Sorry it's been so long since the last update. So many things have been happening the past month that I want to update you on. In the last update I told you about Dad going home. Well two days after he got home, he fell and broke his right arm and had to wear a sling for a month. He ended up not being able to go to outpatient therapy but did have in home therapy two - three times a week ever since he has been home. As of this week, he finally will be able to start his out patient therapy where they will pick him up and bring him home three times a week. We are very hopeful that he will make progress in the out patient therapy as his progress has stalled with the in home care.
Since arriving home, Mom has kept him on a pretty strict schedule. I found this out when I took care of him for 4 days this past weekend while Mom went up to Chicago with her friend Joyce. I cannot express what it is that Mom goes through every day to help take care of Dad. It has to take sheer determination and will for her to be able to do it! Dad is not taking life in a wheelchair well and so we continue to give him positive reinforcement that it is only temporary and he will hopefully walk again with the outpatient therapy.
We still believe that Dad was sent home way too soon by the facility but we are making the best of the situation and trying to help him to move forward and progress. I will keep you all updated on how the outpatient therapy goes. As of now, all we can do is keep praying and hoping that he improves.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
July 13th Update: Dad Comes Home!
Once again everyone sorry for the lapse in updating. Dad was at Century Villa for almost 2 months and received rehab there every weekday. He received many visits from people who live locally as well as visits from myself and my Aunt Katie and my sister Amber visited the week after Father's Day.
I went to see Dad three weekends in a row on Father's Day, the week after for Amber's visit and the following weekend for the 4th of July. Every time I visited he seemed to have improved little by little. His memory is still sitting in the mid 1990s but he seems open to the changes that his mind doesn't always remember. He was also in good spirits as we played Yahtzee with him and Uno with him when Amber visited. We also brought him pizza which he really enjoyed (the food at the facility left something to be desired at times!).
While his walking is still not completely to where it should be, Century Villa and Blue Cross made the decision that it was time for Dad to return home today. Blue Cross delivered Mom a hospital bed for him and is allowing him to keep the wheelchair he used at the facility. He will now be receiving in home rehab therapy 3 days a week and we hope that being home will help him to continue to progress more and more (We have been told when stroke patients return home, their progress improves by leaps and bounds).
Mom has had guardrails put in and made the house as friendly for Dad to maneuver as possible. It is sure to be a change in routine for both of them but I am confident they will persevere through this! I am so grateful to my sister April who is an RN and lives a few blocks away from Mom and Dad for being there whenever they need her for help. I wish I could be there more. Although I only live 2 hours away, I have had to be cautious with the miles I put on my car and so sometimes I don't get to get up there as often as I would like. It was very nice going up there three weekends in a row and I will be back up there on July 24th for my 20th High School Reunion and I am sure I will have more to report then!
I am so happy that Dad has progressed as much as he has in just 4 months since the stroke! I know that he will keep fighting in rehab to get as much mobility as he possibly can! I will post more in a couple of weeks. Thanks as always for reading and keeping up with his progress!
I went to see Dad three weekends in a row on Father's Day, the week after for Amber's visit and the following weekend for the 4th of July. Every time I visited he seemed to have improved little by little. His memory is still sitting in the mid 1990s but he seems open to the changes that his mind doesn't always remember. He was also in good spirits as we played Yahtzee with him and Uno with him when Amber visited. We also brought him pizza which he really enjoyed (the food at the facility left something to be desired at times!).
While his walking is still not completely to where it should be, Century Villa and Blue Cross made the decision that it was time for Dad to return home today. Blue Cross delivered Mom a hospital bed for him and is allowing him to keep the wheelchair he used at the facility. He will now be receiving in home rehab therapy 3 days a week and we hope that being home will help him to continue to progress more and more (We have been told when stroke patients return home, their progress improves by leaps and bounds).
Mom has had guardrails put in and made the house as friendly for Dad to maneuver as possible. It is sure to be a change in routine for both of them but I am confident they will persevere through this! I am so grateful to my sister April who is an RN and lives a few blocks away from Mom and Dad for being there whenever they need her for help. I wish I could be there more. Although I only live 2 hours away, I have had to be cautious with the miles I put on my car and so sometimes I don't get to get up there as often as I would like. It was very nice going up there three weekends in a row and I will be back up there on July 24th for my 20th High School Reunion and I am sure I will have more to report then!
I am so happy that Dad has progressed as much as he has in just 4 months since the stroke! I know that he will keep fighting in rehab to get as much mobility as he possibly can! I will post more in a couple of weeks. Thanks as always for reading and keeping up with his progress!
Friday, May 21, 2010
May 21st Update
Wow, so much has happened with Dad since the last update! He spent a month at the rehab facility in Indianapolis and made great, great progress! It is hard to believe that it has only been 2 months today that he had the stroke and the wreck. Many of the doctors and nurses have been shocked that Dad didn't get the 'stroke miracle drug' that if given within a 3 hour window can dramatically help stroke victims (see the first post of this blog for more on why he didn't receive that) because Dad has progressed so well!
First of all, his speech and communication have improved by leaps and bounds and continue to every day. His short term memory is still healing (he spilled a cup of water on Sunday in the bathroom and then directly forgot about it until his roomate discovered the water on the floor an hour later for example) but he is getting his long term memory back. He seems more and more comfortable with the current year being 2010 and, after seeing his roomate talking a lot on his cell phone, has requested to have his cell phone back which my Mom is taking to him this Sunday.
We are still worried about his right arm and hand. He continues to want to keep clinching his right hand into a fist and whenever reminded to open his hand, it seems to cause him great pain to do so. His right leg, however, seems to be responding very well to the electro therapy they have been giving it. He feels whenever my Mom tickles his foot and his toes move when she does so. This is great news because it shows with more therapy, he can get the use of his right leg back. We are hopeful that his right arm and hand will start responding soon also!
Dad was moved today to a new longer term rehab facility in Greentown, Indiana. This is only a few miles from his home so he will be able to get lots more visitors and Mom, my sister and my neice and nephew will get to visit him much more often. Unfortunately with living in Terre Haute and trying very hard to keep my one vehicle from having any mechanical problems, I am still only going to be able to visit Dad every 2 weeks :( In the new facility, Dad has a private room, lots more closet space and a much bigger TV (the TV at the Indy facility was a tiny 13 incher that hung from the ceiling!) This new facility's goal is to get Dad to a place where he can walk with a walker and return home. We are very hopeful that in a few months, that home is where he will be!
I will of course keep you all posted as things progress! Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and continues to offer their well wishes and support!
First of all, his speech and communication have improved by leaps and bounds and continue to every day. His short term memory is still healing (he spilled a cup of water on Sunday in the bathroom and then directly forgot about it until his roomate discovered the water on the floor an hour later for example) but he is getting his long term memory back. He seems more and more comfortable with the current year being 2010 and, after seeing his roomate talking a lot on his cell phone, has requested to have his cell phone back which my Mom is taking to him this Sunday.
We are still worried about his right arm and hand. He continues to want to keep clinching his right hand into a fist and whenever reminded to open his hand, it seems to cause him great pain to do so. His right leg, however, seems to be responding very well to the electro therapy they have been giving it. He feels whenever my Mom tickles his foot and his toes move when she does so. This is great news because it shows with more therapy, he can get the use of his right leg back. We are hopeful that his right arm and hand will start responding soon also!
Dad was moved today to a new longer term rehab facility in Greentown, Indiana. This is only a few miles from his home so he will be able to get lots more visitors and Mom, my sister and my neice and nephew will get to visit him much more often. Unfortunately with living in Terre Haute and trying very hard to keep my one vehicle from having any mechanical problems, I am still only going to be able to visit Dad every 2 weeks :( In the new facility, Dad has a private room, lots more closet space and a much bigger TV (the TV at the Indy facility was a tiny 13 incher that hung from the ceiling!) This new facility's goal is to get Dad to a place where he can walk with a walker and return home. We are very hopeful that in a few months, that home is where he will be!
I will of course keep you all posted as things progress! Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and continues to offer their well wishes and support!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
May 4th Update
As promised, I will now update again after returning from my visit with Dad (I have been calling him Jack in this blog up until now, I will be calling him Dad from now on as that is what he is to me :) ) on Sunday.
First things first, they say that most patients who have neurological injuries will go on one of two ends of the spectrum: They will either be very, very angry and violent or they will be very, very mellow and laugh at everything. I am happy that Dad went the latter of the two routes, especially for Mom's sake. Dad was very mellow, but he laughs at EVERYTHING. And I don't just mean hehe laughs but GUFFAWS! This was my first observation that Dad's personality has changed. Dad would laugh before but mostly if he was watching something really funny on tv or hearing a really funny story but other than that, he was a very stoic guy. When I saw him on Sunday, everything was funny to him.
When Mom questioned Dad about the year, he started to say '19..' but she would not let him finish. When given hints, Dad will remember it's 2010. When I told Dad that I was in the hectic end of the semester, I could see in his eyes he thought it was the early 90s and I was an undergrad, not a teacher as I am now. His timeline is very very off when he remembers things. While I was there, he could not remember that Grandma and Grandpa (his parents) have both passed away (Grandma has been gone since 1995 and Grandpa since 2007) and he couldn't remember that his friend Dave passed away 4 years ago. He also could not believe that his wreck/stroke occurred in March and that it's May now. He seemed flabbergasted when told this (which Mom has said is his reaction every time he's told).
Even with all of this, Dad is leaps and bounds ahead of where they thought he would be. When they first saw his brain scans, they never thought he would speak again and here he is speaking in full sentences. His memory and timeline may also come back once his brain heals. He just has to make new 'pathways' for the memories.
One thing I learned from Sunday's visit is never take for granted what God has given you the ability to do. I am so grateful that I still have the use of both sides of my body and that I have my full memory and brain capacity. I now know firsthand that these can be taken from you in a second and I will never take these things for granted again.
I plan to visit Dad more this Summer as my Summer semesters are much more relaxed and it will be easier to get back and forth to Indy more. I will of course keep you all posted with entries whenever there is something new to report. Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there reading this! I have purchased my Mother's Day cards, have you?
First things first, they say that most patients who have neurological injuries will go on one of two ends of the spectrum: They will either be very, very angry and violent or they will be very, very mellow and laugh at everything. I am happy that Dad went the latter of the two routes, especially for Mom's sake. Dad was very mellow, but he laughs at EVERYTHING. And I don't just mean hehe laughs but GUFFAWS! This was my first observation that Dad's personality has changed. Dad would laugh before but mostly if he was watching something really funny on tv or hearing a really funny story but other than that, he was a very stoic guy. When I saw him on Sunday, everything was funny to him.
When Mom questioned Dad about the year, he started to say '19..' but she would not let him finish. When given hints, Dad will remember it's 2010. When I told Dad that I was in the hectic end of the semester, I could see in his eyes he thought it was the early 90s and I was an undergrad, not a teacher as I am now. His timeline is very very off when he remembers things. While I was there, he could not remember that Grandma and Grandpa (his parents) have both passed away (Grandma has been gone since 1995 and Grandpa since 2007) and he couldn't remember that his friend Dave passed away 4 years ago. He also could not believe that his wreck/stroke occurred in March and that it's May now. He seemed flabbergasted when told this (which Mom has said is his reaction every time he's told).
Even with all of this, Dad is leaps and bounds ahead of where they thought he would be. When they first saw his brain scans, they never thought he would speak again and here he is speaking in full sentences. His memory and timeline may also come back once his brain heals. He just has to make new 'pathways' for the memories.
One thing I learned from Sunday's visit is never take for granted what God has given you the ability to do. I am so grateful that I still have the use of both sides of my body and that I have my full memory and brain capacity. I now know firsthand that these can be taken from you in a second and I will never take these things for granted again.
I plan to visit Dad more this Summer as my Summer semesters are much more relaxed and it will be easier to get back and forth to Indy more. I will of course keep you all posted with entries whenever there is something new to report. Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there reading this! I have purchased my Mother's Day cards, have you?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
April 28th Update
Again, sorry for the lapse in posting an update. Jack is making great progress since the last update! He is now speaking in full sentences! His short term memory is still a bit all over the place but this is to be expected with the blood still dissipating and the swelling of his brain healing which is a very long process. Some days he remembers that he had a stroke but not the wreck while other days he remembers he had the wreck but not the stroke.
The rehab facility has started exercising his right leg which seems to be responding although very slowly. His right arm is still being rather unresponsive. We are still hopeful that he will be able to walk again after rehabilitation. We continue to keep giving him positive reinforcement on this.
This is where we are presently. I will be going over to Indy to visit him on Sunday and will blog again when I get back with much more to report I'm sure!
The rehab facility has started exercising his right leg which seems to be responding although very slowly. His right arm is still being rather unresponsive. We are still hopeful that he will be able to walk again after rehabilitation. We continue to keep giving him positive reinforcement on this.
This is where we are presently. I will be going over to Indy to visit him on Sunday and will blog again when I get back with much more to report I'm sure!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
April 18th Update
First of all, sorry for the lapse in updating! There is a lot to talk about! After 2 weeks in the Seton facility, Jack decided he was tired of the trach in his throat and pulled it out himself! Luckily, there was no damage done to his throat or his vocal chords (more on that later!) Because of this, Jack's stay at the Seton facility ended two weeks earlier than expected!
On Thursday the 15th, he was transferred to a new rehab facility on 38th Street still in Indy. This rehab facility focuses on aggressive therapy to help him with speech and behavior. They will aggressively work with him on that for 3 hours a day Monday - Friday for the next 4 - 6 weeks. After he graduates from this facility, he will move to another new facility to help him learn to use his right side as much as possible again.
Here is the great news I mentioned earlier about him not damaging his vocal chords: he's talking! His responses are only one word and he is having a lot of trouble forming sentences, but he is responding to questions! He knows Suzy is his wife, he knows Luke is his grandson (he has called him 'grandson' but when asked what his name is, he says "Neil" and Suzy has to correct him that Neil is his son and Luke is his grandson).
As the blood continues to absorb and we wait for his brain to heal, he is still suffering from the ephasia he had when he first had the stroke (when he thought it was 1968). Most of the time now he thinks it is 1967 but yet he still knows things that have happened since then in conversations. His short term memory has a lot of issues in that Suzy has to tell him every day she visits why he's there and everything that happened. We are hopeful that as his brain heals and he goes through therapy, this will subside.
This is where we are as of this update. As always, keep checking for futher updates on Jack's progress. We appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and inquiries about him. I will update again soon!
On Thursday the 15th, he was transferred to a new rehab facility on 38th Street still in Indy. This rehab facility focuses on aggressive therapy to help him with speech and behavior. They will aggressively work with him on that for 3 hours a day Monday - Friday for the next 4 - 6 weeks. After he graduates from this facility, he will move to another new facility to help him learn to use his right side as much as possible again.
Here is the great news I mentioned earlier about him not damaging his vocal chords: he's talking! His responses are only one word and he is having a lot of trouble forming sentences, but he is responding to questions! He knows Suzy is his wife, he knows Luke is his grandson (he has called him 'grandson' but when asked what his name is, he says "Neil" and Suzy has to correct him that Neil is his son and Luke is his grandson).
As the blood continues to absorb and we wait for his brain to heal, he is still suffering from the ephasia he had when he first had the stroke (when he thought it was 1968). Most of the time now he thinks it is 1967 but yet he still knows things that have happened since then in conversations. His short term memory has a lot of issues in that Suzy has to tell him every day she visits why he's there and everything that happened. We are hopeful that as his brain heals and he goes through therapy, this will subside.
This is where we are as of this update. As always, keep checking for futher updates on Jack's progress. We appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and inquiries about him. I will update again soon!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
April 7th Update
With this update comes both progress and disconcerting news. Jack is coming along well physically, but we are still unsure of how he is progressing mentally. The good news that we had in the last update with him shaking his head no to wanting more ice has now become disconcerting as he seems to be shaking his head no to almost every question he is asked including if he remembers my Mom, Suzy :(
Physically, he is coming along well. The rehab center is slowly getting him off of the ventilator and he seems to be breathing well on his own when it is off. The next step will be to go for reversing the trach if he gets to a point where he can always breath on his own which we think he will be at soon. After that will be removing the feeding tube and getting him to a place where he can eat on his own.
Again, we are being told that it will be at least a month before the blood from the stroke absorbs and the swelling in his brain goes down completely. At that point, we will have a greater understanding of where he will be at mentally.
As of now, Suzy (whose birthday is today, happy birthday Mom!) says that when she looks in his eyes she swears she's seeing the mind of a 7 year old especially in the smiles he exhibits and the ways he nods his head. Also, the only question he has nodded yes to is when asked if he likes Mickey Mouse which Suzy says she never even knew he liked (he must have liked Mickey as a kid because I never knew this either!). Suzy also says that she thinks Jack's mind may be going through many different parts of his life because when she holds his hand sometimes he does this thing with rubbing his thumb on her palm that he has not done since they were first dating! So I do feel that even though at the time he was asked if he remembered her, he shook his head no, he still knows her touch and remembers her sometimes.
This is where we are currently. We know with the St. Vincent's rehab center he is in the best place he can be and getting the best help available. We are all coming to terms with the fact that he had a massive stroke and the repercussions of that are going to be a long, rough road to get through but we are confident that things WILL get better! As always, I will keep you posted on his progress with these blog updates. Thanks as always for all of the prayers, thoughts and well wishes!
Physically, he is coming along well. The rehab center is slowly getting him off of the ventilator and he seems to be breathing well on his own when it is off. The next step will be to go for reversing the trach if he gets to a point where he can always breath on his own which we think he will be at soon. After that will be removing the feeding tube and getting him to a place where he can eat on his own.
Again, we are being told that it will be at least a month before the blood from the stroke absorbs and the swelling in his brain goes down completely. At that point, we will have a greater understanding of where he will be at mentally.
As of now, Suzy (whose birthday is today, happy birthday Mom!) says that when she looks in his eyes she swears she's seeing the mind of a 7 year old especially in the smiles he exhibits and the ways he nods his head. Also, the only question he has nodded yes to is when asked if he likes Mickey Mouse which Suzy says she never even knew he liked (he must have liked Mickey as a kid because I never knew this either!). Suzy also says that she thinks Jack's mind may be going through many different parts of his life because when she holds his hand sometimes he does this thing with rubbing his thumb on her palm that he has not done since they were first dating! So I do feel that even though at the time he was asked if he remembered her, he shook his head no, he still knows her touch and remembers her sometimes.
This is where we are currently. We know with the St. Vincent's rehab center he is in the best place he can be and getting the best help available. We are all coming to terms with the fact that he had a massive stroke and the repercussions of that are going to be a long, rough road to get through but we are confident that things WILL get better! As always, I will keep you posted on his progress with these blog updates. Thanks as always for all of the prayers, thoughts and well wishes!
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