Wills77
12-01-2011, 05:35 PM
I havent updated you guys lately. Ive been staying really busy and making a lot of progress. I would type up something but instead ill copy and paste this haha. On November 1st my amazing fiance Kayla typed up a awesome report on my past 9 months so here it is.
November 19th will be 9 months since Cody's accident and the progress he's made this far is outstanding! Since his injury is an "incomplete" injury there is no knowing what could possibly happen with his recovery. When he left the hospital in March his feeling ended right about at his armpits, he had no movement, and his hands were very weak ( that he couldn't even straighten out his fingers or grip certain items ). Through his time in rehab, back in March and April, he started to notice dull sensations coming back, when I would touch certain toes or rub parts of his legs and feet he could tell me where I was touching him at, it was just a dull sensation he still couldn't sense pain or temperature. His hands started to get a little bit stronger over time but still not much, and his balance and strength was slowly getting better also. His strength test for his hands was only 5 pounds of grip pressure in his left hand and just about 1 pound of grip pressure in his right hand. On April 15th he came home from rehab and we worked on getting used to adjusting to everything at home. Not long after that he started out-patient rehab at Therapy Services in Hershey with Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy 3 times a week each only 45 minutes long. During his first session they did an evaluation and were already impressed at his mobility and strength for his level of injury, a C-6 Quadriplegic. Physical Therapy they started doing Electrical Stimulation to Cody's legs, stimulating the muscles to do the motions they all are supposed to do. Occupational Therapy focuses more on strengthening his hands. After about a month of outpatient therapy they were starting to see improvements. His left hand grip pressure was now up to about 7 pounds and the right hand at 2 pounds. In June one morning we noticed Cody could move his toes on his right foot, each time he tried he could wiggle them, but they easily fatigued. A few days later he could move the toes on his left foot. At therapy Cody would always try to move the muscles in his legs and noticed his right hamstring was working ( to bend his knee ). In July he noticed a greater sensation on the left side of his abs when Crash, our dog was sitting against him and Cody felt his hair touching his stomach, when he usually couldn't. About a week later he noticed the hamstring on his left leg was now working some and a few days after that he was pushing himself on the driveway and suddenly felt his shirt rubbing on the bottom part of his stomach, a new greater sensation to his lower abs. Beginning of August he was showing off his new hamstring movement to his therapist and tried to kick out his right leg, using his quad muscle, and was able to! Then a few days later while laying down he tried twisting his leg and foot outward and could repeatedly! He noticed he started to feel more in control with his balance and tried to flex different parts of his abs and could. His therapists are very encouraged with all of this. During PT she did a muscle test, on a scale of 0-5, 0 being no movement and 5 being full function, to see what all muscles where working at all in his legs. On August 12th she did the first. His right leg 4 muscles with a score of 1, and 5 muscles with trace ( less than 1) out of the 12 muscles she tested. His left leg had 2 muscles with a score of 1 and 3 with trace, out of the 12. He noticed with all of his return he would get them to his right side first, then left. On September 22nd she did another muscle test and saw some good improvements! His right leg now had 3 muscles with a score of 2, 4 muscles with a score of 1, and 1 with trace ( 8 of the 9 tested that day, due to time, with a score greater than 0! ). His left leg 2 muscles with a score of 2, 1 with a score of 1, and 3 with a trace. He works theses muscles everyday to try to make them stronger and maybe one day strong enough to walk with! At home, he slides forward in his wheelchair so that both feet are flat on the ground and uses his hamstring to pull his chair forward on the vinyl floor, he can pull it about 6 inches at a time! They still do the electrical stimulation to his legs in therapy and were also working with a standing frame, a machine that straps his feet and legs in and you crank it up to let him stand. This is very good for bone density and to keep weight bearing through his legs. Because he has been sitting so long, it took his body awhile to get adjusted to standing up, his blood pressure would drop, and if he didn't sit down, he'd get too dizzy and could pass out. With everyone's donations we were able to get one for home, since insurance didn't cover one for him. He stands in the standing frame for about an hour everyday or so. The best piece of equipment to have is an FES bike, it uses electrical stimulation to make Cody's muscles pedal a bike, and keeps very good range of motion for his legs. Although, this piece of equipment is around $16,000, and insurance denied that also. He is working on getting one through some very amazing people offering to pay for parts of it. Again, because of donations he was able to purchase an electrical Stimulation unit to use at home. At therapy he got the electrical stim only about 2 days a week when its good to get it everyday if you can, but not too long or the muscles will fatigue. He still goes to physical therapy 3 days a week, still 45 minutes each time, and the therapists are so impressed with his recovery, his mobility, and his positive attitude throughout it all. He now goes to occupational therapy 2 days a week, 45 minutes, and his hands are getting much stronger. About a week ago they tested his grip strength and his left hand now has 44 pounds, his right hand 9 pounds. Such an improvement! He now has a greater sensation of feeling halfway down his abs, dull feeling from there down and at certain spots can feel when water is touching him and temperature! The DR.s say the first 2 years are the most important for your recovery, and Cody is determined to use that time wisely. When he's not at therapy he's always working out at home with free weights, a resistance band door set-up, and his home equipment he has so far. I stretch his legs twice each day to help with his tone, and also to keep the range of motion. His positive attitude has never left his side, and his determination will forever be the biggest factor going for him! He is one amazing person, and I am so impressed and proud of how far he has come this far. I can't wait to see what the future has in store! And thank you, to everyone who has been there for him, all of the donations, and thoughts and prayers have been greatly appreciated!
-Kayla
Theres no way I could have ever typed an update that good. Also the $16,000 FES bike that she said about is sitting in a huge box in our living room right now and tomorrow the installer is coming to set it up. I cant wait!
A huge thanks to everybody for all of their support, thoughts and prayers. All of it means so much to me.
Cody Wills 77
November 19th will be 9 months since Cody's accident and the progress he's made this far is outstanding! Since his injury is an "incomplete" injury there is no knowing what could possibly happen with his recovery. When he left the hospital in March his feeling ended right about at his armpits, he had no movement, and his hands were very weak ( that he couldn't even straighten out his fingers or grip certain items ). Through his time in rehab, back in March and April, he started to notice dull sensations coming back, when I would touch certain toes or rub parts of his legs and feet he could tell me where I was touching him at, it was just a dull sensation he still couldn't sense pain or temperature. His hands started to get a little bit stronger over time but still not much, and his balance and strength was slowly getting better also. His strength test for his hands was only 5 pounds of grip pressure in his left hand and just about 1 pound of grip pressure in his right hand. On April 15th he came home from rehab and we worked on getting used to adjusting to everything at home. Not long after that he started out-patient rehab at Therapy Services in Hershey with Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy 3 times a week each only 45 minutes long. During his first session they did an evaluation and were already impressed at his mobility and strength for his level of injury, a C-6 Quadriplegic. Physical Therapy they started doing Electrical Stimulation to Cody's legs, stimulating the muscles to do the motions they all are supposed to do. Occupational Therapy focuses more on strengthening his hands. After about a month of outpatient therapy they were starting to see improvements. His left hand grip pressure was now up to about 7 pounds and the right hand at 2 pounds. In June one morning we noticed Cody could move his toes on his right foot, each time he tried he could wiggle them, but they easily fatigued. A few days later he could move the toes on his left foot. At therapy Cody would always try to move the muscles in his legs and noticed his right hamstring was working ( to bend his knee ). In July he noticed a greater sensation on the left side of his abs when Crash, our dog was sitting against him and Cody felt his hair touching his stomach, when he usually couldn't. About a week later he noticed the hamstring on his left leg was now working some and a few days after that he was pushing himself on the driveway and suddenly felt his shirt rubbing on the bottom part of his stomach, a new greater sensation to his lower abs. Beginning of August he was showing off his new hamstring movement to his therapist and tried to kick out his right leg, using his quad muscle, and was able to! Then a few days later while laying down he tried twisting his leg and foot outward and could repeatedly! He noticed he started to feel more in control with his balance and tried to flex different parts of his abs and could. His therapists are very encouraged with all of this. During PT she did a muscle test, on a scale of 0-5, 0 being no movement and 5 being full function, to see what all muscles where working at all in his legs. On August 12th she did the first. His right leg 4 muscles with a score of 1, and 5 muscles with trace ( less than 1) out of the 12 muscles she tested. His left leg had 2 muscles with a score of 1 and 3 with trace, out of the 12. He noticed with all of his return he would get them to his right side first, then left. On September 22nd she did another muscle test and saw some good improvements! His right leg now had 3 muscles with a score of 2, 4 muscles with a score of 1, and 1 with trace ( 8 of the 9 tested that day, due to time, with a score greater than 0! ). His left leg 2 muscles with a score of 2, 1 with a score of 1, and 3 with a trace. He works theses muscles everyday to try to make them stronger and maybe one day strong enough to walk with! At home, he slides forward in his wheelchair so that both feet are flat on the ground and uses his hamstring to pull his chair forward on the vinyl floor, he can pull it about 6 inches at a time! They still do the electrical stimulation to his legs in therapy and were also working with a standing frame, a machine that straps his feet and legs in and you crank it up to let him stand. This is very good for bone density and to keep weight bearing through his legs. Because he has been sitting so long, it took his body awhile to get adjusted to standing up, his blood pressure would drop, and if he didn't sit down, he'd get too dizzy and could pass out. With everyone's donations we were able to get one for home, since insurance didn't cover one for him. He stands in the standing frame for about an hour everyday or so. The best piece of equipment to have is an FES bike, it uses electrical stimulation to make Cody's muscles pedal a bike, and keeps very good range of motion for his legs. Although, this piece of equipment is around $16,000, and insurance denied that also. He is working on getting one through some very amazing people offering to pay for parts of it. Again, because of donations he was able to purchase an electrical Stimulation unit to use at home. At therapy he got the electrical stim only about 2 days a week when its good to get it everyday if you can, but not too long or the muscles will fatigue. He still goes to physical therapy 3 days a week, still 45 minutes each time, and the therapists are so impressed with his recovery, his mobility, and his positive attitude throughout it all. He now goes to occupational therapy 2 days a week, 45 minutes, and his hands are getting much stronger. About a week ago they tested his grip strength and his left hand now has 44 pounds, his right hand 9 pounds. Such an improvement! He now has a greater sensation of feeling halfway down his abs, dull feeling from there down and at certain spots can feel when water is touching him and temperature! The DR.s say the first 2 years are the most important for your recovery, and Cody is determined to use that time wisely. When he's not at therapy he's always working out at home with free weights, a resistance band door set-up, and his home equipment he has so far. I stretch his legs twice each day to help with his tone, and also to keep the range of motion. His positive attitude has never left his side, and his determination will forever be the biggest factor going for him! He is one amazing person, and I am so impressed and proud of how far he has come this far. I can't wait to see what the future has in store! And thank you, to everyone who has been there for him, all of the donations, and thoughts and prayers have been greatly appreciated!
-Kayla
Theres no way I could have ever typed an update that good. Also the $16,000 FES bike that she said about is sitting in a huge box in our living room right now and tomorrow the installer is coming to set it up. I cant wait!
A huge thanks to everybody for all of their support, thoughts and prayers. All of it means so much to me.
Cody Wills 77