I updated for a positive reason; I have finally learned to tie my shoes!! I am longer in a situation where I need to buy velcros or slip ons :). Deadly!
On a side note, can I ask for prayers for my OT and his family? I don't feel comfortable sharing why as I am not sure how he would feel about me blogging personal details, but please keep him and his family in your prayers.
"He's not jaded or bitter, he's gonna leave the givin' up for the quitters."
J
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Pain, Pain Go AWAY!
Shoulder pain is my worst enemy right now. OT did a shoulder assessment yesterday and seems to think I have a damaged rotator cuff. Yikes! He thinks I may also have pinched nerve because I am getting q lot of sharp, burning/tingling pain on top of my muscle pain. He has been in contact with my orthopedic doctor's secretary and apparently because I haven't seen her in two years, she may have closed my file. I find that sort of strange because I was supposed to see her in September and they never called to schedule anything and because at the time, there really was no need to see her, we never followed up. If the case file has been closed, I will referred to her again because my OT wants her to check out the shoulder problems as well as my toe. I was going to see a PT yesterday but, he was busy and after my shoulder assessment, my OT believes we should see Ortho before we proceed with seeing a PT because if there is damage in the shoulder then PT could actually make that damage worse. He will also be contacting my family doctor and requesting another ultrasound be done as it has been almost a year since I had one and he thinks that the injury may have progressed and so, now something may show up on the ultrasound. The ortho doctor may also refer me to a neurologist for the nerve pain, we'll see. I am also supposed to be seeing a .physiatrist (rehab doctor) in regards to my toe because it's still hurting and it seems like maybe the tendons are part of the problem as well as tone so, my OT thinks I might benefit from Botox. At that time, we will talk to the physiatrist about my shoulder as well ; we want all the professionals on the same page. I had to come home from school early today because I was in so much pain that I needed to lay down/stand up so, if you wouldn't mind, could you please pray that I get in to see the phsyyiatrist and orthopedic doctor soon and that they can find the problem and solution.
I'm going to Edmonton for a few days and I'm excited! We're going to go shopping and to galaxy land and stuff so that will be cool. They have a Tim Hortons in the mall which is superb :)! Then, there's Ikea. I'm supposed to be getting a new bed, but hopefully mom doesn't make us stay there TO long.
Hope everyone has a fantastic break!
" He's not jaded or bitter, he's gonna leave the givn' up for the quitters."
J
I'm going to Edmonton for a few days and I'm excited! We're going to go shopping and to galaxy land and stuff so that will be cool. They have a Tim Hortons in the mall which is superb :)! Then, there's Ikea. I'm supposed to be getting a new bed, but hopefully mom doesn't make us stay there TO long.
Hope everyone has a fantastic break!
" He's not jaded or bitter, he's gonna leave the givn' up for the quitters."
J
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Good Day
Hey guys,
This will be quick because I have to eat supper and do homework but.......... THE STANDING FRAME IS GOING TO SCHOOL!!! Yes, you read that right. OT stood very firm about why the standing frame needed to be at school and his effort paid off. My table with all my AT equipment will be moved out of the Resource room and I will just have my laptop because most of the AT I have, I no longer use and it is simply taking up space. The standing frame will be delivered to school after the February break so that I can use it over the break. I'll update again and go into more derail because there were several other issues that were discussed and some were resolved but, my supper awaits.
Thankful for awesome therapists,
J
"He's not jaded or bitter. He's gonna leave the givin' up for the quitters."
This will be quick because I have to eat supper and do homework but.......... THE STANDING FRAME IS GOING TO SCHOOL!!! Yes, you read that right. OT stood very firm about why the standing frame needed to be at school and his effort paid off. My table with all my AT equipment will be moved out of the Resource room and I will just have my laptop because most of the AT I have, I no longer use and it is simply taking up space. The standing frame will be delivered to school after the February break so that I can use it over the break. I'll update again and go into more derail because there were several other issues that were discussed and some were resolved but, my supper awaits.
Thankful for awesome therapists,
J
"He's not jaded or bitter. He's gonna leave the givin' up for the quitters."
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tomorrow's the Big Day
Hey everyone,
I have LOTS to update on. First off, tomorrow is the big meeting and my stress about it is brewing . I'm keeping my fingers cross that the schools eyes will be opened and maybe just maybe they can exhibit some understanding. All I told them when I said we wanted to have a meeting was that in OT we were coming up with goals and some of them related to school so we needed to all get together and discuss them; I said nothing about the standing frame directly. Anyways, wish me luck :)!
Next off, I actually haven't been able to get into my standing frame because of my toes. It is believed I have something called Hammer Toe. It is not uncommon in people with CP and it has been causing me a great deal of pain in my feet and toes. I have always had a problem with my toes overlapping. We tried using toe spacers but, they never stay in place. Mom is taking me to the doctor and she thinks they will probably splint my toes with a Hammer Toe Splint. I also wear AFOS and so I'm wondering if the doctor will send me to see my orthopedist, maybe he can rig something up that serves as both an AFO and a Hammer Toe Splint. That would probably mean having to get approval for a new pair of AFOS, we'll see. Has anyone experienced this problem (Hammer Toe, Hammer Toe Splint interfering with AFO)?
Lastly, I had mentioned we were doing some perceptual testing in OT. The reason for that is that because of my CP I have some visual difficulties that will affect whether or not I get to drive. The first round of testing didn't go well but, it didn't go horribly. My processing time was in the range of severally impaired. That could get ugly when driving. The second round was bad, p, and more bad. First off, my therapist forgot he was supposed to see me so I ended up waiting for 45 minutes and then ended up getting only 45 minutes of therapy instead of an hour ( he apologized profusely by the way) Anyways, I had to put together this stupid house figure together so it looked exactly like his. I had a supper hard time with that, partially because of my fine motor skills. Pieces kept falling on the floor and it was just NOT a good time. Then I had to do this thing where he had a picture of a shape and I had to copy it with stamps. Again, I had a very hard time and ended up getting fairly frustrated. At the end he says well I was feeling pretty positive about you being able to drive but now, I'd be concerned about you driving. Well that's awesome, thanks. I tried to explain to him how I have been preparing for not being able to drive but, I always held onto the hope that my instincts and what other people were telling me about not being able to drive were wrong.; until the testing says it's real, I can stay in my own happy little world. Let me tell you something, preparing myself for it never made it any easier to swallow. Anyways, I left therapy very upset; there were tears, there was anger, there was I'm never going back there. Ever. Then there was lots more anger and hurt. Long story short, I ended up going back and finishing the testing and actually did very well, much better than my OT was expecting (according to him, not me.) This time I ended up driving a scooter. At the end he redid the processing test I mentioned earlier because he said that while I was driving the scooter, my processing time was not nearly as high as when he did the testing on paper so, he was somewhat confused as was I. I went from well over a minute to 38 and 48 seconds which is a mild to moderate impairment.(only 8 seconds into moderate) . Apparently, sleep, stress, and lots of other factors can affect the results of the test so I may or may not get to drive.
"He's not jaded or bitter, he's gonna leave the givin' up for the quitters."
Keep Rolling On,
J
I have LOTS to update on. First off, tomorrow is the big meeting and my stress about it is brewing . I'm keeping my fingers cross that the schools eyes will be opened and maybe just maybe they can exhibit some understanding. All I told them when I said we wanted to have a meeting was that in OT we were coming up with goals and some of them related to school so we needed to all get together and discuss them; I said nothing about the standing frame directly. Anyways, wish me luck :)!
Next off, I actually haven't been able to get into my standing frame because of my toes. It is believed I have something called Hammer Toe. It is not uncommon in people with CP and it has been causing me a great deal of pain in my feet and toes. I have always had a problem with my toes overlapping. We tried using toe spacers but, they never stay in place. Mom is taking me to the doctor and she thinks they will probably splint my toes with a Hammer Toe Splint. I also wear AFOS and so I'm wondering if the doctor will send me to see my orthopedist, maybe he can rig something up that serves as both an AFO and a Hammer Toe Splint. That would probably mean having to get approval for a new pair of AFOS, we'll see. Has anyone experienced this problem (Hammer Toe, Hammer Toe Splint interfering with AFO)?
Lastly, I had mentioned we were doing some perceptual testing in OT. The reason for that is that because of my CP I have some visual difficulties that will affect whether or not I get to drive. The first round of testing didn't go well but, it didn't go horribly. My processing time was in the range of severally impaired. That could get ugly when driving. The second round was bad, p, and more bad. First off, my therapist forgot he was supposed to see me so I ended up waiting for 45 minutes and then ended up getting only 45 minutes of therapy instead of an hour ( he apologized profusely by the way) Anyways, I had to put together this stupid house figure together so it looked exactly like his. I had a supper hard time with that, partially because of my fine motor skills. Pieces kept falling on the floor and it was just NOT a good time. Then I had to do this thing where he had a picture of a shape and I had to copy it with stamps. Again, I had a very hard time and ended up getting fairly frustrated. At the end he says well I was feeling pretty positive about you being able to drive but now, I'd be concerned about you driving. Well that's awesome, thanks. I tried to explain to him how I have been preparing for not being able to drive but, I always held onto the hope that my instincts and what other people were telling me about not being able to drive were wrong.; until the testing says it's real, I can stay in my own happy little world. Let me tell you something, preparing myself for it never made it any easier to swallow. Anyways, I left therapy very upset; there were tears, there was anger, there was I'm never going back there. Ever. Then there was lots more anger and hurt. Long story short, I ended up going back and finishing the testing and actually did very well, much better than my OT was expecting (according to him, not me.) This time I ended up driving a scooter. At the end he redid the processing test I mentioned earlier because he said that while I was driving the scooter, my processing time was not nearly as high as when he did the testing on paper so, he was somewhat confused as was I. I went from well over a minute to 38 and 48 seconds which is a mild to moderate impairment.(only 8 seconds into moderate) . Apparently, sleep, stress, and lots of other factors can affect the results of the test so I may or may not get to drive.
"He's not jaded or bitter, he's gonna leave the givin' up for the quitters."
Keep Rolling On,
J
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