Day 108 - I Got Rhythm

Try walking along the road, it's all about rhythm. Once you start moving your whole body is working in time, and that includes legs, arms, trunk etc. A walk happens in pairs of steps, of slightly unequal timing because we each favour a particular side (try it) , but in rhythm nonetheless. Left..right/Left..right etc. To march in perfect time is NOT a natural walk.

So if you can establish a rhythm, and feel that, then your walk is better. For cleo, because of the lack of control in her left leg, and arm too, she cannot maintain that rhythm very well yet. Today in physio james put her on the treadmill, at a relatively slow pace of course, in an effor to try and help establish that rhythm which since the stroke is lacking in cleo. Now, consider when you walk; if you feel you are going too fast, you slow down, if you feel tired you can stop for a moment. On the treadmill you are not in charge, and the treadmill keeps going regardless; therefore you have to keep walking.

Ten minutes might not sound very long, but it's the longest that cleo has "walked" since the stroke, and by the end she was struggling, and her hip was hurting (her right hip, because she is presently putting far more weight through her good leg to compensate, although that will improve) and when james turned the treadmill off she said her legs were "like jelly". But she did it! Well done cleo.

Before all that we had the visit from Melanie, the rehab worker, with the exercises suggested by Mohammed (Remember him? kidnapped by aliens, well frankly they ought not to have given him back.) She came with this photocopied sheet that included flexing the wrist (cleo can't even move her wrist voluntarily), grasping hands behind neck and touching elbows at the front (you guessed, cleo can't do that either) and among other impossible tasks for someone with an immobile arm and hand developing the movement to touch each finger on the thumb; this also would be great if cleo could actually move her fingers.

So, now melanie is going to go back to Mohammed who is off again this week till next Monday (does NHS actually stand for National Holiday Service I wonder?) and redefine the exercises. We suggested she contacts James direct who will give her a better idea of the needs of this particular patient. We also told James, and I think he may well be in touch with them himself this week.

If anyone sees any alien spacecraft let me know, I have a care team member available for further experimentation, once he's back from holiday of course!