J2 and Amputee Gym

Hello again, its been a while since I last uploaded a post - I have a few days written down but have recently moved rooms and internet signal is hard to come by!

Had to make sure I was washed and 'dressed' (t-shirt and pants at least) for a 10am pickup to got to the gym.  The tv/internet monitor next to the left of my bed automatically turns on at 7am and starts playing adverts, so that was a good wake up call.  About 8am I heard the night shift nurses doing a hand-over to the day staff; basically a run down of each patient, what meds they are on, how they slept that night and any concerns they may have for them.  My door doesn't completely shut due to a misaligned latch, so I can pretty much hear how everyone is doing - not revealing anything here!

I had a pretty good night, I'm now able to turn very easily; basically have to shift myself to the opposite side of the bed while on my back like a snake, shoulders first, then backside etc.  I then, for want of a better word, flop in the other direction and rest my top leg on a pillow in front of the other.  If I don't get the angle quite right I sometimes get cramp in the bottom leg and have to reposition.  Currently I still can't rest both legs on top of one another, mainly because the left leg has a larger bandage on and it simply feels weird compressing it.

At 10.15 a porter came to my room to take me to the gym.  I moved over from the bed to the wheelchair without the banana board and started wheeling down the corridors followed by the porter.  I think he wasn't quite sure what to say or do as I asked him not to push the chair, so i tried making conversation about how long he'd worked in the hospital.  10 minutes later we arrived at the gym, I must be getting quicker in the chair.  The usual gym bench was free, so I wheeled over to it and used the pillow under my right leg to bridge the gap between the chair and the bench.  Moving across is an art in itself - to get out you have to position the chair as close to the bed as possible, making sure the bed is slightly lower than the edge of the chair, then the side of the chair nearest the bed is removed.  Once ready to move, you have to put the chair brakes on, shuffle across as much as possible, then lift yourself over the rubber wheel of the chair as its a few inches higher than the seat.  Currently I still have a rubber blow up cushion so I can't use it to push on, the only things available are the bed itself or the arm rest on the opposite side of the chair.

Today's exercise started off with me lying on my front then lifting each leg up backwards fifty times while having a large ankle weight attached, then turning over and doing the same while on my back.  Next, while on my side, I had to move each leg back and forwards as much as possible, concentrating on pulling them back as much as possible - probably to ensure the muscles were stretched.  I had to squeeze a rubber ball between my thighs while on my front and lift my legs back, then used what resembled wooden irons to try pushing up off the bed while sitting on the edge.  Finally I sat on a blowup rubber disk, about 5 inches deep and practiced moving from side to side in a 'controlled manner' - i.e. not falling flat on one side.

Currently the gym is one of the highlights of the day, mainly because I get a chance to move out of the ward (still J2), but also because I get to see other people in different stages of recovery.  Today there were two people I'd already met, they are a few years older than myself and have great personalities.  There were also two people I hadn't met before but everyone got on well and I'm sure I'll meet them again.

After the gym I basically slept, had lunch and chatted to my roommate.

Later in the day a friend came to visit, couldn't get in the chair though as I'd already had the hour out of bed.