Yesterday was a really encouraging day. On top of the milestones Brady has been hitting in rehab, he’s also had some really surprisingly nice conversations with some of his doctors. Those medical calls are a complete wipeout, even when they’re good!
Brady spoke to his surgeon yesterday, Dr. Fourney, for the first time in about a month. Dr. Fourney wanted Brady to feel reassured and confident in everything thats happened and whats to come. When he had said all he wanted to say, he asked Brady about his progress at rehab. He started off by asking if Brady had gotten up at the parallel bars yet. Brady, surprised, told him he had actually walked the parallel bars in his first week post-op when he was still at RUH. Dr. Fourney was completely blown away, and expressed that to Brady. Brady then told him he *drumroll* walked with forearm crutches just the day before, and Dr. Fourney was bowled over. He was SO happy for Brady. He told Brady that he was really good at healing, and to keep doing exactly that! He also said, if he ever had any spine related questions, surgical or not, he should feel free to leave him a message, and he would be HAPPY to call Brady back absolutely anytime to talk. Brady felt SO light after that call.
Today was a day we were very much looking forward to as well. Brady had a custom brace made for his ankle a while back (Its called an AFO, an ankle foot orthosis) and it wasn’t quite right. This morning, Brady was booked to go to Saskabilities and get it fitted and modified to work better for him. His therapists booked time to go with him, and they invited me! I was SO thrilled to be included on the field trip! The four of us piled into the handivan and made dark jokes and talked all the way there.
The front desk guy wasn’t especially happy with the amount of us coming in a group, but the man who was working on Brady’s brace wasn’t upset at all. By the time we were done, Brady had a brace that fit great! But just because we were done doesn’t mean the handivan was back! For the next 25 minutes or so, Brady did some walking outside, and then popped back into his wheelchair to practice some curbs and uneven territory. He did so great. It was SO nice to do some outdoor therapy.
When the driver came back, we loaded back up, and ended up all talking about our experiences growing up going camping. We all had different lakes, but we all loved lake life, camping, family, etc. It was just such a nice thing to relate on and look forward to.
Lucky for us, we made it back in time for a very anticipated PT activity!! Today was the day Brady’s physios were going to see if they could get him into our van.
I only WISH I had pictures, but it went SO fast, because it was SO much easier than any of us anticipated!!!! I was SO proud!! None of this to say Brady doesn’t have to work hard on placement, strength, and the mind-over-matter aspect of things, but he CAN do it! He is fully capable of getting into the van! His left leg is mobile enough that it can get up onto the running board step, and then he can hold the handle to the side, and the handi-bar we’ll attach to the latch, and heave himself in. I’ll show you in photos sometime. It’ll all make sense. But it is SO exciting! A real victory!!!
Today, we celebrate. There is a LOT of heavy, but we celebrate and enjoy the light as we can.