As the New Year begins, I have much to be grateful for. I
have very generous family members and friends who have made donations to help
support us during this tough time. Friends from home are sending frequent
reiki treatments and positive vibes to help heal my mind, body and spirit. Prayers are being said to ask God and his
angels to help me deal with my disease mentally, emotionally, and physically and
I also have incredible health care practitioners who have helped push me to get
stronger every day. All of these things
combined have helped me make the quickest recovery that my healthcare practitioners
have ever seen from a patient with GBS after only two months of treatment. They have said that most people at my stage
are at 6 or more months of recovering.
After discovering a problem with the nerves in my hip and butt
area and starting treatment on it Christmas week, I can now lift both of my
legs into the air from my hips off of the bed. I can also bend both knees
and pull them towards my upper body. My upper body strength is almost
back to normal, my core and lower back muscles are much stronger, and I’m
gaining more flexibility every day throughout my whole body (although I still
can’t touch my toes or come close to it – someday I will have my flexible yoga
body back). Lifting my hips is still a
bit challenging, but I am working on it.
Movement in my face is starting to come back a bit more and my mom
thinks I have a Mona Lisa smile right now, but I have a long ways to go before
all of the fine muscles in my face are functioning again. I am also lucky that my stomach digestion is
almost back to normal. I can’t eat too
many of my favorite foods (grilled cheese, quesadillas, chocolate, etc), but I
am allowed to indulge myself in small portions if I am eating healthy the rest
of the time.
The biggest and best news is that I am finally able to sit
up on my own (although it’s still difficult) and hang my legs over the side of
the bed to touch the floor with my feet!
My wonderful friend, Laura, who is a physical therapist in England
arrived in Puerto Vallarta this past week to continue her Therapies Unite
charity, which helps disabled children and adults in the PV area with
musculoskeletal and neurological problems to improve their mobility and provide
them with access to healthcare that they would otherwise not be able to afford
(http://www.therapiesunite.com). She came over to visit and
brought a sling-like hoist that allows two people to easily and safely lift me
out of bed into a wheelchair. As a result, I was able to finally get out
of bed for the first time in almost two months yesterday (Jan 3rd) with the
help of Filiberto (Berto), my nurse, Joshua, and Laura who was leading them.
I was nervous about how it would feel on my body to sit again, but
surprisingly it didn't hurt my feet, lower back, hips, and butt (which are
areas where the muscles are still somewhat dormant) as much as I thought it
would.
In a sitting position, I am able to focus on strengthening my calf
muscles, which have lost almost all of their muscle mass and look like skinny
little twigs since it’s hard to exercise them laying in bed. I can also
exercise and stretch my feet and ankles to get them prepared for standing and
walking by putting some of my weight on them. From the lack of standing
or walking for over two months, the nerves in my feet have caused my feet to
curl a bit in the resting position, although they can be stretched to the
proper position. I just have to re-train them to get them back to normal,
which will come as I practice more.
My nurse, Berto, was gone on vacation for 3 days after he
identified and started treating the problem with my hips and butt with massage
therapy and applying muscle relaxing creams. My physical therapist,
Oscar, continued to treat the area with ultra-sound to help increase the blood
flow, electrode therapy, and also a bit of massage therapy while he was gone.
I also continued exercising my hips and legs in his absence. When
he returned on the 2nd of January, he couldn't believe the progress that I had
made in such a little bit of time. He was excited that I am now able to
get into the wheelchair and thinks that I will be walking within
a month (February).Today, with the help of the sling, my dad and Joshua were able to help me get into the bathroom so that I could take a hot shower (instead of the wash cloth baths I had been taking since I was restrained to my bed the past two months). Although it hurt somewhat to sit, I can’t explain how wonderful it was to take a shower again and feel really clean again.
Laura came over again today and did acupuncture on the areas
causing problems in my hips. She has
offered to continue doing the acupuncture to help stimulate the nerves in my hips,
butt, legs and also my face. She also has a plan to help me get up and start
standing and walking soon.
I am so happy from all of the help that I am receiving and am glad
that things are finally looking promising.
I can’t begin to describe the different types of intense pain that I
have experienced since I contracted this disease, but luckily the pain is now
more controllable. I know that I will
have more as I start to stand and walk again, but I’m looking forward to
getting back to normal and hoping that I’ve gotten through the worst of it. My goal is to get out of this bed and be able
to play with my son, Xavier, soon, as I’ve missed that the most.
Thank again for all of your love and support!
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