Oh, Kelly, you poor thing!  I hope you take it easy and feel better
tomorrow. I hate falling especially on gravel! Take care of yourself.

BTW, we have to do that test where we have to balance with our eyes
closed at my diabetes study. It's harder than it looks!

Carole

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{kelly}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Grace comes in so many forms and you will always have an abundant
amount

m

{{{{{{{Kelly}}}}}}}

DeeTee

(((((((((((Kelly))))))))))  Ouch!  and Congratulations!  Seems strange to be
pairing those words!  LOL  It sounds like that fall could have been so much
worse without the work you've been doing.  And you and your therapist have
much reason to be proud of your progress.  Now, please, let all those
scrapes, scratches and bruises heal up before you try anymore gymnastics, OK?

Kelly, I empathize.  I had to stop PT for my knee because of other health
problems.  Good luck to you in getting everything corrected, and do slow
down on the pred withdrawal!
Gwen

Apparently they did not include "getting dog out of car" as one of the
graduation requirements.  LOL

(((((((((((((((((Kelly)))))))))))))))))))))

I will pass it to you. I had it in March. Some awards, its ok to
bypass, though, Kelly. LOL

I am soooo sorry. Falling is awful, and these joints of ours don't
need the added strain. Gentle hugs to you!!
    Rose   @}>->--
    Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to understand it. RB

    Please remove "Ima" to reply.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((kelly)))))))))))))))))))))  there is so much in
your experiences that i can relate to and empathize with.  (but this is
about you and not me.)  no doubt this has all been challenging enough for
you, without the fall.  you can always do what i generally do about
falling--breathe-in deeply and slowly; let the breath out slowly; and reach
for the chocolate.<smile>

but what a remarkable improvement you've made!  way to go, girl!  i'm proud
of the enormous effort you've made and the well-deserved pay-off!  and i,
for one, know it takes a lot, a lot, a lot of hard work to gain that much
ground.

treat yourself to something special, sweetie.  you deserve it and have
earned it!

kate

Okay - I get the klutz of the month award.  I started neuro physio rehab 8
weeks ago working on balance lost during the reaction from enbrel and the
neurological after effects and on my gait which has been affecting my hips
and knees.  I don't mind telling you it has been hell!  The sessions are one
on one with a physio doing balance exercises mainly with my eyes closed.
Combined with slowly reducing my prednisone (although not as slow as I
probably should have been!)  the last 8 weeks have been like boot camp.  I
have been doing the exercises religiously each week though and it has paid
off.  It was suppose to be twice a week for 12 weeeks but my RA just would
not allow that and she decided that I was so far ahead (because of my RA
exercise routine and the fact I was faithfully adding these balance
exercises to my 3 times a day routine) that I only needed 8 weeks.

So today was graduation.  Unfortunately on Tuesday I lost my balance getting
the dog out of the car to go for a very quick pee at the park and took a
flying dive into the gravel.  My glasses are totalled, my nose is prettty
bad but i now have the gravel that was embedded out (although now it and my
lips look like raw meat), my eye area is turning the nicest colour and are
all puffy, my teeth are starting to tighten up but still hurt (after I
flossed the gravel out of them.  My knees took the brundt of it and they are
a lovely green, black purple.  I can weight bare though so that is good.
One ankle hurts if I pull it one direction so I have pulled a bit there.
Both palms of my hand had gravel embedded but no bones broken that I can
tell.  I was just lucky - that is all.  Don't remember how I got up and
don't know if I could have done it if not for adrenelin.

Anyhow graduation and final testing on the balance exercises that I was
tested on 8 weeks ago.  My tests were anywhere from 40% improvement to 400%
improvement with confidence, self correction on position without any
assistance while balancing, improved gait, less soreness and stiffness. She
was ecstatic over the improvement.  So was I.  I still have to watch as
since the neuro exposode I lean my head slightly to the left to compensate
and have a tendency to tip my hip slightly to the left as well since I have
no sensation to tell me it isn't exactly symetrical.  Something to continue
to work on in front of a mirror while continuing to work on the balance.  I
also tend to bend my cane slightly towards my body and she doesn't like
that - it needs to be exactly in line with the body in an exact up and down
position so I don't cause soft tissue damage in my shoulders down the line.

All this was done at the same time as I dropped my prednisone in two stages
by 2 mgs.  I am now at 6 mg and was at 10 mg in November and 8 mg 8 weeks
ago.  I managed at 5 mg yesterday but am back at 6 today.  Will go down by
1/2 mg every 3rd day from now on as too fast is causing slight nausea and
headaches now.

So had to share my successes and my klutziness.  Of course am wearing an old
pair of glasses so am typing rather blind right now so excuse any typos and
spelling errors.  My first bad fall so that is actually pretty good.  She
said the original good posture and balance I had from exercises along the
way have helped but probably the reason I couldn't get it back was that no
one could see the subtle changes the body had developed - ie the slight head
tilt and the slight hip change.  I just have to continue to improve it even
more - it might never be completely back to normal but this is starting to
retrain the brain so....

Anyhow despite the pain and black and blue a good day - and believe me I
will take any good days I can.

Kelly

Thanks everyone for the congratulations and the cheese to go with my whine.
I am really proud of my progress - just progress as I know I have to get
this stuff firmly into my exercise routine - but progress nonetheless.  This
neuro stuff is hard to beat and maybe never totally will be better but it is
nice to see some progress.  I am pleased with the prednisone drop but know I
have to slow it down to my 7 week 1/2 mg drop now.  The initial was because
the rituxan has worked so well.

My bruise on my kneee is now about a foot in length and all the way around
the circumference but I have full range with minimal pain.  Of course now
every muscle aches and the headaches are still there - which tells me I
probably had a mild concussion.  Guess a doctor might have been a good idea
but what the heck - I did know what to look for and what to do for most of
it.  I ordered new glasses today and they will be here in a week.  I was
very unhappy with the opticians that I went to last time (took 3 weeks each
time and 4 pairs of glasses to get it sort or right and they never were
adjusted right) so went back to Sidney - my old place of residence and back
to my regular optician.  He gave me a great deal, exactly the lenses and
glasses I wanted and much better quality at the same price within a week.  I
have been going to him for 10 years so know I have made the right decision.
Some good comes of everything.

Anyhow off to make dinner.  Pat is going to cook steaks and I am making a
salad (big deal - predone packaging with some extra cheese on top) and a
dessert (healthy fruit crisp).

thanks again everyone.

Kelly

oh man, I hope you are almost if not totally healed up by now. You poor
thing. I feel for you and hurt for you just reading this.

Congrats on graduation from PT.