Gf strong, the aquarium and church

James had a busy week at GF Strong.  Monday and Tuesday were full of physio,  speech and occupational therapies.  We dropped into the adapted music studio on Tuesday and James played around on the electric drum kit, and electric keyboard.  He also showed off his Irish drum.  He will be meeting with a volunteer later this week.  James had a couple of great physio sessions on the treadmill this week.  By the end of the week he had increased his average speed from 1.1 km/hr to 1.4 km/hr,  increased his time from 6-8 minutes and so also increased his distance travelled. Earlier In the week the physiotherapist had to help guide James left foot on the treadmill,  but by the end of the week James no longer needed that help.  His stride length has also increased. I got the okay from the physiotherapist to take James to the adapted gym on the floor this week.  On Friday though, the doctor said that she doesn't want him using the gym without a physio assistant.  So the physiotherapist has assigned him an assistant for a half hour each day and they just use the physio gym.  I am hoping that the doctor will reconsider this week.  I think that she probably just doesn't realize how much I do with James.  The physiotherapist was going to find out why she wasn't comfortable with it,  he told me to keep the paper that we were recording what equipment he was using, so I think he is fairly confident that she will change her mind.

James also started on a new medication this week that we hope will help increase his reaction speed and maybe reduce his tremor.  The doctor feels that his dopamine levels are low,  and this med should help boost them.  She figures that he only needs to be it for a few months.  He will also be getting some more Botox injections in his arm this coming week and a new splint for his arm.  

The wheelchair expert occupational therapist came to take a look at James' chair this week.  They are going to get the wheelchair company to come in and move the wheels on his chair forward.  This will make it much easier for him to foot propel since his weight will be over his wheels instead of his wheels being behind him.  

James had his appointment with the ear nose and throat specialist at the voice clinic this week.  They did a scope of his vocal chords.  His vocal chords are coming together, but his left side looks like it is having to go further than his right to make them meet.  They are meeting though,  which is good news.  The muscles are still a bit weak and a there is a bit of a tremor on the left side of his throat.  So far we have not seen any sign of the tremor affecting his voice,  but that is probably because he still isn't holding any sounds for any length.  We are still working on better breath support so that he can make longer sounds.  

James and I were both feeling kind of bummed out and home sick yesterday,  so we decided that we needed to get out!  We caught a cab to Stanley park and went to the aquarium!  We both enjoyed it a lot!  James favorites, were the dolphins,  the porpoises and the beluga whales.  We spent the whole afternoon there.  It was great!  One of the porpoises is a major ham,  and will pose at the glass for photos.  His name is Jack.  

Earlier in the week,  James and I decided to explore the neighborhood  a little and we found a Chinese restaurant up the street.  We went in and ordered and then waited to take it back to our room to eat.  As we were waiting for the light to change to cross the street,  I turned around and there were a pair of missionaries from our church.  I said to them,  ". Hey guys,  I need to talk to you!"  I might have made their day,  they don't often get greeted like that.  It was interesting because this isn't their area,  and they are Spanish speaking missionaries.  They actually missed their stop on the bus and were several blocks away from where they were supposed to get off.   They gave me a number for the missionaries for this area,  who gave me a number for the senior couple missionaries,  who talked to the relief society president,  who found someone to give us a ride to church.  Kind of a round about but we got a ride to church!  It was a very nice Sunday,  and we saw a family who moved away from Courtenay last year!  It was great to see some familiar faces!  

Next week James has an appointment for a proper hearing assessment.  He has been complaining that he doesn't hear very well with his right ear.  I will update on the next entry about how that went.  We are hoping to go home for the weekend next weekend if we can find a ride to the ferry.  Then hopefully the family will come visit on the long weekend!  Another busy week ahead!