Working hard

Matt's had a couple of rough weeks recently - he is working so hard, but he can't see enough progress and is quite frustrated. The last few days, however, have been better and he'll at least listen to me when I say he is progressing. I don't think he really believes me, but at least he is listening.

Last week, he talked on the phone to a few people and actually carried on conversations. He was pretty thrilled. In OT, they work with his arm mostly by having his therapist move his arm while he thinks about moving it. On Thursday, she said that she could feel little muscle twinges in his lower arm right below his elbow as she moved his arm forward. It's not really movement, but that's how his leg started 4 months ago. Then on Friday, I watched him pull his arm back a little bit on his own! His OT reminded him that he hasn't used these muscles in 6 months and anyone who had their arm in a cast that long would have to work to get movement again, but that he is also retraining his brain at the same time. He has to concentrate so hard and gets so tired while trying to move that arm - it's definitely the hardest job he's ever had!