Okay so today was pretty intense. Amaya had an intense two hour long physical therapy session this morning. It was tough, but great. The therapist had Amaya lift herself off the bed onto her back then back to a laying position. It was a process that had a few steps. But she did it. Then the therapist had her move her legs side to side then to the side of the bed. Then Amaya sat up on the edge of the bed. The therapist was pleased with Amaya's strength and balance (Amaya supported herself as she sat on the edge of the bed). Next the therapist did several knee bends. Next I moved Amaya into the wheelchair. The therapist stressed our involvement since we'll be the ones taking care of her. And since Amaya can't bear any weight on her left foot (because of the work done to her hip) she needs help getting into and out of the wheelchair. I had some clue how to do it (it was the same basic principles as when she had her last surgery and cast). I was hesitant because I didn't want to hurt her leg. After she was in her chair we had to do ten knee bends. The therapist said that yesterday she was able to get her left knee bent up to 120 degrees (which is great!). And she wanted to do the same today. Then she wanted me to do it. Yikes! I knew I had to do it, and get use to it. But as I did it I would get to a point that felt like a strain, and enough. But the therapist kept saying "more, mom." So I would push a little more, then she would say it again. Man that was so stressful! I didn't want to hurt Amaya (even though I know she has an epidural I can tell that she's in pain. And its only been two days since her major surgery!). I had to fight my own feelings because I knew that it was best for her that she do her therapy (and I knew I had to get in a good habit, because this would be my "job" for quite some time). She did it all and handled it like a champ! Instead of counting to ten, the therapist counted to twenty. But, we did notice that Amaya tried to "cheat" by lifting her left hip. When she did we didn't let those count and made her redo them. She knew she was wrong and didn't fight us too much. After she was in the wheelchair we got to push her down the hall to the elevators. It was nice to get her out of bed and to have a change of scenery. After a few minutes she was ready to head back. Dad transferred her back into the bed. Then she fell asleep for almost two hours.
After she woke up we had one of the calmest moments during this whole process. At that point the four of us (Josh, Amaya, Lidie and myself) were all in the room, by ourselves. It was dark (we had the lights off and the door shut). It was wonderful; I felt so calm and rejuvenated. I tried to savor the moment and think of the day (hopefully soon) when we could go home.
Okay, I'm fading out, but I'll give you some last minute updates.
We still have no clue when we'll be released from the hospital. She still has as fever (low from 99.4 to 100.8). She still has an epidural and hasn't started weaning off of it. We haven't made any turns to the fixator yet. Nor have we done any pin site cleaning or changed the bandages. Lidie has been able to visit everyday (a highlight for Amaya and Lidie).
Here's a fun story from today. As I did my physical therapy homework with Amaya (the stretches and bends of her knee) she told me that I was a good physical therapist and that I should do that for my job. It made me feel good that she thought I was doing a good job. It's important that she trust me and allow me to help her, especially since this will be a long term process. So far we're off to a good start.
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