7 Weeks Into Brain Injury Recovery

Week 7 has been quite eventful, probably more than it should have been.  I have been mindful of the symptoms and have tried hard not to overdo it and to get plenty of rest.  It has been a challenge.  I have lots of work to do here in the house before my mom can come home from the hospital.  I have also been following the "return to sport" protocol and playing the mental flexibility games for therapy.  Between house work and my own rehab it has been a bit crazy.  Oh ya, and don't forget kennel training my mom's dog.  Ya, have I said I have been busy.

It's been pretty emotional too.  Watching my mom go through her own recovery process is a bit un-nerving.  It's really hard to watch a parent get older, especially when you live all the way across the country.  This visit is giving me a glimpse of things to come and it is really emotional for me.  I'm sure that isn't helping the state of my recovery process.

Day 1 Return to Sport Protocol:
15 minutes.  1 mile.   I took my mom's dog for  a walk along the path by the house.  It went well and without symptoms.

Day 2 Return to Sport Protocol:
20 minutes.  1.11 miles.  I went to my favorite beach to watch the sunrise (Melbourne Beach).  I walked for 20 minutes on the beach while the sun was rising. Then I sat and watched the remainder of the sunrise.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  Again, I was symptom free.

















Day 3 Return to Sport Protocol:
25 minutes.  1.90 miles.  I went to visit one of the many nature sanctuaries in the area.  Erna Nixon Park.  I did a couple of laps in this beautiful little park.  It was quite fun and I was symptom free again!  I was getting so excited with all of this activity and being symptom free!

Day 4 Return to Sport Protocol:
20 minutes.  1.01 miles.  This is where things went wrong.  I was supposed to do 30 minutes on Day 4.  However, the concussion had other plans.  I was 15 minutes into brisk walking when a headache developed.  This meant, I needed to shut down and walk slowing back to my car.  *sigh*  I did this walk at an outdoor exercise path that was severely neglected and over grown.  It was like a maze/puzzle trying to figure out where I needed to go.  Not only was I physically working out, but my brain was working too AND I was listening to music at the same time.  My head did not like this.  Then I went to visit my old Seventh Day Adventist Church and visiting with old friends and singing song had the head hurting more.  It was a difficult day.

I decided to rest Sunday.  By rest, I mean not try to walk.  I went to the Center for Spiritual Living in Rockledge, FL.  It was quite a drive, but so worth it.  Then I went to Ron Jon's surf shop and found myself completely overwhelmed and over stimulated.  I had to tell myself it was okay and to stay focused on what I went in there for.  I took some deep breathes and made it out alive.  After that, I went to another one of my favorite beaches and took a little bit of a gentle walk to sooth my head. That did the trick and I was able to visit my mom on the way home.

Monday, I decided to continue to take it easy.  Don't ask me what I did, cause I can't for the life of me remember. *laugh* Though I'm certain I went to visit my mom.

Day 5 Return to Sport Protocol:
48 minutes.  1.65 miles.  Yes, that was a HUGE time jump, but it was a very slow, meandering walk through my favorite nature sanctuary, Turkey Creek.  I love that place and I took lots of pictures and stopped to observe the beauty.  After my walk, I spent 8 hours cleaning my mom's room and getting it ready for her to return home.  I took an hour break at lunch to eat and recharge.  But other than that, there was no rest.  I felt okay.  I may have had a little bit of symptoms while I was cleaning, but nothing really to worry about.




Day 6 Return to Sport Protocol:
30 minutes.  2.19 miles.  This walk was brisk and just around the neighborhood.  While exercising I was symptom free and I felt like I  had finally turned a corner.  Then it hit me!  Headaches.  Unable to concentrate.  My typing went down the tubes fast, and that is a sure sign of issue.  I was texting my husband and the typos were so bad he could not decipher what I was trying to say.  That is worrisome. My husband thinks I tried too much too soon.  But I was following protocol.

I won't call today Day 7.  I decided to take the day off and head to the beach and relax.  I went to Sebastian Inlet State Park.  I walk for 30 minutes for 2 miles.  However, my day started out with symptoms.  After my walk, I just hung out on the beach with my eyes closed and relaxing listening to the sounds of the crashing waves. It was bliss...that is until a young man decided he needed to turn his music up so everyone could hear it.  There goes my time of non-sensory rest.  *sigh*  The headache has been pretty  bad today.  I couldn't even visit my mom very long today.  It is feeling a bit better after eating dinner, but I still feel it.  Thankfully my son is studying for some exams and has soft ambient music on.

So there ya have it...I'm still recovering and doing what I can.  I am doing my brain exercises.  I am doing my balance exercises while I walk and I'm following my Return to Sport Protocol all while trying to get my mom's house ready for her return and visiting her in the hospital to keep her spirits up.  Here's hoping tomorrow will be symptom free day :).

The 6 Week Mark...the Perks of Traveling with a Concussion

It’s been 6 weeks since I crashed my bike on the ice and bonked my head.  I went to Elks Rehab to see the physical therapist, speech pathologist and the balance therapist.   All in all it was a good visit with 3 of my favorite people.  I am very grateful to have access to such amazing care!

Physical Therapist:

Today they tested me on the treadmill to see how long I could exercise and how high my heart rate could go before symptoms appeared or got worse.  They gave me heart rate monitor to wear, gave me a chart of perceived exertion to refer to and turned on the treadmill at 3 MPH.  Every minute they asked me what number of perceived exertion I thought I was at and compared that to my heart rate monitor.  They also asked me about any symptoms. After 3 minutes at a zero incline and 3 MPH with no symptoms and heart rate low, they began to raise the incline.  Each minute they checked on me, they continued to raise the incline.  18 minutes in, my heart rate was at my highest marathon rate before I slow down and symptoms (headache and dizziness) appeared.  My heart rate was 168 and my highest allowed rate is 177.  Pretty darn good for 6 weeks of no real exercise!  With this information, they decided it was safe to put me on a “return to sport” protocol.  My heart rate should not go above 134.4.  I can start with 15 minute fast paced walk the first day and each day increase by 5 minutes until I get to 60 minutes.  Once I have done this without symptoms, I can then start with a running protocol.  Due to remaining balance/nausea issues, I am not cleared to ride a bike or dance yet, but I’ll get there soon!

Speech Pathologist:

She gave me the results of all those test she gave me over the last 2 weeks.  Over all, I am doing great.  My best skill sets right now are the brain functions used in remembering belongings and appointments.  I am good at facial recognition.  These are the perspective memory skills.   My challenges are in procedural and working memory.  She gave me a card game called “One Back” that I can play with a regular card deck.  She also suggested a card game called SET (a pattern recognition, mental flexibility and thought processing game).  I bought the phone app for it, but I realize I need the tangible version.  The phone app is too hard for me still and makes my brain very tired.  She also suggested Lumosity.com which is a site with brain games and will keep a record of my healing progress. 

I am still healing, but there is nothing they can do to make my brain heal faster.  Basically, its about me learning how to function with the brain I have currently while it continues to heal.  That means playing these games, resting so I don’t get over stimulated or tired and taking notes, lots of notes and lists and when being given instructions, making sure they are given step by step and I have to repeat them.

Balance Therapy:

This was such a fun therapy for me.  I am truly going to miss seeing Dayna.  She was awesome!   I laughed so hard when I was with her.  She gave me exercises to retrain my brain to balance and to be okay with outside stimulation so that I do not get nauseous or dizzy.  I now have some fun balancing, head turning, head nodding and walking exercises.  These exercises start with very basic stuff to the more advance, walking while turning my head from side to side and saying my alphabet backwards.  Whew!!!  Once I can do these things without symptoms, I can get back on my bike, roller skates and the dance floor!

With exercises in hand, The Brain Injury Clinic has released me.

Before catching my flight to Florida, I had a visit with the brain injury specialists, Dr. Greenwald.   After being thrilled to see the progress I have made, she made a follow up appointment with me for 6 weeks.  She reiterated what everyone has said.  Rest, follow your rehab routine and listen to your body.  Got it!

As I sit here on the airplane listening to quiet, soothing music and typing my thoughts, I am so grateful for how far I have come.  I am grateful for the brain strengths I have.  I am grateful for the life skills I have developed over the years that have helped me prepare for my trip and keep everything going smoothly.  I am grateful for an amazing husband who has seen me through the worst of it.  I am grateful for my amazing supportive friends! 

Once we got to the airport, I realized (once again) that it was the right call to call off my Spring Ride.  Just 5 minutes into the check in procedure and I was already over stimulated.  When we first entered the airport I thought it was silly to have wheel chair take me through security and to my gate.  Boise is a small airport. But 5 minutes in, I was toast.  I am grateful for the wheelchair escort through security and to my gate which was the last gate in the terminal.  By the time I got to the gate agent’s desk to verify I could have preboarding, I was having a difficult time verbally communicating and I was shaky.  Whew! 

The gate agents were so compassionate and sweet.  They even bumped me up 10 rows on the plan (without my asking) so I “wouldn’t have to walk so far while on the plane”.  Grateful!  I was the 3^rd passenger on the plane and it was nice and quiet.  In the solitude, I was able to get situated at my own pace.  Grateful!

I guess traveling with a brain injury has its perks!

Now to turn this off, put my feet up and rest my brain.  Yay for having a whole row to myself!

A Full Day of Therapy...Kind of Like a Day at the Amusement Park Gone Wrong.

I realize this blog has taken a completely different turn that what it was created for.  It started out as a way to keep you informed with my training for the Fuller Center for Housing Spring Ride and has turned into an update on the recovery of the concussion I sustained while training for the Spring Ride.  It's the way of life, I suppose.  Always changing and flowing and never static!

Like I have said several times before, this Call to Adventure (this journey) has taught me so many lessons, and right now, the recovery process from a concussion is quite the learning experience! Like my brother said to me last night, "This is more than just a little bump on the head."

Today, I was scheduled for all 3 of my therapy modalities.  At 8am, I was scheduled with hearing and balance.  At 9am I was scheduled with the speech pathologist and at 10am I was scheduled with my manual physical therapist.  To top the morning off, I was scheduled with my social worker in charge of keeping the lines of communication open between me and all of my therapists and doctors at 11:30am.  Whew!  All of these appointments take place in 2 buildings across the street from each other.  I was a bit worried, I would forget where all of the therapists offices were.  Thankfully, I managed to find everything. I guess my brain isn't as scrambled as I thought it was.  Whew!  I AM getting better!

First up:  Hearing and Balance.

Dayna, my therapist, did a test to see if the crystals in my ears stayed put, and they did.  Yay!  Progress!  Then she had me so some walking and gait analysis.  I did okay with that.  Then she took me into the Computerized Dynamic Posturography Machine.  This is where my day started to feel like an "amusement park gone wrong."  Let's face it, when someone straps you into a safety harness, you are either going to have fun or get injured while trying to!  So when she strapped me into the safety harness, I had mixed emotions.  Then she had me stand on this platform and attached the shoulder straps of my harness to the safety chords dangling by my shoulders (the "Oh CRAP" straps as she called them).  She did several tests with my eyes open and my eyes shut.  The walls that were around me moved and shook.  They came in at me then went away from me.  The platform beneath me shook and tilted.  Sometimes I was steady and at other times I was very grateful for the "Oh Crap!" straps above my shoulders.   When it was all said and done, the test showed that I lacked balance.  At my age, I should be testing in the 70's and I was at 52.  We will say,  I have room for improvement.  *laugh*  In real life, this plays out in lack of balance with uneven terrain, in dimly lit areas, and my depth perception is a bit off.  She also said that in things like riding my bike, dancing, trail running I would have some serious issues.  Huh.  As a result of today, she said my actual THERAPY will start next week.  We are done with the testing, and she will request more time with me for therapy than what has already been scheduled. (This will happen at the staffing meeting with my social worker next week.)

This is obviously NOT me in this picture...but this is the balance machine I was tested on today.

Second up:  Speech Pathologist.

Tami and Megan are my speech pathologists.  Today was more testing. Today they tested my attention.  It's hard to explain the tests they gave me, but let me just say THEY WERE HARD!  I have never had such a hard time counting to 10 in my life!  (well except for when I was a kid learning how to count)  It was not as straight an easy as counting to 10.  I was given pictures to count then an arrow facing up would tell me to keep counting up but then a few frames later another arrow pointing down would have me counting down from where I was then it would switch back to up.  I had to remember which direction I was going in and what number came next.  It's harder than it sounds!  Then they had me do this in an auditory test using different pitched beeps that I couldn't control the speed of. I got so confused; I didn't know which was was up or down (literally).  I wish there was a way to put into typing just how difficult these tests were.  When I was all done having my brain stretched and examined, they told me that I did well and these test were indeed very difficult.  *shrug* I just left there feeling like a kid who didn't know how to count, and when you are 43, that is kind of a scary thought!  Once again, real, actual THERAPY starts next week.  

Last up on the therapy rounds:  Manual Physical Therapy.

This is kind of a mix between massage therapy and a chiropractor.  He is working diligently to get my cervical joints in place where they belong.  This gives me the feeling of "it hurts so good".  Once he is done manipulating my neck, its time for exercises.  This is where I get to do things you take for granted and work on my posture.  This is good for a dancer :).  At least my brain doesn't really have to work during this therapy and it can rest from the torture of the previous two :).

Ending my day with the social worker:

Grateful to have Greg on my side.  He is great.  Last week after I was told by the doctors that I would not be allowed to travel for the Spring Ride or to see my mom and kids in Florida, my mom was in a doctors appointment when she fell and shattered her hip and broker her arm bad enough she would need pins to help heal.  The next day, she had surgery for a hip replacement and the pins for her arm.  I spoke with Greg on the phone and got cleared to go to Florida to help my mom in her transition from her own Rehab hospital in Florida (like the one I go to for the concussion) to her private home.  I will leave on the 12th after next weeks appointments with my therapists.  Greg managed to get my appointments rearranged so I could make this trip possible.  Even when my dad was in the rehab hospital and I worked with the social worker there, I had no real clue what role the social worker played in this process.  I'm grateful for this experience so I understand how things work as my mom is now facing her own rehab and recovery.    Greg has been able to talk me through some of the process my mom will be going through; then again, so has my manual therapist.  

In Review:

I am sad that I am missing the Fuller Center for Housing Spring Ride, but I am so very grateful for this concussion experience and the lessons I am learning...not just about letting go and resting, but about the way my brain works, about how the rehab system works and about remaining calm in the midst of a storm.  

I lieu of The Spring Ride, I am working on routes for my own 400 mile ride here in Idaho.  I am pretty excited about where my two wheels will be taking me.  There are some gorgeous routes to be explored here in Idaho!  So as soon as I am cleared to get back on my bike, I will let you know.  In the mean time, I am still raising funds for the Fuller Center for Housing, and I would be very grateful if you would join me in this experience and life lesson and make a donation using the link below.  I appreciate your continued support!

https://www.fullercenter.org/civicrm/contribute/pcp/info?reset=1&id=176