Sylvia's Journal

I never knew I had a Psoas muscle. It’s a big one that goes somewhere on the inside of my thighs. I also learned, from experience, that if you don’t ‘toe off’ well all sorts of muscles in your legs and hips get out of whack. In my evolution from walking with my big black moon boot to walking on regular shoes again, I managed, without the physical therapist noticing, to cheat on the toe off. Instead of flexing my foot (ankle) I did (do) something that looks like a swerve as I bring my foot forward. As a result my psoas muscle has gotten tight or short and leads to more limping, just when I thought I could walk normally again. The mechanics of my body never cease to amaze me. There is no cheating.

This new development thus calls for a new set of exercises. There is one that requires lying on a kitchen table and dropping one leg while holding the other knee; and there’s another exercise that is slightly indecent.It requires assistance from Axel. I won’t describe it here but he will like it.

Axel is making terrific progress with his left arm. He can raise it quite high now. He can’t move his fingers yet but he can raise his wrist so it is level. We have noticed quite a bit of progress just in one week. If he wanted to (and doesn’t wear his splint) he could fool anyone that his hand is completely normal. Now that he is driving, the improved movement of his arm and hand comes in handy. Our spirits are quite buoyed by this. The nerve is regenerating. It must be the no-alcohol diet; the nerves are not being distracted by these nasty neurotoxins!

Yesterday I went to Cambridge again for a three-quarter day. Sitting in front of a computer and two hours driving is wreaking havoc on my upper back, neck and shoulders. The muscles, tendons and ligaments remember the trauma and are clearly not done with it yet. My computer-centered lifestyle is not helpful and requires constant alertness. I have to watch my posture and pull my shoulder blades back; but even then it is hard to get comfortable. I look forward to the Tuesday and Thursday sessions of PT when that part of my body gets attention with a hot pack, ultrasound and massage.

I also need to be alert as I drive home. I nearly drove into the back of the car in front of me on my ride home yesterday afternoon. Its driver decided, quite abruptly, to let a gaggle of Canada geese cross Memorial Drive. For a split second my mind imagined another crash and its aftermath: car out of commission again, and me probably too, with muscles that would scream ‘enough!’ Both Axel and I have this fear of a car crash now. It’s funny that I feel quite safe when I am up in the air; but on the road I don’t. I think it has something to do with control, and the number of cars. There’s much less traffic in the air. On the road there are too many turkeys, in addition to those Canada geese.