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!
Friday, May 21, 2010
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?
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