Learning to fly
June 8, 2006 Now that Ben is getting so much better, this morning he didn’t think he needed any more therapy. We had quite a lengthy discussion about it and for sure, Ben is still just as stubborn as he was before his heart attack. Finally I had to remind him I had to show him where the bathroom was, so maybe he wasn’t quite finished with his therapy yet. When we got out to the car, he insisted on driving- another test of the wills, but I won and I got him to therapy on time.
Today was his second outpatient therapy session of all three in a row. He started with Physical therapy but his PT didn’t know how hard she could push him- he goes in for his heart stress test next Monday and Friday so we’ll have a better idea of how far he can go, The Occupational and speech therapists want Ben to use his new day-timer as his memory organizer. Right now I am his memory organizer. The OT had him make a ‘What’s Next List.’ That’s the question Ben asks me over and over every day- he has so much energy, as soon as we finish one activity he asks, ‘What’s next?’ And he expects me to figure out what we should do next. Now, theoretically, he’ll be able to look at his list in his day-timer and be able to choose which thing he wants to do next.
When the OT asked him for some ideas of what he could put on his ‘What’s Next List’, Ben answered that he wanted to learn how to fly an airplane. The OT had to explain to him that that might be a bit daunting right now. Ben argued with her. Finally she had to explain that he was still remembering how to do tasks like make the coffee and brush his teeth, so he acquiesced. The other things he wanted to do was play golf- she said he could try going to the driving range. And he wanted to go fishing. Oh, and of course go play pool. (Anyone wanna take him for an outing?) Reluctantly he added things like taking a walk, playing games, cleaning out the car, helping with dinner etc. Later our COPES worker and I helped Ben get his appointments for June all mapped out and so far he seems interested in his schedule. I’m excited to see how this works- he just wants to go,go,go. But he does get tired and need to rest and so do I!
Today was his second outpatient therapy session of all three in a row. He started with Physical therapy but his PT didn’t know how hard she could push him- he goes in for his heart stress test next Monday and Friday so we’ll have a better idea of how far he can go, The Occupational and speech therapists want Ben to use his new day-timer as his memory organizer. Right now I am his memory organizer. The OT had him make a ‘What’s Next List.’ That’s the question Ben asks me over and over every day- he has so much energy, as soon as we finish one activity he asks, ‘What’s next?’ And he expects me to figure out what we should do next. Now, theoretically, he’ll be able to look at his list in his day-timer and be able to choose which thing he wants to do next.
When the OT asked him for some ideas of what he could put on his ‘What’s Next List’, Ben answered that he wanted to learn how to fly an airplane. The OT had to explain to him that that might be a bit daunting right now. Ben argued with her. Finally she had to explain that he was still remembering how to do tasks like make the coffee and brush his teeth, so he acquiesced. The other things he wanted to do was play golf- she said he could try going to the driving range. And he wanted to go fishing. Oh, and of course go play pool. (Anyone wanna take him for an outing?) Reluctantly he added things like taking a walk, playing games, cleaning out the car, helping with dinner etc. Later our COPES worker and I helped Ben get his appointments for June all mapped out and so far he seems interested in his schedule. I’m excited to see how this works- he just wants to go,go,go. But he does get tired and need to rest and so do I!
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