Pat's Progress » Angela

Happy Fall

Angela — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:28:00 +0000

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.

Pat moving his left wrist

Angela — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:21:45 +0000

A video is worth a thousand words..

Pat working with Derrick at Journey Forward, he has started to get some wrist function back! Again the video is sideways maybe one of these days I’ll get it right.

Can’t believe how time flies!

Angela — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:22:10 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Can’t believe how time flies. Sorry I don’t post here as much as I should but get busy doing things and forget. I honestly can’t say what I’ve been doing but I can say not posting here. Not to much to report here but we are doing well. Pat has been on a weight loss program since the fall and is now down to 270 lbs, this great since he had lost of 50 lbs. He is also starting to get a little movement in his wrist. What he can do is flex his hand upwards 2 or 3 times but then it burns out. I want to get a video of him doing this but keep forgetting. We had a test done at the doctors office that test the electrical stimulation getting thru the muscles and he is functioning at a C7 level in some of his muscles. This is good news since he started out with C5 functioning. Other than that the only other exciting thing is we have started my kitchen remodel this week and our little niece Lexi has learned to crawl. Well thank you for reading my ramblings, until next time we love you all!

Just a little video

Angela — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:32:39 +0000

Hi everyone, wanted to share a little video I made of Pat walking on the treadmill at Journey Forward. Keep in mind it takes a small army to walk a mile. Also just a heads up the video is sideways it was filmed on my cell phone and I’m not sure how to turn it right side up. Click here

Happy New Year

Angela — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:13:55 +0000

Oh My God!!!!!! Can you believe it is another year gone by already. Here it is half way into January of 2011 and I haven’t updated here so long. So far 2011 is starting out pretty crappy over here in the McNally household. We have had nothing but problems since Christmas eve when Pat’s power wheelchair broke. We are still waiting for the part to come in it was supposed to have been shipped on 12/30/10 and here is is 1/16/11 and still no part!!!!!! It is so frustrating for Pat since he is already has to rely on me for so much but now he can’t move at all in his manual chair so if he needs something or wants to do something he has to call me to help him. Thankfully it happened now that the weather sucks because if it were summer I think he would be even more depressed. Besides his chair being broke Pat’s spasms have been horrible. You just look at him and he starts to tremor so we have been back and forth to Boston to try and figure out what is going on. We still have no answers for that yet. His doctor thinks the catheter that goes from his balcofen pump to his spine may have shifted and we are going into Brigham and Womens hospital for a follow up to see if that is the problem but that wont happen for the next couple weeks. If that is the only problem he’ll have to have outpatient surgery to adjust that so things are up in the air for a little while.
Now that the holidays are past we are back to our diets. Pat has lost 57 lbs and I have 15 lbs more to loose. Pat’s goal is to get down to about 220 lbs and then work with the doctors to find the appropriate weight to maintain. He is a big guy so they don’t want him to skinny since that would give us other things to worry about.
On the bright side of things Pat has been getting some strange and new sensations through out his body. His triceps have started to work. This is great news since this is what he needs to strengthen in order to push a power assist wheelchair. They burn out quick but it has been a consistent thing now for about 4 months. He has also gotten some quad muscle firing in his legs when he is doing squats on the total gym at Journey Forward. So as always keep him in your prayers that some day soon he will be up and about.
As always we love you all and thank you for your thoughts and prayers. For your viewing please our niece Lexi at 4 months old she has gotten so big.

Our niece Alexis Jean

Angela — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 23:43:04 +0000

Join us in welcoming our new niece Alexis Jean! She was born on September 16, she is a healthy, bouncing baby girl, weighing in at 6 pounds, 7 ounces and 19 inches long. Uncle Pat and I already have plans to spoil her rotten and Pat can’t wait until she can start driving. He is already planning on getting her into a race car by time she is 6 (if not sooner).

Lexi is our biggest news right now but those of you looking for an update on Pat things are still moving along. He has lost 30 pounds in 8 weeks. Hopefully by this time next year we will have big things to report, keep your fingers crossed and keep us in your prayers. At this time he still has no new movements or feeling to report but his nerve pain has increased down into his hands. The nerve pain is a catch 22, the bad is: he describes it as having a 3 degree sunburn and putting on your jeans the good is: something is going on. That being said it could go on like that for a long time with no changes.

Keep us in your prayers and I’ll update next month. Thank you.

Hello Fall Party

Angela — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:53:57 +0000

Can you believe it the fall is almost here again! Time to wish summer farewell and welcome in the fall season and all her magic. Once again we will provide the burgers, dogs and chips and dips, if you can bring a small dish to share and BYOB that would be great! We love to see you all and as usual we will have the bouncy house for the kids, make sure to bring bikes, scooters, and such for them since we live on a dead end street. Also make sure to bring sunscreen, some chairs and get ready o have a good time with friends both old and new. If you need directions please comment here or on facebook and I can get them off to you. The party starts at 2pm on Sunday, September 5th.

For those of you wondering how the diet is going we are doing great! In three weeks Pat has lost 16 pounds! It is really simple to follow and pretty stupid proof. He is already feeling better and doesn’t mind it. You still have to deal with cravings and the such but we are not hungry.

“Here is a cool pic of Pat”

July 8, 2010

Angela — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:49:27 +0000

Is it hot enough for you? Well, they say the heat wave is over! Let’s hope so since Pat and I are sick of being stuck in the house. Not much to report things are moving along slow and steady. The biggest thing is Pat is on a strict diet, since his accident he has gain some weight. The weight loss should make his life a little better in the future as far as possibly seeing some significant changes. We all know how difficult it is to loss weight being able bodied never mind being stuck in a wheelchair. Well thank you for checking in and I’ll keep you updated on how things are going. Here are some pics of our pups keeping cool in the pool.

Memorial Day BBQ

Angela — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:51:54 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Don’t forget the summer kick-off BBQ at our house. It is Sunday, May 30th anytime after 12pm going to whenever everyone leaves or we throw you out.

We will supply Burgers, Dogs and chips; please BYOB and if you like a dish of any kind to share.

Things you will need? Chairs, sunscreen and anything else you might want to bring to have a good time (there will be kids here so wait til after hours for the naughty stuff ) We will have a bouncy house for the kids and kids at heart. We also live on a dead end street so if you want bring their bikes or skateboards.

If you need directions please send me an email at alperruzzi@yahoo.com, or if you have facebook you can friend me and I’ll send you directions that way.

Hope to see all of friends!

Feb 2010

Angela — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:36:03 +0000

Hi Everyone, Sorry I haven’t posted since Christmas. I hope everyones 2010 is going well and you and your families are healthy and happy. We had a bittersweet anniversary, on Feb 9 it was 3 years since Pat had his accident. I wish I had thought to take videos from the beginning until now because his progress has been incredible from were we started. His upper body has gotten stronger and he has started to get some tricep movement. He can also move his left thumb a tiny bit but it burns out real quick. He is still able to move his left big toe so that there just gives up hope. Right now our biggest obstacle is he needs to lose weight. Hard enough to do when you can be active never mind being stuck in a wheelchair. He has been losing some but still had a lot more to go. I wish I had more information to pass along but this is a very slow recovery. I think once the weight obstacle is passed we will see lots of things from him but we must over come this first. I’ll keep you posted until next time, we love you all and thank you for your support.