Judi continues to advance physically and mentally. Progress is slow, but steady.
Based on her mental and physical health, we will be transitioning from Home Health to Outpatient Therapy at the end of this week. I suspect we will utilize the Walton Rehab Outpatient program for this phase. The facility is very nice and provides easy access to the other physical needs she may have (her brain injury doctor is in the same building). We are pretty excited about getting her back in this environment. It provides her access to a wide array of equipment to focus on her specific needs and it provides a good social environment as well. Those of you that know Judi also know she loves to socialize. I personally believe it will do her good to be around others who are also recovering. She is also a VERY competitive lady and I am hopeful she will "kick it up a notch" to show others what she can do.
Still working on yes/no responses. She is getting better there, but still a long way to go. She is keenly aware of everything going on around her and clearly understands even subtle comments/humor.
She continues to do everything necessary to talk (vocalize, move lips, whispers at times, etc.) and just needs to do it. Pulsing several doctors and speech professionals, the belief is that she just needs to make that last connection and then will step out of there with her bad self. There is nothing indicating that this connection won't ultimately occur.
As previously noted, she shows the most gains in the physical arena. She is beginning to move her left leg under her control (as opposed to some spontaneous movement). This is excellent news and is what we hoped the standing frame would stimulate. Hopefully we will get her walking in a harness in outpatient therapy soon. This will be awesome physical and mental therapy for her (and for me). I suspect it will be excellent mental medicine to know that she will indeed be able to get out of the wheelchair.
Judi continues to eat well and I am sure she will enjoy our traditional Thanksgiving Day feast. I have already factored her needs into our menu and it should be gastronomical treat for all.
I have been getting Judi out of the house every day I am off and taking her somewhere. This past weekend we finally got to the park at the lake and it did both of us a lot of good. We spent an hour just talking (still difficult for me to do all the talking and her listening) and enjoying the awesome weather. She clearly recognized the location and remembered the things I talked about. We are going to make the trip to the Columbia Zoo for the Christmas lights after turkey day. She had a blast there the last time we went and the trip is short enough for her to be able to tolerate it. If you have never been, it is worth the trip.
I have tried not to get philosophical on the blog, but I have a few things that I think need to be said as we approach Thanksgiving. First and foremost I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you that have lifted Judi and/or our family up in prayer this year. I have been blessed to see God's work up close and personal. I have watched the love of my life go from fighting for her very survival to a very real possibility of a full recovery. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what one could be. THANK YOU ALL Second I would ask that all of you step back and take a close look at your lives and what is truly important to you and your family. There is no guarantee that any of us will be here tomorrow and there are some things that we should simply just "do it" and quit coming up with reasons it can wait. I will tell you that if I had generated a list of the top 10 things most important to me the day before Judi was injured and compared it to what is important to me today, they would be VERY different lists. I encourage each of you as a family make that list and DO IT! And last, but not least by any means, there are a lot of people around us that are in desperate need this year. The wars and the economy have brought many families to a point where they too have the same lost feeling I have faced this year (and many of you have as well). If you can, reach out and help them as well.
Soooooooooo.... HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Steve
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Making Progress Slow and Steady
Judi continues to grow stronger physically and mentally.
The standing frame is already paying benefits. She enjoys standing and is able to work on other skills at the work table simultaneously. I think this allows her to stand longer since she is focused on other things and her body goes to its natural position.
Judi's awareness level continues to improve as evidenced by her reaction to things that go on and/or are said around her. We are also starting to have some success with yes/no responses using the new switch system with audible feedback. We still have a long way to go there, but we are encouraged by what we are seeing.
Judi is eating well and she has no difficulty swallowing or managing what she is eating now. I suspect we will do another swallow study in the next week or so and I believe the restriction on having to thicken her liquids will be removed. I think she will also be able to begin eating foods that have not been "chopped up" quite so much. She does a good job feeding herself and the independence is obviously good for her. We'll also evaluate what to do with the PEG after the next study. There are some distinct advantages to keeping it, but it does present a source of infection still and she has become increasingly interested in pulling on it.
Thanx to everyone for the continued support and prayers.
Steve
The standing frame is already paying benefits. She enjoys standing and is able to work on other skills at the work table simultaneously. I think this allows her to stand longer since she is focused on other things and her body goes to its natural position.
Judi's awareness level continues to improve as evidenced by her reaction to things that go on and/or are said around her. We are also starting to have some success with yes/no responses using the new switch system with audible feedback. We still have a long way to go there, but we are encouraged by what we are seeing.
Judi is eating well and she has no difficulty swallowing or managing what she is eating now. I suspect we will do another swallow study in the next week or so and I believe the restriction on having to thicken her liquids will be removed. I think she will also be able to begin eating foods that have not been "chopped up" quite so much. She does a good job feeding herself and the independence is obviously good for her. We'll also evaluate what to do with the PEG after the next study. There are some distinct advantages to keeping it, but it does present a source of infection still and she has become increasingly interested in pulling on it.
Thanx to everyone for the continued support and prayers.
Steve
Monday, November 2, 2009
Steady Improvemnt (Part 2)
I will keep this post short since it is nearly identical to the last. Please don't mistake this for a plateau, she IS steadily improving.
Getting physically stronger every day. We do have her standing frame (finally) and hope this will have a big impact on restoring strength to her left leg.
Mentally she continues to become more aware, but the consistent "yes/no" response continues to elude us. We will continue to focus a lot of attention here.
Speech - any minute. She is becoming increasingly vocal and experimenting with sounds. It won't be long.
She continues to eat well and is enjoying many of her old favorites.
Although Judi is doing better every day, she still has a long way to go. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we take on new challenges. I am convinced that Judi's recovery so far is nothing short of a miracle and that the power of prayer from people all over the world has made the difference.
Steve
Getting physically stronger every day. We do have her standing frame (finally) and hope this will have a big impact on restoring strength to her left leg.
Mentally she continues to become more aware, but the consistent "yes/no" response continues to elude us. We will continue to focus a lot of attention here.
Speech - any minute. She is becoming increasingly vocal and experimenting with sounds. It won't be long.
She continues to eat well and is enjoying many of her old favorites.
Although Judi is doing better every day, she still has a long way to go. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we take on new challenges. I am convinced that Judi's recovery so far is nothing short of a miracle and that the power of prayer from people all over the world has made the difference.
Steve
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