August 2003 Update
Marla has had a busy but enjoyable summer, with continuing therapy days at Craig, hikes in the mountains, and fun with family and friends on a variety of different outings. Please visit the updated Photo Gallery to see pictures of her recent adventures!
Marla’s strength continues to improve. She has been on several hikes in the mountains–one in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area west of Boulder, and more recently near the Maroon Bells in the Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness area. She’s been able to hike 2-3 miles and keeps up a decent pace! She’s pretty tired once she’s done, but the physical conditioning that she does during therapy both at Craig and with Mary and Leo is obviously yielding results. During a recent visit to Glenwood Springs with Mary and Leo, Marla went swimming, and was able to complete a half mile in the lap lanes! She’s found that utilizing a pair of flippers, paired with her strong kick, really helps her to compensate for her injured right arm.
The flexibility of the “frozen” shoulder of Marla’s injured right arm continues to improve incrementally. Marla and Mary work together stretching and exercising the shoulder three times per day, every day, and are seeing improved range of motion as a result.
The packing that was emplaced in Marla’s left ear following her surgery in June was removed in early August. It appears that it will require more time to evaluate the effect of the surgery on improving her hearing.
Marla’s independence is increasing week-by-week. One recent evening, she let Mary know that she would like to visit the recreation center early (5:30 AM!) the next morning to swim with her Master’s swimming group. Sure enough, the next morning, Marla awakened Mary to go swimming, having already donned her suit, dressed over it, packed her bag with towel, goggles, and supplies, completely by herself. Her self-motivation and independent management of day-to-day living activities are strong evidence of her healing process.
Speech continues to be Marla’s greatest challenge. Marla’s ability to repeat words that are spoken to her continues to improve as she reads and works on therapy exercises both at Craig and with Mary and Leo. Her spontaneous speech remains difficult, but is showing gradual gains. On a recent hike, she volunteered: “Pretty mountain!” which was an impressive vocalization, un-prompted by words spoken to her.
Heading into fall is a bittersweet time, as many of Marla’s friends from teaching return to the classroom–she dearly misses working with children. She really enjoys visiting with kids, as she was treated to a visit recently from friend Bridgette and her sons.
Mary and Leo continue to work hard with Marla on a day-to-day basis, keeping up with therapy, coordinating with doctors and therapists, as well as financial, legal, and insurance matters. There seem to be few free moments in the day! With Marla’s improving independence though, hopefully Mary and Leo will be able to take a brief vacation soon to renew their energies.
Thanks for checking in and for the website messages, cards, and letters that folks are sending. As Marla’s awareness continually improves, hearing from friends and family is a highlight of every day–she really enjoys checking the mailbox for news and updates about your lives!