I managed to capture a couple of milestones on video this week. More later!

First, another example of the ’emotional blunting’ I mentioned in my last post.

Amanda was watching an episode of ‘Offspring’ –  familiar to Kiwi and Australian viewers. A mother was giving birth to a stillborn baby. All the actors were in tears as the emotional scene dragged on. Amanda was watching intently as always. At the end I asked her if she had found the episode upsetting; such things would normally elicit a sniff if not a tear on the cheek. But this time…nothing. She just turned to me and smiled. ” It’s not real.” she said and carried on watching.

 

Each morning I still stand in the bathroom as Amanda takes her shower. In 4 months she has felt mildy dizzy while in there just twice and never slipped or fallen. I’m probably there for my peace of mind more than anything else and she still occasionally forgets her step by step procedure.

Once she is out it’s dressing gown on and off to get dressed. But on Wednesday something changed. She tied the bow on her dressing gown cord on her own; another positive sign she is getting more control of her right hand and arm. I filmed her this afternoon, just to show she can do it ‘on command’.

 

Saturday was Election Day in New Zealand. Our Polling Station is the local school. As the weather was fine we decided to walk. Amanda chose not to use her stick and instead held my hand for the walk there and back. This method speeds her up and improves her gait. The round trip was 3.5km which she managed easily… then slept for 2 hours!

On Sunday afternoon we went for another extended and stick – free walk. This time I filmed her so she could see for herself how much she has improved. We cannot work out if it’s the time or the distance, but these longer walks are giving her some feeling in her right leg. She can only describe it as ‘weird’ but i think it’s another example of, if you repeat somthing for long enough, whether it’s mental or physical, it seems to help the brain to reconnect with the disconnected body part.