November 19, 2009 - The day that changed my life. I fell 3 feet and hit a metal box just above my left ear, causing a skull fracture that led to a blood clot, major swelling and a traumatic brain injury. A split second that changed everything.
That day, the doctor told Keri I would never walk or talk again. Ha. Someone once told me it is hard work being a miracle, and I would have to agree. It is an incredibly long road, but I'll get there.
3 years.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Welcome Back!
Hey, it is Matt and it has been awhile. I am taking over the blog - Keri is going to help me write, but I am going to be posting from now on.
Here's an update of what I've been doing:
1. Bioness. I have this great new estim machine for my leg and it is a miracle worker. I wear a cuff around my leg just under my knee that is connected to a sensor in my shoe. When I take a step, it turns on and helps pick up my toes. Then when I step down, it turns off and my toes drop. I wear it all the time and it has made walking so much easier. It is helping my leg muscles to remember how to walk properly. It does the same thing that my brace used to, but is helping me rewire my brain by using electric signals. My goal is to get rid of this machine just like I got rid of my cane & my brace. It is a long ways off and a slow process, but that is what I am working towards.
2. Aphasia Group. My therapy sessions were great, but I needed a break. Two and a half years of my life have been spent in therapy and I am doing so much exercising at home, it was time. But my speech has been difficult and so slow to proceed on my own. My speech therapist helped me find a group that meets weekly at a local college - and every single person in the group has aphasia or some other language disorder just like me. It has been a miracle to find this group and work with these people. We have discussions and help each other figure out how to communicate better. We get some support from the leaders of the group, who are all studying speech pathology, but mostly it is us helping each other. I have personally noticed much improvement since I've been going to this group - I use many more complete sentences and find it easier to follow conversations around me. Another miracle worker!
3. Woodshop. I spend so much time exercising, using my estim machines, and walking, but I needed something else to fill extra time besides TV - how boring! The farm where we live has a woodshop and there was room for all my tools - and luckily room for lots more. I've been finding adaptive tools and tricks so that I can safely build projects one-handed. After collecting many, many clamps and creating lots of jigs, I've got a few things built. It only took me 6 months, but here is my first table!
4. Last but not least, thank you all for everything. It has been almost 3 years since my accident and I still have a long, long ways to go. This all takes time and patience and I will get there, someday. It might be one week, one year, one decade. Who knows. But I couldn't haven't gotten this far without your help.
Thank you!
Matt
Here's an update of what I've been doing:
1. Bioness. I have this great new estim machine for my leg and it is a miracle worker. I wear a cuff around my leg just under my knee that is connected to a sensor in my shoe. When I take a step, it turns on and helps pick up my toes. Then when I step down, it turns off and my toes drop. I wear it all the time and it has made walking so much easier. It is helping my leg muscles to remember how to walk properly. It does the same thing that my brace used to, but is helping me rewire my brain by using electric signals. My goal is to get rid of this machine just like I got rid of my cane & my brace. It is a long ways off and a slow process, but that is what I am working towards.
2. Aphasia Group. My therapy sessions were great, but I needed a break. Two and a half years of my life have been spent in therapy and I am doing so much exercising at home, it was time. But my speech has been difficult and so slow to proceed on my own. My speech therapist helped me find a group that meets weekly at a local college - and every single person in the group has aphasia or some other language disorder just like me. It has been a miracle to find this group and work with these people. We have discussions and help each other figure out how to communicate better. We get some support from the leaders of the group, who are all studying speech pathology, but mostly it is us helping each other. I have personally noticed much improvement since I've been going to this group - I use many more complete sentences and find it easier to follow conversations around me. Another miracle worker!
3. Woodshop. I spend so much time exercising, using my estim machines, and walking, but I needed something else to fill extra time besides TV - how boring! The farm where we live has a woodshop and there was room for all my tools - and luckily room for lots more. I've been finding adaptive tools and tricks so that I can safely build projects one-handed. After collecting many, many clamps and creating lots of jigs, I've got a few things built. It only took me 6 months, but here is my first table!
 |
| Shaker Side Table |
4. Last but not least, thank you all for everything. It has been almost 3 years since my accident and I still have a long, long ways to go. This all takes time and patience and I will get there, someday. It might be one week, one year, one decade. Who knows. But I couldn't haven't gotten this far without your help.
Thank you!
Matt
Friday, March 9, 2012
Long awaited posts
Thanks to everyone we got to see on our trip back through the Midwest. We had a great time and Matt was so excited to see everyone. He thought it was the best he's interacted with people so far. It also reminded us why we need to be writing, so I am sorry it has taken so long to get back into the blog.
To be honest, it is feeling like everything going on is now our normal life and I forget that you still like to read what he is up to. Plus, in the back of my mind, I've always hoped for the day that I can pass this onto him and he can write to you about what is happening. However, that is still a long, unforeseeable way off, so I will try to keep up better. Here's a start: an update on all three of his therapies.
To be honest, it is feeling like everything going on is now our normal life and I forget that you still like to read what he is up to. Plus, in the back of my mind, I've always hoped for the day that I can pass this onto him and he can write to you about what is happening. However, that is still a long, unforeseeable way off, so I will try to keep up better. Here's a start: an update on all three of his therapies.
OT
Of course, Matt's biggest frustration is still his arm and its lack of function. He's gotten a lot more movement back in the shoulder, upper arm, and elbow, but his wrist and fingers continue to be difficult to move. His OT got him a stim unit that we can actually take home and it has been great. Every day, he works his lower arm with the electrical stimulation - he's hooked up with wires that stick to his arm and shoulder. When it turns on, it opens his hand and bends his wrist back. The idea is that his muscles work fine - they just aren't getting the electrical signal from his brain to engage. When the machine turns on, it gives his muscles the signal his brain should be sending and by concentrating on what's happening, he can retrain his brain to work the correct muscles. Its a really interesting process to watch - and in the few months he's been doing this, it is already requiring less 'power' from the machine to get the same movement in his hand.
PT
It's been a long time since Matt has had PT, but his doctor wasn't happy with how he's walking and thought he should get back into it. Matt is walking more and faster than he ever has, but has a slightly awkward gate. He can't bend his knee completely and doesn't have the ability to lift his toes as he steps. The anterior tibialis muscles are just too weak - when he picks up his foot, it curls in instead of straight up. For now it is okay, but if he walks like this for 20 years, he's going to have some orthopedic issues.
His new PT hooked him up with a different electrical stimulation unit that straps onto his leg and into his shoe. It senses when he begins to take a step and stims the muscles to work & pick up his toes. Then when he steps down on his heel, it turns off and lets the foot relax. He has to concentrate on bending his knee more, but it really looks great to see him walking so naturally. We'll try to get video during his next session so you can see how it works.
His new PT hooked him up with a different electrical stimulation unit that straps onto his leg and into his shoe. It senses when he begins to take a step and stims the muscles to work & pick up his toes. Then when he steps down on his heel, it turns off and lets the foot relax. He has to concentrate on bending his knee more, but it really looks great to see him walking so naturally. We'll try to get video during his next session so you can see how it works.
And finally, speech
Where to even begin with Matt's speech progress - let's just say it is pretty amazing. And even we notice it on a regular basis. He was looking for me the other day and asked, "Could you come help me?" His new speech therapist has been great and has him working especially hard on verbs. His vocab has been steadily increasing, but putting together a sentence that makes sense has been difficult since he struggles so hard with verbs. He's getting more work done in each session now and really progressing. She thought that he would have 4-8 more weeks of work with her and that he'll continue to be able to work on his own at home.
Matt is one of those people who could be a student his whole life. He loved school and was trying to get into grad school programs in Vermont before we tried to start a farm. He was joking about it the other day while working on his homework - he said he could be a perpetual student, but he never thought he'd be stuck in 1st grade. "Got to laugh, right?"
Matt is one of those people who could be a student his whole life. He loved school and was trying to get into grad school programs in Vermont before we tried to start a farm. He was joking about it the other day while working on his homework - he said he could be a perpetual student, but he never thought he'd be stuck in 1st grade. "Got to laugh, right?"
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