Marg,
“All at once� …. when I have the house to myself with not interruptions.
While I am taking this year off, in recovery mode, this is what I am doing for my self-directed daily rehab routine
• 40 minutes power walk up and down hill
• 20 minutes on the palates ball and/or doing floor work- focusing mainly on balance
• 40 minute of facial exercises. (All the exercises on the sheets at once …be sure to do the part for long timers too (n the last page) especially the massage where you put your thumb inside your moth and fingers on the cheek and pull- however those who do not have any movement yet should NOT do that message)
Retrain the brainEverything I have read has indicated that it is better to do this now (post recovery months) than later so we can retrain the brain before bad habits or overcompensation ticks start to set in.
One surgeon I interviewed explained to me that it is much like being a toddler after surgery. We have to learn things for the first time. (I now agree) One day I plan to “ride a bike AND chew gum at once� – however I doubt I’ll say “
hey mom look- no hands!� … again (and guaranteed I will be wearing a helmet –
unlike when we were kids in the ‘70’s)
One of my follow-up physicians, here in Portland, said that I will
never regain the balance I had pre-surgery. Humph I say, “
bologna- where there is a will there is a way!� Also many people in the kinesiology and occupational therapy world will dispute his statement too. I am highly motivated to prove him wrong. I am even working on pirouettes… which he said I will never be able to do. So far I can do 2 in a row before I feel tipsy…
I
am going to control this AN – it is
not going to control me. If I have to learn to eat without people thinking I am winking at them all the time – then I
will learn it. I am going to walk in public at dusk- without people assuming I am a drunk by practicing walking in dim lights at home. Remember being a teenager trying to walk around the house with high heel shoes as you prepared for the graduation ceremonies and ‘the prom’? … It took some practice… and the determination to not look foolish (in my case also not to look too
short 
) in front of the peers … I remember my Grandmother making me walk with a book on my head… up and down the stairs at home. (Hilarious when I see my own teen doing this now.
) Eventually we learned to do something rather unnatural to the human brain (not mention feet and back) and we learned to be graceful about it. My choice is to wear comfy sneakers – but I can wear high heals if the occasion requires it.
Yesterday my youngest pulled out my flute and said, “
Can you play for me Mommy?� I could not. Not only is the embouchure shot -I cannot close my lips. Her little 3rd grader innocence face looked at me sadly- but them her face brightened when I said, “
Well I always wanted to learn a sting instrument� … I.e. I have not lost my music skills it is just I have to find a different instrument to display it on. I am going to have to learn to play music differently.
I am also going to have to learn to blink and chew food differently…
We've just got to find new ways to do this.
Keep Moving Forward.
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