Ok, so I guess Im the one who gets to write todays post. Jodi you can share it on your walk or whatever you have to do. Still learning this FB $#!+... Anyway, got here just in time for all three of Roberts therapy sessions today. During OT he was a little lethargic, but did wake up after he had help wiping his eyes. They were trying to get him to use the towel to wipe his face himself. He could grab the towel and raise it almost to his face, but needed help the rest of the way. One of the main reasons for this is that Robert learned a new-old habit today. He re-learned to spit. In fact I would say his best was about 4-5 foot in distance. And as great as that is (being able to control the motor functions of his mouth to the extent of building up, placement, and actually thrusting the spittle a great distance from himself), its not a pleasant experience for the therapist to endure when it lands on them. So this is a habit we must control, hahaha. After OT we decided to rest on the balcony until his speech therapy time slot. We hung out and once he was outside for a few minutes he was wide awake. We first had him facing the building. I went around to do something and saw the view he had and it sucked, so we turned him to face the street and parking lot. He seemed to respond better to that position. Megan came out and said she wanted to stay out on the balcony to do therapy. During speech therapy, Robert was not quite as talkative as he has been in the past (before he got sick) but he was able to accomplish a few things. One, he continued his new re-found talent of hocking a luggi (sp). Two, he was completely alert, sitting up straight not leaning back on his chair and holding his head up straight for the majority of the hour of therapy. Megan was able to get him to talk, reiterated, where he was, what happened, why he was here, what he was here for, name, age, city he is from, etc... She also feed him ice chips which he gladly commenced to chewing away, chewed it like it was a piece of gum. Since he was chewing so well she decided to get some real food (jello) and he ate about four or five small spoonfuls but needed to wash down with ice after each bite. His mouth seemed very dry and a little hard to swallow. One thing I found strange was that one of the nurses was insistent on drawing his blood during the middle of speech therapy. Couldnt wait until between therapy sessions? She wasnt even able to draw any blood. Anyway Megan was very impressed with his progress from recent past, she didnt want to leave. So back to the room for a short stint. Robert and I talked and were except ozone his arms. He said he wanted the towel. I put the towel in his lap and sure enough, he grabbed the towel with his right arm and started lifting it towards his face. I wouldnt help him but encouraged him to do it himself... And guess what, you got it, he raised it all the way to his mouth and was rubbing the towel on his lips. It slipped out of his hands so I brought it back up to his hands. I asked him if he had an itch or liked the feel of the towel on his mouth. He said I just like to eat it, I started laughing and he smiled and commenced to gnawing on the towel with his teeth. At one point his was grinding the towel between his teeth. That was shortly interrupted and now it was time for PT. PT started out good. By now word got out to the rest of the staff about Roberts renewed love affair with the luggi, and they were dressed for the challenge, all geared up with biohazard suits, hahaha, just kidding, just plastic smocks. Once again impressed he could actually spit, but Connie was not happy about it. He did impress her by helping her lift his body from the wheelchair to the pt table without her asking. He was learning to lean over to one side and lift himself back up to a sitting posture. He did great leaning and lifting on his left side but he could not get all the way down on his right (because of the placement of his IV), but had no problem lifting himself back up. Once again a different nurse came in the middle of PT to draw blood... Really... I mean I know its important but could it not wait 30 minutes until therapy was over? So after that 15 minute ordeal, they had him standing and squatting. The therapist behind him steading him said she could feel all his muscles tightening up, just not in the correct fashion. But good news because now they know he can turn those muscles on, now he just needs to reprogram his brain on how to use them. They were very happy with his session minus the spitting. Good luck with that one Jodi, hahaha. By the time we got him back in bed, no more than a couple minutes he was out like a light. Still resting. So thats my story and Im sticking to it. Robert, you did great today. We got to talk, laugh and even got yelled at, Robert and I laughing after a luggi. All in all, a wonderful day with my nephew. Keep up the hard work Robert, your doing great and I am so proud of your effort today. Cant wait until next week.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 00:42:05 +0000