A Good Day and a Hair Cut - Jan 30

Today was a good day despite the fact that Jerry had PT this morning at 8:30, he was not looking forward to getting up early. To be ready for 8:30 PT Jerry had to wake up at 7:30 when usually his PT is at 10:00. The good news is he got a good night sleep and felt somewhat rested by the time PT began. Jerry was in good spirit for PT and enjoyed his time with Kara. Kara was the person Jerry started PT with, she would come up to the Trauma Rehab Center when he was up stairs. He likes Kara very much however Kara was assigned a different area and generally does not do his morning PT, so it was a treat for him. Sometime around 10:30 Jerry got noxious and it interfered a little with his therapies today. He still participated in Skills Group at 11:00 however he wasn't quite up to par. At 2:30 Jerry had Exercise Group and tried a new activity, which is the standing frame. It's kind of hard to explain, it's a chair that has a strap around the chest and a pad that holds the chest in place, you then pump a handle, with each pump the body is moved into a standing position until the body is at a full stand. Jerry felt very sick but wanted to press on to try and get to a full stand, we would do a few pumps at a time then let him acclimate to the new position. Jerry got to about 3/4 of the way to a full stand then could not go further, he felt like he was going to get sick and felt like he could not breath. It was a very good first try and he was assured that it will get better and he will be able to get to a full stand when he gets stronger. Some of you may be wondering "How does a standing frame benefit Jerry?" Well my understanding is there are many benifits to the body to get into a standing position here are just a few:

* Prevention of contractures (ankles, knees, and hips)
* Improvement of range of motion (spine, hips, knees and ankles)
* Reduction in spasticity
* Prevention or reversal of osteoporosis and resultant hypercalciuria
* Improvement of renal function, drainage of the urinary tract, and reduction in urinary calculi
* Prevention of pressure ulcers through changing positions
* Improvement in circulation as it related to orthostatic hypotension
* Improvement in bowel function
* Normalization of respiratory function

I'm sure you all figured I pasted that in, there are some words up there that are a little big for my vocabulary. ;-)

My Aunt Teresa and Uncle David as well as cousins Paul and Vince and Girl friend Renna (sorry, I know I probably really messed up that spelling) came to visit. My aunt has been an awesome beautician for many many years and Jerry was dying for a hair cut. Jerry was used to getting a hair cut every two weeks, he had to keep it short for ROTC, it's been almost two months since his last cut and he felt the need. Teresa was awesome, (thanks Teresa)and was able to give him a trim while sitting in his wheel chair in his room, which I might add I think he had a cat nap during the cut. Jerry decided to leave it a little longer then he had to wear for ROTC and I think it looks very handsome. Jerry got to spend some time with his cousins who are hilarious and I know he very much enjoyed their company.

Jerry felt much better after getting back in bed and resting a couple hours, he was craving Chinese food, so Chinese food it was tonight. Jerry's fortune cookie read "Even the longest days come to an end", how appropriate. Thank you God for laughs with family, for a great hair cut, for 3/4's of a stand and for delicious Chinese food, all the makings of good day.

Good Night
Katie