Well the air is turning brisk and it is time to break out the sweaters. With the cooler weather brings more OT and PT for Pat. Pat continues to work out at Journey Forward and he has recently starting going to Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital for some OT. His doctor sent us there to try some new therapies and Pat is very excited since he has started getting wrist movement. He has used a machine called Myomo e100 that works your biceps and triceps (click links for better descriptions.) He has very strong biceps but his triceps are weak since they have just started to work by themselves. The biceps help bend your elbow and the triceps are the muscles on the back of your arm that help straighten your arm out. This type of motion would help Pat be able to transfer in and out of his wheelchair by himself. The next machine is the Inmotion Arm Robot. Pat loved this machine since it was like playing a video game, something he misses alot. The machine really works your wrist and since he has just started getting some movement there it was great to see him work with this robot. What he had to do is move a dot on the video screen to different points on the monitor, as he moved the dot if he got “stuck” or took to long the robot would help him. The idea was to have different reading on the machine be as close to zero as possible. In all the different exercises he was at zero or very close, which meant he did most of the work with little assistance from the robot. The next thing he used was the Bioness H200. He really liked this machine since it allowed him to use his hand functionally. It worked by sending electrical stimulation into his hand causing it to open and close. This is very helpful because it gives him the ability to grasp things with his fingers. Unfortunately, I can not take video or pictures at the Rehab hospital since it is not allowed, so the only thing you can do is look at video links of the above machines.
Pat is doing very well with his diet and has lost almost 80 pounds! He is feeling better and with his new arm movements, he is even more pumped to get up and about.
Our little niece is growing fast and is up and walking! We just celebrated her first birthday and I wanted to share this video of her playing with Uncle Pat’s wheelchair.
That is all for now hopefully will have some more good news soon.
Hi Pat and Angela, I am Beth Weaver. I volunteer for the SCI unit on the 9th floor at Spaulding. There is a patient there that David Estrada and I would like to have Pat speak to. Please contact me at bmarshweaver@comcast.net. Thank you!