Ruth: I had another issue with Leo this week. I was talking to Bruce about it today. The solution is of course for Bruce to be able to stay at home alone. But what is Bruce willing to do about that?

It will be interesting to see if his focus will change knowing it will help me as opposed to helping himself. Part of it is depression, I know. But he is trying to learn to toilet himself safely, now gets out of bed mostly independent-he can't put on his shoes. And learning his way around the kitchen. I would leave his meals, of course, but he doesn't know that-lol.

Bruce does know that work and exercise are the keys. He just seems to always look to me for the push. Sometimes I think it was in the early recovery days when I was the only motivator. He had no clue. But now he knows better. We shall see. Good week-Debbie

Ruth, keep up the exercises as long as you can get William to the pool. With ray in full-time care now i hear so many visitors say : "If only he had kept up the exercises things would have been different" and I believe them.

You do such a good job with William and we as observers here applaud you for it.

Sue.

That's the best thing for muscles and pains in the arms and legs/ankles and feet. Think about it...we sit maybe stand but don't get the muscles working enough to build up muscle activity needed to sustain a days movement of our bodies. When we sit nothing is moving, when we stand unless we move and walk nothing is exercised! When we walk it's slow at best trying not to fall! The arms are not swinging when we walk and that's not far at all then we sit for maybe hours or lie down!

I use my cane to exercise holding it knee high both hands raising it over my head for 6 seconds then down slowly bending my knees to hold it down to my ankles for 6 seconds! That gives me plenty movement of the hands, wrist, arms and body! The pool would add to the muscles getting toned daily and the weak side gets stronger!

Ruth, I wish you would let William read what I say then when I visit you all again him and me will walk from his house to near the last street and back to the house! I got a cane and he got the walker but he can't sit down on me before we get back home!

Ruth, I think that certain concepts are broken by stroke. Dick never has voluntarily exercised and unless I stand over him and force him he will not do anything with a therapist. After his heart attack in 1974 he drove himself to walk five miles a day then began running part of that! So, the drive used to be in him. He cannot grasp the improtance of exercise now and never will. A disclaimer here is necessary: his "never will" is now due to his dementia. There are some ways that you can get informal exercise though. With Dick it was putting on his socks. For months it was a daily fight with him. Once he had accomplished the task once, I knew that he could do it. So I began refusing to put his socks on. I would hand him his socks and walk away. At first it took him 30 minutes but over time he learned to do it quicker. But those 30 minutes meant that he was wiggling and struggling - translated stretching and exercise. The success with the socks instilled in me a stuborness to force Dick to do everything he could for himself. If he wanted it bad enough he eventually achieved it - like walking into the kitchen!

Ruth

I hate exercising. I always feel like Im doing it wrong or it is not helping. It is interesting though because I never realized my walking got better over the last few years. Just walking around campus was exercise I guess. I think exercise is more fun when you have a partner (not a PT that is just giving you some pointless exercise to keep busy for 45 minutes). If I had someone to exercise with or help me exercise I'd probably exercise more. I remember the last time I got in a pool at my mom's apartment complex. It was fun but when it was time to get me out of there I got scared my feet locked up trying to get up the step ladder and it took my mom and the apartment manager to pull me out. Very embarassing. Haven't got in a pool since

CageyBird. Exercising with a group is productive. I train folks with stroke and always encourage them to find a facility that runs programes for folks with dissabilities. Just being around others that have challenges certainly seems to help, as most folks want to keep going. There seems to be a bond of fellowship and encouagement.