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 3rd 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!
No comments:
Post a Comment