Judi had her follow-up appointment with her neurosurgeon today and received a clean bill of health. The CT scan showed no issues and her shunt is performing as designed. This is very good news and she will just have routine checks from here on out. I did ask him to give us a referral to a neurologist to ensure that we had all aspects of Judi's recovery covered. He agreed it was a good time to integrate this into her care to ensure we maximize her recovery.
We are hot and heavy into the out-patient rehab program now. Judi is doing great and they are all very high on their expectations for her. She is currently getting all three disciplines (speech, OT, and PT) three times a week. We will have to monitor her energy level to make sure she can keep up at this pace. We plan to have her take a shot at walking (with mechanical assistance) this week or early next week. As I have said before, I have a lot riding on the psychological impact of this for her. Once Judi knows that she will ultimately be free of the wheelchair, I suspect she will tap into that considerable inner strength that we all know she possesses.
Judi continues to work on her speech and we have come back to the physical limitations imposed by the weak neck muscles she has. The lack of strength makes it difficult for her to coordinate all the muscles necessary to accurately form the words. We will continue to work on developing the muscles and her words. I still love to hear the words and the wonderful laugh. She is eating well and becoming more and more aware of what goes on around her.
I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please enjoy time with family and friends, but don't forget the reason for the season. There are a lot of people around us that are struggling this year. The economy has hit many very hard and the continued deployments have had a huge impact on our military families. If you have the opportunity and the means, please reach out to those in need. A little kindness can go a very long way. I will never be able to repay the kindness we have received from so many, but I will do my best to try! I will continue to keep all of you in my prayers and hope that you will continue to do the same.
Merry Christmas
Steve
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Chatterbox
Judi has finally started to talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am trying not to get too pumped, but I have waited a long time to hear her speaking voice again and I can't describe the impact this has had on Jessica and me. Before everyone gets too excited, the words she is saying are not understandable so we still have a long way to go. I can tell what she is saying in many cases based on what we are talking about and her response when I repeat it back to her. The key here is that she is mastering the mechanics of talking as opposed to speaking specific words. I have been in full cheerleader mode the last couple of weeks in this area. It appears that the BOTOX shots are helping a great deal with her neck control and very possibly in this area as well. She talks more when she is in bed than in her wheelchair which I believe is related to the strain (or lack of) on the muscles in her neck/jaw. We have been spending an hour or so each night with her in bed and talking about the tremendous accomplishments she has made. I usually walk away with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes.
We have still not started outpatient rehab yet, but it typically takes a couple of weeks I have learned before things really get rolling in earnest. I hate waiting, but I have her in the Steve rehab program to prevent her from losing ground from where she was when the home health program came to a conclusion. We actually have a lot of fun doing these things together. The key thing I am looking for here is getting her up and walking with the necessary support equipment as soon as possible. I told her that what I wanted for Christmas was a walking and talking wife and I am holding out hope that we can get there.
The other areas are continuing to improve as previously discussed. She is eating great and continues to improve from an awarenes perspective. Yes/no response is still an area we are struggling in, but is getting better. She had a routine CT scan Tuesday and we have a follow up appointment with her neurosurgeon in a couple weeks to evaluate her progress to date. I suspect he will be surprised at where she is today compared to the last time he saw her.
I'll follow up as soon as we transition to outpatient rehab and the Dr. weighs in. I hate to keep asking, but please keep praying for us. I am convinced more and more every day that God has his hand on Judi's shoulder as a result of all the prayers she is receiving.
Thank you all again!
Steve
I am trying not to get too pumped, but I have waited a long time to hear her speaking voice again and I can't describe the impact this has had on Jessica and me. Before everyone gets too excited, the words she is saying are not understandable so we still have a long way to go. I can tell what she is saying in many cases based on what we are talking about and her response when I repeat it back to her. The key here is that she is mastering the mechanics of talking as opposed to speaking specific words. I have been in full cheerleader mode the last couple of weeks in this area. It appears that the BOTOX shots are helping a great deal with her neck control and very possibly in this area as well. She talks more when she is in bed than in her wheelchair which I believe is related to the strain (or lack of) on the muscles in her neck/jaw. We have been spending an hour or so each night with her in bed and talking about the tremendous accomplishments she has made. I usually walk away with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes.
We have still not started outpatient rehab yet, but it typically takes a couple of weeks I have learned before things really get rolling in earnest. I hate waiting, but I have her in the Steve rehab program to prevent her from losing ground from where she was when the home health program came to a conclusion. We actually have a lot of fun doing these things together. The key thing I am looking for here is getting her up and walking with the necessary support equipment as soon as possible. I told her that what I wanted for Christmas was a walking and talking wife and I am holding out hope that we can get there.
The other areas are continuing to improve as previously discussed. She is eating great and continues to improve from an awarenes perspective. Yes/no response is still an area we are struggling in, but is getting better. She had a routine CT scan Tuesday and we have a follow up appointment with her neurosurgeon in a couple weeks to evaluate her progress to date. I suspect he will be surprised at where she is today compared to the last time he saw her.
I'll follow up as soon as we transition to outpatient rehab and the Dr. weighs in. I hate to keep asking, but please keep praying for us. I am convinced more and more every day that God has his hand on Judi's shoulder as a result of all the prayers she is receiving.
Thank you all again!
Steve
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Hustle and Bustle
I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you gave some thought to the list I mentioned in the last post. I must admit that it was a difficult time for our family. Judi obviously recognized what was going on and she was "off" as we prepared for and had our Thanksgiving dinner. Jessica and I tried to carry on as if nothing significant had changed, but neither of us was totally successful. This time of year is full of family traditions for us and it is going to be an up and down time of year for us. Although this sounds a bit negative, we are EXTREMELY thankful to have our little family together with a future that looks very bright. Or said in Steve's terms, it could have been a lot worse.
Judi continues to grow stronger mentally and physically. We took our first big outing since the accident last Friday and took her to Cirque du Soleil. She did very well and it was great to do something like this as a family again. She did check out a few times during some of the louder/fast paced scenes, but overall followed the show pretty well. It was an awesome show and a great boost for us after struggling through turkey day. The trip to the Columbia Zoo is next and I am sure she will enjoy it as well.
Judi was evaluated for her outpatient therapy program at Walton today. Overall, everything was very positive. All disciplines felt she was doing very well and that they could make some significant progress with her. As a group, they also felt that it was time to give her some intense and aggressive therapy based on what she had accomplished so far in such a short period of time. I think most of you know that I have always thought this would be the most beneficial therapy environment for her and I am excited to see her finally reach this stage. She is strong enough mentally and physically to participate now and I am confident that Judi will show her true strength now. My hope is that each success along the way will provide the motivation to keep pushing to accept the next challenge.
Judi also got BOTOX injections in her neck today to aid in her recovery from wearing the cervical collar (neck brace) for so long. The goal is to relax some of the muscles that have contracted and allow her to continue recovering strength in this area. This continues to be one of the key issues in Judi's ability to perform some of the routine tasks we take for granted. If you think about the things that would be complicated if your head was down (chin on your chest), you have an idea of what she is faced with the majority of the time. She has compensated pretty well for it to date, but she is at the point now where it is limiting her recovery. We will have to watch her close to insure it does not impact her ability to swallow and the impact to her muscle freedom will take a couple of weeks to see.
I thank all of you again for your continued well wishes and prayers. We are building some momentum and I continue to hold out for a full recovery for my girl!
Steve
Judi continues to grow stronger mentally and physically. We took our first big outing since the accident last Friday and took her to Cirque du Soleil. She did very well and it was great to do something like this as a family again. She did check out a few times during some of the louder/fast paced scenes, but overall followed the show pretty well. It was an awesome show and a great boost for us after struggling through turkey day. The trip to the Columbia Zoo is next and I am sure she will enjoy it as well.
Judi was evaluated for her outpatient therapy program at Walton today. Overall, everything was very positive. All disciplines felt she was doing very well and that they could make some significant progress with her. As a group, they also felt that it was time to give her some intense and aggressive therapy based on what she had accomplished so far in such a short period of time. I think most of you know that I have always thought this would be the most beneficial therapy environment for her and I am excited to see her finally reach this stage. She is strong enough mentally and physically to participate now and I am confident that Judi will show her true strength now. My hope is that each success along the way will provide the motivation to keep pushing to accept the next challenge.
Judi also got BOTOX injections in her neck today to aid in her recovery from wearing the cervical collar (neck brace) for so long. The goal is to relax some of the muscles that have contracted and allow her to continue recovering strength in this area. This continues to be one of the key issues in Judi's ability to perform some of the routine tasks we take for granted. If you think about the things that would be complicated if your head was down (chin on your chest), you have an idea of what she is faced with the majority of the time. She has compensated pretty well for it to date, but she is at the point now where it is limiting her recovery. We will have to watch her close to insure it does not impact her ability to swallow and the impact to her muscle freedom will take a couple of weeks to see.
I thank all of you again for your continued well wishes and prayers. We are building some momentum and I continue to hold out for a full recovery for my girl!
Steve
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
