Hi Everyone,
Sunday’s typically are a day of rest…not at Bryn Mawr Rehab! Corey had four sessions today. 2 with PT and 2 with OT for a total of 3 hours. The morning session was not very productive with Amanda for OT and she was not overly thrilled with her mid morning session with Hillary for PT either.
I was concerned that her behavior continued to be the result of the introduction of the second seizure medication. Fortunately, Corey’s Doctor was on call this weekend and came into see her. We discussed her responses. He’d like to take some blood levels tomorrow and closely watch her therapy sessions. We also discussed alternative medications and their side affects just in case he decides to switch it up a bit.
I also met with the nutritionist in regard to Corey’s weight loss. Corey is on a soy based high protein, high calorie liquid food. The nutritionist will be increasing her intake from 1600 to 1900 calories per day…let’s hope it gets some meat on those bones!…Sorry Corey, as a vegetarian, we’ll hope for extra potatoes!
The afternoon sessions were more successful. Amanda hasn’t worked with Corey in over a month. She did mention that all the therapists watch all the patients regardless if they are working with them. For the therapy teams, they love to observe the patients when they start to respond and emerge. Amanda commented that she enjoyed watching Corey “ramp up” a few weeks ago and couldn’t wait to work with her again. The morning session was disappointing; however, Corey was on fire this afternoon. She responded to both Amanda and Hillary. Corey’s responses were immediate although lacked some physical strength. For instance, she responded instantly for thumbs up but couldn’t quite raise her thumb straight up. Nonetheless, she was spot on and I would say a little more than 60% consistent.
We closed the evening with one of our favorite movies, Legally Blonde. At one point I asked Corey to squeeze my hand for YES to my questions. I asked her if she remembered the movie and she did. When the scene for Bend and Snap came on, she actually smiled! As the colorist stated, “Bend and Snap…it works every time”! Who knew it attracts a smile too!!
Corey it gives me comfort to see you starting to show more alertness and motion. Remember what we talked about today in the gym. It’s boring and aggravating to be asked to repeat the same motions over and over again. But it’s very important. It’s not unlike going to the gym 4 nights a week practicing the same routine repeatedly so you can perform it flawlessly in competition. Repetition is good! No skill was ever mastered instantly. You need persistence. The good news is Persistence is nothing more than what you are already doing! So keep it up kiddo. Keep doing what you’re doing; which is an amazing job! Happy dreams, xoxo