Saturday, December 15th, 2007

11:30 PM
Another great day for David.

While getting dressed this morning, Mike asked David to lift his legs into his pants while lying down on the bed. David not only picked up his right leg, but lifted his left leg at 90 degrees AND held his foot off the bed to help! Mike said this is FANTASTIC, it means that the nerves in his left leg are working again. Awesome!!!!!

PT was exciting also. David used the walker/table on wheels, and walked down the hall to the nurse’s station which was the PT’s goal. After resting for a few minutes there, he said, “Let’s go.” Down the next hallway to his room the therapists went, sweating the whole way, but eager to help! He also worked on shifting his weight (like slow dancing) while holding onto the parallel bars. Finally, David walked down the parallel bars, reaching out with his hands, stepping with his left foot, then picking up his right foot to take a step. Mitch and Se (PT) both were impressed at how smooth his walking is getting.

He ate his first whole meal and loved it. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots, 2 - apple juices, and a carton of what David called “duck water” (it was really thick milk). After having a sip of the “milk”, he made Steve get a straw and taste it. Reluctantly, Steve did as he was told! He said the first taste was like a warm milk shake, however the second was “kind of sick”. David drank all the juice and said it was “the ticket”. He ate most of the potatoes, ¼ of the meatloaf, 1 1/2 bites of the carrots, before saying he was full. The food tasted pretty good to him though.

Chris Chappel returned David’s phone call today. David left a message that he was sorry to hear about Chris’ dad passing away. While talking to Chris, it sounded like David told him he would be home tomorrow, and that he was in a hospital in Orange County. ??? I guess he is still confused.

David talked to Kelli on the phone for a long time today, I was talking on my phone so didn’t hear if that conversation made sense.

David shaved his face today almost by himself, with an electric razor and then a regular razor. That was nerve wracking! But he did it! He even crossed over the center of his body with his right hand to shave the left side of his face. I’m not positive, but I think that was AMAZING too.

Some insults were thrown too. One at me, and another one at a nurse, George, who seems (seemed) to be taking a special interest in David. As I was standing in front of him at the parallel bars, he told me to turn around when I talk to him. ???????What? Then he told me I had bad breathe! Luckily the Salvation Army had given him several extra toothbrushes, so I went into his room, grabbed a “purple” toothbrush, and scrubbed like mad, followed by the mouthwash. Later, I found out that he told George to go brush his teeth. Then, the next time he saw George, he told him, “I thought I told you to go home and not come back until you brushed your teeth!” (One more instance where, as a mom, you want to hide under the table and not claim your kid!) TBI patients are brutally honest and sometimes not appropriate! I’m not sure how much has changed since before his accident. He sure doesn’t have any inhibitions about telling anyone what he thinks. So please pray for appropriateness and tact in letting people know how he feels and thinks! Continue to pray for his agitation. Pray for his medications to be adjusted so he is not always drugged up. There is a fine line between the need for sedation for his agitation and need to have a clear, and focused mind. Thanks. Patty

P.S.

Tonight we met our old friends Jim and Donna Santo and their daughter Jenna at Donna's aunt's house in Los Gatos. We ate with them and visited till late, and had a wonderful time with our gracious hosts. The Santos will come up tomorrow morning and hopfully, if David is awake and up for it, we will all go to the church service at the hospital. Earlier tonight David was talking to Jenna on the phone, and telling her that he wanted them to come by tonight and see him. Then all of a sudden he said "I've got to go now, I'm going to bed". And he did.

Steve