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!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
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!
Friday, April 2, 2010
April 2nd Update
Jack was moved from Methodist to the Seton St Vincent Rehab Center on 86th Street. The website for the new facility he has moved to for those interested in checking it out is http://seton.stvincent.org He is in room 267 for anyone who wants to visit. Visiting hours end at 9:00 P.M.
Unfortunately he is still fighting the pneumonia :( The new facility is confident they will be able to get that taken care of this week. This new facility is all about rehab and for the first month their goal is to get him off the feeding tube and breathing on his own so that the tracheotomy can be reversed.
Some good uplifting news: He has woken up a few times this week and has even eaten some ice. He shook his head 'no' briefly when asked if he wanted more ice which gives us hope that he didn't lose his understanding of speech. He has also tried to talk several times but this is not possible until the trach is removed so we won't know how his speech is for at least another month.
We all feel confident that now that Jack is out of Methodist and into rehab, his progress will just get better and better (even though we are SO grateful for all that the staff, doctors and nurses have done for him at Methodist the past two weeks!). As always, I will keep you all posted with this blog!
Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers, they are still needed and appreciated! Happy Easter weekend!
Unfortunately he is still fighting the pneumonia :( The new facility is confident they will be able to get that taken care of this week. This new facility is all about rehab and for the first month their goal is to get him off the feeding tube and breathing on his own so that the tracheotomy can be reversed.
Some good uplifting news: He has woken up a few times this week and has even eaten some ice. He shook his head 'no' briefly when asked if he wanted more ice which gives us hope that he didn't lose his understanding of speech. He has also tried to talk several times but this is not possible until the trach is removed so we won't know how his speech is for at least another month.
We all feel confident that now that Jack is out of Methodist and into rehab, his progress will just get better and better (even though we are SO grateful for all that the staff, doctors and nurses have done for him at Methodist the past two weeks!). As always, I will keep you all posted with this blog!
Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers, they are still needed and appreciated! Happy Easter weekend!
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