|
 February
19, 2005
Polar went for his first AquaTherapy visit since his
amputation! He knew exactly where he was when we pulled into the driveway, and he jumped
out of the truck and ran to the door, pressing his snout against the window as if to say
let me in, I'm here!! We waited in the waiting room for a few minutes, then Dr. Burke came
over and asked me allot of questions about his amputation.
She felt the stump and the remaining
leg, and did some flexing of the left leg. She then watched Polar run around in the
waiting room, and then came up with a plan for us. Polar then was taken back to the
swimming room, and his life jacket was put on, and he was lowered into the pool. We all
thought it was best if he did the treadmill stuff with his prosthetic leg on. He has to
learn how to use it, and it only made sense that he keep it on. I was assured from Marty
that water was fine, and there would be no problems. And, of course, Marty was right.
Everything went fine. Polar had approximately 10 minutes
of treadmill walking with breaks in-between. Once Polar relaxed, by the second session, he
was doing really well. The key to this entire thing is to get him to relax, and then
concentrate on his leg movements. We have found with Polar that if he gets scared or
doesn't want to do something, he just tightens up his leg muscles like a vice grip. And,
then that makes it very hard to do anything.
With his newly reshaped prosthetic,
I was very surprised to see how much weight he was putting on it after the session. So, I
truly believe that these AquaTherapy sessions are good for him. I have a homework sheet of
things that should be done at home to continue to help him adjust to his plastic leg, but
all in all I was very happy with how everything went. And, I think Polar enjoyed it too!
We will, for now, try going once a week, and see how that helps. Of course, we will be
working on our homework daily and I will continue to do the massaging of his muscles 3 to
4 times a day. I also work on his back as well. Polar just lays there with a huge smile on
his face and says "Oh please don't stop!!" ;-)
Take Me Back for More
February
17, 2005
Polar recently had to return to Aunt Mary Jane's
house in Long Island, New York to have a new fitting. His chiropractor didn't like how he
was moving his body and arching his back with the current positioning of the prosthetic.
So, off we went to figure out a new way to fit Polar's leg. Marty wound up cutting it in
half and reversing it. And, magically, it seems to be working, even though Polar needs to
get used to it all over again.
Marty has cut through Polar's plastic leg, oh
my!
Hey, Polar still thinks Marty is his buddy
(thank goodness!).
Here is Mary Jane's own diary of Polar's stay from February 15th to the 17th:
Tuesday
afternoon, February 15, 2005
Pam and Polar arrived at our house after an uneventful trip from PA. This is the 3rd
time Pam has driven to Long Island. She is getting pretty familiar with the route and this
was her best time yet…just over 4 hours. The main purpose for this trip is to take
Polar to Mandelbaum Prosthetics and have his prosthetic leg checked and adjusted.
When they arrived, Polar and Gus exchanged greetings, doing their usual sniffing and
grunting. They both seemed pleased to see each other. As for me, it was good to see Pam
and Polar again. I noticed that a lot of Polar’s hair had grown back where it had
been shaved for his surgery in December. It was also wonderful to observe Polar moving
around quite well on his new leg. He has made a lot of progress since I saw him in
December.
Pam thought it would be a good idea to try to tire the Polarman out so he would be calmer
for his appointment with Marty the next morning. So we took Gus and Polar for a walk on
some wooded trails at Laurel Lake. This is one of Gus’ favorite hiking spots. As soon
as the door was opened, Polar jumped out of the truck and immediately started up the
trail. He seemed so excited and happy and wanted to be the trail blazer.
Now, I am going to
let Polar tell you the rest of the story:
I gotta tell ya
guys, this place, that Gus walks, is really great. The dirt trail is covered with leaves
so it made it very easy for me to walk. I wanted to show Mary Jane and Gus how well I was
doing with my new leg so I romped up ahead of everyone full speed. I know Mary Jane was
very impressed and surprised with the progress I have made. She kept telling Mom how great
I looked. I was very proud of myself and had a wonderful time out in the woods with Mom,
Mary Jane and Gus.
Here's Polar resting with Gus behind him.
When we went back to Gus’ house, we had our dinner. The humans (Mike, M.J. and Mom)
talked while Gus and I relaxed. When it was time for bed, I slept in bed with Mom as it is
fine with Mary Jane. I know she really likes me a lot. I bet she even loves me. She is
always telling Mom what a wonderful guy I am. I like that.
Wednesday
Well, we got up early so Mom, Mary Jane and I could get to Marty’s on time. Gus
stayed home with his Dad….now I know they went for another walk and I would rather
have done that with them but Mom really wants to ask Marty to make a few changes on my
leg. When I got to Mandelbaum’s, I was very glad to see Marty. He is always nice to
me and speaks in a very quiet, calming voice. I also got to see my buddy, Sean…now he
is lots of fun.
Here is Polar with his buddy Sean. Hey, that
doesn't look too comfortable! Sometimes he
wrestles around with me and puts me in a head lock while Marty puts my leg on and takes
measurements. Everyone at Mandelbaum Prosthetics take very good care of me. OK anyhow,
getting back to my leg…do you know what they did??? They cut the prosthetic leg in
half!! Now they are going to turn the bottom half around…. wasn’t that silly?
Apparently, my chiropractor, Judith, wanted me to try the leg in a different position. I
know Judith is worried about my back and she hopes this will help me walk in a different
way. I thought my leg was fine just the way it was but we will see. So, Mom, MJ and I left
my leg behind at Marty’s. Sean is going to put it back together the new way and will
have it ready for me tomorrow.
Here is Marty refitting Polar's leg.
When we got back to Gus’ house, I told Gus everything that happened and he agreed
that humans sometimes do strange things. Gus and I then played around in his
backyard…but don’t forget…. now I only had 1 back leg so I had to be more
careful. When dinnertime came, we had Grandma Pizza. Mom loves these and even got an extra
one to bring back to PA. Gus and I had our regular dinner and we also got to share one
piece of the Grandma pie. It was good. We sat up for awhile and Bill, one of the Polar
fund raffle donators came over to visit. I met him already from the last time I was on
Long Island. He made a special trip to see me again. Boy, am I popular or what?
Here are pals Polar and Gus.
Here are pals Polar and Gus lying together in
Mary Jane's kitchen.
Thursday
We got up early and I had another visitor. Pat, one of MJ’s friends and also a
raffle ticket buyer, came by this morning to meet me. I feel like a celebrity being the
center of attention. LOL Then Mom, MJ and I went back to Marty’s to try out
my leg. And you know what? It doesn’t seem bad. It will
take some getting used to but maybe it will be even
better this way. If not, it can always be changed again.
When I get home, I am going to show it to Judith to see
what she thinks. I will let everyone know how I am doing
with it. Mom and I said Good bye to Mike Mary Jane and
Gus. Mary Jane gave me a big hug and kisses and told me
to be a good boy. She said she and Mike will miss me and
Mom. She also said that next time I visit Long Island,
Gus and I will go to the ocean beach where we can dig in
the sand. Hey, that sounds like fun.
Take Me Back for More
February
11, 2005
Polar went on his first Therapy visit today since
his surgery! He went to visit the children in Mrs. Brown's class at Reidenbach Elementary
School. He hasn't been to see the children since October, so it has been a while. :- I was
a little worried about how they would respond to his new leg, but I was very pleasantly
surprised. The children were all very excited to see him, and they even remembered what he
was dressed as the last time he was there. They thought his new leg was very cool, and
they loved the cartoon on it. Polar was beside himself with
happiness and joy to be back in the role that he was born for, and one that he does so
well. He is the ambassador of good feelings, and the attitude of life is too short to be
sad, so just be happy and appreciate what you have. He said hello to each child, and then
they asked a bunch of questions about his surgery, his leg, and lots more. They sang two
songs to him, which he really seemed to enjoy, and then it was time to say good bye. But,
we will go back again soon and will maybe participate in their gym class.
Polar was just so happy to see each
of the children, and also to see Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Harsh. It did my heart a great deal
of good to see how excited he was about getting out of the truck and racing into the
building! All is well in the world POLAR IS BACK!
Take Me Back for More | 
