Friday, April 6, 2007

Patton's Graduation


Pattonsideview
Originally uploaded by sufras.
A week ago, Patton had his final physical therapy session. Yes, I said FINAL. Courtney was quite impressed with the progress he has made and with the results of his X-rays the week before, she felt that his was well on his way.

His final session saw Patton on the treadmill by himself. He couldn't wait to go in and then he wouldn't come out! He kept trying to go back in after we dried him off. His stride has definitely improved as has his gate. Just for a comparison, when he started he was walking at a pace of .5 mph for a mere 4 minutes. Last Thursday, 1.5 mph for almost 12 minutes. His muscle mass has continued to improve so it was time for his graduation. Once he was out of the tank and relatively dry, Dr. Manley (the surgeon that did his left hip) stopped by for a visit and also seemed pleased with his recovery.

It is hard to imagine that this Odyssey started 5 months ago. It is far from finished. We are still working on building muscle mass and increasing his stamina. The hills at Lapham Peak are in the near future. So I will continue with this blog for as long as possible. Keep all of you up to date on his progress, adventures and any problems that should arrive due to the procedures. Fingers crossed there won't be any setbacks.

The picture to the left is one of his final X-rays, a side view. The bone is healing nicely around the screws and the hips are sitting well. And the best news is, if you watch him play....you would never know any of this was done.

Now if there was just a surgery to get him to stop stealing things......

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