PT: Physical therapy or Pain and Torture?

I (Ethan) was able to make it up to Baylor this morning to visit Debbie. Luckily, the occupational therapist was there trying to convince Debbie to sit up in bed. She had been doing so for 15 minutes and Debbie had not budged. We both talked to her about how important it was for her to get up and get moving if she wishes to achieve her goals. She was being very good about redirecting the conversation toward other things, like her grandkids, the food, whatever, as we kept trying to encourage her to slide her legs to the edge of the table. It was during this exchange that I had a Grandma Smith flashback. Debbie's mom would some times do similar things to throw us off of what we were attempting to get her to do. (I'm secretly hoping that Debbie never reads this particular post)
Well, after some coaxing she did in fact sit up at the side of the bed and do a few stretches for her arms and back. She didn't want to stretch her neck at all since she can feel the shunt tubing where it runs from her neck to her back. She also gets dizzy and nauseous if she moves her head much. She has gotten very weak and deconditioned from lying in bed for 5+ weeks. After the OT left, I was telling her how important it was to move and what benefits she would receive from being more active and what risks she keeps by not moving. Debbie stopped me and told me she had already had this lecture today. Three times. :-) I couldn't help but laugh.
After all this she was able to eat a little lunch, though she was interrupted 3 more times in short order by nurses and dietitians. She ate her soup and a roll and seemed fairly tired after that. I had to leave to go to work and saw her physical therapist in the hall. I was disappointed since she was going to see Debbie soon and I couldn't stay any longer. I told her I would be back Thursday morning and hopefully we can talk more and I can observe/help the PT. I have a feeling she didn't have much luck this afternoon getting Debbie up.
All that said, Debbie looks well. She laughs, she gets aggravated, she's ready to get out of the hospital, and she's talking about Dick, her girls, and her grandkids constantly which I take all as signs she is recovering well from her surgeries. Now if we could just get her out of bed.....