walking out at the park & accomplishments

Hello!!  This weekend I went to our local park & finally went for a walk outside!! The weather was perfect - it was sunny, it wasn’t windy and the temperature was just right! I was able to do 2 full laps around the entire park - with no walker!! I did have my cane with me for safety, and Tom was with me too. I also met a nice lady and her dog. The walk outside was great!  I did the following to make sure I was getting the most out of that walk.

• I kept my right foot straight.  This is because my right-side is my affected side and my right foot still has a tendency to angle out towards the right rather than staying straight. My brain has to tell it to stay straight!
• I kept my gait steady, but not too fast. I wanted to be sure that I was careful because of the uneven ground (differing heights, rocks, etc.).  I also had to be careful of the kids playing (and their toys).
• Because I was making laps, I was making turns along the way.  Therefore, I needed to pay attention to where I needed to turn those corners.
• I made sure I didn’t block anyone else’s right-of-way.  I moved when I needed to rather than expecting them to move. As a side note, I am now also making sure that I acknowledge cars (well, the person driving the car) that give me the right-of way in a parking lot (in the prescribed crossing lanes, of course).

All-in-all, it was a wonderful trip to the park and great walk!

Okay, a few more of my accomplishments this week that I want to share.  The reason I want to share is to let you know that the therapy tips and exercises I’ve been sharing in these posts since late September 2018 are working for me!!

Especially because of things such as the Bicep Curls (3/27/19) and the Kisses (11/20/18), the Spasticity on my the right-side is decreasing. I was able to lift my right hand (all by itself) up to my lower lip late this week!! I am sure that very, very soon you will see a video of me brushing my teeth with my own right hand!!

I have been able to increase certain therapy/rehab exercises that I do daily, and I have noticed an increase in the benefit from doing so. For example, my “30’s” as we call them, Touchdowns, Up ‘N Overs and Butterflies (9/30/18 and 10/16/18) started out at 30 each and are now up to 50 each. And we may change the name from “30’s” to “55’s” next!

My walking has become so much better because of all these exercises. I am paying attention to how I am doing things and I am making sure I am reincorporating exercises that I did and then stopped doing.  Like I am now doing the “Step-Up and Step-Downs with the Floor Plank” (10/29/19) followed by the walking exercise that rebuilds the brain on forward, backward and sideways walking everyday, again. And, speaking of the brain. I am making sure I am continuing my workouts with Lumosity and I did get the brain book Flint Rehab recommended, The Brain That Changes Itself, that I’ve started to read.  

And, my list of daily therapy keeps taking less time everyday to complete!  This is because I am becoming much more physically able from doing therapy/exercises and the exercises are not at all new to me anymore.  This allows me to increase the count by 10% or so on occasion. I do not overdo it, though. I make sure that I am not stressing out my physical-being by over-exercising.

So, overall, I am noticing improvement - nearly everyday. I really should, however, get better at making, keeping, reviewing and sharing that list. It’s not just the therapy/rehab/exercise type of things. It’s the normal daily things, as well. I shower myself, and wash my hair and shave my own legs and underarms (sorry if that's TMI). I do the dishes (in the dishwasher). I do the laundry in the washing machine and the clothes dryer. I can hang the clothes up from the dryer, or fold them, as necessary, and put them away. I even got a steam iron I can use if I need one! I can scrub counter-tops - my “Arms at Counter-Top” (11/6/18) has helped. And I can clean our toilets, sinks, floors, etc.  Well, our home isn’t nearly as clean as it used to be before my hematoma but I have hope that it will be again soon!

So, I am making progress! Everyday progress!

God Bless, Peg

“If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” – Les Brown

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