Teresa is turning the chair of her foundation over to her sons, in rotation

[MADem]

8. No secret--it's SPAULDING REHAB. They're astounding.

It is a hop, skip and a jump from her townhome on Beacon Hill -- it's also within rock throwing distance of MASS GENERAL.

They got my relative up on his pins in short order on a treadmill, suspended in a HARNESS of all things. They tied him to machines and forced him to move. He had to bike with his feet, and bike with his hands, for example. When he finally was able to move those legs, they hauled his ass up and down the halls on the walker with brute force (a couple of people on either side, holding him up by a belt, someone walking behind with a wheelchair in case he couldn't deal). It's an aggressive course of therapy, and the sooner, the better. He HATED it, it's genuine "HARD WORK" (I can't write that phrase without thinking of Wee Cowboy Bush-LOL).

If you are doing it on an outpatient basis it might take a different track for you--also, the kidney issues may impact her exercise tolerance but the doctors can assess and tell you (my relation was inpatient in rehab, post hospitalization, for a solid month, then to a step down nursing/rehab facility, and then to home--had I not been there, he would have been stuck in the step-down facility for much longer, and he was miserable, which was part of why I stepped up!).

Once I got him to his home, I started in making his life miserable, errrr, I mean, continuing his therapy, and we also went twice a week to an outpatient facility for sessions of a couple of hours. When he got to the point where he could walk a few hundred feet, I'd drive to the seaside, get him out of the car, make him wait on a bench, drive the car a distance away, run back to him, and we'd walk/stump (swearing, sweating--he was on the walker at first) back to the car (I'd get the bitter looks for that!). Then we'd go have a nice meal-LOL!


The speech is a separate track. You might want to try the PROLOQUO2Go with her if her speech therapist is open to it. I know some speech/language therapists discourage it because they want the patient to try hard at recovering speech, but hell, if she can communicate better while she's also working at recovering her other abilities, she will be less stressed. It's nice to be able to point to something on the pad and have it say what you want.

I don't think there's anything worse in the world than being muted, especially in our tribe, as we're very loquacious, even on grumpy days!

There's a load of stuff on the web about assistive language devices, do some googling and have a look, and see if you think it might do the trick for you. It is a common tool for kids with autism, but it has application for stroke patients with aphasia as well. See:

http://annesigmon.com/blog/i-pad-apps-help-stroke-patients/

to get started. Also, don't discount music therapy--sometimes people can sing before they can speak.

Also, tape a pencil to her hand and get her to start writing the alphabet on a big old pad of paper, if she can move that hand at all. It will look like garbage at first, but repeat - repeat - repeat. Repetition is the key in all stroke therapies, and oh, it will get boring, it will get frustrating, so be prepared to find things to laugh about.

Let the PTs and Language therapists know that you want to observe and get involved so you can help continue her therapy. There's a lot of stuff on YouTube (the internet is great, isn't it, for stuff like this?) that might be helpful to you too.

It's a bit of a slog, but keep in mind that you will see progress, and try to document it in some fashion. A picture of your loved on sat in a wheel chair is something to look back on when they're getting round on a walker, or a pair of arm crutches or quad canes. And then, when they're stepping out with just a cane, you can look back and see how much has been achieved.

Tell your daughter to not give up...like I said, it's a long slog, but the brain is a very plastic thing--it can "rewire" and it does do just that. She just has to persevere, and there will be days when she doesn't want to do it. That's why it's helpful to have little occasions of joy to surprise her with--a trip to the films, or to the park, the zoo, a museum, whatever--you've got to find things to laugh about.

Good luck to you--let me know if I can help at all. All I've got is my own experience to lean on, but maybe others who have walked this path can chime in, as well.