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.
Friday, March 9, 2012
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?"
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Happy Christmas!
How far we've come - we had a lovely Christmas together and Matt was more 'there' than he has been yet. Just two years ago we didn't even think we would eat dinner together because he wasn't on solid food yet. Then when we did have dinner he kept repeating 'prime rib' when all he wanted was the Dr. Pepper sitting across from him. No confusion this year - though quiet, Matt was engaged in the conversations around him and did not seem to get overwhelmed as easily. After 3 days of family dinners, he is feeling good about his interactions and ability to keep up with the crowd. "Slow and steady," he says, "but much improvement."
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Getting settled
Things are finally coming along here in New York - Matt started new therapies yesterday and I think it is going to be great. Even though it is an hour away, it is a hospital that specializes in brain injuries and they are excited to be working with Matt. He has OT and speech twice a week for a month and then we'll see what happens next. He continues to improve from what we have seen and it is never too late to discount miracles with him.
Roxbury Farm is working out to be a great place to be. (I put our new address in my profile.) Matt has lots of new places to walk, more people to interact with, and we even got a draft horse, which was one of Matt's dreams for our farm before. We're still getting used to him and don't have specific work to do yet, but Matt's been practicing one-handed driving and takes Milt out with his cart. My sister & I have been logging with our mentor and we can see how Matt fell in love with working with horses in the woods. Even though he won't be in the woods any time soon, I hope he can get some part of his draft power dream back.
Roxbury Farm is working out to be a great place to be. (I put our new address in my profile.) Matt has lots of new places to walk, more people to interact with, and we even got a draft horse, which was one of Matt's dreams for our farm before. We're still getting used to him and don't have specific work to do yet, but Matt's been practicing one-handed driving and takes Milt out with his cart. My sister & I have been logging with our mentor and we can see how Matt fell in love with working with horses in the woods. Even though he won't be in the woods any time soon, I hope he can get some part of his draft power dream back.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Catch up
Its been a crazy, busy few months and I know we have a lot to update, so here goes.
Matt's still attending speech therapy and the fact that he now thinks he sounds better is a big indication of his progress. He's still tripping up over words he wants to say, but he is getting more across than ever before. I've gotten so used to helping him out when he's word searching and now he doesn't want my help - which is awesome, but a difficult change to make. He also struggles around other people and wants me to elaborate on what he is saying, but they almost always understand what he means and its a great confirmation for him.
He is working really hard on all his exercises at home and says he is feeling stronger every day. He hasn't used his cane since April nor his brace since August. August was probably the last time we used an elevator, too - he's always looking for the stairs now. His shoulder and upper arm are stronger and seem to have more range of motion now, but his lower arm/wrist/hand are still pretty weak and not progressing much since they stopped using e-stimulation in therapy. I really wish we could do that at home because it seemed to help the most, but unfortunately that isn't possible.
Finally, we've spent the last couple months making some big decisions and figuring out details of our move. We are going to be leaving Vermont for New York on November 5. Keri will be farming full time at Roxbury and we're hoping to get Matt involved in the farm eventually, too. We are going to be building and adapting a wood shop for him which he is super excited about and he'll still have his mower. He's also found a stables nearby that does therapeutic riding and team driving. He'll figure out a way to be a teamster, yet.
We will be keeping our cell phone numbers for awhile and I will post our new address info in "My Profile" once we move.
Matt's still attending speech therapy and the fact that he now thinks he sounds better is a big indication of his progress. He's still tripping up over words he wants to say, but he is getting more across than ever before. I've gotten so used to helping him out when he's word searching and now he doesn't want my help - which is awesome, but a difficult change to make. He also struggles around other people and wants me to elaborate on what he is saying, but they almost always understand what he means and its a great confirmation for him.
He is working really hard on all his exercises at home and says he is feeling stronger every day. He hasn't used his cane since April nor his brace since August. August was probably the last time we used an elevator, too - he's always looking for the stairs now. His shoulder and upper arm are stronger and seem to have more range of motion now, but his lower arm/wrist/hand are still pretty weak and not progressing much since they stopped using e-stimulation in therapy. I really wish we could do that at home because it seemed to help the most, but unfortunately that isn't possible.
Finally, we've spent the last couple months making some big decisions and figuring out details of our move. We are going to be leaving Vermont for New York on November 5. Keri will be farming full time at Roxbury and we're hoping to get Matt involved in the farm eventually, too. We are going to be building and adapting a wood shop for him which he is super excited about and he'll still have his mower. He's also found a stables nearby that does therapeutic riding and team driving. He'll figure out a way to be a teamster, yet.
We will be keeping our cell phone numbers for awhile and I will post our new address info in "My Profile" once we move.
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