Things are progressing very well for me at week three!!!
I’m ahead of schedule in my recovery, which makes me very happy, but I just have to keep reminding myself to take it easy. I could not believe how quickly my right leg had atrophied in just two-and-a-half weeks as you can see in the photo to the right. The physical therapist told me to do small squats with equal pressure on both legs so in my Pilates brain that meant I could do footwork on the Pilates Reformer. I made it into the studio for a brief session to test it out. Still being unable to drive, I caught a ride with Keith who was going in anyway to help with our Wifi issues. At least I also had help with the stairs as I wasn’t supposed to do those yet.
Now I’m down to one crutch on the left side with a brace on my right hip. I had learned how to squeeze the crutch with my armpit and not put pressure on my fractured elbow to give it the chance to heal. I was able to finally make it out to the kitchen and get myself food and water. This in and of itself was amazing as I had been dependent on the kindness of others stopping by with wonderful home cooked meals and bringing them to me in bed. My gracious daughter has been making me breakfast and lunch.
I was given some new exercises to do along with the squats (equivalent to footwork): donkey kicks, side stepping, standing hamstring curls, balancing on a foam pad with one foot in front of the other, and calf raises (also able to do on the Pilates Reformer). The CPM (continuous passive motion) machine was picked up as I no longer needed it. I was up around the house more and added 10 to 20 additional minutes on the bike each day equalling 30 to 40 minutes. I continued with most of the previous assigned exercises as well, such as the bridge curl and ball roll as I talked about in my previous post. I was excited to have increased the modified knee/elbow plank from one minute to two-and-a-half minutes. I’ll continue my journey with you all soon in my next blog.
