You go Bob!!!! Thats great Sandy, that's the way Mike started. I still remember how we both cried when I saw him move his fingers just ever so slightly! I knew at that time he would someday use his hand again. It is a very slow process and Mike still can't open his hand all the way but it's getting there a little at a time!

Progress, thats all we can hope for and as long as we can see it no matter how small we will take it!!

Keep us upto date, I love hearing about his progress! Keeping you both in our thoughts and prayers!

Cat

I truly believe it is the e-stim that is doing it. I know others who had no e-stim and their arm & hand never came back, at all. When the therapist was doing a resistance with Bob, she would push against his forearm and he had to resist and push back, he could push harder than I could! I was shocked! It's only been since July 27 that I felt the first flicker of 'is he helping lift his arm?' Oh, and now his hand! The significance of it all!

Our neighbor who had a stroke 2 months before Bob, has gotten all movement back in his hand now, but now he still needs more strength. But the movement, oh my, the doors that would open to be able to do anything with both hands.

You are right the e-stim will get the muscles moving then he can control a little by looking at what he is trying to do! The fingers are funny my index finger sticks straight out but my pinkie finger is curled up and much harder to straighten out or grip anything!! I can hold mail between my thumb and index finger when I get mail from the mailbox across the street!

It's going to take time for the muscles to start working remember the mind doesn't control the muscles anymore the eyes are in control! Same way with the foot the eyes control how and where the foot goes!! When you can't see moving any part of the body is slower!!

fking - you made me remember that I have done some 'mirror' therapy with him also. I didn't have a suitable mirror, but realized when I saw my dead laptop sitting open that it had a reflective screen and could support itself. So, I put that in front of him sideways and he used the good hand while looking in the 'mirror' screen. That tricks the brain into believing it is seeing both hands moving, and helps build connections. We've only did that a little, we would have been doing more, but it's a little awkward for him because he is blind on the bad side and so has to turn his head sharply to see the screen. I'm always telling him, as I hold up my hand and make a pinching movement - 'this is what separates us from cats and dogs, when you can do this, things will improve greatly!'

Sandy, I suggest looking into the Saeboflex as well. No harm in doing more than one thing. In a bit over a week I went from "could not test" pinch strength between index finger and thumb to 20lb!

saeboflex---- very inexpensive and will really help ( just like george said)

...nancyl

George which saeboflex did you use? do you have a website address for it? Mike is trying to build strength in his hand and we need something to help. Right now he is using different kinds of balls to squeeze but if there is something else out there that will work better I would buy it in a heart beat!! Please let me know.

Cat

Cat, the site is www.saebo.com Look up the saeboflex. It looks complicated but it is not all that hard to put on, an it really works. Use it 45 minutes twice a day moving balls from one box to another. The biggest problem I had was getting it properly adjusted. The therapist I got it from didn't have a clue how to do it. Being a former car mechanic, once we got home I readjusted it myself with one hand and a bit of help from the wife. Any mechanical person can look at the thing and figure out what it is supposed to do. As the hand improves, some adjustment is needed anyway, so learning to do it yourselves is helpful. My testimonial used to be on the site, but they seem to have taken them down. I was not paid to write it, it was sincere. I spoke with the company president a few times, very nice people. I could not get the thumb adjusted right, he said they were working on that, he and his brother invented it. Since the thumb was not an major problem for me I did the best I could. It came back with the rest of the hand anyway. I see they now have some new products, but I am not familiar with them. Insurance covered mine.

Hey catbleu where in SC are you at? I lived in Lexington 17 years before moving to MN and still visit friends there from time to time. Once the hand gets better, to improve coordination get a set of Lincoln Logs for coordination and Tinker Toys for dexterity. I did both and now am able to build with my beloved Erector Sets again. They are metal construction toys from the 1950's.

I don't understand how to 'look into' a saeboflex. Their site seems to be addressing professionals, rather than customers. I've heard it was very expensive. Please give more info on how to actually do the looking into part!

George, we live in Westminster. It's about 20min west of Clemson, most people know where that is due to the college there, LOL. He is getting some movement back in his hand but needs to build strength and extentsion of the fingers. His goal is to be able to work the clutch on his Harley! Right now he can grasp it but not enough strenght to pull it in and hold it there. If Saeboflex is expensive there is no reason for me to look into it or mention it to him right now as we have no insurance and our savings is the only money we have to survive on. Maybe when we get his dissability started it will be something we can get. I will read up on it and be very informed for when that time comes though. I also want to look into the Bioness system. from what I have seen and read it looks like it could be something that would be very helpful for the hand, arm and leg! Have you tried this system?

Cat, I just looked at the saebo.com website. After going there click on the saeboflex picture. Then click on the small red circle that says "try it free". There will be info on a session in Columbia, SC in early Oct 2012. I looked into the bioness systems but they were expensive and the insurance did not pay for them. Being a mechanical guy, I liked the look of the saeboflx as it is a purely mechanical thing I can adjust and understand. I did try the walkaid also, but just felt the improvement was not worth the hassle of wearing it. I think for foot drop the carbon fiber AFO is more practical and easy to use. I do know where Westminister is, I used to sell insurance all over SC. I would urge you to find a way to try one. It sounds to me that with the progress he is already making he would really benefit from one. It sounds like he is farther ahead now than I was at the same point. When I got my saebo I had virtually no finger movement at all. All I had was a clenched fist. You can also call Saebo at 888-284-5433 and see what you can work out. Good luck and please keep us informed!