February 18th - Physio began
Just a quick note to let you know that Ray started his physiotherapy rehab today. His therapist is a lady who has lots
of degrees and hands on experience with her specialty being osteo problems ...
i.e. arthritis, degenerative bone changes etc. She expects it to take about 2
months to get Ray where he needs to be for daily function and give him a plan
to carry on for the rest of his life. He is especially weak on the right side, so first off is stability and mobility of his right leg and core and then strength
for everyday functions. She agrees that he will never be pain free, but should
be able to function tolerably in the future. During the interview, we found out
that after the last two surgeries Ray's therapy was very ineffective (they were
getting him doing some exercises that could have made his back unstable instead
of strengthening it!). But the good news is that he should get stronger for
normal daily things like walking and not have his right leg give out. She is
also going to teach me some massage techniques to help with Ray’s leg and
muscle spasms in his back. (maybe I'll get a back massage in return!) His right
leg at present is hypersensitive to stimulus from the nerve being squashed for
so long and tingles all of the time, so massage should help the therapist
believes. It is nice to know what the plan is!
February 27th - Visit by Kristi and Jason
Ray had three physio sessions and it is
very hard on him as we knew it would be. He has to reduce the amount of dog
walking so he can complete his exercises. That sure does not help with his
"closed in feeling"!
Kristi and Jason came for dinner on Tuesday night as
they have been in Victoria this past weekend for a friend's wedding. We had a
wonderful prime rib dinner. Jason left early to catch his plane back to
Saskatoon. On Wednesday morning and the forecasted temperature for this
Saturday is -64 C with the wind chill. OUCH! Kristi drove up to Nanaimo
yesterday to meet an old friend Tyler for dinner and then came back at 11:30 pm.
Today we received a call from Ray's mom this morning
and she decided to catch the ferry over to Sidney to take us all for lunch and
then back on the 3pm ferry. A lovely surprise visit. It was a little long for
Ray but he felt much better just getting out somewhere new.
Kristi leaves early tomorrow morning for Calgary to
visit Theo as her and Niktarius had another baby boy, and then on to Saskatoon
on Monday as she has the following week off for a mid-winter vacation. When she
booked the time off last June, they had thought to go on a winter vacation
somewhere warm but after buying the house this fall that idea was nixed and
they came to the wedding instead. It has been great seeing her.
Saturday morning it will be off to another physio
appointment so I am sure that day will be a write-off for Ray as well.
