Sunday Physical Therapy

Tonight was a brief PT session, but extremely productive. Below is the leg...which Cindy successfully attached prior to beginning her exercises.

As you can see below, she is now walking comfortably with one hand on the rail and one hand at her side. It may be hard to spot, but she is walking with the shoe removed from her atificial leg. Notice that the foot they use is shaped very much like a human foot. It even has toes and toe nails.

Some of you that live in the Orlando area may recall a story that was broadcast on the television stations and newspapers about a female high school soccer star who was participating in a car wash to raise money for her soccer team. One of her teammates accidently hit the accelerator of a car she was going to wash and pinned the young girl, Bree, between the car bump and a building. She almost lost her life, was in a coma and  regained consciousness days later. Unfortunately, the accident caused her to have one leg amputated and the other leg in jeopardy of suffering the same fate. She is still trying to save her other leg but is dealing with infections and pain, much as Cindy did prior to her amputation.

I asked the owner (Stan) if she was a patient of his. His response was that she is not only a patient, but she is wheeling into the room as we speak...an incredible coincidence!

Not only was her story carried throughout the U.S. because of the tragedy that befell her, it was also a human interest story because of her spirit and willpower to overcome the tremendous odds against her survival and her proclamation that she plans to dance at her prom.

After we were introduced to Bree, she watched Cindy walk. Within a minute she was conversing with Stan and Cindy's therapist, Roger about Cindy's movements. They agreed with what she observed. Seconds later, she was coaching Cindy on some extremely minute changes she might consider in her gate to walk more efficiently.

She is everything we heard and read about and it was a pleasure to meet her.

Cindy was given Monday off to rest her leg and to allow some adjustments to be made.

The belief is that she will definintely be taking the leg home with her before the week is out.

Tomorrow is Cindy's first day back to work so she is extremely excited to be assimilating back to a normal lifestyle. It's incredible how far she has come in such a short period of time.

I hope (plan) to report more good news as Cindy's big week begins.

Quick Update

Cindy was supposed to advance to walking with a cane today (Friday), however, in typical Cindy fashion, she achieved it earlier than expected...yesterday!

Today, she continued to make progress as she becomes more comfortable with attaching and removing the leg, and, of course, walking on it.

We will return on Sunday evening for another session (more pictures will be included), and a few sessions next week.

With luck, she will be able to take her rent-a-leg home next week, with her upgraded model arriving some time after that.

The Beginning of Mobility

Though I was in Miami on business and Cindy had to leave for physical therapy at 9:30 a.m., I was not going to miss her taking her first steps. After a 3:30 a.m. wake-up and 4 a.m. departure, I was able to surprise her by arriving home just before she had to depart for physical therapy. It was SO worth it!

This picture was taken just after they brought out Cindy's "Rent-a-leg". Actually, she is going to borrow this leg until she learns how to walk with an artificial limb. Then she will be fitted with her "keeper" model.




Once she was taught how to attach it, Cindy stood up for the first time.

After some practice and helpful hints from her therapist, Cindy began to walk more quickly and steadily. She had to return in the afternoon after some adjustments were made on the leg and though this picture does not show it, she began to make incredible progress and relied less and less on the handrail.

Cindy will return tomorrow and Friday for more PT. There are two schools of thought amongst the therapists...one is that she will be walking with the assistance of a cane on Friday. The other is that she will be walking by early next week.

It is so encouraging to see that Cindy will soon be out of the wheelchair and moving around like she did prior to her sarcoma and all the surgeries she endured.

Her enthusiasm was infectious. Katie and I were absolutely thrilled to be witness to it.

First Steps Just Days Away...

Today Cindy went to her appointment and received GREAT news! She has made so much progress that they fitted her and created the mold for her prosthesis...and she will begin physical therapy this Wednesday.

In other words, she will take her first steps in less than 48 hours from now!

We'll try to provide an update (hopefully with pics) Wed. evening.

The Next Leg In The Journey

No more antibiotics! After six tedious weeks of IV infusions, the pick line has been removed.

Below is Cindy doing her last infusion just before Mark, her nurse, came to remove the pick line for what we hope will be the very last time ever!

Mark arrived soon after this picture was taken and freed Cindy from her plastic tubing-like prison cell.

He is a truly great guy. Yes, Mark is a nurse, but he is studying to be a chef in his spare time, which is why he came to the house in a chef's coat (see below). Last night he baked some incredible bread that he brought for us all to try (Cindy, my parents and me). The good news is that he no longer has to come to the house to assist Cindy with infusions and to draw blood. The bad news is he will no longer be dropping by to care for Cindy. We hope he will transition from nurse to friend and visit often along with his wife (not just because he is a great cook!).

Look again at the picture above. It's easy to forget by her smiling face that Cindy is only standing on one leg, isnt it! Sometimes I forget as well. Life is as normal as it can be...just with a modification or two.

Things are improving every day. Since the infection is gone, her energy level is returning...and she is doing more things without feeling exhausted.

Last night, Cindy returned to cooking. She made one of the most amazing briskets that any of us have ever had. It was incredible!

On Monday, Cindy returns to the Prosthetics and Orthotics Center to see what progress she is making with her liner and some of the pain she is experiencing while wearing it. We are hoping she is another week closer to being fitted for her "starter" prosthesis. One she learns to drive it, she will graduate to the Porsche version of an artificial leg. Hopefully it will brake better than a Toyota (bad joke).

Have a good weekend!

Infusion Conclusion

Infusing each evening takes between 2 - 3 hours. It is truly a pain to be locked into one spot so long each night.

Well, it all ends this Thursday....hopefully for the last time forever!

Everything is moving along smoothly. Cindy is still getting pains in her leg and phantom pains in her phantom leg, but they seem to be getting a bit better each week.

Flying Solo

Cindy took her first solo trip to the doctor this morning. It was a bit exhausting because she had to use the walker to get from the parking lot to the office (which isn't all that close to the curb), but she did so successfully.

Each day she becomes a bit more independent.