Roller Coaster

Holy cow! I didn't realize it had been nearly a month since the last post. That probably is an indicator of the pace at which our lives are going these days. Lots of new news.

Judi is finally starting to hold her head up. It is still for brief periods, but the more she holds it up, the stronger she gets. We have focused a lot of energy here using multiple therapies. This will significantly improve Judi's quality of life.

A couple weeks ago Judi made another significant cognitive step. Jess was working with her on her marker board and asked her to write her name. Judi promptly did just that. Jess came running in to tell me. We then drew a picture of a cat and asked Judi what it was, she quickly wrote the word "cat!" I almost fell out. The next day at therapy we wrote several words on index cards and had Judi identify the object that we had written down; she got them all right. This tells us a LOT of things: she can read, she can process the information and she can convert it into actions (all are cognitive skills). What a gal!!!! I keep telling everyone she is in there just trying to get out.

We can hold a reasonable conversation using her "yes/no" signals. We are also teaching her some basic sign language (she does her name, Jess', mine, when she is hungry, etc.). These are all huge steps for her. It still takes a lot out of her, but we know that she is capable.

Neuro-feedback (NF) is clearly helping in all of these areas, but it is only a piece of the effort. I have spent almost two weeks of the last month in NC getting NF training for her. Last Tuesday was one of the best days I have had in a very long time. She was animated, smiling, laughing, signing to us with confidence and I had a chance to see the fire that Judi always had come to the surface. She also wolfed down two huge pieces of quiche for supper that night (one of her faves). Unfortunately, Wednesday morning was one of the worst days I have had in a long time. Judi had a series of seizures that morning and I ultimately had to take her to the hospital in an ambulance. Needless to say, I was crushed. The local hospital there did a great job and performed all the appropriate testing (a couple needed a little prodding, but as you all know, when it comes to Judi I don't take chances). She did have a urinary tract infection and that was probably the key culprit for lowering the seizure sensitivity level. Her seizure med level was also on the low end since it occurred just before she would get her morning dose. This is also one of the things you have to watch with NF as the brain becomes more aware and active. She recovered fine, but it was a big setback for us. We know that Judi has a lot of recovery left in her (I am still holding out for a full one) based on what we have seen. I am going up next week for additional training and we will be doing some of the foundation training at home after that. They have a home unit that they rent out once we have identified the correct training frequency. We know we have that now. So I will be doing the foundation training at home (I haven't figured out how to fit that in yet) and then taking her once a week or so to train in the problem areas where it needs a professional to monitor.

We are also trying to get her medications sorted out to the appropriate levels. As her brain "wakes up" due to NF and some of the supplements we are giving her, she can actually become over medicated by taking the medicines she has been taking for a while. This has been a real balancing act for me. As you can imagine, doctors don't want to depart from the accepted treatment plan due to the liability that comes along with that. It usually boils down to me accepting the risk after understanding all the issues associated with each of the paths. I have faith that God will show me the way (he has so far) and I refuse to let Judi miss the opportunity to recover because we stayed within the traditional guidelines.

Judi's original caregiver is also returning to work for us tomorrow (YEAH!!!). Her sister is much better and she wanted to return. We were able to get her replacement another position as well. This is a huge relief for me and I am sure Judi will be happy to see her again.

PLEASE keep praying for us. Come and see her if you have a chance. Let me know if there are things going on that might spark that return to us and I'll get her there. One of the things that often happens about this time in the recovery of a brain injured patient is acceptance that what you have is what you are going to get. Judi has already shown us that she is a fighter and we have to be in her corner to help her along the way. Don't forget her. I am telling all of you that she can still make a full recovery, but she can't do it alone.

Thanx for all the help so far!
Steve