Crash- Station 19/Marina

Evaluations

A few days after getting home from their camping trip they were getting up early. The next few days were full of appointments. Today it's scans then evaluations with PT and OT for the rest of the day.

They got to the hospital and checked in at radiology. Maya was happy when they decided she didn't have to change into a gown because it takes a long time to get her dressed. She had x-rays of her neck and back, a CT of her abdomen then an MRI to get more images of her spine.

All the scans took a long time and even longer for her than it would have for someone else because someone had to come move her when they wanted a different angle and it took a long time to get her in and out of the different machines. After a few hours that was done and they went to the therapy room. She wasn't seeing any of her normal therapists today, different people she'd never met before were doing the assessments.

They said she had to change into shorts and a sports bra so they could see her posture and what all her muscles were doing which she didn't like, it would show her catheter and ostomy and all her scars. They showed her where she could change and Carina got her changed into her shorts, she was already wearing a sports bra and refused to take her t-shirt off until she absolutely needed to. She also got Carina to empty her catheter and ostomy bags even though they weren't that full because they would be visible. They said she could leave it on to start and moved her onto one of the therapy tables.

First they checked her sensation, starting at her feet so she just layed there for a while. When they got up to her torso they said she had to take her shirt off so she let them then continued laying there bored until they finally got up to her chest where she could feel something. Whenever she felt something they would then poke the area more asking her if it was sharp or dull, then hot or cold. They went all the way up to her shoulders and neck then down each arm separately. When that was finally done they switched to movement. Again they started at her feet, asking her to wiggle her toes, then move her ankles. They slowly moved up her body asking her to do different movements or tense certain muscles, she tried but nothing happened. After testing her stomach muscles they switched to her hands then moved up her arms. Like with the sensation tests, whenever she could do something they did more tests to figure out the extent of her movement.

"Ok, so those tests are done. That was to determine the spinal level and ASIA level of your injury. Those results are going to your neurosurgeon and she'll probably share them with you at your next appointment. Next we're going to assess your functional abilities for daily tasks, that's to determine the level of support you need and that report goes to your doctors and insurance" one of the people who's been assessing her explains.

"Ok, what do I do now"

"Since you're already laying down let's start with how you would roll over and get out of bed"

"I can't really but I guess I'll show you"

She turns her head to the side and stretches that arm out before throwing her other arm across her body, which takes a few tries. That was where her "rolling" ended, her shoulder was maybe slightly off the mat but she was still completely flat on her back. Next they rolled her onto her side and asked her to roll back onto her back. First she accidentally went forward, rolling partially onto her stomach and getting stuck. They put her back on her side and put a wedge in front of her so she couldn't go forward and then she managed to roll her upper body onto her back after a few tries by throwing her arm behind her.

"Now, from laying on your side or your back can you sit up?"

"I have an adjustable bed so I use that to sit me up or someone helps pull me up"

"So you can't do any of that independently?"

"If I'm only reclined a bit I can usually push myself up to sitting"

"Ok, we're going to sit you up then and look at independent sitting and transfers"

Maya sat how she always did without anything behind her, holding herself up with both arms behind her and out to the sides a bit, elbows locked out. They tried getting her to bend her arms slightly to not lock out her elbows but her arms gave out if her elbows weren't locked. They also got her to try only supporting herself with one arm which she could do briefly but if she moved her other arm or even her head she would lose her balance. After that they got her to try sitting with no support, they held her up while she moved her arms to be resting on her lap then let go. Maya had no clue why they bothered with this when she couldn't sit with support from one arm but she went along with it... and fell over immediately.

They moved on to transfers- it took her 15 minutes to transfer from the table to her chair with a transfer board and her chair being slightly lower. They also had to catch her a few times as she fell forward or backwards while trying to transfer. In her chair they got her to put on and then try to take off her shirt, she can put a shirt on but it takes a few tries because she can't lift her arms up that high. Getting a shirt off doesn't work since she can't pull it up over her head. Next they got her to do kind of a wheelchair obstacle course. First she just had to go around the room a few times while they watch, asking her to go at different speeds, turn, stop and go backwards. Then in a different part of the room she had to try going up and down different ramps,  over different bumps and navigating through things. Then she just had to do some fine motor stuff, feeding herself, brushing her teeth, brushing her hair, writing, using her phone. Then they asked her some questions about other things like showering, dressing and her catheter and ostomy care, getting in and out of cars, and she was finally done. Carina came back and got her dressed and they went home.

Maya was completely mentally and physically exhausted from the evaluation and just wanted to lay in bed when they got home. So Carina changed her into pyjamas and got her comfortable in bed before changing herself and joining her, they spent the evening snuggling in bed watching TV. Carina decided to order food for dinner so she didn't have to get up and cook, especially because then Maya would feel the need to get up with her and she could tell her wife was exhausted and in pain. They ate in bed, they never did anymore because it meant Maya couldn't feed herself but she was having so many spasms in her hands and arms that she wouldn't have been able to feed herself at the table either.

"Do you want to have a bath?" Carina asks when they're done eating. "It might help you feel better"

"Ya, everything's sore. But do you need Andy to help get me in again?"

"Yes, but I can put a towel over you while she's helping if you want"

"Ok"

It was difficult to get Maya in the bathtub even with 2 people. She was having a lot of spasms through her whole body after having to push herself through all the testing.

Once she was in Andy left and Carina joined Maya in the tub. After a while in the bath Maya's body started to calm down and her pain was starting to improve.

"We should get a bath lift so you can do this more often" Carina says

"We don't have enough space for more stuff and I'm sure they're really expensive. I can just shower"

"Maybe when we get a house"

"When we get a house? Since when are we getting a house?"

"Just sometime, we will probably get a house. We could find something more accessible and it would be nice to have a yard. We'd need a bigger place for bambines"

"You still want kids?"

"Si"

"With me?"

"Of course Bambina, who else would I want kids with!"

"I can't even look after myself, how could I be a parent? You'd have to look after me and a kid. I couldn't even feed or play with a kid or go on a walk with them."

"Ok, Maya, calm down. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, we don't have to talk about this now."

"Sorry, we should talk about this. Just maybe after we get the results from all the tests today?"

"Of course, good plan. Are you ready to get out now?"

"Sure"

They didn't talk much as they got ready for bed, both of them still thinking about kids.