7/1/14 (Rachel Hanson) Maybe I'm a wimp but please pray for me. Last week, I had 5 whole shifts not covered by care givers and another one spent training a new one, which means I still pretty much did everything. My brain is just really overwhelmed right now. I got another message on my phone today that there are another 5 shifts open 5 days in a row. Thankfully I have help in the morning, so I guess I will be taking advantage of that as much as possible but we also have tons of appointments to attend the next few days too so that cuts time from them helping much at home. Also, thankfully, our little daughter is very well-behaved and makes life a lot easier than it could be. David is also less challenging to take care of than 10 months ago when we brought him home. There are lots of blessings. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." David and I quote this a lot. On a positive note, I've noticed a brightening in David over the past few days. His speech is clearer and it seems a little more of the "fog" has lifted. Even a lady at the hospital whom I've never noticed or talked to said today that she noticed David's face was brighter and more aware too. We tried taking him off a medication he's been on for awhile but he didn't do well off of it: severe headaches, irritability, weakness, etc... so he's back on it and we've seen a lot of benefit, so I guess he does need that drug. David is getting better and better at initiating realistic short-term plans like trips and outings without any prompting from me. One thing I'm so thankful for is David's spirit through all of this. A couple nights ago, he looked at me and said, "These are the best days of my life!" and told his psychologist today that he's a very happy man. It makes my heart sing to hear him say these things. I'm so grateful for a man that triumphs over trial with joy and prays so often for us to be satisfied with God's will for us.
7/11/14 (Rachel Hanson) Thank you for praying for me. One of my care givers worked overtime a lot and my brother-in-law helped out too. One of the things that is always pushing at us is progress. Insurance doesn't like to pay for continued therapy if there isn't measurable progress. David's brain injury was very severe and even though we are pushing him constantly, it takes lots of time to rewire and reroute around all the damaged areas. The more I read anecdotal cases of brain injuries like David's, I am amazed at what miracles the Lord has done for us. I need to work on a list of things that have improved over the last month or so to prepare for a meeting between the therapists, doctor and insurance case manager and us. The therapists have better eyes than the doctor because they see more of David but I have the best eyes because I see all the little things at home and at therapy. Here's things I have noticed lately: - He demonstrated righting reaction for the first time in sitting by putting out his right arm to catch himself when he was falling to the right. - He can bring his trunk upright again after flopping to the left when I turn a corner while driving without cuing - He can sit unassisted on the edge of the bed for 1 minute (slouchy still) - He can feed 75% of his meal to himself without assistance - He can drink with supervision - He can shave about 60% of his face - He can help with washing himself in the shower - He can lean forward in his wheelchair with very little assistance - He can balance in standing with me just placing two hands lightly on his pelvis - He can weight shift through his hips while holding onto a bar without sagging - He can check his email and facebook independently, plus do google searches - His working memory seems to be improving some, as he is able to recall and understand the plot and gist of a 2 hour movie I don't know if you know how hard David works every day but I'll give you a sample. Sometimes he has three hours of therapy in one day and then he does over an hour of exercises before 11pm. Most days he doesn't get to sleep before midnight. He works out at the YMCA a couple times a week for almost 2 hours. Everything has to be repeated a thousand times, it seems, to be able to make a functional gain. Tonight we got to enjoy a date together without baby. Sometimes his quick wit catches me off guard because it is so unexpected. We went to a restaurant and when the waiter delivered our food, he said something like, "Enjoy". I said, "You too." David started laughing at me and said, "He didn't get anything." Oh. I'm a dumdum. lol
No comments:
Post a Comment