 at 5:33 AM

    Thanks, Mike, for this update 12 days ago (which I read at the time). Is your Mom's blood pressure continuing to stabilize? I am praying so. It sounds like a long hard road to get back to doing things we take for granted, as you say. I understand there is a very special event taking place in your family this weekend. I hope it goes well whether or not Sue can attend in person or not.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SonjaApril 16, 2021 at 2:32 PM

    Hi there, we think of Sue often. We know you have just had the big event of David's wedding so you have all been busy. Its almost a month since the last update, so if any of you have a spare moment to write just a couple of sentences I know Sue's friends would appreciate it. Cheers Sonja

    ReplyDelete

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