A small step

Months ago I wrote a post about the Broda chairs.  In that posting I made a creative analogy in which I likened them to a Hertz only that the bodies in them were still alive.  I got a comment about that post where a reader had told me that I was being over dramatic.  I wasn't, I was being honest.  When a person is at the point of needing a Broda chair it is because they have no control over their body and are unable to control even their upper body.  The Broda chair is padded and it reclines to many positions to accommodate the fact that those using them will lean to one side or the other because they cannot maintain control of their backs, posture, neck, etc, etc.  The reality is that when a person is moved from a regular wheelchair to a Broda chair it is because they have physically deteriorated to a point of severity.  Most dementia patients that are in a Broda chair are really just a shell of who they once were.  So, to me they represented a Hertz because the person in them is essentially already gone.  I also said in my response that people who go into a Broda chair, don't come out of the Broda chair and unfortunately, usually the next step is an actual Hertz.  Well, leave it to my mother to prove me wrong.

Everyone who follows this post is well aware that my mom has made some cognitive leaps in the past 6 weeks.  I am pleased to say that now she is also making physical leaps and she is physically getting better too.  A few months ago she was so edemic with fluid that I had to remove her wedding ring and eventually we couldn't even put regular socks on her feet as the edema was so severe, it would cut off her circulation.  When I arrived in the fall, my mother couldn't support her upper body, she needed an orthopedic neck support and she was always slouched over.  For months she had no control or use of her hands and the muscles were getting so rigid that she was loosing the ability to swallow properly.  All of these physical symptoms have disappeared and it's almost like they never existed.  The edema is gone, she can use her hands again, she sits up and supports her head and hasn't used the neck support for a month.   Then, three weeks ago my mom said that she wanted to walk again and I told her that I would help.  Her team,  the care givers, her nurses, her nurse practitioner, her doctor, my dad and me, decided she should start using a regular wheelchair.  Yesterday that's what we did, we gave mom a new wheelchair and said goodbye to the Broda.  It was almost as exciting as watching my children walk for the first time and I was so happy that I could have shit a rainbow, literally.

Mom took to her new wheels quickly and immediately started to paddle her way around with the feet, like many residents who are in a wheelchair do.  Dad and I realized that she needs new walking shoes then and off we went.  Because she will use the heel of the shoe a lot, we needed to find a shoe with a strong, thick tread that continued up the back into the heel of the shoe.  Thank you Merril shoes for making such a shoe and thank you Trailblazers for carrying the Merril line.  My dad was hesitant because he wanted to find something more feminine and I laughed "Really dad,  a pair of high heels will not work in this situation".  He agreed and we purchased a pair of slip on Merril shoes in versatile and stylish black.  Mom loved them and the nurses agreed they are stylish and functional.

I realize this is a small step but to me, considering that I came here 5 months ago intending to hold my mother's hand on her final journey, it was like she was running a marathon.  I am so happy for her as this gives her some more dignity and freedom back and more importantly, a bit of independence.  She is happy too.  I am hoping that using the wheelchair to paddle around the facility will strengthen her legs even more and that perhaps in a month or more I can hold her hand while I walk beside her.