Thursday update

Good morning!

We are settling (kind of) into a routine here at home, and it is going well!  The biggest relief to me so far is that Ben is able to rest well...he sleeps most of the night, we both sometimes nap during the day, and he is still sleeping at this very moment!  I know resting will help him heal and also help him feel better about his progress.

Since he can't be home alone (and we wouldn't want him to be anyway!), our days involve sticking around the apartment.  Ben has been practicing his walking inside, and he's been practicing his fine motor skills throughout the day.  He also is able to sit up for some of the day without it bothering his neck too much.

Yesterday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and ventured outside together. Ben walked down our many stairs and around the parking lot of the apartment complex several times. This was one of his first times really walking while wearing shoes. Since he is still lacking some sensation in his legs/feet, he feels a lot more comfortable walking in his socks because he can feel the ground a little bit better. The barrier the shoes put between his feet and the ground makes him a little uneasy. I could sense his uneasiness and a little loss of balance when he first started walking around in the shoes, but he regained his balance and some confidence pretty quickly.  The walk outside went great--he never lost his balance, and he made it back up the stairs with no problems either.

He has started tapering down with the steroids that he began taking right before the surgery. He has done remarkably well with his pain levels, although he did feel all of the results of moving around so much yesterday. His bandage from the hospital was removed because they recommended letting his incision be open to the air. He still has small mini-bandages (steri-strips) covering the stitches and incision itself. His incision is definitely longer than most of us realized it would be.

Ben's parents and sister have been here in the evenings and at night, which is a huge help. My parents are here now to keep us both company.

I'll close with a picture of Ben after our walk...

I am definitely a proud wife! :-)