{Karlton Bontrager}

On Thursday, July 8th, mom and I attended a family meeting at The Sargent Center to receive a status report on my rehabilitation.

In attendance at the meeting were my speech and language therapist (SLT), occupational therapist (OT), the assistant director of the program, mom, and me. The meeting began with a report from the physical therapist (PT) who was not able to attend. That report commended my completion of each of the established therapeutic goals. It established the tone of the meeting, which laid responsibility on me for continued rehabilitation. After a year and a half of therapy, the PT urged me to be more responsible for my improvements. Instead of relying on the therapists to always guide me, she urged me to apply their lessons independently on a lifelong basis.

The SLT praised my performance in academics as well as my successes in consistently scheduling transportation to and from home, school, and rehab. That success has prompted her to shift the focus of her guidance more towards independence at home in tasks such as laundry, cooking, and general cleanup. Since she has long charged me with establishing my own therapeutic goals, the above plan towards independence places her in the role as coach.

The OT reiterated and emphasized the consensus that my progress now rests in my own investment in it. She also highlighted the progress she has witnessed in fine motor control. I can improve even more in that area if I choose to apply myself.

Finally, the assistant director made comment that my continuation in the day program at the rehabilitation center may be drawing to a close. In a month’s time I may start attending Sargent on an outpatient basis in lieu of the more lengthy day program. Indeed, I may merely meet with my SLT for one or two 45-minute sessions per week as opposed to the four-hour sessions I attend twice weekly at present.

All in all, I was very pleased with the reports. With much guidance and assistance I have come a long way in my therapies. More and more my therapists are turning over the controls to me. The challenge is for me to keep on making progress.

Read Full Post »

Since the time I regained consciousness in the Dunedin Hospital system, I have waged an uphill battle towards my recovery and rehabilitation. I have made remarkable strides, but I feel there are gains I can yet make.

Sunday, July 4th, 2004, marked the two-year anniversary of my traumatic snowboarding accident in New Zealand. Two years on, and I am still moving onward and upward! To provide a status report, here is my current situation:

The two biggest foci of my life now are rehab and school. In rehab, I decreased the frequency of my sessions to two days per week starting at the beginning of June. Now I am expected to create my own goals because I achieve many goals as my therapists can create them. In Physical Therapy, I have focused recently on jogging. Although my running may never appear the same way it did before my accident, I have worked to increase both my speed and fluidity of movement. This process began with hopping to strengthen my leg muscles in the movements used in jogging. As hopping improved, I started jogging short distances indoors and outside.
This outdoor exercise led to a goal of jogging continuously for three to five minutes. The first time I attempted to jog around the rehab center, I reached less than half-way before I fatigued. Since then, I have succeeded in jogging the perimeter of the building, only to learn that this consumes fewer than two minutes. To surpass this goal, I remained indoors with my therapist and jogged repeatedly in a big circle for a total of three minutes. Maybe by next year I can try to run the Boston Marathon!

As for school, I have been attending The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) since fall 2003. I hope to enter the Occupational Therapy (OT) program and eventually work as a therapist. I completed a General Psychology class earlier this summer with a grade of a B, and am currently taking a Developmental Psychology class. In another 3 weeks, I shall have completed 6 of the 9 prerequisites needed to enter the OT program.
Anatomy, Physiology, and an English class are the only courses that stand between me and application to the program.

I am pleased with the progress I have made in the last two years. I appreciate the support I have received from family and so many friends. You will never know how much your encouragement has meant to me.

Read Full Post »