Monday, September 28, 2009

September 28


We had a busy week including a return to Vallejo for PT and OT which is great. This is where Joe spent 5 weeks and is one of the best rehab facilities in No Calif. We also started getting acupuncture again to treat his shoulder pain and spasms. The spasms and shoulder pain are the two things that will hold him back. They are talking about installing a Balofen pump to deliver the drug directly to his spinal cord. This will require a hospital stay to adjust the drug and install the pump. We will keep you posted but the spasms are really becoming a problem. He is still making small but sure progress and having our van is wonderful.
I will try and post every other Sunday evening so you will know when to check out our progress. I have also included a picture of his two buddies from the Univ of Arizona who came to visit on Sunday.

1 comment:

  1. Hiya, gang. It musta been lottsa fun having some guys from your Arizona past visit with you reccently. This is why you'll just have to come east 1 of these days to have dinner w we former jocks at a local Outback. I try to schedule dinners about 2 times a year.

    FYI, I've tried oral Baclofen several times over the past 25 yrs but found it did nothing for my spasticity. I now take Dantrium & found it made it easier for me to hold a pen to write w/out it cramping. I considered the Baclfn pump after seeing a short video of a patient receiving it via a spinal tap as a "before & after" trial test. The results were impressive so you may wanna get your hands on this video before going thru w it. I have my own reasons for NOT going thru w it & also suggest you may wanna Google for some feedback. YOU may be THE ideal candidate for it so all the best whatever you decide to do but please make sure you keep me informed of the results.

    I found that Botox shots to my quads & the adductors made walking much easier for me. I had this done in June about 3 yrs ago. Prblm was i was given too much Botox & was unable to get up from a chair or outta my car alone. The Doc apologized when I shared my dilemna w him & said, "I guess i gave you too much" & never called back to see how i was doing. It took me almost 4 - 5 months until i fully recovered. Have difficulty even today considering giving this another try w a different doc. My doc is head of the entire Ambulatory Unit at Moss Rehab & that makes my experience that much more problematic.

    Have you tried Relation Imagery or Bio-feedback to try controlling the pain, spasms &/or spasticity? Just a thot.

    Back to work for me but just know that I made sure your names were inscribed in the Book ystrdy at shul so nothing to worry about on that front.

    All the best from here. Love & xxxxxx,

    Gene "Rkt" Levin

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