I know my husband better than of his doctors or the other specialists who work with him. I am here every day watching him exercise, or not, and have a better grasp of what works for him and what doesn’t. That is why, when his Primary Care Doctor offered him a referral to Physical Therapy during his last appointment, I spoke up and said “No”.   

When he arrived at his appointment with a black eye from a recent fall, she thought that a Physical Therapist might be able to help him work on balance issues minimizing the danger. She even offered in-home support before I spoke up and said that I didn’t think it would help. I explained that he went through two rounds of PT last spring. I then asked my husband to share how often he practiced the homework that he was given during those sessions. While he is motivated to exercise with his boxing group daily, getting him to do PT on his own time is impossible.

The medical professionals have a job to do and so do I. A big piece of mine is making sure treatment plans are grounded in reality. As I said before, I know my husband and I know what works for him. I also know that while he understands some of the limits his disease places on him, he is still going to test them every so often. His most recent fall happened when he leaned over to set something down on uneven ground even though he readily admits he has balance issues. It was no surprise when he toppled over. Our solution is antiseptic cream and bandages because no amount of PT is going to stop him from trying to do things he shouldn’t, I just need to be ready to help him when those inevitable falls happen.