My New Therapy Team and My Dreamy Dentist Visit

No one in their right mind would think going to the dentist for a two hour visit would be a good idea in the middle of a chemo off week, but given my mission to stay on top of these things that I have neglected it was a priority. I needed to get a thorough and comprehensive exam and of course, a deep clean of my teeth from Jodi who has been caring for my grill for a very long time. I had not been in for my regular cleanings since getting my ovaries removed in late 2024 (to evade Ovarian cancer btw). The staff here at Richter Dental have become my friends over the years and while Dr Richter is now retired, I am thrilled to transition my oral care to his amazing and caring replacement, Dr. Michelle Cannon. I was miserable and cold walking in to the office so assistant extraordinaire Kaylin made sure I had a warm snuggly blanket for the whole session, they really do everything they can to make you comfortable here. I seriously can’t recommend this office enough as it’s never felt painful or dreadful. Here is more about their office in case you are looking for dental care in the Region!
https://www.richterdental.com/about/meet-the-doctors

If you’ve been following my recent posts, you know I’ve been miserable most of the last two cycles four to five days beyond “normal”. Having spent this time at the dentist office I was really knocked out and I was minutes away from canceling my first real physical therapy session. Well, I’m glad I pushed through and met with Oncology specialized PT, Michele. She put me through my paces, I really needed it and we will be meeting a minimum of 2-3 times weekly indefinitely to get my thin and weak crepe paper arms back in shape:) I’ve lost POUNDS of muscle mass - they have a term for this called deconditioning and Michele will see to it that we turn this process around starting slow and with intention. Rehab starts NOW, here’s what we did together:

THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES:
NuStep L4 UE/LE for 5 minutes

Calf stretch 2 minutes

Step up onto Airex B LE 15 x B

Mini squat on Airex 15x

Pilate Reformer:
Squat 2 springs 1 blue 1 white 2 x 10 reps
Bridge 2 x 10 reps

NEUROMUSCULAR RE-EDUCATION: 23 MINUTES

TB row GTB 2 x 10 reps emphasis on pelvic neutral
TB lat pull GTB 2 x 10 reps emphasis on pelvic neutral

SB pelvic tilts A/P ; M/L 15 x
SB CW/CCW rotations 15 each
SB marching 15 x
SB LAQ 15 x

Ending the day watching The Bear 🐻 and snuggling my dear pup Mackie who loves to practice his natural instinct and task of DPT aka Deep Pressure Therapy. Mackie was never trained to do this but we discovered he does it proactively and instinctively when his loved ones are stressed. Dogs are absolutely amazing. Mackie is our natural service dog and he just may find himself in real service dog therapy training for this special talent and task. He calms anxiety, anger, sadness and everything in between.

Love to all, thank you for your support.