Hey All!!!

So yesterday was a medical filled day for me!! On wensday I drove home from college and spent the night at home so we could leave at 6 yesterday morning to drive down to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Once we got there we saw my ENT of many years. I love this guy he is simply amazing. There were a few concerns that needed to be addressed but the biggest was the amount of ear infections I have been getting.  So we talked about that and how I have now retained a right PE tube for 5 count it 5 years.... He said yes while that is not the best the tube is open and working and he doesn't want to mess with it because he is scared of what is GOING to happen when the tube comes out.... at this point I was like hold up GOING to happen and he's like yes based on your history we know that at the least when that tube comes out you are going to get a whole lot more ear infections and either your going to have a hole in your eardrum which will require surgery to fix or your ear will fix it but then it will become a cholesteotoma and that will require surgery to fix... So either way not good... So the plan will be to leave it in untill it comes out on its own if that is fine with you? Which I was fine with so he left it alone... but the simple fact that he is scared is NOT GOOD cuz he does not scare easily at all.  He also told me that my left ear where he did surgery 4 years ago to put in a tympanoplasty with rib cartilage graft is starting to fail and retract and when it does we will need to go in and fix it or risk loosing all hearing on that side.... So that was my visit there.... Not so fun but worthwhile all the same. He is really cool he told me to come back in 6 months but definately before if something goes wrong.

Then my mom and I drove the 2 and half hours back home and I spent an hour in a Physical Therapy Evaluation at TRIA orthopedic center.  TRIA is pretty cool in there therapies because when PT or OT or even speech therapy is ordered it is not up to the doctor to decide how many sessions the patient will get, the PT, OT, or Speech therapist gets to keep the patient for as long as they need to. So basically what happens is like for me... My doctor filled out an order for PT of my leg after my fracture which is now all healed :) He wanted us to work on weight bearing, strengthening and ROM(range of Motion) as tolorated. Also anything else we wanted to do.  So my therapist Ben evaled me yestereday and came up with some goals. He also decided what we were going to start with and how we were going to progress. He will keep me in PT untill all the goals are met.  My goals are:

1.  to walk with out gait disturbance: for you non PT folks that means that I don't have anything funky in the way I walk.... Basically right now I am walking with my left foot pointing completely to the left and the inside facing front... We got to fix that and this goal gets to that...
2. To wean off of underarm crutches and to Forearm crutches ( loftstrand Crutches)
3. To wean off of Loftstrand crutches
4. To build up overall strenght
5. To build up enough strength so that I can swith from AFO (Ankle Foot Orthotics) braces to less supportive braces
6. To build up enough strength so that I can go from the less supportive braces to no braces
7. To be able to walk with out braces with out my ankles flipping out to the side and touching the ground.
8. To be able to do low level agility

These are my overall goals for PT this session. I am going to be there for awhile and I know that. Right now I am scheduled twice a week every week and if I can't get in because his schedule was already booked then I am at the top of the waitlist for him.... Hopefully however this will pay off and I will now longer be as restricted as I am now by my Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Hypermobility syndrome which is what causes me to have to wear my braces.

Brianna