Shelley Goes Back To Oklahoma

Part of the reason I haven't posted anything on here in a little bit is because... Shelley got to go home! As she was getting ready to leave we talked about how much she would miss certain people and why. However, that didn't last long after she landed, to be met by some of her favorite people.

Notice the wheelchair and walker she is still using. While therapists still believe she will be able to walk again she is still using both of these to help her get around. She has a leg brace that is specifically being made for her and she has an appointment February 12th to see how it fits etc. Once she has that brace she will no longer use the walker. 

Even though Shelley is home she still has a lot of work ahead of her. She was able to go home early with the promise of keeping up a rigorous schedule. When Shelley went home one of her therapists, Rhonda, come with her. Rhonda is helping her set up regular therapy appointments, getting someone in the home to help her with day-to-day activities and helping the family adjust to a new life style that is suited much better to Shelley's physical and mental limitations as a result of her wreck. 

So far things are going well. While Shelley is struggling to connect with her new therapists and schedule she says all of the little inconveniences are made up for by being able to be with her family again.

Shelley and the Brace

If anyone watched Shelley walk after her car wreck, it honestly looked like she had a stroke. Dragging her right foot behind her, relying on a cane or walker for support when she wasn't tired and a wheelchair when she was.

When she got to her traumatic brain injury center the therapists immediately set about trying to help modify her walking. They said that her muscles and brain need to be retrained and with the correct brace she will most likely be able to walk like she did before her wreck. How amazing is that?

While she has been fitted for her new brace it hasn't been delivered yet, in the meantime we like to play "Learning to Walk Again" by the Foo Fighters for her.

One of my favorite lyrics from this song is "Learning to walk again, I believe I've waited long enough..."

I think Shelley has waited long enough for this and I am glad she has the opportunity to heal and move forward.

Shelley Goes to School

Shelley started out her associate nursing degree as a single mother of five kids. By the time she received her nursing degree and finished her internship she was a wife, mother to another child, and stepmother of two more girls. 

This past year Shelley decided that she wanted to go back to school and get her bachelors degree in Family Studies and Human Development in order to be able to work more with abused women and children in a medical and therapy setting.

While she started out really struggling in her classes it has been great to see her relearning how to learn and progressing at a faster rate. When Shelley first started her classes there was a lot of frustration about the amount of time it would take her to finish an assignment she knew would have been simple for her before her accident.

However, this past week she started taking two classes and I love to see how much she has improved. Because of her therapy schedule, we decided that I would help her out by typing up her assignments as she dictates them to me. We did this on Wednesday night, when some of her assignments were due and then planned on doing it again on Saturday before the rest of her assignments for the week needed to be turned in. 

Yesterday, when I text her asking if she wanted to start on her assignments she surprised me by saying that she had already finished them during class on Thursday (she attends via Skype). I honestly cannot believe how quickly Shelley is regaining her cognitive abilities. The fact that she was able to concentrate during her class enough to not only answer questions but also to multitask is amazing. I am so grateful she is in a place that is helping her heal on so many levels.

Shelley's Stupid Therapy

One of the aspects of Shelley's brain injury that was unexpected is how it has affected her thinking processes, especially when she is tired. I can usually tell how exhausted she is from the number of times she uses the word stupid.

The other day Shelley was telling me how humbling this experience has been, for therapy that day she had to label items in her room. "They made me write on these stupid cards and label everything in my room. I feel so stupid. But, I will admit it is nice to not have to think about what things are called."

This morning we were texting during her break between therapy sessions:

Heather: So what are you doing for therapy today?
Shelley: It already started. On leisure/ rest time for a minute. Then into memory games. They aren't even fun. Just stupid.... and frustrating.

Growing up the use of the word stupid was frowned upon, and my mom never really complained about hard work. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame her for being frustrated. I would be angry too if I had to concentrate so hard to relearn how to write and retrain my brain how to remember even the simplest of things. I just think it is funny to hear my educated mother use the word stupid so often to describe cognitive and physical therapy.

Shelley Knits

Before Shelley went to the rehab center she had started knitting as a way to help her regain dexterity and as presents for kids and grandchildren.

Now, she can count her knitting as part of her therapy and she has made several items as presents.

This is the infinity scarf she made for me. 

A lady offered to buy it from her, but I am really glad Shelley (my mom) didn't sell it.

Shelley and the Elliptical

As part of her therapy, Shelley works out on an elliptical, which she has not been able to do since before her accident.

Here is a recent picture she text me with the following caption "Except for my hand being strapped on and my legs being strapped together, I feel so normal on this wonderful machine!!!!!"

She is probably going to kill me when she finds out I posted this picture of her, but I think she looks great!