All charged up and ready to roll! Here is dad this morning at therapy - hooked up to his "E-Stim" therapy. Electrical Stimulation Therapy uses an electrical current to cause a single muscle or a group of muscles to contract. By placing electrodes on the skin in various locations the physical therapist can recruit the appropriate muscle fibers. Contracting the muscle via electrical stimulation helps strengthen the affected muscle. Along with increasing muscle strength, the contraction of the muscle also promotes blood supply to the area that assists in healing.
We feel this therapy has been very good for dad's shoulder which when he arrived at Heartland, was very sore and was separated - he really could not do much with his should area at all. Now he is over that soreness and sensitiveness in that area and beginning to be able to use it again. (I mean he used to gasp everytime someone touched his shoulder - now that is gone) The worse part for dad during this therapy is that - you guessed it - he gets so "bored." ha ha! Dad was really trying hard this morning during his left arm therapy because his grand son Luke was watching him and cheering for him. Then my brother Tim helped dad back into bed from his chair and he was content to rest and eat some bacon that mom and I had brought him.
When I was at the facility today- I was waiting in the hallway at one point while the staff were using the lift to get him out of bed and in his chair for therapy and I just began praying and believing strongly that March was going to be a very significant month for my father. I prayed and believed for dad to continue getting stronger, continue learning to walk, and for them to be able to get him in and out of bed without that mechanical lift! We definitely feel dad getting stronger all over - his trunk mucles are getting stronger - he lifts himself forward and can assist in putting his own shirt on. He gets stronger everyday with his left side. It's absolutely amazing how much impact a stroke can have on a person's body- the involuntary, learned tasks that you have done all of your life that after a stroke become the hugest challenge to do.
It just reminds us that we can never take anything for granted. One day our life can be completely normal - like dad, he was at my nephew J.T.'s football game that Monday October 15th and my mom was at my son Brady's football game. I can remember dad calling her in the middle of the game to tell her how good J.T. was playing and mom proceeded to tell dad how well Brady was playing. They never miss their grandkids activities - even if it means splitting up to cover events that overlap. Then the next morning our lives changed forever when dad suffered his stroke. Cherish every second of your "normal" life. You never know when it will be turned upside down. However, saying all that - I want you all to know that as difficult as the past 4 months have been. . . there have been so many, many blessings along the way. And those are what God would have us to focus on. . .and since my dad is such a positive thinker too - he would feel the same way! He is very excited about attending church tomorrow now that he feels better. We hope to see many of you there!
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