What works

It seems I need to clarify the current status of what's working and not working with Robb's legs.

At this moment, Robb has no sensation on the bottom of his feet, or in the three smallest toes on either foot. He has spotty sensation in his legs, but has full mobility.

Or, I should say that he has as much mobility as any man who just broke his back and then went through major back surgery could have. He has to move very, very carefully to avoid causing terribly painful muscle spasms in his back.

Robb cannot sit up on his own right now, but when he works with his physical therapists, they get him into his brace, and gets him sitting up. For some reason, I have never been around to witness this.

After the fall, Robb was not able to move his toes at all, or do the "pressing down on the gas" gesture with his feet. Slowly -- very slowly -- Robb is getting regaining the ability to do both of these.

Since Robb cannot sense his feet on the floor, it is not safe for him to walk just yet. I have heard some discussion of fitting him with temporary ankle braces, so that he will not injure himself while he works on walking.

Since Robb lays so still in bed, he may need to be fitted for another corset-like brace that will maintain his blood pressure when he stands upright. On Monday, when the therapist was workig with him, his blood pressure dropped, he was instantly coverd in cold sweat, and he almost blacked out. We don't want to repeat this.

And while I'm on the subject of braces, there is some talk about giving him some kind of boots to wear while he sleeps to keep his feet from settlinng into a pigeon-toed stance. We can't let his mucles get into bad habits while he is healing.

Comments

Black Cavalier said…
It's wonderful to hear Robb is doing so well. His loss of feeling in his legs sounds similar to the affect of my wife's herniated disc, & she's fully recovered & doing fine now. One weird side-affect for her is that in low light, 1 pupil doesn't dialate as much as the other. It still freaks me out when I notice she has 2 different sized pupils. & hopefully, you'll be getting a special letterboxing package in the mail soon.

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