11 March 2005
I felt so tired this morning that I didn't want to get out of bed. When I eventually got up, I was debating whether I should hop on my exercise bike because I was feeling so tired. Tim somehow convinced me to start the day with the exercise bike - he said I would feel better after the exercises. The twenty minutes on the bike seemed like forever. I don't think I could go on without the TV on to distract my attention - my legs just felt so heavy. I was tempted to hop off the bike and rest on a few occassions but then I thought I might as well finish the 20 minutes.
Rosemary came in the morning to help me with my exercises. She brought a red gerbera with her today - for my reaching exercises. She has been quite creative in changing the objects to make them more interesting - from mouse with pink ears to green butterflies and today a red gerbera. She said her cat, Peter, did not take much interest in the flower. We went through the exercises set by her but I felt quite tired during the exercises. I explained to her that I'm still recovering from yesterday. Fortunately, I only see Gavin twice a week. I think I need two days to recover every time I have a session with him. Rosemary said she'll let me rest a little bit before my appointment with the OT. When I looked at the clock (with date on it), I just realised that today is Tim's birthday. I've forgotten about it until now. I told Rosemary one big news - last night was the first time after the operation I was able to lift up a full pot of pasta (with both hands) and tipped it in a colander to drain. That has always been a problem for me and I always had to ask Tim to do it for me. Rosemary was delighted to hear the breakthrough and suggested that I start a new section in my exercise book to record all the landmarks. I think that's a really good idea because otherwise I forget things. I was quite amazed when Neil described how I typed when I started the first time after the operation - he said I couldn't do it with two hands and I had to hold my left hand with my right hand etc. I couldn't remember that at all and I wished I had kept some kind of pictures or records so I can look back and see how much I've progressed. Actually, I should say 'we' because with the help of Neil and Rosemary, I don't think I'd be able to use my left hand at all, not to mention typing!
Jacqui, the OT from MECRS, turned up shortly after Rosemary left. I was quite surprised that she called me yesterday to arrange to meet with me. According to the timetable (set by MECRS), I still have an appointment with her today. I told her that I've been discharged on Tuesday and I thought that means all my appointments have been cancelled. She said she felt that she can't just let me leave like that after working with me for 4 or 5 months and would like to catch up for a coffee just to talk about how to achieve my goals from here. It was very nice of her to suggest that even though I didn't think it was necessary. I agreed to meet her anyway since she has helped me in some way when I think about it.
Jacqui suggested that we go to the cafe Dale mentioned to her - the milk bar/cafe on Royal Parade. I've decided not to take the stick with me. I told Jacqui that I'll probably be a bit slower without my stick but she didn't mind. I know I have to get rid of the stick or else Gavin will be on my case again! I think the only time I'll use it is when I go for hydro - only because my ankle keeps inverting without my ankle brace and shoes on. Jacqui asked me if I have any plans for the year. I told her that I just want to concentrate on my rehab for a few months and then maybe later in the year I can return to work. She thinks that rehab is more than just the physical rehab, I should look at the things I like to do and get back into doing those. That is true but when she asked me what I used to like to do, I couldn't think of any. I really didn't have a lot of spare time - after a long day's work, all I wanted to do was catch up with sleep or just do absolutely nothing. She asked me what's Epworth like. I told her that apart from some stroke patients, I'm probably one of the oldest patients there because the average age of the patients according to Gavin, is under 25. Most of them had some kind of car accidents. She said it must be quite sad to be with those patients. I told her it actually keeps me on my toes - it's a bit like you want to be training competion ballroom dancing in a studio with lots of good dancers, it keeps you motivated and work harder because you would keep checking each other out. Being in a rehab hospital with lots of young people keep me work harder because I don't want to be the worst when I know I'm a lot older than most of them.
I had an appointment with Dale, the social worker, in the afternoon. It was very nice of him to have one last session even though he knows I'm no longer at MECRS. He didn't have a lot of time so he suggested that we go to the cafe next to the pub on Royal Parade. I didn't have a chance to tell him that I was actually there with Jacqui this morning. Originally, I was going to take the stick with me because I didn't know where we were going and if we were going to Lygon Street, I would definitely take the stick with me - just to let other people know to keep away from me. When I realised that we were just going somewhere local, I decided to leave my stick behind. He was quite pleased by my decision. He always thought one of my biggest problems is I don't take risk. In fact, I told him before that being an accountant, I'm naturally risk averse. He thought this is a major breakthrough for me since I'm so risk-averse. I think I'm going to miss our Friday afternoon coffees. He told me that I can always contact him at MECRS if I have any problem. It's very nice of him to offer that. I think I might drop in to say hello one day when I go to my self-help hydro group.
Late in the afternoon, Tim accompanied me to the hospital for my MRI scan. I guess I could have gone by myself but I'm just too scared after what happened last June so I insisted that he came along. Again, I walked there without my stick - it's right at Royal Melbourne Private - according to Dale, about 1 km return from my house. I had to use Tim for support from time to time - especially when I wanted to walk a bit faster and was feeling a bit unstable. I have an appointment with Professor Kaye in 10 days time so I guess I'll find out about the result of the scan then.
Rosemary came in the morning to help me with my exercises. She brought a red gerbera with her today - for my reaching exercises. She has been quite creative in changing the objects to make them more interesting - from mouse with pink ears to green butterflies and today a red gerbera. She said her cat, Peter, did not take much interest in the flower. We went through the exercises set by her but I felt quite tired during the exercises. I explained to her that I'm still recovering from yesterday. Fortunately, I only see Gavin twice a week. I think I need two days to recover every time I have a session with him. Rosemary said she'll let me rest a little bit before my appointment with the OT. When I looked at the clock (with date on it), I just realised that today is Tim's birthday. I've forgotten about it until now. I told Rosemary one big news - last night was the first time after the operation I was able to lift up a full pot of pasta (with both hands) and tipped it in a colander to drain. That has always been a problem for me and I always had to ask Tim to do it for me. Rosemary was delighted to hear the breakthrough and suggested that I start a new section in my exercise book to record all the landmarks. I think that's a really good idea because otherwise I forget things. I was quite amazed when Neil described how I typed when I started the first time after the operation - he said I couldn't do it with two hands and I had to hold my left hand with my right hand etc. I couldn't remember that at all and I wished I had kept some kind of pictures or records so I can look back and see how much I've progressed. Actually, I should say 'we' because with the help of Neil and Rosemary, I don't think I'd be able to use my left hand at all, not to mention typing!
Jacqui, the OT from MECRS, turned up shortly after Rosemary left. I was quite surprised that she called me yesterday to arrange to meet with me. According to the timetable (set by MECRS), I still have an appointment with her today. I told her that I've been discharged on Tuesday and I thought that means all my appointments have been cancelled. She said she felt that she can't just let me leave like that after working with me for 4 or 5 months and would like to catch up for a coffee just to talk about how to achieve my goals from here. It was very nice of her to suggest that even though I didn't think it was necessary. I agreed to meet her anyway since she has helped me in some way when I think about it.
Jacqui suggested that we go to the cafe Dale mentioned to her - the milk bar/cafe on Royal Parade. I've decided not to take the stick with me. I told Jacqui that I'll probably be a bit slower without my stick but she didn't mind. I know I have to get rid of the stick or else Gavin will be on my case again! I think the only time I'll use it is when I go for hydro - only because my ankle keeps inverting without my ankle brace and shoes on. Jacqui asked me if I have any plans for the year. I told her that I just want to concentrate on my rehab for a few months and then maybe later in the year I can return to work. She thinks that rehab is more than just the physical rehab, I should look at the things I like to do and get back into doing those. That is true but when she asked me what I used to like to do, I couldn't think of any. I really didn't have a lot of spare time - after a long day's work, all I wanted to do was catch up with sleep or just do absolutely nothing. She asked me what's Epworth like. I told her that apart from some stroke patients, I'm probably one of the oldest patients there because the average age of the patients according to Gavin, is under 25. Most of them had some kind of car accidents. She said it must be quite sad to be with those patients. I told her it actually keeps me on my toes - it's a bit like you want to be training competion ballroom dancing in a studio with lots of good dancers, it keeps you motivated and work harder because you would keep checking each other out. Being in a rehab hospital with lots of young people keep me work harder because I don't want to be the worst when I know I'm a lot older than most of them.
I had an appointment with Dale, the social worker, in the afternoon. It was very nice of him to have one last session even though he knows I'm no longer at MECRS. He didn't have a lot of time so he suggested that we go to the cafe next to the pub on Royal Parade. I didn't have a chance to tell him that I was actually there with Jacqui this morning. Originally, I was going to take the stick with me because I didn't know where we were going and if we were going to Lygon Street, I would definitely take the stick with me - just to let other people know to keep away from me. When I realised that we were just going somewhere local, I decided to leave my stick behind. He was quite pleased by my decision. He always thought one of my biggest problems is I don't take risk. In fact, I told him before that being an accountant, I'm naturally risk averse. He thought this is a major breakthrough for me since I'm so risk-averse. I think I'm going to miss our Friday afternoon coffees. He told me that I can always contact him at MECRS if I have any problem. It's very nice of him to offer that. I think I might drop in to say hello one day when I go to my self-help hydro group.
Late in the afternoon, Tim accompanied me to the hospital for my MRI scan. I guess I could have gone by myself but I'm just too scared after what happened last June so I insisted that he came along. Again, I walked there without my stick - it's right at Royal Melbourne Private - according to Dale, about 1 km return from my house. I had to use Tim for support from time to time - especially when I wanted to walk a bit faster and was feeling a bit unstable. I have an appointment with Professor Kaye in 10 days time so I guess I'll find out about the result of the scan then.
posted by Teresa Liu at 9:25 PM
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