She Walks!

I was exhausted last night, so I didn't get around to updating again. By the end of the day yesterday, Claudia was doing better than anyone expected. She was lifting her legs up and twirling her toes around. The nurses were amazed. The physical therapist came in and put her on the continuous passive motion machine, one leg at a time. She tried to convince them to do both at the same time and to up her degree of bending beyond what her doctor recommended. They said no way! Not being able to feel your legs, tends to make you think you can do more than you really can. She was eating mushy foods and keeping everything down. In fact, she didn't throw up once- HURRAY!!! When I left her last night, she said she was going to crash and try to sleep off the anesthesia. I spoke with her this morning around 8:30. She was a million times more coherent than yesterday and doing great still. She was bursting with pride that she had just gotten up and been able to walk to the hallway (with only two people assisting her). She said that trying to stand created the weirdest sensation in her toes. It felt like the she was pushing the floor out from under her. She tried over and over to put her heels on the ground, but couldn't quite manage it. It seems to be a common problem, because the PT got her some braces designed to help with that and they were off. She told me it was a little frustrating to have your feet not keep up with the rest of you, but she was so happy to be able to start healing and improving. Her attitude is unbelievable! I wonder if it will still be that good when she can actually feel her legs... (all of the nerve blocks are still in place and working beautifully) She is hoping to be able to skip the morphine pump and go straight to pain meds for the pain she will soon be feeling. Her blood is done recycling, so they have disconnected her from the machine. That's awesome since it eliminates 3 of her tubes that keep tangling up. Also, they were able to quit monitoring her pulse ox levels, so she's actually down 4 tubes. That's making her life a little easier for now. The physical therapist is coming back between 12-3 for a second walk, and I intend to be there for the show. I'm off for now, so I don't miss it.