I have a massive headache this evening, so I apologize again for a short blog. I visited Dad for only a short amount of time today and haven't yet had a chance to speak with Mom. When I arrived there Dad was in with the speech therapist and he was eating. He ate quite a bit of lunch, or whatever they served for lunch. I guess Dad still has some difficulty with really thin liquids. He had a hard time drinking his milk today so they thickened it up for him. I don't understand why today he couldn't swallow his drink when yesterday he drank practically an entire sprite. I suppose it will be like this for awhile. Some days will be good and some days will be bad.
I don't know how things went with the other therapist this afternoon, but I am excited to find out because the occupational therapist wanted Mom to bring Dad his guitar. The occupational therapist is a musician herself and writes music and plays the guitar, so she will be excellent for helping Dad get those skills back. I think her and the other therapist are the only good things about this care center. Dad asks everyday when he can go home.
Dad did get his catheter taken out and was using the restroom on his own today. This is excellent news also. So we are making great progress for him to come home though, again, his full recovery will take some time.
P.S. Bette we love you dearly and appreciate the letter and pics you sent. No we didn't take the Martin to the hospital because we didn't want to take any chances of it getting stolen. Also, wanted to let you know that the Sunday after Dad's accident, the choir group that Dad sings in at church sang that song by Warren Z. Vohn for Dad. I think that is the same song he sang for Harv. The one that goes "Don't let us get sick, Don't let us get old, Don't let us get stupid all right, Just make us be brave, And make us play nice, And let us be together tonight." Well, it's not really a church song but Dad practiced and sang it all the time, and they asked the congregation to let them sing it for Dad. I have it recorded by the choir group if you would like to hear it sometime. Our prayers are with you and Dad did recognize you in the pics! xoxo
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Day 20 of Jim's Recovery
Another amazing day (do I say this on every blog post because it feels like every day is another amazing day!) Today Dad was able to swallow and not choke. Apparently the speech therapist came in this morning to work with Dad and had him try swallowing some apple juice, which Dad was able to do without coughing. This is the first time Dad has been able to do this. Then they started trying other things. Dad had some applesauce, water and a couple bites of a sandwich. Can you imagine how good that applesauce must have tasted? To not taste food for three weeks? Mmmmm, makes me want to go have some applesauce. Dad was funny because I promised him that as soon as he could swallow I would buy him a coke! I don't know if he asked or Mom and Erin remember that I had said that because they got Dad a coke this morning. Albeit the crazy ladies bought him diet, nasty! Who in their right mind buys diet coke? And why torture someone who hasn't had a coke in three weeks with drinking diet? GET THE MAN A CHERRY COKE, for heavens sake!
When I got there in the afternoon, he was working with the physical therapist. She had him put on his shoes and walk to the bathroom. She was going to have him walk further but his right ankle is bothering him. We have x-rayed the foot and were told there are no fractures. Dad also gets gout this time of year but apparently that comes with swelling. I have crappy ankles too and I think it's just gimpy ankles. Dad says that it doesn't feel like gout so we don't know what is going on. It really bothered him today. So we had to put him back in bed.
Dad was even more alert, if you can believe it. He was talking and trying to remember names. He remembers people but has a hard time with names. I brought my littlest, Sage, with me today and Dad asked me where my other one was. He tried to remember her name but couldn't. The good thing though is that he remembered I had another child. I told him her name is Ramie and she was at school. He repeated her name over and over trying to memorize it. Then he tried to say Kindergarten and it seemed like he couldn't believe that Ramie was that old. Who knows what age he remembers her at. Then he asked for the name of my three year old. I told him Sage and he just smiled at her.
Then, and this is the best part of the whole day, Dad started asking me for something. He kept saying the number 7 and then tried to explain something to me. I didn't understand. I thought he was trying to tell me an address. He said no. Then he said something that sounded like pencil. Sage had brought some markers and paper so I handed Dad the pad of paper. Dad drew a number 7 then he drew a bottle around it. I asked "Dad do you want a 7up?" He said "yeah" very enthusiastically. Mom and I were thrilled and we gave him a high five. He then wrote the word "up" on the bottle he had drawn. Of course I ran off down the hall to the soda machine to get him a 7up, but they only had sprite. Big deal, I got him the sprite and he took a huge swig and said "ahhhhh!" Again, can you imagine how refreshing that must have tasted. I bet that was the best sprite he will ever have. Perhaps he will be hooked on sprite now instead of coke!
While I was grabbing Dad's sprite he kept drawing on the pad of paper. Now for those of you who know Dad well he is a doodler. He draws cartoonish characters but they all have a similar look to them. Well, Dad drew a typical Dad doodle face. This is what I have been waiting for him to do. I knew that we would know for sure that Dad was truly coming back if and when he could draw those again! I was so happy to see that face when I got back. Now we just have to take him his guitar!
The occupational therapist came later in the afternoon and apparently she is what Mom would call "folky." This is fabulous for Dad. She had Dad try to sing some songs and he did fairly good Mom says. Mike told me this afternoon that last night him and Becky (his wife) played some music for Dad and he was taping his foot to the beat. Hey, perhaps this head injury will help Dad keep the beat now! Mike also said Dad asked for his guitar and was playing some air guitar. Crazy amazing is all I have to say!
Unfortunately, I do have some sad news, nothing about Dad though, just about visiting hours. We have had a lot of you e-mail to ask when you might be able to visit Dad and we thought at first that he could have visitors. We were told, however, by his physical therapist that it would be best to wait perhaps one more week before we have an onslaught of visitors. She told us that along with stimulation it is very important for Dad to get plenty of rest. So we have to leave the room for 15 min. at the end of each hour to let his brain relax. Even with us in the room his mind is being stimulated even if we think he is asleep or not paying attention. So hang in there friends. Perhaps with the way he is progressing he will be home sooner then later and then it will be really easy for you to visit. Also we think that Dad gets really embarrassed because he can't talk right.
Thanks again everyone.
When I got there in the afternoon, he was working with the physical therapist. She had him put on his shoes and walk to the bathroom. She was going to have him walk further but his right ankle is bothering him. We have x-rayed the foot and were told there are no fractures. Dad also gets gout this time of year but apparently that comes with swelling. I have crappy ankles too and I think it's just gimpy ankles. Dad says that it doesn't feel like gout so we don't know what is going on. It really bothered him today. So we had to put him back in bed.
Dad was even more alert, if you can believe it. He was talking and trying to remember names. He remembers people but has a hard time with names. I brought my littlest, Sage, with me today and Dad asked me where my other one was. He tried to remember her name but couldn't. The good thing though is that he remembered I had another child. I told him her name is Ramie and she was at school. He repeated her name over and over trying to memorize it. Then he tried to say Kindergarten and it seemed like he couldn't believe that Ramie was that old. Who knows what age he remembers her at. Then he asked for the name of my three year old. I told him Sage and he just smiled at her.
Then, and this is the best part of the whole day, Dad started asking me for something. He kept saying the number 7 and then tried to explain something to me. I didn't understand. I thought he was trying to tell me an address. He said no. Then he said something that sounded like pencil. Sage had brought some markers and paper so I handed Dad the pad of paper. Dad drew a number 7 then he drew a bottle around it. I asked "Dad do you want a 7up?" He said "yeah" very enthusiastically. Mom and I were thrilled and we gave him a high five. He then wrote the word "up" on the bottle he had drawn. Of course I ran off down the hall to the soda machine to get him a 7up, but they only had sprite. Big deal, I got him the sprite and he took a huge swig and said "ahhhhh!" Again, can you imagine how refreshing that must have tasted. I bet that was the best sprite he will ever have. Perhaps he will be hooked on sprite now instead of coke!
While I was grabbing Dad's sprite he kept drawing on the pad of paper. Now for those of you who know Dad well he is a doodler. He draws cartoonish characters but they all have a similar look to them. Well, Dad drew a typical Dad doodle face. This is what I have been waiting for him to do. I knew that we would know for sure that Dad was truly coming back if and when he could draw those again! I was so happy to see that face when I got back. Now we just have to take him his guitar!
The occupational therapist came later in the afternoon and apparently she is what Mom would call "folky." This is fabulous for Dad. She had Dad try to sing some songs and he did fairly good Mom says. Mike told me this afternoon that last night him and Becky (his wife) played some music for Dad and he was taping his foot to the beat. Hey, perhaps this head injury will help Dad keep the beat now! Mike also said Dad asked for his guitar and was playing some air guitar. Crazy amazing is all I have to say!
Unfortunately, I do have some sad news, nothing about Dad though, just about visiting hours. We have had a lot of you e-mail to ask when you might be able to visit Dad and we thought at first that he could have visitors. We were told, however, by his physical therapist that it would be best to wait perhaps one more week before we have an onslaught of visitors. She told us that along with stimulation it is very important for Dad to get plenty of rest. So we have to leave the room for 15 min. at the end of each hour to let his brain relax. Even with us in the room his mind is being stimulated even if we think he is asleep or not paying attention. So hang in there friends. Perhaps with the way he is progressing he will be home sooner then later and then it will be really easy for you to visit. Also we think that Dad gets really embarrassed because he can't talk right.
Thanks again everyone.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Day 19 of Jim's Recovery
Thank you all for all the comments and compliments about this blog! Everyday I have people telling me how much this is helping them and how much they love to read it. So thank you! I'll keep writing as long as you guys keep reading.
Today Dad was feeling better. He didn't seem so down and depressed, though he does go in and out of being sad. The care facility moved Dad so that he is now right across from the nurse station so that they can monitor his movement. I do think this is good because he needs the supervision but at the same time it sucks. It's the first room as you walk into the facility so now its noisy and not very private. I'm stumped for words at the moment because I want to complain about the place but am extremely grateful for them because we do not have to pay for it. The University of Utah contracts with Federal Heights and then, I believe, the hospital can write it off as charity. So we have 14 days of free care and rehabilitation but we are at the "catch all" place. We will give them a week or less and then if things still aren't good we will move him and just pay out of pocket. I'm just so grateful that Dad is making leaps and bounds everyday.
Today I was amazed, again, by how much more he was talking. Mom had gone in early and given Dad a bath and brought him his own PJs. Mom had to change the bedsheets herself because they were soiled...grrrrrr again we aren't so sure about this place. Then Erin came in and gave Dad a shave. Dad looked so nice and clean when I got there and it was awesome because he smelled like Daddy. I just knelt next to the bed and put my head on his chest. I laid there for awhile just listening to him breath and his heart beat. That was one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to lay on his chest and just listen. While my head was on his chest Dad would reach up and softly stroke my hair. I was in heaven.
As I said before Dad is talking quite a bit more today. Each day he puts more words together and more sounds together. Erin has been practicing the ABC's with him. He remembers a couple new letters each day and today he was able to remember A-K and P-Z. For some reason L-O stumps him. I'm not sure if it is because he can't say them or because he just can't remember them. It's so hard to tell. Erin also brought Ethan and Keenan in to see Dad today and he was happy to see them. Apparently, Keenan (Erin's sensitive one) sat on the edge of Dad's bed, held and stroked his hand and just rambled on about stuff. Dad smiled up at Erin while Keenan was talking to him.
Now, I'm not sure if it was today or last night but Russel (Erin's hubby) visited Dad. Dad was really excited to see Russ because Russ had been there the night of Dad's accident. Dad wanted to know what happened and kept trying to ask Russ questions. Dad, obviously can't remember anything and is just barely trying to piece things together. Erin also showed Dad a picture of himself from the first day at the hospital. (We got in trouble for this that day at the hospital because apparently it violates the HIPPA laws.) Erin said that Dad just stared at the picture forever and kept say something like "wow." He is either just barely starting to remember why he is in the hospital or just barely able to tell us he remembers.
He also told Mom and Erin that he couldn't remember who he was when he first come to. I think this was when he first "officially" woke up after his surgery for the PEG tube. Can you imagine waking up in a hospital not knowing who you are or why you are there? How frightening. Frightening doesn't even give the idea justice. Dad also told us this afternoon that he will have memories and they will flash in his head but then go away. He is just barely starting to remember who we. I know he would shake his head in the past but I don't think he truly remembered. He knew we were there everyday and that we must be his family but he couldn't tell you who we were.
Today was the first day I heard Dad say my name. My heart melted and I wanted to jump up and down and cry all at the same time. Dad was telling us a story and he mentioned my name. I said "that's me, Dad," and he said "Ya, I know," then continued on trying to relay what he was talking about. I'm not so sure he did know that Jamie was my name but hey it's a start. I don't care whether he was talking too me or about me as long as he is starting to remember me I will take what I can get! He was also trying to remember other peoples names and explain who he was talking about. Another great name moment was when he said Mom's name. Dad said "Hey, Kim?" Then he started asking her a question. This is amazing because he has not pointed out who any of us are. He would acknowledge that Mom was his wife but this is the first time he has asked for her or even asked her a question or even called her by name!
Dad had a wonderful Jim moment today and showed us a little of his old personality. Dad hardly ever smiles anymore. At the hospital I would smile at him or try to make a joke to see if I could get him so smile. Nothing. Now that he has been moved to the rehab center he will give me a little smile back when I smile at him. Well, this afternoon Mom and I were trying to get Dad to do some tongue exercises that are supposed to help him get his swallowing reflexes back. What he has to do is stick his tongue out and move it from left to right. Mom and I were showing him then asked him to do it. He would shake his head yes and say "mmm, okay," or "well." But we kept pushing him to do it. Finally, he pulled a Jim face, opened his eyes wide, rolled them around in circles, and stuck out his tongue and moved it from side to side. Mom and I burst out laughing and Dad even smiled too! It was great to see him joke around.
Sadly, Dad is extremely frustrated still. One moment he seems fine and the next he looks like he is ready to cry. He apparently told the speech therapist this morning that he was so stupid. Then later while I was there I was still giggling about him sticking his tongue out but I think he perceived it as me laughing at him. Plus, he gets so frustrated because he is starting to try to tell us things and we can catch a few words but can't understand all of it. So he will give up and just say never mind. When he talks I don't try to understand what he is talking about I just try to encourage him to talk. I figure it's like writers block or when you can't remember a word. If you get the words out that keep blocking the right one eventually you will remember the correct word. I think Dad needs to keep talking so that all those jumbled memories will put themselves right.
Tomorrow his physical therapy will start so it will be nice to see how far he will be in that.
Today Dad was feeling better. He didn't seem so down and depressed, though he does go in and out of being sad. The care facility moved Dad so that he is now right across from the nurse station so that they can monitor his movement. I do think this is good because he needs the supervision but at the same time it sucks. It's the first room as you walk into the facility so now its noisy and not very private. I'm stumped for words at the moment because I want to complain about the place but am extremely grateful for them because we do not have to pay for it. The University of Utah contracts with Federal Heights and then, I believe, the hospital can write it off as charity. So we have 14 days of free care and rehabilitation but we are at the "catch all" place. We will give them a week or less and then if things still aren't good we will move him and just pay out of pocket. I'm just so grateful that Dad is making leaps and bounds everyday.
Today I was amazed, again, by how much more he was talking. Mom had gone in early and given Dad a bath and brought him his own PJs. Mom had to change the bedsheets herself because they were soiled...grrrrrr again we aren't so sure about this place. Then Erin came in and gave Dad a shave. Dad looked so nice and clean when I got there and it was awesome because he smelled like Daddy. I just knelt next to the bed and put my head on his chest. I laid there for awhile just listening to him breath and his heart beat. That was one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to lay on his chest and just listen. While my head was on his chest Dad would reach up and softly stroke my hair. I was in heaven.
As I said before Dad is talking quite a bit more today. Each day he puts more words together and more sounds together. Erin has been practicing the ABC's with him. He remembers a couple new letters each day and today he was able to remember A-K and P-Z. For some reason L-O stumps him. I'm not sure if it is because he can't say them or because he just can't remember them. It's so hard to tell. Erin also brought Ethan and Keenan in to see Dad today and he was happy to see them. Apparently, Keenan (Erin's sensitive one) sat on the edge of Dad's bed, held and stroked his hand and just rambled on about stuff. Dad smiled up at Erin while Keenan was talking to him.
Now, I'm not sure if it was today or last night but Russel (Erin's hubby) visited Dad. Dad was really excited to see Russ because Russ had been there the night of Dad's accident. Dad wanted to know what happened and kept trying to ask Russ questions. Dad, obviously can't remember anything and is just barely trying to piece things together. Erin also showed Dad a picture of himself from the first day at the hospital. (We got in trouble for this that day at the hospital because apparently it violates the HIPPA laws.) Erin said that Dad just stared at the picture forever and kept say something like "wow." He is either just barely starting to remember why he is in the hospital or just barely able to tell us he remembers.
He also told Mom and Erin that he couldn't remember who he was when he first come to. I think this was when he first "officially" woke up after his surgery for the PEG tube. Can you imagine waking up in a hospital not knowing who you are or why you are there? How frightening. Frightening doesn't even give the idea justice. Dad also told us this afternoon that he will have memories and they will flash in his head but then go away. He is just barely starting to remember who we. I know he would shake his head in the past but I don't think he truly remembered. He knew we were there everyday and that we must be his family but he couldn't tell you who we were.
Today was the first day I heard Dad say my name. My heart melted and I wanted to jump up and down and cry all at the same time. Dad was telling us a story and he mentioned my name. I said "that's me, Dad," and he said "Ya, I know," then continued on trying to relay what he was talking about. I'm not so sure he did know that Jamie was my name but hey it's a start. I don't care whether he was talking too me or about me as long as he is starting to remember me I will take what I can get! He was also trying to remember other peoples names and explain who he was talking about. Another great name moment was when he said Mom's name. Dad said "Hey, Kim?" Then he started asking her a question. This is amazing because he has not pointed out who any of us are. He would acknowledge that Mom was his wife but this is the first time he has asked for her or even asked her a question or even called her by name!
Dad had a wonderful Jim moment today and showed us a little of his old personality. Dad hardly ever smiles anymore. At the hospital I would smile at him or try to make a joke to see if I could get him so smile. Nothing. Now that he has been moved to the rehab center he will give me a little smile back when I smile at him. Well, this afternoon Mom and I were trying to get Dad to do some tongue exercises that are supposed to help him get his swallowing reflexes back. What he has to do is stick his tongue out and move it from left to right. Mom and I were showing him then asked him to do it. He would shake his head yes and say "mmm, okay," or "well." But we kept pushing him to do it. Finally, he pulled a Jim face, opened his eyes wide, rolled them around in circles, and stuck out his tongue and moved it from side to side. Mom and I burst out laughing and Dad even smiled too! It was great to see him joke around.
Sadly, Dad is extremely frustrated still. One moment he seems fine and the next he looks like he is ready to cry. He apparently told the speech therapist this morning that he was so stupid. Then later while I was there I was still giggling about him sticking his tongue out but I think he perceived it as me laughing at him. Plus, he gets so frustrated because he is starting to try to tell us things and we can catch a few words but can't understand all of it. So he will give up and just say never mind. When he talks I don't try to understand what he is talking about I just try to encourage him to talk. I figure it's like writers block or when you can't remember a word. If you get the words out that keep blocking the right one eventually you will remember the correct word. I think Dad needs to keep talking so that all those jumbled memories will put themselves right.
Tomorrow his physical therapy will start so it will be nice to see how far he will be in that.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Day 18 of Jim's Recovery
Well, Dad's progress is nothing short of a miracle. I miss one day and Dad is doing amazing things. It's hard to believe that 3 weeks ago we thought that we would never hear Dad talk again, but here we are. It's also hard to fathom that Dad has a brain injury. He just makes leaps and bounds everyday. Sometimes this is great but other times it is hard.
Last night Dad was moved to the Federal Heights Rehabilitation Center in SLC. We moved him there because the University of Utah is able to contract with Rehab centers and we don't have to pay for it! Unfortunately, Dad was moved on a Friday so there is quite a bit of down time before he starts on his physical therapy schedule which in turn has made Dad very depressed. Our good friend Gwen warned us about moving Dad on a Friday, but we had no choice in the matter.
Apparently, last night Dad actually got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom, in the process he pulled out his feeding tube. At the hospital this would not have happened because there were monitors on the bed to warn if he got up. Yes, it is absolutely amazing that Dad walked himself to the bathroom. I have no clue how he did it...determination comes to mind! But now Mom is paranoid about leaving Dad alone. There is hardly any staff on the weekends and Dad runs the risk, obviously, of falling or getting an infection if he pulls the PEG tube out again.
I'm hesitant to divulge this next information but I want Dad to read this once he is able to read again. It's like a personal diary for Dad, so I will just ask his forgiveness and hope that he will understand (Mom too.) This morning when Mom walked into the room Dad began to cry. He asked "How did I get here? How did this happen? Why am I here?" It is heartbreaking that Dad is depressed but wonderful that he is aware of his surroundings. It is so hard to see Dad cry and I can't imagine being in Mom's shoes right now. But in my eyes Dad's crying is a great step to his recovery. Mom explained to Dad about the accident and that we were doing everything in our power to get him home.
Erin and I showed up around oneish. Dad was much more aware of what was going on around him. His speech skills have improved tremendously. I could catch more words and he was putting sentences together. He also showed a lot more emotions on his face, like smiling for one! Mike and Becky were there and they had brought their dog Kaike (sp?) It was great to see Dad smile when Kaike came in the room. I think not only did he smile but he sighed like he knew who she was. Then said in broken sounds "I want to see Crowja." This is his goldendoodle. We told him we would bring Crowja as soon as we could. I'm going to see if I can take my dog Hintza in to see Dad. He really needs the stimulation.
Erin did some strength work with Dad getting him to lift his right leg. He is getting a lot more muscle strength in his right side. He could push against her with his right leg and also push again her with his right arm. So she did some movement exercises with Dad. Again I was just amazed at the strength Dad had in his right side from two days ago. Later in the afternoon he said he needed to use the restroom and with only the help of Mom and a nurse they got him to the bathroom. Then I got to see him walk back out and I just sat there open mouthed. He could move both legs but could not put a lot of weight on his right leg. So basically it looked like he was walking with a sprained ankle, then add a small shuffle.
When I saw how good Dad was doing I called Matt (my hubby) to bring our girls over. The hospital has a restriction that anyone under 14 could not be allowed in the rooms, this is because the hospital is trying to keep the flu from spreading. Now that he is in a care facility my girls can go see him. Plus, they just got off antibiotics so I am quite sure they are good. I was so happy to see my Dad's face light up when he saw the girls. He knew who they were and showed emotion to see them. Dad couldn't keep his eyes off of them. He even at one point tried playing with Sage, my littlest, by using his right hand to poke her in the ribs. She just giggled and laughed, the moment was so wonderful.
So now we just wait until Monday to see what his schedule will be and as soon as Dad is walking well enough to be able to use the restroom on his own and as soon as he can swallow better we will bring Dad home. For me I would bring him home as soon as he is able to use the restroom on his own because we can be taught how to take care of the PEG tube. I'm sure this is what Mom is thinking too. I can't wait to go see Dad tomorrow and see how far the night has brought him.
Please go see Dad, he needs the support. But make sure you are good and healthy! Can't risk Dad getting pneumonia gain.
Last night Dad was moved to the Federal Heights Rehabilitation Center in SLC. We moved him there because the University of Utah is able to contract with Rehab centers and we don't have to pay for it! Unfortunately, Dad was moved on a Friday so there is quite a bit of down time before he starts on his physical therapy schedule which in turn has made Dad very depressed. Our good friend Gwen warned us about moving Dad on a Friday, but we had no choice in the matter.
Apparently, last night Dad actually got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom, in the process he pulled out his feeding tube. At the hospital this would not have happened because there were monitors on the bed to warn if he got up. Yes, it is absolutely amazing that Dad walked himself to the bathroom. I have no clue how he did it...determination comes to mind! But now Mom is paranoid about leaving Dad alone. There is hardly any staff on the weekends and Dad runs the risk, obviously, of falling or getting an infection if he pulls the PEG tube out again.
I'm hesitant to divulge this next information but I want Dad to read this once he is able to read again. It's like a personal diary for Dad, so I will just ask his forgiveness and hope that he will understand (Mom too.) This morning when Mom walked into the room Dad began to cry. He asked "How did I get here? How did this happen? Why am I here?" It is heartbreaking that Dad is depressed but wonderful that he is aware of his surroundings. It is so hard to see Dad cry and I can't imagine being in Mom's shoes right now. But in my eyes Dad's crying is a great step to his recovery. Mom explained to Dad about the accident and that we were doing everything in our power to get him home.
Erin and I showed up around oneish. Dad was much more aware of what was going on around him. His speech skills have improved tremendously. I could catch more words and he was putting sentences together. He also showed a lot more emotions on his face, like smiling for one! Mike and Becky were there and they had brought their dog Kaike (sp?) It was great to see Dad smile when Kaike came in the room. I think not only did he smile but he sighed like he knew who she was. Then said in broken sounds "I want to see Crowja." This is his goldendoodle. We told him we would bring Crowja as soon as we could. I'm going to see if I can take my dog Hintza in to see Dad. He really needs the stimulation.
Erin did some strength work with Dad getting him to lift his right leg. He is getting a lot more muscle strength in his right side. He could push against her with his right leg and also push again her with his right arm. So she did some movement exercises with Dad. Again I was just amazed at the strength Dad had in his right side from two days ago. Later in the afternoon he said he needed to use the restroom and with only the help of Mom and a nurse they got him to the bathroom. Then I got to see him walk back out and I just sat there open mouthed. He could move both legs but could not put a lot of weight on his right leg. So basically it looked like he was walking with a sprained ankle, then add a small shuffle.
When I saw how good Dad was doing I called Matt (my hubby) to bring our girls over. The hospital has a restriction that anyone under 14 could not be allowed in the rooms, this is because the hospital is trying to keep the flu from spreading. Now that he is in a care facility my girls can go see him. Plus, they just got off antibiotics so I am quite sure they are good. I was so happy to see my Dad's face light up when he saw the girls. He knew who they were and showed emotion to see them. Dad couldn't keep his eyes off of them. He even at one point tried playing with Sage, my littlest, by using his right hand to poke her in the ribs. She just giggled and laughed, the moment was so wonderful.
So now we just wait until Monday to see what his schedule will be and as soon as Dad is walking well enough to be able to use the restroom on his own and as soon as he can swallow better we will bring Dad home. For me I would bring him home as soon as he is able to use the restroom on his own because we can be taught how to take care of the PEG tube. I'm sure this is what Mom is thinking too. I can't wait to go see Dad tomorrow and see how far the night has brought him.
Please go see Dad, he needs the support. But make sure you are good and healthy! Can't risk Dad getting pneumonia gain.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Day 17 of Jim's Recovery
Okay todays blog with be very short, promise! I wasn't able to see my Dad today because I had some yard work that had to be done before it snowed tomorrow. I've been putting off raking leaves ever since Dad got sick. So I wasn't able to talk to Dad or see how he was.
Mom was there today and said that the physical therapists got Dad to walk to the bathroom and also down the hall with only one and a half people assisting him. Then they moved Dad today to a Care Facility in Salt Lake. I can't remember the name but will update you tomorrow on where he is at. We would like to see Dad have lots o visitors so that he doesn't get bored and lonely.
More tomorrow.
Mom was there today and said that the physical therapists got Dad to walk to the bathroom and also down the hall with only one and a half people assisting him. Then they moved Dad today to a Care Facility in Salt Lake. I can't remember the name but will update you tomorrow on where he is at. We would like to see Dad have lots o visitors so that he doesn't get bored and lonely.
More tomorrow.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Day 16 of Jim's Recovery
Tonight's post will not be as long as last nights. There isn't much to report tonight, but what I have to report is funny. We are still in limbo with insurances, grants, medicaid, and all the lovely mumbo jumbo that goes with that. So we still do not know where Dad will be. We are told we aren't being rushed out and the same time we are told we need to make a quick decision. We then are told don't worry about moving Dad he will be here for 30 days, and the next we are told he will be moved Monday. So if you would like to go see Dad just send me an e-mail at jimsrecovery@gmail.com and telling me who the heck you are, and how the heck you know Dad! Since my purse was stolen last week I don't trust anyone I can't look in the eyes!! Anyways, I don't want to post his room number because this is a public blog.
So on with my reports for the day. Dad was in one heck of a mood today. He didn't want to do anything. He didn't want to try the puzzles, do the piggy bank, draw, watch t.v., listen to music, nothing. He seemed very frustrated and depressed today. I don't know what else to do to keep him entertained.
On the up side for us, the physical therapists helped Dad to walk today. Yes, that is right I said walk. He did have 3 PT's there to assist and they did need to help him slide his feet. BUT, he walked from the bed across the room to the couch and back again to the bed. Amazing. I didn't get to see it unfortunately, so I can't give you many details.
Dad was talking a lot more today. He is using new sounds and I caught quite a few words he was saying today. The speech therapist came in earlier and worked with Dad identifying numbers and days of the week. Again I wasn't there but Mom said that he pointed to the numbers as they were read and did the same with the days of the week. Huge improvement from yesterday.
The hardest thing with Dad today was that he would not stay in bed. He kept telling me he wanted to go home and when were they going to let him go. He doesn't understand why they are keeping him and his brain is not connecting that he is not well. Dad is getting quite a bit stronger and can sit up and push himself over to the side of the bed. This causes a problem because they no longer want to restrain him because he is too aware but he will try to get out of bed. So they have a movement monitor that will alarm if he moves to get up out of bed.
Basically today Mom and I just tried to keep Dad in bed. He didn't want to get in his wheelchair and was ornery when we asked him if he wanted to go for a ride. Okay, so I'm at the funny part, well I think it's funny. Dad and I used to get in punching wars. He would slap my arm and I'd get him back, each time getting harder and harder. It would always make us laugh or lighten the mood if we were down. With that little bit of history, Dad sat up and moved his legs to the side of the bed to get up. So I ran around to stand in front of him. He glared up at me and said "what? I just want to go." I tried to explain that if he stood up he would fall because his right leg was not working properly. He cussed and said "oh, man I don't mumble, mumble, mumble..." Then he looked down at his leg and with his left foot tried to kick me several times! They obviously weren't hard kicks and I was tickled pink to see him try. I laughed "Are you kicking me? Oh, bring it on Dad. Go ahead do it again." He just looked up at me then sat back on the bed. This seemed to lighten his mood and he relaxed for a minute.
I then started massaging his feet and he closed his eyes. I also started humming "Swing Me." After awhile Mom came in and that reminded Dad he wanted to get up so he sat up again and moved his legs to the side of the bed. Again, I stood in front of him, and again he asked me "why." So I knelt down so I could look up at him and tried to explain again why he couldn't get up. He wasn't satisfied with my answer so he started to lean forward, in my position I put my head to his forehead and pushed. I was surprised with how strong he was and he pushed back. Then I stood up and put my arm on his left shoulder to keep him from trying again. He grabbed my arm and threw it down. Again, I laughed "Oh, you want to bring it, eh? Punch me then. Punch me as hard as you can." Dad tried to kick me again then looked up at me and smiled at me. Then he looked at Mom and gave her those parent smiles that say "darn kids." I then told him to wait and I would get a nurse. So he waited until the nurse came before trying to get up again.
What a great day! Mom and I left shortly after that because we wanted him to sleep and were afraid that we were agitating him which made him want to get up.
So on with my reports for the day. Dad was in one heck of a mood today. He didn't want to do anything. He didn't want to try the puzzles, do the piggy bank, draw, watch t.v., listen to music, nothing. He seemed very frustrated and depressed today. I don't know what else to do to keep him entertained.
On the up side for us, the physical therapists helped Dad to walk today. Yes, that is right I said walk. He did have 3 PT's there to assist and they did need to help him slide his feet. BUT, he walked from the bed across the room to the couch and back again to the bed. Amazing. I didn't get to see it unfortunately, so I can't give you many details.
Dad was talking a lot more today. He is using new sounds and I caught quite a few words he was saying today. The speech therapist came in earlier and worked with Dad identifying numbers and days of the week. Again I wasn't there but Mom said that he pointed to the numbers as they were read and did the same with the days of the week. Huge improvement from yesterday.
The hardest thing with Dad today was that he would not stay in bed. He kept telling me he wanted to go home and when were they going to let him go. He doesn't understand why they are keeping him and his brain is not connecting that he is not well. Dad is getting quite a bit stronger and can sit up and push himself over to the side of the bed. This causes a problem because they no longer want to restrain him because he is too aware but he will try to get out of bed. So they have a movement monitor that will alarm if he moves to get up out of bed.
Basically today Mom and I just tried to keep Dad in bed. He didn't want to get in his wheelchair and was ornery when we asked him if he wanted to go for a ride. Okay, so I'm at the funny part, well I think it's funny. Dad and I used to get in punching wars. He would slap my arm and I'd get him back, each time getting harder and harder. It would always make us laugh or lighten the mood if we were down. With that little bit of history, Dad sat up and moved his legs to the side of the bed to get up. So I ran around to stand in front of him. He glared up at me and said "what? I just want to go." I tried to explain that if he stood up he would fall because his right leg was not working properly. He cussed and said "oh, man I don't mumble, mumble, mumble..." Then he looked down at his leg and with his left foot tried to kick me several times! They obviously weren't hard kicks and I was tickled pink to see him try. I laughed "Are you kicking me? Oh, bring it on Dad. Go ahead do it again." He just looked up at me then sat back on the bed. This seemed to lighten his mood and he relaxed for a minute.
I then started massaging his feet and he closed his eyes. I also started humming "Swing Me." After awhile Mom came in and that reminded Dad he wanted to get up so he sat up again and moved his legs to the side of the bed. Again, I stood in front of him, and again he asked me "why." So I knelt down so I could look up at him and tried to explain again why he couldn't get up. He wasn't satisfied with my answer so he started to lean forward, in my position I put my head to his forehead and pushed. I was surprised with how strong he was and he pushed back. Then I stood up and put my arm on his left shoulder to keep him from trying again. He grabbed my arm and threw it down. Again, I laughed "Oh, you want to bring it, eh? Punch me then. Punch me as hard as you can." Dad tried to kick me again then looked up at me and smiled at me. Then he looked at Mom and gave her those parent smiles that say "darn kids." I then told him to wait and I would get a nurse. So he waited until the nurse came before trying to get up again.
What a great day! Mom and I left shortly after that because we wanted him to sleep and were afraid that we were agitating him which made him want to get up.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Day 15 of Jim's Recovery
Holy cow, my mood swings are like the tire swing out back. First, I'm swinging high feeling great and then the darn swing has to slow down and I'm barely moving. What is with this? Today was a good day. Dad made some progress and didn't make progress. I know that this is how it will be for a while. I know and still have hope that he will get better. But once I got home tonight it was like the weight of everything just came crashing down. So I apologize if tonight's blog sounds pessimistic. I'm just dealing with the stupid ups and downs of trauma!!
Well, I was glad because I was able to spend a considerable amount of time with Dad today. Mom had to stay home to take care of some housekeeping stuff and so she watched Sage for me. When I got in Dad seemed pretty tired. Mom says he is tired until about noon then he will start to wake up. I listened to some of your suggestions and brought some old baby toys from my girls for Dad to work with. I brought a peg animal puzzle, a piggy bank with coins, and a Rocky and Bullwinkle coloring book (I figured he might recognize them better then Littlest Pet Shop!)
To make Dad not feel so silly working with the baby stuff I told him my girls had sent the games for him to play with. I said for him just to work with me because they really wanted him to use the games. So I started with the puzzle. I showed him how to take out a piece and put it back. Then I told him I wanted him to use his right hand. I lifted his hand to one of the pieces and told him to grab the peg, which he did, and he pulled the piece out. I told him to put it back. He slowly slid the piece up the board to the correct spot with his right hand. Then slowly tried to move his fingers out of the way to fit the piece in the groove. He was almost there when he used his left hand to help his right hand move the piece into position. He did it though!! We did this three or four times. He also could find the right place to put a piece if I handed it to him so that he had to think about where the piece went instead of just moving it back into place. He did this mostly with his right hand or using both hands. This is awesome because the PT told us to make sure when he uses his hands he uses both at the same time or uses the right!
Next I moved on to the piggy bank. This is a plastic piggy bank with large plastic coins that babies use for dexterity (obviously.) So I made Dad hold the piggy bank with his left hand and put the coins in the slot with his right hand. I had to hand him the coins and move his hand over the piggy bank but Dad did all the work putting the coins into the slot. Sometimes he would cheat and use his left pointer finger to press the coins into the slot. There are about 10 coins and I made him put all the coins into the slot three times. He did awesome. I also think he liked using both the puzzle and the piggy bank because he knew it was helping him work with his hands. No one else was in the room so I don't think he felt stupid either.
He had already been tired when I walked in so after doing those exercises he began to get tired again. So I put the games away and walked back over to the bed. Dad asked where Mom was and I told him she wouldn't be able to make it in today. He made a sad face and say "ohhhh." I look at this to be positive because it means he knows who Mom is and he wants her to be there and he knows she has been coming. Then Dad began to babble about something so I leaned in close to try to catch what he was saying. He turned his head away from me and mumbled a bit then stopped. So I just waited to see if he was going to finish talking. After a minute he turned back to look at me and his eyes went wide with surprise like he forgot I was there. Then he scrunched his face and asked "what?" I said he had been talking to me and I was just waiting to hear what else he had to say. Then he said "leave me." I said "Sorry, I'll leave you alone, but I will just be over in this chair if you need me." Dad gets distracted and forgets what he is talking about really easy.
Dad slept for about a half hour or 45 min and I just sat in the chair working the crossword puzzle. When Dad woke up he told me he needed to go to the bathroom. I called for the nurses and left the room. They did take the catheter out last night but Dad was unable to relieve himself, which means his bladder would not empty. This is good and bad. Good because it means that he still has muscle memory there and won't just wet the bad. This is also bad because they have to retrain the bladder to relieve itself. How in the world do you retrain your bladder? After a while the nurses came back out. To put things mildly Dad is just having a hard time relieving anything on his own. And that's all we have to say about that because we don't want Dad to get embarrassed.
And Dad is getting embarrassed, which is another great emotion Dad is exhibiting. The speech therapist (ST) came in to work with Dad today. They are still trying to get him to swallow properly. What happens is they will give him a spoonful of water and he will swallow. But the brain is not using the muscles in the throat to switch from the lung pipe to the stomach pipe when he swallows or the muscle triggers too late. So Dad will swallow and about 20 seconds later he will cough as the liquid hits his lungs. Now when we swallow and it goes down the wrong pipe it doesn't actually hit our lungs our bodies have an automatic response to cough when something begins to go down the wrong pipe. But Dad's brain is not registering the liquid going down the wrong pipe until it is too late and it hits the lungs. So we have to be really careful because he could get pneumonia.
Then the ST showed Erin and I some stuff we could work on to get Dad speaking again. She said picture and word association is a great game. We write the name of someone in a picture and then show him the word and the picture together. I told her I had been trying to get him to color and she said that was great and said trying to get him to write was another good skill to work on. So I grab the pad I had brought from yesterday and she asked Dad if he could write his name. He couldn't. So she had Erin hold Dad's hand and write his name with him. Then we asked Dad to trace it; to take a turn. I began to say "Do it Dad, you can do it. Come on don't give up. I won't let you give up. You can do it Dad." Then he turned to me and said "you embarrassing." I wanted to cry and am crying again as I type this. He told me I was embarrassing him. I felt and feel so awful. I think when the physical therapist are there he gets embarrassed that he can't do things, because I was saying the same stuff to him when we were working on the puzzles and he kept trying. Sorry Dad I didn't mean to embarrass you.
Anyways (sniff, sniff), the ST said that it was good that Dad was feeling embarrassment. Then she tried a different skill. She drew a circle with a smiley face in it and asked if he could draw one. Dad looked at it and said "oh" then began mumbling stuff. He then took the pencil, with his right hand, and drew some marks that looked like hair and a neck and shoulders. Dad used to always finish our doodles! The ST was really happy with this and said now she knew where to start with him. So we are going to work with him drawing more.
Directly after the ST left the physical therapist came in to help Dad stand and work his arms. I told them about Dad using the puzzle and piggy bank and they thought that was great. So they decided to see if he could brush his teeth and shave. As they were moving Dad to sit up he said as plain as day and the first clear, full sentence, I have heard him say. He said "My ankle hurts." The PT's knew that he was having trouble with his ankle but only knew this because he would grimace when they would move it or stretch it. So the fact that he told them it hurt and what specifically hurt is fabulous. Byron (Dad's best friend) was there and he was shocked to hear Dad say a full sentence.
Unfortunately, I had to leave right as they were getting him sat up so I don't know how much he did with the PT's. I will talk with Erin and get back to you all. Okay, talked to Erin sooner then later. She said that they put the toothbrush up to Dad's mouth but he didn't know what to do with it and that he did not want to try to shave. She told me that Dad was too focused on his robe, he kept getting embarrassed that he was exposing too much. It is truely rediculous how those stupid gowns work. Don't they have pants with snaps? We have diapers with velrow and underwear with snaps for babies that provided easy access. Why can't we have that for adults? Geezy Peezy, I will look into this tomorrow.
A good thing Erin said was that she started singing the alphabet to Dad once the PT's left. She said once she got to "F" Dad said "G,H." So she started again, she got to "B" and he said "C,D." WooHoo serious progress. Way to go Ebs!
P.S. Marsha, I am so broken hearted to hear of "aunt" Joan. I love her so much and hate to hear that she is declining. My heart goes out to you and all your family. We will be doing the same for Dad and not let him know until he is well. He will be tragically sad if she passes while he is in the hospital. Love to you all, we love Joan so much! And you can come see Dad now whenever you can.
Well, I was glad because I was able to spend a considerable amount of time with Dad today. Mom had to stay home to take care of some housekeeping stuff and so she watched Sage for me. When I got in Dad seemed pretty tired. Mom says he is tired until about noon then he will start to wake up. I listened to some of your suggestions and brought some old baby toys from my girls for Dad to work with. I brought a peg animal puzzle, a piggy bank with coins, and a Rocky and Bullwinkle coloring book (I figured he might recognize them better then Littlest Pet Shop!)
To make Dad not feel so silly working with the baby stuff I told him my girls had sent the games for him to play with. I said for him just to work with me because they really wanted him to use the games. So I started with the puzzle. I showed him how to take out a piece and put it back. Then I told him I wanted him to use his right hand. I lifted his hand to one of the pieces and told him to grab the peg, which he did, and he pulled the piece out. I told him to put it back. He slowly slid the piece up the board to the correct spot with his right hand. Then slowly tried to move his fingers out of the way to fit the piece in the groove. He was almost there when he used his left hand to help his right hand move the piece into position. He did it though!! We did this three or four times. He also could find the right place to put a piece if I handed it to him so that he had to think about where the piece went instead of just moving it back into place. He did this mostly with his right hand or using both hands. This is awesome because the PT told us to make sure when he uses his hands he uses both at the same time or uses the right!
Next I moved on to the piggy bank. This is a plastic piggy bank with large plastic coins that babies use for dexterity (obviously.) So I made Dad hold the piggy bank with his left hand and put the coins in the slot with his right hand. I had to hand him the coins and move his hand over the piggy bank but Dad did all the work putting the coins into the slot. Sometimes he would cheat and use his left pointer finger to press the coins into the slot. There are about 10 coins and I made him put all the coins into the slot three times. He did awesome. I also think he liked using both the puzzle and the piggy bank because he knew it was helping him work with his hands. No one else was in the room so I don't think he felt stupid either.
He had already been tired when I walked in so after doing those exercises he began to get tired again. So I put the games away and walked back over to the bed. Dad asked where Mom was and I told him she wouldn't be able to make it in today. He made a sad face and say "ohhhh." I look at this to be positive because it means he knows who Mom is and he wants her to be there and he knows she has been coming. Then Dad began to babble about something so I leaned in close to try to catch what he was saying. He turned his head away from me and mumbled a bit then stopped. So I just waited to see if he was going to finish talking. After a minute he turned back to look at me and his eyes went wide with surprise like he forgot I was there. Then he scrunched his face and asked "what?" I said he had been talking to me and I was just waiting to hear what else he had to say. Then he said "leave me." I said "Sorry, I'll leave you alone, but I will just be over in this chair if you need me." Dad gets distracted and forgets what he is talking about really easy.
Dad slept for about a half hour or 45 min and I just sat in the chair working the crossword puzzle. When Dad woke up he told me he needed to go to the bathroom. I called for the nurses and left the room. They did take the catheter out last night but Dad was unable to relieve himself, which means his bladder would not empty. This is good and bad. Good because it means that he still has muscle memory there and won't just wet the bad. This is also bad because they have to retrain the bladder to relieve itself. How in the world do you retrain your bladder? After a while the nurses came back out. To put things mildly Dad is just having a hard time relieving anything on his own. And that's all we have to say about that because we don't want Dad to get embarrassed.
And Dad is getting embarrassed, which is another great emotion Dad is exhibiting. The speech therapist (ST) came in to work with Dad today. They are still trying to get him to swallow properly. What happens is they will give him a spoonful of water and he will swallow. But the brain is not using the muscles in the throat to switch from the lung pipe to the stomach pipe when he swallows or the muscle triggers too late. So Dad will swallow and about 20 seconds later he will cough as the liquid hits his lungs. Now when we swallow and it goes down the wrong pipe it doesn't actually hit our lungs our bodies have an automatic response to cough when something begins to go down the wrong pipe. But Dad's brain is not registering the liquid going down the wrong pipe until it is too late and it hits the lungs. So we have to be really careful because he could get pneumonia.
Then the ST showed Erin and I some stuff we could work on to get Dad speaking again. She said picture and word association is a great game. We write the name of someone in a picture and then show him the word and the picture together. I told her I had been trying to get him to color and she said that was great and said trying to get him to write was another good skill to work on. So I grab the pad I had brought from yesterday and she asked Dad if he could write his name. He couldn't. So she had Erin hold Dad's hand and write his name with him. Then we asked Dad to trace it; to take a turn. I began to say "Do it Dad, you can do it. Come on don't give up. I won't let you give up. You can do it Dad." Then he turned to me and said "you embarrassing." I wanted to cry and am crying again as I type this. He told me I was embarrassing him. I felt and feel so awful. I think when the physical therapist are there he gets embarrassed that he can't do things, because I was saying the same stuff to him when we were working on the puzzles and he kept trying. Sorry Dad I didn't mean to embarrass you.
Anyways (sniff, sniff), the ST said that it was good that Dad was feeling embarrassment. Then she tried a different skill. She drew a circle with a smiley face in it and asked if he could draw one. Dad looked at it and said "oh" then began mumbling stuff. He then took the pencil, with his right hand, and drew some marks that looked like hair and a neck and shoulders. Dad used to always finish our doodles! The ST was really happy with this and said now she knew where to start with him. So we are going to work with him drawing more.
Directly after the ST left the physical therapist came in to help Dad stand and work his arms. I told them about Dad using the puzzle and piggy bank and they thought that was great. So they decided to see if he could brush his teeth and shave. As they were moving Dad to sit up he said as plain as day and the first clear, full sentence, I have heard him say. He said "My ankle hurts." The PT's knew that he was having trouble with his ankle but only knew this because he would grimace when they would move it or stretch it. So the fact that he told them it hurt and what specifically hurt is fabulous. Byron (Dad's best friend) was there and he was shocked to hear Dad say a full sentence.
Unfortunately, I had to leave right as they were getting him sat up so I don't know how much he did with the PT's. I will talk with Erin and get back to you all. Okay, talked to Erin sooner then later. She said that they put the toothbrush up to Dad's mouth but he didn't know what to do with it and that he did not want to try to shave. She told me that Dad was too focused on his robe, he kept getting embarrassed that he was exposing too much. It is truely rediculous how those stupid gowns work. Don't they have pants with snaps? We have diapers with velrow and underwear with snaps for babies that provided easy access. Why can't we have that for adults? Geezy Peezy, I will look into this tomorrow.
A good thing Erin said was that she started singing the alphabet to Dad once the PT's left. She said once she got to "F" Dad said "G,H." So she started again, she got to "B" and he said "C,D." WooHoo serious progress. Way to go Ebs!
P.S. Marsha, I am so broken hearted to hear of "aunt" Joan. I love her so much and hate to hear that she is declining. My heart goes out to you and all your family. We will be doing the same for Dad and not let him know until he is well. He will be tragically sad if she passes while he is in the hospital. Love to you all, we love Joan so much! And you can come see Dad now whenever you can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)