Details, details

I'm just posting more nitty-gritty details about life as we move on into the new semester. So, as the title says: details, details . . .

Let me say right up front that I'm already doing better than I was yesterday in terms of this adjustment period. From my perspective things remain pretty overwhelming but are no longer giving me knots in my stomach. I'd say from yesterday to today was a giant step forward, and we just have to keep taking the steps forward - large or small as they may be. I appreciate any prayers that were offered on our behalf, because I'm sure that's what sustained me through the day.

Part of our adjustment is David's new therapy situation as well as entering the new semester. His first session had been so very positive, but they have progressively become more disappointing. We're learning how it works, and the position he's in now is that his first visit there was conducted by a physical therapist who evaluated him thoroughly, worked with him closely and wrote up a plan. What is happening in his sessions since then is that he has an assistant who tells him what exercises to do based on the original plan and then pretty much leaves him on his own - glancing over from time to time as she works with 3 or 4 other people and telling him what exercise to do next once he finishes with one of them.

He was used to working 3 hours at a time at English Oaks with one-on-one guidance and new challenges given to him throughout every session - as they saw him make even a small advance they adjusted and pushed him further immediately, sometimes making things up on the spot specifically tailored to his needs. Today at about the half hour point the assistant told him he was done. He was shocked. He hadn't been given anything new and had not done anything there that he could not have done on his own at home.

David, being who he is, I'm sure he did the following very graciously. He basically told the assistant that he was shocked to be done in half an hour, that he needed to be pushed, that he could have done at home what he had done there, and that the copay is really quite steep and that if he wasn't going to learn and make gains he'd rather use the money to take his wife out to a nice, fancy dinner instead (hmm . . . sounds good to me!). Given his gentle and compliant nature, I was a bit surprised he had said all that! It needed to be said, though, and I'm glad he was so forthright.

He knows she's just following orders, and she let him know that she'd make a note of it and have the physical therapist call him back and discuss his situation, so we'll see what comes of that contact.

The money really isn't the issue. The issue is whether or not he's getting what he needs, but to put it in perspective, his copay for his half hour session today that I've described above was more than what I pay to belong to a gym for an entire month. If he's getting good guidance and supervision that is going to move him forward, fine, but if all he's doing is half an hour of exercise . . . not so good.