Yes or No

Bob had a good day, my mom arrived earlier than usual to catch a glimpse of Bob's physical therapy session at nine in the morning. Starting yesterday, besides his usual three therapy sessions, Bob will also have group speech every weekday at one in the afternoon. This is a group for patients suffering from aphasia. The participants are afflicted at various levels and they differ in their abilities to communicate.

Today Bob used the lokomat again. My mom recorded a video of it and it was like watching a science fiction movie. Bob is held upright by a sort of suspenders and there are braces on his legs that move them for him. The machine does the work for his legs, moving them in a walking motion. The machine always does 100% of the work for the left leg, and it starts that way for the right leg but it decreases that amount incrementally as the therapy session progresses. I believe it went down to 70%. Bob needs to get used to trusting his right leg to support the left leg.

Bob will have a new speech therapist from now on. Her name is Kaitlin. Today she worked with a photo album I made for him. It has all the immediate family's faces and names. This album is meant to reintroduce him to what's familiar and should help him remember our faces as well as facts about us. My mom was present during the therapy session and helped clarify and answer some of the therapist's questions. She asked Bob things like "Where you a chemistry professor?" and "Is this your daughter?". Interestingly, Bob gestured "no" to the chemistry professor question and when my mom asked him about him being a Dean and he answered with a emphatic nod of "yes". Speaking of "yes" and "no", the therapist posted a card with "yes" and a card with "no" on Bob's table and she wants him to point to these cards to answer questions.

It was a busy day but there was some fun in between all the therapy sessions: Bob played cut the rope. My mom reminded him of the rules and he caught on. They played about five screens. There was a mixture of luck and thought process while Bob played. Bob enjoyed playing and they stopped when lunch arrived not because he tired of it. My mom tried to play solitaire with him but Bob had difficulties double tapping and got overwhelmed so they stuck with cut the rope.

That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the thoughts and prayers coming.