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| Barb Polan Barb’s Recovery |
Last Thursday I went to another meeting of the Addison Gilbrt stroke support group and had the pleasure of talking with those happy optimistic people about alternative therapies. They suggested: acupuncture, horseback riding, aquatherapy, and Botox(!) injections. They also highly recommended the therapists at AG.
Friday, my PT consisted of having a WalkAide sales rep fit me and program a session specifically for me using a WalkAide, which straps on just below my knee and gives me an electrical stimulation each time I lift my left foot, to eliminate "foot drop" and improve my gait. By the time I finished that day, I was exhausted, then waited for Tom to arrive on his way home from work. Unfortunately, I must have left my phone there at the rehab hospital because I haven't seen it since I texted Tom "finished" at the end of the session. I hate to call the rehab hospital Monday to check on my phone because about a month ago I was sure I must have left it there and they spent time searching for it, when it turned out that I had lost it inside our car. This time, though, Tom checked the car and said it didn't ring when he called it from inside the car.
Yesterday was the Gloucester Gig Rowers race that I had signed up to participate in when a survey went around at the beginning of the sea on, but I couldn't row in it because my therapists said I would not be ready. The winners made it around the 5.5 mile course in 40 minutes. It is approximately the same distance as the Head of the Weir race I am approved to row in in October. To be ready, I am using a rowing machine to train and I am currently at 10 minutes at a time, just finishing 4 times this past week. My goal is to go for an hour, which is the length of the training rows actually, it's the length of all rows, but some are less intense than others. Conditioning and race-training rows are the most demanding, while recreational and instructional rows are less so. When I use the rowing machine, I can feel my left arm pulling, but I struggle to keep my left hand around the handle. Each day Tom has a new way of attaching my hand to the handle - today's version included wiring closed the splint holding my hand onto the handle. It's not a long-term solution because I could not get my hand attached by myself.
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