Continuing with the physical therapy

I'm still going to physical therapy. I have been going once a week. I only need to go for 3 more weeks, and then she will reevaluate me in 6 months. My therapist says that for the most part, my muscles are very strong. But, I do need to make them stronger. Plus, I need to build up my endurance. So I will just continue doing the exercises, adding weights to my leg, as time goes by. To build up my endurance, I am supposed to walk. In the spring, I will be able to do more, like ride my bike and roller blade. It will be easier to go walking when it gets warmer outside.

I forgot to update this blog two weeks ago, when the prosthetist finished my leg. I had to leave it there for a week, but he's done with it now. He added something to the outside that makes it look more natural. He told my mom and me that there was a problem, so the leg ended up being heavier than he wanted it to be. I actually can't tell a big difference.

We saw him today again, and he told us that my stump will continue to shrink. Once I get to the point where I need 20 plies worth of socks, that they will need to make a new socket for the leg. Right now I wear about 15-17 ply socks. All that means is the socks I wear have different thicknesses. They come in 1/2, 1, 3 and 5 ply. The amount I need changes a little from day to day. I just need to play around with it each day, but I suppose I will learn to recognize when I need to put more socks on and when I might need to take some off. He said it might be another 6 months before I will need a new socket. That would be about right, because usually the first prosthesis lasts about 1-1 1/2 years. I don't think I'll get a whole new leg though, just the socket. But, he tells me that I am walking very, very well! I am still very happy with my decision to amputate my leg. I'm looking forward to this spring and summer, when I can get outside and do more! If I keep up the exercises, I should be stronger by then and be able to do just about anything!