#219

Elaine was exhausted today after her late night out last night! She was a little emotional this morning and frustrated! Fred was very compassionate, and kind while she got it out. Staci picked her up to take her to arm therapy. They asked the therapist what she thought about Elaine's foot.  Immediately after the stroke, she was paralyzed. While Elaine was in the hospital, and the rehab hospital, they had her wearing a boot. The boot would engage her foot and help keep the foot from "flopping" forward. Towards the end of her rehab stay, they told her to stop wearing the boot. We aren't sure why or why this issue wasn't caught before.  Staci, and Fred have both pointed out numerous times to the therapist, that she was not able to put weight on her toes. She was never able to walk heel to toe, only heel to the ball of her foot. The explanation we consistently got was, "the brain is trying to send the message to the foot, but needs to find a new path to get it there." While we are disappointed the real root of the cause was not diagnosed sooner, we are happy that it finally has been. Her foot and leg are so tight, that is the reason she is having so much trouble. It will take lots of stretching but she will come out of it. It is in a sense "frozen" but not like her shoulder and she will stretch every day to loosen it up. She is not able to get her ankle to 90 degrees, but she will!

In exciting shoulder news, she was able to raise Little Darlin' about 90 degrees today, which is an improvement even since Monday! She is doing it without using her neck muscles as well. This picture shows the improvement. Four weeks ago, she was barely able to raise it to her belly button. We feel like we are on a good path and heading in the right direction. Fred is driving the ship and Elaine's determination will get her through the rough waters. There isn't anything she can't accomplish, no matter what they keep throwing at her!

Staci and Elaine ran a few errands, had lunch, and picked up Taylor from school. We delivered a very tired Nammie home this afternoon to rest, and rest she did. We hope she has a restful night. Tomorrow, she is off to the eye doctor. Hopefully, this is the last week of daily doctor appointments for a while!