December 10, 2007

10:18 pm

This am Laura and Brea left (not easily) for Dallas, TX. Steve came in around 4:30 pm and was excited to visit his son. Well, he was asleep! We got a call later on saying he was awake and went over to visit. He talked some, but Steve was shocked at how slow to answer and quiet he was. When Steve asked if his throat hurt because of the trachea, he answered that his molars were hurting from clenching his teeth. Then I noticed that one foot was on the floor without a sock on. I asked if his foot was cold and he said it gets so cold that it gets numb and then it doesn't bother him anymore! We put socks on him. Then he wanted out of his wheelchair and in bed again. He watched tv some and then fell asleep with Aunt Annette's AirForce blanket that she made.
Back to this am.and what David worked on today. At 8 AM, David had a specialist come in with Se (P.T.) and check his new leg brace to see why it was rubbing and making David's foot sore. David's feet are very dry and cracked with callouses. His right foot he said is hurting. The Doctors came in and requested for Podiatry to come look at his feet. The specialist made another boot type thing to help protect that foot too. Next, the CNA and I shaved David and cut his hair. He gave the thumbs up to take a shower afterwards, but when all was said and done, he said he wanted to go to bed for a "love nap". OK, sure! While we were transfering David to bed, he wanted to take his pajama pants off. Thinking he was just going to bed and could wear them in bed, we left them on. When he got in bed, he hit the CNA, and said why didn't you help me take my pajamas off? Mike (CNA) told David in a stern voice that hitting was not ok, and that he, and everyone around, are just trying to help him get better. With some prompting from me, David apologized and said thanks after he got help to take his pajama pants off.
At 9:30 AM, Bruce, Speech Therapist, came in and after trying to awaken David for quite awhile, was able to give him some pudding and juice from a straw. David swallowed well for the pudding, the juice took quite awhile getting all the way up the straw to his mouth the first time. The next time was easier, then David bit the straw and wouldn't/couldn't release it for a couple of minutes.
At 10:00 the specialist and PT came back to see if there was any redness from the brace. None! but, Se was concerned that sometimes it is red, and other times it isn't red after wearing it. She seems to know what she is doing, and is pretty sure of what she is saying. She is great with David. So patient and kind to him. Praise God for these great people. During PT, David had to wheel himself down to the gym by himself. He was still sort of out of it, but made good progress. When he got to the gym, he balanced on a big ball, trying to keep his back straight and shoulders down. He had a hard time, but was successful. Next, he squatted and picked up/moved cones on the steps up and down. This too was very hard for him. He did find a short cut, the last time they asked him to pick up the two cones and put them down a step, he picked them both up with 2 fingers in the holes at the top and brought them down.
He also had OT, Neuropsych, more speech, and recreational therapy today. I didn't go to those, so......I'll let you know tomorrow what they are working on with him.
Tonight at the Fisher House, when I was looking for AirForce guys to give blankets to, Steve and I talked to 2 guys that are in the transitional rehab program. They were where David is now, but have progressed. It was very encouraging to talk to them. 2 awesome guys in the Army. They are wanting blankets like David's! If anyone else likes to sew, Wal Mart has military panels that you just sew a plain colored flannel back on it, and they are beautiful. There are many guys in the TBI and Spinal Cord Unit/Ward that were in the Marines and Army.
Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts and comments on the guestbook. They keep me going and help me keep in contact with you all. Love, Patty