Chuck Norris Approved

Tate’s physical and occupational therapy appointments are going really well. It’s clear he’s working very hard during his sessions; he’s exhausted when he leaves and sleeps in an extra hour or two the following morning. He has 1-2 appointments per week with each therapist scheduled through the end of the year. The company has it set up so that the occupational therapist John works on the top of his body, and the physical therapist Duane focuses the bottom half.

Tate’s forearms get massaged at every appointment. It hurts him enough that he is fighting back tears after a few minutes. I know the massage isn’t excessively forceful; Tate’s muscles and nerves are just so damaged after chemotherapy that it is painful for him. After recovering for a few minutes, the therapist has him do some stretching and balance work. On Monday he used the hand bike for 8 minutes. He’s supposed to do the stretching exercises at home, too.

This treadmill is really cool. It can reduce the pull of gravity significantly, giving weaker patients the opportunity to walk without risk of falling. They have cameras on the side and the front that show gait, stride, etc. Duane let both Greg and me try it, too. I’m so glad he did – I was so curious! But then he told me my walk is “a little more Charlie Chapman than most people’s.” Ha! I’m going to have to work on my strut.

So far Greg and I are very happy with the new place and his therapists. Tate is challenged and doing everything they ask without complaint. The therapists seem conscientious about pushing him a little bit but not so much that he suffers an injury.

We noticed how hands-on all the therapists are with their patients. They’re constantly moving their patients’ arms and legs, and it seems so natural. It’s very different than being at the clinic where the nurses are always wearing gloves (and sometimes aprons and masks) when they touch him.

One of Duane’s former patients is Chuck Norris’s aunt, and she brought this back for him from a family picnic or something. Our family is big into Chuck Norris jokes, so this was a good omen for all of us.

Tate has two more appointments this week. He has physical therapy tomorrow, and Friday we head back to Hanger to have his foot braces checked. More information on the braces to come in a later post.