Today was probably the worst day for Paul in a long time. He isn't interested in doing anything. He doesn't cooperate with the therapists or respond to much of anything we ask him. Although he does some things very well and appears to know us there are lots of times that he doesn't respond to things the way he was a little over a week ago. Dad said he held his head up a little better today but it was a struggle to get him to stand up when PT came. We are a little concerned that Paul isn't feeling well. Tabby asked the doctor to move up the CAT scan that was scheduled for Wednesday. So we will be doing that on Sunday. We are a little concerned that there may be a problem with the shunt again. The CAT scan can tell us whether or not there is something to worry about. Since Paul has been so non-responsive and sleeping so much there is reason to think it needs to be looked at. Sunday is a quiet day anyway … no therapy. If it isn't a shunt problem at least Paul will be able to rest for the day. Thanks for your continued prayer. We pray that Paul's doctor will have great wisdom in determining whether there is a problem hindering his recovery!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Paul's Update - 03/03/06
Dear Friends:
I am away for the next two weeks to help my mother get moved from Tennessee to South Carolina. I will attempt to keep you as updated as I can by passing on the information I get each day. Dad got to the hospital early this morning to be there in time for the ADL "activities for daily living". Paul wasn't very cooperative today ... he seems to be very stubborn lately. The doctor came in early and took out the trach. Yahoo! He placed a small bandage over the hole and he said that the hole will close up in a few days. Now he can take showers on a regular basis ... he got one today!! Dad took the opportunity to ask the doctor when he thinks the blood thinners will be discontinued. This would make it much easier for when we take him home (less meds!!). The doctor said he wanted to think about it but he said that in a spinal cord injury patient (who are less mobile than Paul) the risk for blood clots is significantly decreased after three months. They are no more at risk than you or me! I suspect he will discontinue the blood thinner within the next couple of days. The PT session today was mostly time on a tilt table. She raised him to an angle that would apply weight to his feet and legs without standing alone. She wants to be able to increase his weight bearing endurance without causing too much exhaustion or pain to his foot. Speech therapy went well. Paul was able to take ice chips and crunch them for the therapist. She tried to get him to make sounds but he refused. She tried to get him to count with her. She would count 1-2-3 and move his fingers as she counted. Then she counted 1-2-3 and HE moved his fingers as she counted!! Dad talked with the physical therapist today and inquired if she thought Paul would be able to get six weeks of therapy. She said she didn't know but now that medicaid will be paying the bill there is a weekly evaluation that will happen to determine if Paul is progressing to the next level of recovery. If he doesn't progress they will recommend that he be discharged because if Medicaid notes that he has hit a plateau in his recovery they will refuse to pay for him to continue therapy. Evidently him crunching on ice and eating a popsicle could be good enough for this week ... I guess it doesn't take much but each level of recovery becomes more difficult to achieve and he is moving pretty slowly. Tabby has now begun to prepare their home to bring him there. She has cleaned out the spare room in their basement and is preparing to rehab their bathroom. It doesn't have a bathtub so she has a friend that will install one for them. Many things will need to be done over the next couple of weeks for him to be able to go there. She has started working hard to be ready! I pray that we will get all the right resourses and education to be ready to help him at home!! Have a great weekend!
Love & Hugs; Lynne (in SC) & Carl (at home)
I am away for the next two weeks to help my mother get moved from Tennessee to South Carolina. I will attempt to keep you as updated as I can by passing on the information I get each day. Dad got to the hospital early this morning to be there in time for the ADL "activities for daily living". Paul wasn't very cooperative today ... he seems to be very stubborn lately. The doctor came in early and took out the trach. Yahoo! He placed a small bandage over the hole and he said that the hole will close up in a few days. Now he can take showers on a regular basis ... he got one today!! Dad took the opportunity to ask the doctor when he thinks the blood thinners will be discontinued. This would make it much easier for when we take him home (less meds!!). The doctor said he wanted to think about it but he said that in a spinal cord injury patient (who are less mobile than Paul) the risk for blood clots is significantly decreased after three months. They are no more at risk than you or me! I suspect he will discontinue the blood thinner within the next couple of days. The PT session today was mostly time on a tilt table. She raised him to an angle that would apply weight to his feet and legs without standing alone. She wants to be able to increase his weight bearing endurance without causing too much exhaustion or pain to his foot. Speech therapy went well. Paul was able to take ice chips and crunch them for the therapist. She tried to get him to make sounds but he refused. She tried to get him to count with her. She would count 1-2-3 and move his fingers as she counted. Then she counted 1-2-3 and HE moved his fingers as she counted!! Dad talked with the physical therapist today and inquired if she thought Paul would be able to get six weeks of therapy. She said she didn't know but now that medicaid will be paying the bill there is a weekly evaluation that will happen to determine if Paul is progressing to the next level of recovery. If he doesn't progress they will recommend that he be discharged because if Medicaid notes that he has hit a plateau in his recovery they will refuse to pay for him to continue therapy. Evidently him crunching on ice and eating a popsicle could be good enough for this week ... I guess it doesn't take much but each level of recovery becomes more difficult to achieve and he is moving pretty slowly. Tabby has now begun to prepare their home to bring him there. She has cleaned out the spare room in their basement and is preparing to rehab their bathroom. It doesn't have a bathtub so she has a friend that will install one for them. Many things will need to be done over the next couple of weeks for him to be able to go there. She has started working hard to be ready! I pray that we will get all the right resourses and education to be ready to help him at home!! Have a great weekend!
Love & Hugs; Lynne (in SC) & Carl (at home)
Friday, March 03, 2006
Marking Time
Well, I am home now and trying to sort everything out after being away for 2+ weeks. It is amazing how the paperwork piles up in such a short time. The worst pile is the bills. Why can't we bury them never to rise again?
Mom - adjusting and trying to finish up her own pile of paperwork. She is looking forward to journeying with me to Corpus Christie later this month.
#1 - Is in Baltimore doing all the stuff to join the Army. he makes me proud and I believe he is making the right move for this point in his life.
#2 - May have a job and we will find out soon. Maybe the winds of change are finally blowing our way.
Jessi - looking forward to getting married soon. Dinner last night was a lot of fun.
Jacqui - starting to look every bit the part of mother seven months pregnant. She was also there with her husband and we had a great time talking about the baby and their life.
Lou - one word sums it up -- growing, well four words -- growing like a weed.
National Tournament -- I bowl on the 24th and the 25th. I most likely will travel 21-24 and 26-28.
Roleplay has been almost nonexistant for a while now. But the pressure cooker lid is rattling as it comes up to operating pressure. Maybe I could drop about 6 new segmants that have been in work for a while now!
Let the games begin ........
Mom - adjusting and trying to finish up her own pile of paperwork. She is looking forward to journeying with me to Corpus Christie later this month.
#1 - Is in Baltimore doing all the stuff to join the Army. he makes me proud and I believe he is making the right move for this point in his life.
#2 - May have a job and we will find out soon. Maybe the winds of change are finally blowing our way.
Jessi - looking forward to getting married soon. Dinner last night was a lot of fun.
Jacqui - starting to look every bit the part of mother seven months pregnant. She was also there with her husband and we had a great time talking about the baby and their life.
Lou - one word sums it up -- growing, well four words -- growing like a weed.
National Tournament -- I bowl on the 24th and the 25th. I most likely will travel 21-24 and 26-28.
Roleplay has been almost nonexistant for a while now. But the pressure cooker lid is rattling as it comes up to operating pressure. Maybe I could drop about 6 new segmants that have been in work for a while now!
Let the games begin ........
Paul's Update - 03/02/06
Dear Friends:
Well ... not a great day. Paul was pretty tired most of the day. He wasn't much interested in OT this morning. The therapist tried to get him to respond to her but he just refused. She decided to try to brush his teeth and she asked Dad if Paul could spit. He told her we don't really know if he can so she took a little water and gave it to him. Well ... he took it alright ... and the SWALLOWED it!! LOL He really isn't suppose to have water yet since he has the trach but he did OK with it! Speaking of the trach ... the doctor came in this morning and said that since Paul has done real well with the plug in the trach for the last two days and nights he plans to come in on Friday and take it out. This is great news! One more piece of hardware will go away. PT went a little better. The therapist put Paul's wheelchair in front of a bench that can be raised up to waist height. She had him put his hands and arms on the table and try to stand himself up. Once standing he was able to stand for a little and then sit back down. Speech was at 1pm and it was the best. He made a little sound with encouragement. Then the therapist tried to give Paul a little taste of a popsicle. He really liked it and ate about 3/4 of it by spoon. He even used his left hand to feed himself with the spoon. Today was a little discouraging for us. The social worker talked to Dad today and she told him she didn't think we would be able to get the full six weeks of therapy we were hoping for. She wants us to start preparing for when he will be discharged ... things like where he will go and what we will need for his new environment. She did seem to think he would still be there until at least after the family meeting that is scheduled for March 16th. The hospital does weekly evaluations of each patient and makes decisions based on whether they are progressing to the next level of recovery. If they don't progress then they recommend discharge. We are praying that they will see enough improvement to keep him there at least four weeks Unfortunately it appears that we are helpless in this situation AGAIN!! We still believe Paul will recover ... God has brought him this far and won't abandon him ... but the hospital holds all the cards!! Please continue to pray ... God has worked out other situations that seemed bad to us ... maybe this will be a blessing in disguise! Have a great Friday!
Love, Lynne & Carl
Well ... not a great day. Paul was pretty tired most of the day. He wasn't much interested in OT this morning. The therapist tried to get him to respond to her but he just refused. She decided to try to brush his teeth and she asked Dad if Paul could spit. He told her we don't really know if he can so she took a little water and gave it to him. Well ... he took it alright ... and the SWALLOWED it!! LOL He really isn't suppose to have water yet since he has the trach but he did OK with it! Speaking of the trach ... the doctor came in this morning and said that since Paul has done real well with the plug in the trach for the last two days and nights he plans to come in on Friday and take it out. This is great news! One more piece of hardware will go away. PT went a little better. The therapist put Paul's wheelchair in front of a bench that can be raised up to waist height. She had him put his hands and arms on the table and try to stand himself up. Once standing he was able to stand for a little and then sit back down. Speech was at 1pm and it was the best. He made a little sound with encouragement. Then the therapist tried to give Paul a little taste of a popsicle. He really liked it and ate about 3/4 of it by spoon. He even used his left hand to feed himself with the spoon. Today was a little discouraging for us. The social worker talked to Dad today and she told him she didn't think we would be able to get the full six weeks of therapy we were hoping for. She wants us to start preparing for when he will be discharged ... things like where he will go and what we will need for his new environment. She did seem to think he would still be there until at least after the family meeting that is scheduled for March 16th. The hospital does weekly evaluations of each patient and makes decisions based on whether they are progressing to the next level of recovery. If they don't progress then they recommend discharge. We are praying that they will see enough improvement to keep him there at least four weeks Unfortunately it appears that we are helpless in this situation AGAIN!! We still believe Paul will recover ... God has brought him this far and won't abandon him ... but the hospital holds all the cards!! Please continue to pray ... God has worked out other situations that seemed bad to us ... maybe this will be a blessing in disguise! Have a great Friday!
Love, Lynne & Carl
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Paul's Update - 03/01/06
Dear Friends:
Today was better. Paul started out the day with Physical Therapy. He was able to work better since he wasn't already tired. The therapist got him on his feet to stand. While he was standing he shifted his weight from his left foot. Dad asked him if he was having pain and he said "yes". His orthopedist had told us before that he may have pain in that left foot for some time. We will try some Tylenol prior to the next standing session! Speech therapy went fairly well. He was able to say "ahh" about six times with a little push on his stomach. Paul was able to get his hand to his mouth a bit better today. They continue to work on exercising his cheeks and tongue. As of tonight Paul has had the plug on his trach for over 24 hours. He is able to control his saliva and swallow very well. This is very good and it will take him closer to having the trach removed within a few days. Hopefully he will get better and better at chewing and swallowing so he can start eating by mouth soon too! Occupational Therapy was late today ... they came around 1pm. He was pretty tired but he was able to stretch out his arms a little. He started muscle relaxers on Tuesday night and it seems to help a little. There were two therapists working during OT today. They got him on a mat and had him roll from side to side. He seems to like being on his side and he can move almost by himself. They also worked at a table with him sitting up to push his arms across the table. This stretches out the arms without much stress on them. By the time they had done that much he was totally exhausted and couldn't even stay awake. He took a three hour nap after that!! Tabby came after work and stayed until visiting hours were over. It is so amazing to see how he responds to her. It is so warm and you can see a loving look between them. Love is a great healer!! Thursday will start off with OT. That should get him woke up and limbered up. Then he will have PT at 11am. Speech will be at 1pm. This should be a good schedule for him since most of the speech therapy is done from the bed or in the wheelchair. Each day is different but still we have good things happen every day!!
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Today was better. Paul started out the day with Physical Therapy. He was able to work better since he wasn't already tired. The therapist got him on his feet to stand. While he was standing he shifted his weight from his left foot. Dad asked him if he was having pain and he said "yes". His orthopedist had told us before that he may have pain in that left foot for some time. We will try some Tylenol prior to the next standing session! Speech therapy went fairly well. He was able to say "ahh" about six times with a little push on his stomach. Paul was able to get his hand to his mouth a bit better today. They continue to work on exercising his cheeks and tongue. As of tonight Paul has had the plug on his trach for over 24 hours. He is able to control his saliva and swallow very well. This is very good and it will take him closer to having the trach removed within a few days. Hopefully he will get better and better at chewing and swallowing so he can start eating by mouth soon too! Occupational Therapy was late today ... they came around 1pm. He was pretty tired but he was able to stretch out his arms a little. He started muscle relaxers on Tuesday night and it seems to help a little. There were two therapists working during OT today. They got him on a mat and had him roll from side to side. He seems to like being on his side and he can move almost by himself. They also worked at a table with him sitting up to push his arms across the table. This stretches out the arms without much stress on them. By the time they had done that much he was totally exhausted and couldn't even stay awake. He took a three hour nap after that!! Tabby came after work and stayed until visiting hours were over. It is so amazing to see how he responds to her. It is so warm and you can see a loving look between them. Love is a great healer!! Thursday will start off with OT. That should get him woke up and limbered up. Then he will have PT at 11am. Speech will be at 1pm. This should be a good schedule for him since most of the speech therapy is done from the bed or in the wheelchair. Each day is different but still we have good things happen every day!!
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/28/06
Dear Friends:
Today was a mostly quiet day. Occupational Therapy started at 9am. The therapist had him work on tracking with his eyes, stand and balance himself by putting his hands on a table and then lean forward to look out the window then sit down. They did that a couple of times. She tried to get him to work with a puzzle that had three pieces. He wouldn't do that at all. Speech therapy was at 11am. They worked with swallowing & puckering to exercise his face. She lifted his right hand to his mouth and asked him to kiss it. He could do that with help. He made some sounds with his voice again today! It appears he is waking up his vocal chords. She put a spoon in his mouth and wanted him to close his lips on it without biting down on it. This is to prepare him to use utensils to eat with. He was able to do that a couple of times so she tried to give him a little piece of ice. He was able to chew it!! There was a doctor in the room doing an evaluation at the time. He asked if she was going to try applesauce but she responded "not yet" since she wanted to work more on his swallowing first. After therapy he stayed up in the wheelchair. When Dad went to lunch he sat in the wheelchair at the nurses station. After lunch he went back to his room. Tabby had brought some of Paul's motorcycle magazines. Dad sat them on a table so he could look at them. Dad tried to get him to turn the pages but he couldn't do that. He seemed to enjoy the magazines though. At 2pm was physical therapy. He had been up since 9am and when she tried to have him stand up he didn't want anything to do with it!! She decided to work on a mat with him instead. He laid on the mat and practiced rolling from side to side with minimal help. While he was there a doctor came to look at his arms. Since they are so stiff, they plan to start him on a low dose of muscle relaxers to help loosen them up (he got his first dose with tonight's regular medicines). Physical Therapy will be at 9am on Wednesday to see if starting earlier makes it easier for him to work out. At 3pm the second speech therapist came in. He really wasn't very interested in doing anything by then. She made it a short session. Maybe tomorrow she will work with him after he has rested. Wednesday's schedule will be PT-9am, S-11am, OT-1pm, S-3pm.
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Today was a mostly quiet day. Occupational Therapy started at 9am. The therapist had him work on tracking with his eyes, stand and balance himself by putting his hands on a table and then lean forward to look out the window then sit down. They did that a couple of times. She tried to get him to work with a puzzle that had three pieces. He wouldn't do that at all. Speech therapy was at 11am. They worked with swallowing & puckering to exercise his face. She lifted his right hand to his mouth and asked him to kiss it. He could do that with help. He made some sounds with his voice again today! It appears he is waking up his vocal chords. She put a spoon in his mouth and wanted him to close his lips on it without biting down on it. This is to prepare him to use utensils to eat with. He was able to do that a couple of times so she tried to give him a little piece of ice. He was able to chew it!! There was a doctor in the room doing an evaluation at the time. He asked if she was going to try applesauce but she responded "not yet" since she wanted to work more on his swallowing first. After therapy he stayed up in the wheelchair. When Dad went to lunch he sat in the wheelchair at the nurses station. After lunch he went back to his room. Tabby had brought some of Paul's motorcycle magazines. Dad sat them on a table so he could look at them. Dad tried to get him to turn the pages but he couldn't do that. He seemed to enjoy the magazines though. At 2pm was physical therapy. He had been up since 9am and when she tried to have him stand up he didn't want anything to do with it!! She decided to work on a mat with him instead. He laid on the mat and practiced rolling from side to side with minimal help. While he was there a doctor came to look at his arms. Since they are so stiff, they plan to start him on a low dose of muscle relaxers to help loosen them up (he got his first dose with tonight's regular medicines). Physical Therapy will be at 9am on Wednesday to see if starting earlier makes it easier for him to work out. At 3pm the second speech therapist came in. He really wasn't very interested in doing anything by then. She made it a short session. Maybe tomorrow she will work with him after he has rested. Wednesday's schedule will be PT-9am, S-11am, OT-1pm, S-3pm.
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Monday, February 27, 2006
And it marches on - Part 2
Well, the Death Certificate was finally signed today and then we scurried to get our copies. Getting the signature took us going to the Hospital Administrator and having a discussion. Actually it went well, nobody got beat up. Now all that is left is to get some answers from the doctor about what really happened that night.
Tomorrow is off to Hurlbert Field to get everything done at the Casualty Assistance Office. Tomorrow should prove to be long and busy as I get mom trained and get my packing done so I can leave Wednesday morning. Sunday night was tough as we went through Dad's clothes and sorted them out as to keepers or give aways. The memories some of the things brought back kept a few eyes damp and quite a few laughs for the less serious times. Tutu’s and leotards, hmmmmm! As usual we ran out of boxes and will have to get more. My brother and his family left for England and home today so that just leaves Michael and me. We are planning to leave Wednesday. While I hate to leave I also know I must. Carl and I will be back soon to take the power tools home that Dad gave him. And of course, bowling tournament is the end of March so I will be back through then for a day or two.
I am still amazed at the impact he had in so many lives. I am proud he made a difference and chose not just to pass through life. If I can just do a small part of what he did, I will be a success. Even today, 2 weeks later, many people wonder how they will fill the time he occupied in their life. Everywhere I go; people speak of how much he touched them. In some cases it was just a simple prayer, a smile and a hello or a joke. Every day I hear more of just how he served friends and those around him. Perhaps the most imposing thought is grasping what he did with his life and figuring out who will carry on the work he started. For God’s work will be done by someone … just who is the question.
Well, the Olympics are over and thank God it only took 2 weeks. Once again, our over hyped athletes’ performed in a less than an Olympic God fashion as predicted. In the pre-game hype we were fielding the best and strongest team ever and everyone else would be competing for silver in most sports. Well, needless to say, we wound just trying to stay in the top ten. Thanks to the super effort of the ones the press over looked, we managed to win with some respectability.
Tomorrow is off to Hurlbert Field to get everything done at the Casualty Assistance Office. Tomorrow should prove to be long and busy as I get mom trained and get my packing done so I can leave Wednesday morning. Sunday night was tough as we went through Dad's clothes and sorted them out as to keepers or give aways. The memories some of the things brought back kept a few eyes damp and quite a few laughs for the less serious times. Tutu’s and leotards, hmmmmm! As usual we ran out of boxes and will have to get more. My brother and his family left for England and home today so that just leaves Michael and me. We are planning to leave Wednesday. While I hate to leave I also know I must. Carl and I will be back soon to take the power tools home that Dad gave him. And of course, bowling tournament is the end of March so I will be back through then for a day or two.
I am still amazed at the impact he had in so many lives. I am proud he made a difference and chose not just to pass through life. If I can just do a small part of what he did, I will be a success. Even today, 2 weeks later, many people wonder how they will fill the time he occupied in their life. Everywhere I go; people speak of how much he touched them. In some cases it was just a simple prayer, a smile and a hello or a joke. Every day I hear more of just how he served friends and those around him. Perhaps the most imposing thought is grasping what he did with his life and figuring out who will carry on the work he started. For God’s work will be done by someone … just who is the question.
Well, the Olympics are over and thank God it only took 2 weeks. Once again, our over hyped athletes’ performed in a less than an Olympic God fashion as predicted. In the pre-game hype we were fielding the best and strongest team ever and everyone else would be competing for silver in most sports. Well, needless to say, we wound just trying to stay in the top ten. Thanks to the super effort of the ones the press over looked, we managed to win with some respectability.
Paul's Update - 02/27/06
Dear Friends:
Dad, Tabby & I got an early start today. Paul was scheduled for ADL (activities of daily living) at 9a.m. When we got to the hospital the nurse informed us that Paul was scheduled for the IVC filter removal at 9:30 so the ADL was postponed. The IVC removal went well and Paul was back to his room around 10:50. At 11a.m. the speech therapist came in. She had a new toy today. An incentive spirometer that encourages Paul to inhale. It measures the amount of breath he takes so he can see how he is doing. He needs a lot of work on this but he does inhale when you tell him to. She worked to get him to make sounds with his voice again. He was able to make several "ahhh" sounds in a row. It was evident that he was purposefully making sounds!! He did that about 6 or 7 times. A second speech therapist came in around 1pm. She worked to get him to exercise his tongue. She was able to get him to open his mouth and move his tongue over the top of this teeth. She exercised his cheeks and lips and worked to get him to swallow when asked to. He does really well with the cap on his trach and now he needs to do a little better with swallowing so he will be able to eat real food!! The physical therapist came around 2pm. She worked with him a bit to "wake up" his right side. She worked his leg mostly since she wanted to get him up on his feet. Once she had him up and in the wheelchair we went down to the therapy room. This room is quite incredible ... it has everything!! She put a big mirror in front of him hoping that he would be able to see himself and notice his own posture as he stood. She got him up three times. He stood OK but was tired and couldn't stand for long. After that she worked with him to "walk" his wheelchair. He walked it about 20 steps across the room. He was pretty tired by then and we took him back to the room. He was able to sit up in the wheelchair for a bit after we got back. The great thing that happened today is the infectious disease nurse cleared Paul from the isolation status. All his tests for staff have come back negative ... that means no more gowns & gloves!! Yahoo! Now he is able to be with other patients in the therapy room and we hope he may be able to take advantage of the animal therapy. They have several dogs that come in and visit patients and it is a pretty successful therapy from what we understand. Before we left to go home Tabby had been laying in the bed next to him. When she went to get out of the bed ... he moved his legs to the edge of the bed like he was going to get up with her. How wonderful his love for her is!! Tuesday therapy is OT 9:00am, Speech 11am & PT at 2pm! It is so nice to have a schedule each day!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
Dad, Tabby & I got an early start today. Paul was scheduled for ADL (activities of daily living) at 9a.m. When we got to the hospital the nurse informed us that Paul was scheduled for the IVC filter removal at 9:30 so the ADL was postponed. The IVC removal went well and Paul was back to his room around 10:50. At 11a.m. the speech therapist came in. She had a new toy today. An incentive spirometer that encourages Paul to inhale. It measures the amount of breath he takes so he can see how he is doing. He needs a lot of work on this but he does inhale when you tell him to. She worked to get him to make sounds with his voice again. He was able to make several "ahhh" sounds in a row. It was evident that he was purposefully making sounds!! He did that about 6 or 7 times. A second speech therapist came in around 1pm. She worked to get him to exercise his tongue. She was able to get him to open his mouth and move his tongue over the top of this teeth. She exercised his cheeks and lips and worked to get him to swallow when asked to. He does really well with the cap on his trach and now he needs to do a little better with swallowing so he will be able to eat real food!! The physical therapist came around 2pm. She worked with him a bit to "wake up" his right side. She worked his leg mostly since she wanted to get him up on his feet. Once she had him up and in the wheelchair we went down to the therapy room. This room is quite incredible ... it has everything!! She put a big mirror in front of him hoping that he would be able to see himself and notice his own posture as he stood. She got him up three times. He stood OK but was tired and couldn't stand for long. After that she worked with him to "walk" his wheelchair. He walked it about 20 steps across the room. He was pretty tired by then and we took him back to the room. He was able to sit up in the wheelchair for a bit after we got back. The great thing that happened today is the infectious disease nurse cleared Paul from the isolation status. All his tests for staff have come back negative ... that means no more gowns & gloves!! Yahoo! Now he is able to be with other patients in the therapy room and we hope he may be able to take advantage of the animal therapy. They have several dogs that come in and visit patients and it is a pretty successful therapy from what we understand. Before we left to go home Tabby had been laying in the bed next to him. When she went to get out of the bed ... he moved his legs to the edge of the bed like he was going to get up with her. How wonderful his love for her is!! Tuesday therapy is OT 9:00am, Speech 11am & PT at 2pm! It is so nice to have a schedule each day!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/26/06
Dear Friends:
Sundays start pretty late for us. After going to worship this morning we headed to the hospital. Tabby was out doing some errands so when we got there Paul was alone. He was awake and watching basketball on the TV (hmmm I don't really think he's a basketball fan ... must be the nurses idea!!) Anyway, we sat with him for a while until Tabby came. We had asked him if he wanted to get out of bed and he said "no" so we watched TV with him for a while. Dad worked to exercise his arms and legs a bit since he has been so stiff. When Tabby arrived he seemed to have a renewed interest in getting up ... I think Tabby has a positive effect on him (ya think???). Since the speech therapist had suggested that it would be easier to work the muscles in his face if he was shaved ... that is what we did today. He got a clean shave! Afterward, we took him for a walk around the hospital and sat in the lobby for a while. He seemed to enjoy getting out of the room. Dad worked on his left arm while we were in the lobby a little bit. He has a bit of saliva that sometimes needs to be wiped and Tabby put a cloth in his hand. He tried real hard to get the cloth to his mouth but since that arm is so stiff he cannot get it to his face. He really tries hard. When we got back to the room he sat up for a bit before we got back to bed. Tabby has bought some "scrubs" for him to wear. They fit loosely and are pretty comfortable for him. When he needs to change clothes he is now able to help quite a bit. He moves his arms to make it easier to take them out of the sleeves and he can lift his bottom up to make it easier to put the pants on. tonight he actually reached to pull the pants up! It just shows how much he is aware of his personal needs!! Monday will start EARLY ... he has something called ADL therapy at 9am. The nurse called it Activities for Daily Living. They will dress him and do hygiene things with him. Then he has speech therapy at 11am. Physical therapy is at 2pm. He also has the IVC filter removal sometime during the day but we haven't been told when it is scheduled for yet. Another piece of hardware that we will get rid of! Yahoo! Have a great day!
Love, Lynne & Carl
Sundays start pretty late for us. After going to worship this morning we headed to the hospital. Tabby was out doing some errands so when we got there Paul was alone. He was awake and watching basketball on the TV (hmmm I don't really think he's a basketball fan ... must be the nurses idea!!) Anyway, we sat with him for a while until Tabby came. We had asked him if he wanted to get out of bed and he said "no" so we watched TV with him for a while. Dad worked to exercise his arms and legs a bit since he has been so stiff. When Tabby arrived he seemed to have a renewed interest in getting up ... I think Tabby has a positive effect on him (ya think???). Since the speech therapist had suggested that it would be easier to work the muscles in his face if he was shaved ... that is what we did today. He got a clean shave! Afterward, we took him for a walk around the hospital and sat in the lobby for a while. He seemed to enjoy getting out of the room. Dad worked on his left arm while we were in the lobby a little bit. He has a bit of saliva that sometimes needs to be wiped and Tabby put a cloth in his hand. He tried real hard to get the cloth to his mouth but since that arm is so stiff he cannot get it to his face. He really tries hard. When we got back to the room he sat up for a bit before we got back to bed. Tabby has bought some "scrubs" for him to wear. They fit loosely and are pretty comfortable for him. When he needs to change clothes he is now able to help quite a bit. He moves his arms to make it easier to take them out of the sleeves and he can lift his bottom up to make it easier to put the pants on. tonight he actually reached to pull the pants up! It just shows how much he is aware of his personal needs!! Monday will start EARLY ... he has something called ADL therapy at 9am. The nurse called it Activities for Daily Living. They will dress him and do hygiene things with him. Then he has speech therapy at 11am. Physical therapy is at 2pm. He also has the IVC filter removal sometime during the day but we haven't been told when it is scheduled for yet. Another piece of hardware that we will get rid of! Yahoo! Have a great day!
Love, Lynne & Carl
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/25/06
Dear Friends:
We started out a little later today. Therapy was scheduled for 11am & 12:30pm. Bobby & Carolyn got there just in time for the speech therapist who came in about 10 minutes late. She got him in the wheelchair and took him to a quiet room down the hall to work. She started by messaging Paul's face, cheeks and lips. Since his muscles are weak she needs to work them so he will be able to swallow and form his mouth for speech. She worked for a bit to get him to swallow more naturally. He is getting better at that. She gave him a little swab with some cranberry juice on it. He seemed to really like the taste but he had a little difficulty swallowing before he wanted more. His trach was capped so she worked to try to get him to make some noise with his own voice. She had him inhale and make sound as he exhaled. He was able to do that although it was a little weak. We got him back to the room and let him stay up in the wheelchair for a while until the occupational therapist came in around 12:30 and took Paul to the therapy room. She got him on a bench and layed him on his back. She worked a little to see if he was able to track with his eyes. He did pretty good with that. Dad was by his right side and tried to get him to turn his head to see him but he didn't do very well at that. She also worked to stretch out his arms. The right arm isn't as stiff as the left. She plans to work more on limbering them up and building muscle tone back. She had him roll to his side several times. He has pretty good balance and does that really well. She also sat him on the edge of the table and had him balance himself. He has great balance doing this. His nurse said she was going to try to make sure he got a shower today. It is so nice to be in a facility where that is a priority!! After Dad & I left today Bobby & Carolyn got Paul into his wheelchair and took him for a "tour" of the hospital. He likes being up and away from his room. We haven't been able to take him outside yet ... that is another thing he really enjoys ... maybe soon!! Have a great Sunday!
Love, Lynne & Carl
P.S. I made a mistake about Paul's phone number in his room.....it is 703-664-8571. Visiting hours are from 11am to 9pm.
We started out a little later today. Therapy was scheduled for 11am & 12:30pm. Bobby & Carolyn got there just in time for the speech therapist who came in about 10 minutes late. She got him in the wheelchair and took him to a quiet room down the hall to work. She started by messaging Paul's face, cheeks and lips. Since his muscles are weak she needs to work them so he will be able to swallow and form his mouth for speech. She worked for a bit to get him to swallow more naturally. He is getting better at that. She gave him a little swab with some cranberry juice on it. He seemed to really like the taste but he had a little difficulty swallowing before he wanted more. His trach was capped so she worked to try to get him to make some noise with his own voice. She had him inhale and make sound as he exhaled. He was able to do that although it was a little weak. We got him back to the room and let him stay up in the wheelchair for a while until the occupational therapist came in around 12:30 and took Paul to the therapy room. She got him on a bench and layed him on his back. She worked a little to see if he was able to track with his eyes. He did pretty good with that. Dad was by his right side and tried to get him to turn his head to see him but he didn't do very well at that. She also worked to stretch out his arms. The right arm isn't as stiff as the left. She plans to work more on limbering them up and building muscle tone back. She had him roll to his side several times. He has pretty good balance and does that really well. She also sat him on the edge of the table and had him balance himself. He has great balance doing this. His nurse said she was going to try to make sure he got a shower today. It is so nice to be in a facility where that is a priority!! After Dad & I left today Bobby & Carolyn got Paul into his wheelchair and took him for a "tour" of the hospital. He likes being up and away from his room. We haven't been able to take him outside yet ... that is another thing he really enjoys ... maybe soon!! Have a great Sunday!
Love, Lynne & Carl
P.S. I made a mistake about Paul's phone number in his room.....it is 703-664-8571. Visiting hours are from 11am to 9pm.
Friday, February 24, 2006
And it marches on
Another quiet day. I did manage to get the alternator changed so the van is ready to head home someday. But the Death Certificate fiasco continues. Even the Hospital Administrator of the hospital Dad died in failed to return our call this morning. The County medical examiner has been made aware of the problem. As I understand it Santa Rosa is well known for messing up the Death Certificates like they are doing now. So now I just need to find the right button to push.
Mom's birthday is tomorrow and we will have a little get-together for her.
So the Nationals ticket sales are down. No wonder why. Thanks to the DC city government who screwed around so long that people have lost interest or grown cautious of just how viable the team will be. What good player would sign with a team in such limbo? Almost spring training time and the stadium is still in the air, no owner, and no one knows what MLB will do. Talk about killing a good team. Thanks D.C. Government, you got what you wanted -- No Team.
If the Iraqis want civil war between the factions .. Let them fight and get our troops out of harms way. This is a cultural/religious war now and all we can do is lose. We have gotten rid of the despot and tried to build a safe and secure government but they want to fight. Let them and when the last person of each faction realizes they are the last then they might quit and live peacefully.
Well, Madi Gras goes on. Never mind that the City is in shambles and most of the residents are out of work or homeless. Oh, that is right; the Mayor spends his time somewhere else. Spend the available money to support walking drunken parties and random acts of senseless revelry. I wish the best to those who really bear the brunt of Katrina. Obviously, party time takes precedence over basic living necessities. The partying takes their mind off the problem you say? Sounds like a good drunk, feel nothing tonight only to endure the headache tomorrow.
Mom's birthday is tomorrow and we will have a little get-together for her.
So the Nationals ticket sales are down. No wonder why. Thanks to the DC city government who screwed around so long that people have lost interest or grown cautious of just how viable the team will be. What good player would sign with a team in such limbo? Almost spring training time and the stadium is still in the air, no owner, and no one knows what MLB will do. Talk about killing a good team. Thanks D.C. Government, you got what you wanted -- No Team.
If the Iraqis want civil war between the factions .. Let them fight and get our troops out of harms way. This is a cultural/religious war now and all we can do is lose. We have gotten rid of the despot and tried to build a safe and secure government but they want to fight. Let them and when the last person of each faction realizes they are the last then they might quit and live peacefully.
Well, Madi Gras goes on. Never mind that the City is in shambles and most of the residents are out of work or homeless. Oh, that is right; the Mayor spends his time somewhere else. Spend the available money to support walking drunken parties and random acts of senseless revelry. I wish the best to those who really bear the brunt of Katrina. Obviously, party time takes precedence over basic living necessities. The partying takes their mind off the problem you say? Sounds like a good drunk, feel nothing tonight only to endure the headache tomorrow.
Paul's Update - 02/24/06
Dear Friends:
Gone are the quiet days! The folks at Mount Vernon keep Paul busy most of the day. This morning started with the Physical Therapist at 9am. She didn't work him really hard since he had a Doppler (ultrasound) test that was scheduled for 10:15am. This was to prepare for the IVC filter to be rotated. From 9-9:45am she worked to stretch him out and get him to roll from side to side. She got him into the wheelchair and took him to a room where he could sit on a bench. He sat there while she worked to stretch his muscles. He sat up pretty well. After they got back to the room it was about time to go for the ultrasound on his legs to determine if there is good blood flow to his legs and no clots. They were suppose to do the filter rotation right after that but the doctor delayed the procedure because he would like to consider taking the filter out as soon as possible. Since the Doppler showed no evidence of clotting he has ordered the filter removal for Monday. After they got back from that procedure it was a little past time for the Occupational therapist to be working with him but she showed up anyway and tried to work with him a bit. She worked to get him sitting in the bed and take his gown off so they could put a regular shirt on. He assisted her in getting his arms out of the sleeves. He even used his left hand to pull the shirt off of his right arm! She took him in the bathroom to see if he could use a towel on his face. He wasn't really able to do that since his arms are pretty stiff. She worked to stretch his arms a bit and tried to get him to put his hand to his chin. She got it there but it was pretty tough. When she was done she recommended he stay out of bed for a while and see how long he could tolerate being up. While he was still up the doctor came in to replace the trach. This one is smaller and is another step closer to the elimination of the trach. He installed the trach and put a plug on so Paul was breathing completely through his mouth and nose. It stayed on the rest of the day!! Speech therapy came in around 1:30pm. Two therapist are working together for speech therapy. They worked on getting him to swallow and they exercised his facial muscles. They also worked with him to respond to questions by blinking his eyes once for "yes" and twice for "no". He seemed to do well with the "yes" response. They asked if Dad was in the room and he blinked once. They asked if he was OK and he blinked once. When they asked if Tabby was in the room (she wasn't) he blinked once for "yes". We will have to work on this!! LOL Once he was back in bed around 4:30 he was pretty tired and slept for about two hours. He was up most of the day and stayed alert most of that time. Saturday will include therapy. This is new for us. There will be at least two therapists coming in. We are so pleased that everyone is aggressive and works him hard. We believe that he is ready for it and will recover quicker. As we complete the 16th week of Paul's recovery we are constantly amazed at how far he has come. We praise God for keeping him safe and healing his body!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
Gone are the quiet days! The folks at Mount Vernon keep Paul busy most of the day. This morning started with the Physical Therapist at 9am. She didn't work him really hard since he had a Doppler (ultrasound) test that was scheduled for 10:15am. This was to prepare for the IVC filter to be rotated. From 9-9:45am she worked to stretch him out and get him to roll from side to side. She got him into the wheelchair and took him to a room where he could sit on a bench. He sat there while she worked to stretch his muscles. He sat up pretty well. After they got back to the room it was about time to go for the ultrasound on his legs to determine if there is good blood flow to his legs and no clots. They were suppose to do the filter rotation right after that but the doctor delayed the procedure because he would like to consider taking the filter out as soon as possible. Since the Doppler showed no evidence of clotting he has ordered the filter removal for Monday. After they got back from that procedure it was a little past time for the Occupational therapist to be working with him but she showed up anyway and tried to work with him a bit. She worked to get him sitting in the bed and take his gown off so they could put a regular shirt on. He assisted her in getting his arms out of the sleeves. He even used his left hand to pull the shirt off of his right arm! She took him in the bathroom to see if he could use a towel on his face. He wasn't really able to do that since his arms are pretty stiff. She worked to stretch his arms a bit and tried to get him to put his hand to his chin. She got it there but it was pretty tough. When she was done she recommended he stay out of bed for a while and see how long he could tolerate being up. While he was still up the doctor came in to replace the trach. This one is smaller and is another step closer to the elimination of the trach. He installed the trach and put a plug on so Paul was breathing completely through his mouth and nose. It stayed on the rest of the day!! Speech therapy came in around 1:30pm. Two therapist are working together for speech therapy. They worked on getting him to swallow and they exercised his facial muscles. They also worked with him to respond to questions by blinking his eyes once for "yes" and twice for "no". He seemed to do well with the "yes" response. They asked if Dad was in the room and he blinked once. They asked if he was OK and he blinked once. When they asked if Tabby was in the room (she wasn't) he blinked once for "yes". We will have to work on this!! LOL Once he was back in bed around 4:30 he was pretty tired and slept for about two hours. He was up most of the day and stayed alert most of that time. Saturday will include therapy. This is new for us. There will be at least two therapists coming in. We are so pleased that everyone is aggressive and works him hard. We believe that he is ready for it and will recover quicker. As we complete the 16th week of Paul's recovery we are constantly amazed at how far he has come. We praise God for keeping him safe and healing his body!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Hawke Hunts
Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork. This stuff is crazy. Right now we are fighting to get a Doctor to sign the Death Certificate. 9 days after he died and 6 days after we buried him, they are refusing to sign it. A paranoid person might start thinking why not? Got something you are hiding? One doctor they said he could sign it and he refused, " I haven't seen him in 7 months and don't feel it is right. Excuse me Frito head, the Hospital Discharge record on 2/11/06 has his signature. The other Doctor he has been seeing for decades, well his office says their records show they haven't treated my Dad since 02/04, well, DUH!!! We show were he was seen by the group of Doctors 7 times last year (05) alone. Conspiracy anyone? The actual Doctor in ER won't sign because he felt it wasn't right for him to sign ... let Dad's regular Doctor sign, he said. Why am I paying for his services then? Oh, and also the Doctors Group billed the medical insurance over $100,000.00 for services for January alone. February 2004, do you say? Then I think some fraud is cooking over billing for services not performed! To muddy the waters a bit, they failed to remove Dad's defibrillator, the same one under a recall and when they repaired it last fall, they had to bring Dad back in for a wiring adjustment early this year. Why is that important, well no one can remember it going off! Even the friend that was performing CPR ... now he would have felt that. So my question now is "What happened that night?" and given this paperwork fiasco where even the E.R. Doctor who was right there won't sign, I have an inquiring mind? Did some one screw up in ER? Did the defibrillator fail as their history showed when Dad needed it the most to work its magic? In the morning if the papers aren't signed, my intention is to get a lawyer involved and the inquiring mind becomes a demanding one for answers that I can believe.
So, given all this crap things are going fairly well. Still need to fix the alternator on the van so I can come home. We had some homemade ice cream this evening and as usual, I ate too much. Tomorrow is seafood dinner at the Oarhouse.
The funny thing about this whole ordeal is mom's sonny do list just keeps growing and growing and growing. Well time to sleep because the Hawke starts hunting.
So, given all this crap things are going fairly well. Still need to fix the alternator on the van so I can come home. We had some homemade ice cream this evening and as usual, I ate too much. Tomorrow is seafood dinner at the Oarhouse.
The funny thing about this whole ordeal is mom's sonny do list just keeps growing and growing and growing. Well time to sleep because the Hawke starts hunting.
Paul's Update - 02/23/06
Dear Friends:
Today was the first full day at Mount Vernon. Dad & Tabby left around 7:30a.m. to take on the traffic to Alexandria. He had lots of people look at him today to try to evaluate what he can do. Most of them were pleased at his progress to date. After Paul got a wheelchair, Dad was able to take him for a walk around the building. They went to a window where school busses were going by. When Dad asked him if he could see the busses he shook his head "no". The therapist said she believes he sees but probably better on the left side than the right side. That actually makes sense since the right side of his body seems most affected overall. All of the therapists and doctors will meet next week to determine how they think his therapy should proceed. Friday they will start him out with Physical therapy at 9am then Occupational Therapy at 11am and Speech Therapy at 1pm. The speech therapist will focus on trying to prepare Paul to get rid of the trach. Evidently they are always aggressive about weaning patients from trachs. She wanted to see what types of questions Paul could "answer". She told him she was going to ask him some questions, some of them she would know the answer to but she wanted him to try to answer. She started out with "Is your name Mark?". Paul gave her a frown ... she said "I guess I will take that as a no"! LOL The occupational therapist worked with the parallel bars. She stood him up and had him balance himself. Her goal is to have him learn how to lean forward to start to stand up instead of leaning back to push himself up. The physical therapist was able to get Paul to reach out and touch her hand and he did that twice. She thought that was good. She also took Paul in the hallway and got him to "walk" his wheelchair with his left leg. It took him a little time to figure out how to do that but once he figured it out he traveled about 20 feet with it. Later we will have the benefit of a Recreational Therapist ... when he is ready for that. Paul will have therapy 6 days a week - Monday through Saturday. According to the therapists the best times to visit are evenings & Sunday since there are no interruptions for therapy. It appears that Paul could be at Mount Vernon for 4-6 weeks depending on what the insurance and Medicaid will pay for. Tonight Tabby was sitting at the end of the bed, she asked him if he was "ok" and he did a thumbs up! All in all it was a very good day!
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Today was the first full day at Mount Vernon. Dad & Tabby left around 7:30a.m. to take on the traffic to Alexandria. He had lots of people look at him today to try to evaluate what he can do. Most of them were pleased at his progress to date. After Paul got a wheelchair, Dad was able to take him for a walk around the building. They went to a window where school busses were going by. When Dad asked him if he could see the busses he shook his head "no". The therapist said she believes he sees but probably better on the left side than the right side. That actually makes sense since the right side of his body seems most affected overall. All of the therapists and doctors will meet next week to determine how they think his therapy should proceed. Friday they will start him out with Physical therapy at 9am then Occupational Therapy at 11am and Speech Therapy at 1pm. The speech therapist will focus on trying to prepare Paul to get rid of the trach. Evidently they are always aggressive about weaning patients from trachs. She wanted to see what types of questions Paul could "answer". She told him she was going to ask him some questions, some of them she would know the answer to but she wanted him to try to answer. She started out with "Is your name Mark?". Paul gave her a frown ... she said "I guess I will take that as a no"! LOL The occupational therapist worked with the parallel bars. She stood him up and had him balance himself. Her goal is to have him learn how to lean forward to start to stand up instead of leaning back to push himself up. The physical therapist was able to get Paul to reach out and touch her hand and he did that twice. She thought that was good. She also took Paul in the hallway and got him to "walk" his wheelchair with his left leg. It took him a little time to figure out how to do that but once he figured it out he traveled about 20 feet with it. Later we will have the benefit of a Recreational Therapist ... when he is ready for that. Paul will have therapy 6 days a week - Monday through Saturday. According to the therapists the best times to visit are evenings & Sunday since there are no interruptions for therapy. It appears that Paul could be at Mount Vernon for 4-6 weeks depending on what the insurance and Medicaid will pay for. Tonight Tabby was sitting at the end of the bed, she asked him if he was "ok" and he did a thumbs up! All in all it was a very good day!
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/22/06
Dear Friends:
Paul is all settled in at Mount Vernon. He had a very busy day. Dad there early and the transport got there around 11am. The physical therapists at Manor Care came by to say goodbye and request that we come to visit from time to time. Tabby rode in the ambulance with Paul ... quite an experience according to Tabby!! Once they got to the hospital they began the evaluations to see where he is physically and mentally. They've also started doing testing for the Staff infection to see if we can do without the gowns & gloves. For now he is in isolation. We don't really mind that since it gives him a private room! :-) It took a while before the nurse gave him some food (through the tube). When we left tonight they were still looking for a machine to do the automatic feeding. Thursday will be another evaluation day to determine what kind of therapy will be in order and how long they think he will be there. When they decide that we will have a "family meeting" to discuss the course of therapy and what our roles will be. The nurse said that they will also evaluate to determine when they can start weaning him from the trach and eating by mouth to get rid of the feeding tube. Most of the day Paul was pretty alert. He winked at Tabby today!! He watches her constantly and they kiss a lot!! The drive home was very long but we are very happy to finally be in rehab! We believe he will start to excel now!
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Paul's new address is:
Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
2501 Parker's Lane
Alexandria, Virginia 22306
Room 511-2
Direct phone is 703-664-8572 (Paul's room)
Patient information 703-664-7190 or (800) 554-REHAB (7342)
Directions: www.inova.org/inovapublic.srt/imvh/map&directions.jsp?tStatus=23
Paul is all settled in at Mount Vernon. He had a very busy day. Dad there early and the transport got there around 11am. The physical therapists at Manor Care came by to say goodbye and request that we come to visit from time to time. Tabby rode in the ambulance with Paul ... quite an experience according to Tabby!! Once they got to the hospital they began the evaluations to see where he is physically and mentally. They've also started doing testing for the Staff infection to see if we can do without the gowns & gloves. For now he is in isolation. We don't really mind that since it gives him a private room! :-) It took a while before the nurse gave him some food (through the tube). When we left tonight they were still looking for a machine to do the automatic feeding. Thursday will be another evaluation day to determine what kind of therapy will be in order and how long they think he will be there. When they decide that we will have a "family meeting" to discuss the course of therapy and what our roles will be. The nurse said that they will also evaluate to determine when they can start weaning him from the trach and eating by mouth to get rid of the feeding tube. Most of the day Paul was pretty alert. He winked at Tabby today!! He watches her constantly and they kiss a lot!! The drive home was very long but we are very happy to finally be in rehab! We believe he will start to excel now!
God Bless, Lynne & Carl
Paul's new address is:
Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
2501 Parker's Lane
Alexandria, Virginia 22306
Room 511-2
Direct phone is 703-664-8572 (Paul's room)
Patient information 703-664-7190 or (800) 554-REHAB (7342)
Directions: www.inova.org/inovapublic.srt/imvh/map&directions.jsp?tStatus=23
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/21/06
Dear Friends:
This morning started pretty early. Dad was on his way to the nursing home when Tabby called to say that Paul's doctor appointment was 10am and a transport was coming at 9:15am. They transported him to the orthopedist office for a follow-up to his foot surgery. The x-rays were picked up yesterday (Tabby had them!) and the doctor was pleased with what he saw. Paul now has a green light for full weight bearing WITHOUT his boot on the left foot!!! When Paul got back to the nursing home Tabby was informed that Mount Vernon would be coming on Wednesday to pick him up. So the room has been cleaned and Tabby is spending the night at Manor Care tonight. She is going to miss being able to climb in bed with Paul but we are looking forward to the aggressive rehab that he will be getting soon! Rehab today went VERY well. Paul was blowing the whistle very loud & long today, he seems to take deeper breaths now. He had the trach downsized yesterday. Now he wears the speaking cap for 12 hours each day. We are hoping he will soon try to talk a bit. He worked with the hand exercise and the foot pedals. Keith got him up and he walked with the walker. He took several steps and did three sets of walking. He was alert and watching everything and everybody closely! After Dad & I left tonight Tabby was working with Paul to get him to use the nurses call button if he needed help. She was encouraging him to use the button and left it in his hand. She stepped out of the room for a few minutes and when she came back he had pushed the button and called the nurse!!! Tabby and the nurse were both amazed! We are constantly amazed at the things he does each day. I've said it before but I know God blesses us with good things EACH day!! Wednesday will be very busy for us ... the transport is coming at 11am to take us to Mount Vernon. Tabby will ride with Paul and get him settled in. I will send directions and room info once we know what room he will be in. Thanks for all the continued prayer and encouragement!! We love you!!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
This morning started pretty early. Dad was on his way to the nursing home when Tabby called to say that Paul's doctor appointment was 10am and a transport was coming at 9:15am. They transported him to the orthopedist office for a follow-up to his foot surgery. The x-rays were picked up yesterday (Tabby had them!) and the doctor was pleased with what he saw. Paul now has a green light for full weight bearing WITHOUT his boot on the left foot!!! When Paul got back to the nursing home Tabby was informed that Mount Vernon would be coming on Wednesday to pick him up. So the room has been cleaned and Tabby is spending the night at Manor Care tonight. She is going to miss being able to climb in bed with Paul but we are looking forward to the aggressive rehab that he will be getting soon! Rehab today went VERY well. Paul was blowing the whistle very loud & long today, he seems to take deeper breaths now. He had the trach downsized yesterday. Now he wears the speaking cap for 12 hours each day. We are hoping he will soon try to talk a bit. He worked with the hand exercise and the foot pedals. Keith got him up and he walked with the walker. He took several steps and did three sets of walking. He was alert and watching everything and everybody closely! After Dad & I left tonight Tabby was working with Paul to get him to use the nurses call button if he needed help. She was encouraging him to use the button and left it in his hand. She stepped out of the room for a few minutes and when she came back he had pushed the button and called the nurse!!! Tabby and the nurse were both amazed! We are constantly amazed at the things he does each day. I've said it before but I know God blesses us with good things EACH day!! Wednesday will be very busy for us ... the transport is coming at 11am to take us to Mount Vernon. Tabby will ride with Paul and get him settled in. I will send directions and room info once we know what room he will be in. Thanks for all the continued prayer and encouragement!! We love you!!
Blessings, Lynne & Carl
Monday, February 20, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/20/06
Dear Friends:
We are back from our weekend at my sister's. Since my mother will be moving to the house down the street from my sister in a couple of weeks, we went down to help with some work that needed to be done in the house. It was a "work" weekend but we enjoyed spending time with Ann & John. We got back into the area late this afternoon and went straight to the nursing home. Bobby & Tabby were there and said that things were pretty quiet today but they did have a fair Physical Therapy time. The speech therapist was able to get Paul to blow the whistle a couple of times and he did it really loud. But he gets a "repetitive" action and tries to blow on everything after that. According to the therapist that is common with head injury patients. He also was able to use a large walker and take several steps with it. This is probably better that the parallel bars and will allow him to go farther when he is able. Tuesday Paul goes back to the orthopedist to find out what the course of action will be for the plate and pins in his left foot. No word from Mount Vernon yet but since Monday was a holiday it is not surprising. We are as ready as we can be for the next part of the recovery!! Have a great "short" week ... well at least for some of us!
Love, Lynne & Carl
We are back from our weekend at my sister's. Since my mother will be moving to the house down the street from my sister in a couple of weeks, we went down to help with some work that needed to be done in the house. It was a "work" weekend but we enjoyed spending time with Ann & John. We got back into the area late this afternoon and went straight to the nursing home. Bobby & Tabby were there and said that things were pretty quiet today but they did have a fair Physical Therapy time. The speech therapist was able to get Paul to blow the whistle a couple of times and he did it really loud. But he gets a "repetitive" action and tries to blow on everything after that. According to the therapist that is common with head injury patients. He also was able to use a large walker and take several steps with it. This is probably better that the parallel bars and will allow him to go farther when he is able. Tuesday Paul goes back to the orthopedist to find out what the course of action will be for the plate and pins in his left foot. No word from Mount Vernon yet but since Monday was a holiday it is not surprising. We are as ready as we can be for the next part of the recovery!! Have a great "short" week ... well at least for some of us!
Love, Lynne & Carl
Paul's Update - 02/18/06 and 02/19/06
Here is the update that Bobby sent while we were away this weekend. We are back now and will be back into our regular routine. By the way...in Bobby's note he mentions Munchkin ... he is Paul & Tabby's cat ... you know the one that Paul said ISN'T his cat!!! LOL
Lynne
Subject: Weekend Update
We had a real uneventful weekend with Paul. Saturday morning I was finally able to get him to respond to a few questions, but all of his answers were negative. Questions like "Are you okay?" and "Do you want to watch TV?" illicited no response. Questions like "Do you want me to put your boots back on?" were met with a head shake. Opie and Pop stopped by yesterday, and when they did he wouldn't answer or respond to any questions. Tabby brought Munchkin up yesterday, but he was a little freaked out and Paul didn't respond to him either. Last night Tabby noticed that the humidifier for his trach seemed to be malfunctioning. When she tried to point this out the night nurse became argumentative and at one point even raised her voice to Tabby telling her the machine was working just fine (even though the machine had been on the same bottle of water for nearly 24 hours. Tabby lodged her complaint this morning (after marking the bottle last night and showing it to the day nurse). The entire humidifier was swapped out for a new one this morning. Tabby reported that he seemed to cough up some "really dry stuff" and "that he may need to be suctioned more frequently this week" due to the humidifier malfunction. The day nurse also noted that Paul hadn't had a shower in some time and was taking him in for one as Tabby was leaving. Billy spent some time with Paul today. He apparently had a good visit and reported that when he discussed the possibility of Paul's first words being something to effect of referring to Billy as a felon, Paul got a big smile and even seemed to be laughing (though it's hard to tell with the trach, he said it was silent and didn't seem like a cough). Tabby just made it back from the baby shower, and will be returning to Manor Care to spend the night with Paul. Tabby will also be spending the day with him thanks to the holiday. I however have to return to work tomorrow.
Lynne
Subject: Weekend Update
We had a real uneventful weekend with Paul. Saturday morning I was finally able to get him to respond to a few questions, but all of his answers were negative. Questions like "Are you okay?" and "Do you want to watch TV?" illicited no response. Questions like "Do you want me to put your boots back on?" were met with a head shake. Opie and Pop stopped by yesterday, and when they did he wouldn't answer or respond to any questions. Tabby brought Munchkin up yesterday, but he was a little freaked out and Paul didn't respond to him either. Last night Tabby noticed that the humidifier for his trach seemed to be malfunctioning. When she tried to point this out the night nurse became argumentative and at one point even raised her voice to Tabby telling her the machine was working just fine (even though the machine had been on the same bottle of water for nearly 24 hours. Tabby lodged her complaint this morning (after marking the bottle last night and showing it to the day nurse). The entire humidifier was swapped out for a new one this morning. Tabby reported that he seemed to cough up some "really dry stuff" and "that he may need to be suctioned more frequently this week" due to the humidifier malfunction. The day nurse also noted that Paul hadn't had a shower in some time and was taking him in for one as Tabby was leaving. Billy spent some time with Paul today. He apparently had a good visit and reported that when he discussed the possibility of Paul's first words being something to effect of referring to Billy as a felon, Paul got a big smile and even seemed to be laughing (though it's hard to tell with the trach, he said it was silent and didn't seem like a cough). Tabby just made it back from the baby shower, and will be returning to Manor Care to spend the night with Paul. Tabby will also be spending the day with him thanks to the holiday. I however have to return to work tomorrow.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Remembering Dad
The ceremony at the church on Saturday was a major roller coaster of emotion. It was pretty with all the colorful flowers. The service tugged at your heart at every turn. I spoke for a bit and managed to say what I had placed on the blog site without breaking down but Lord, it was hard.
So far through this whole ordeal what has pained me the most is not the loss of dad for I know he is better off and safe from harm, but the loss and pain of all his friends. My heart ached at the sight of their tears and pain. Dad was a friend that can't be replaced as he was one of those rare individuals that doesn't know a stranger and lived to serve everyone. I can't number the times many of the men told me, "What will I do now, your Dad as my best friend and confidant." I even at one point wanted to say, ""I will be back soon to try and pick up the slack." It is one thing when someone dies but when a godly man dies the impact is far reaching. Many a good man will now have to shoulder a greater burden but in my heart I think they will do great.
Today we visited the cemetery for the first time. It wasn't nearly as hard as yesterday was. Too our surprise Saturday, a full military honor guard was there. We had only expected a flag presenter and maybe have taps played. But they did the whole honors. They were good as they folder the flag with practiced skill and showmanship. The rifle salute was great as they used M-1's. These were rifles from the period that dad served. Almost everyone jumped at the first volley. But everyone had tears at the sound of taps. One of Dad's dreams was for the ceremony to include military honors.
The food was overwhelming but I am just chickened out. They brought it by the 100 piece boxes.
Tomorrow starts the long process of clearing up his personal affairs and getting mom setup to continue. It feels funny going through Dad's personal papers. Growing up it was unthinkable to do that. But it becomes my lot in life and I feel closer to him as I do.
Thank you to everyone. Your thoughts and prayers are deeply appreciated.
So far through this whole ordeal what has pained me the most is not the loss of dad for I know he is better off and safe from harm, but the loss and pain of all his friends. My heart ached at the sight of their tears and pain. Dad was a friend that can't be replaced as he was one of those rare individuals that doesn't know a stranger and lived to serve everyone. I can't number the times many of the men told me, "What will I do now, your Dad as my best friend and confidant." I even at one point wanted to say, ""I will be back soon to try and pick up the slack." It is one thing when someone dies but when a godly man dies the impact is far reaching. Many a good man will now have to shoulder a greater burden but in my heart I think they will do great.
Today we visited the cemetery for the first time. It wasn't nearly as hard as yesterday was. Too our surprise Saturday, a full military honor guard was there. We had only expected a flag presenter and maybe have taps played. But they did the whole honors. They were good as they folder the flag with practiced skill and showmanship. The rifle salute was great as they used M-1's. These were rifles from the period that dad served. Almost everyone jumped at the first volley. But everyone had tears at the sound of taps. One of Dad's dreams was for the ceremony to include military honors.
The food was overwhelming but I am just chickened out. They brought it by the 100 piece boxes.
Tomorrow starts the long process of clearing up his personal affairs and getting mom setup to continue. It feels funny going through Dad's personal papers. Growing up it was unthinkable to do that. But it becomes my lot in life and I feel closer to him as I do.
Thank you to everyone. Your thoughts and prayers are deeply appreciated.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Paul's Update - 02/17/06
Lynne is visiting her sister in SC, and this is the best way we could figure to "get out the news."
Dear Friends:
What a great day! They get better all the time. Today was the day Paul was able to start his weight bearing…but first…speech therapy. Sheila (the speech therapist) worked with Paul to work with the foot pedals. He did that about 20 times. They worked with the rubber band exercise that he has to squeeze with his hand. He was able to do that about 15 times. Then they attempted to have his blow a whistle. It took a lot of doing but he finally was able to blow the whistle. It was only a little at first but after several tries he blew the whistle really hard!! He blew it about 20 times as well. Then it came time to WALK!! Keith got him up and he was able to walk all the way to the end of the parallel bars. He struggles to move the right leg. Keith works hard with him until he is ready. It was good to see him be able to get up again. He seems to enjoy being on his feet!! He seemed to feel really good today. Saturday & Sunday we will have the weekend "therapy staff"….Bobby & Tabby!! LOL Possibly Monday or Tuesday he will be able to go to Mount Vernon. Every day we rejoice in his improvement. Have a great weekend.
Lynne & Carl
Dear Friends:
What a great day! They get better all the time. Today was the day Paul was able to start his weight bearing…but first…speech therapy. Sheila (the speech therapist) worked with Paul to work with the foot pedals. He did that about 20 times. They worked with the rubber band exercise that he has to squeeze with his hand. He was able to do that about 15 times. Then they attempted to have his blow a whistle. It took a lot of doing but he finally was able to blow the whistle. It was only a little at first but after several tries he blew the whistle really hard!! He blew it about 20 times as well. Then it came time to WALK!! Keith got him up and he was able to walk all the way to the end of the parallel bars. He struggles to move the right leg. Keith works hard with him until he is ready. It was good to see him be able to get up again. He seems to enjoy being on his feet!! He seemed to feel really good today. Saturday & Sunday we will have the weekend "therapy staff"….Bobby & Tabby!! LOL Possibly Monday or Tuesday he will be able to go to Mount Vernon. Every day we rejoice in his improvement. Have a great weekend.
Lynne & Carl
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