Day 28 Changing of the Guard, Part III

Wow! 4 weeks has passed since the accident. It still seems a bit surreal, although the daily demands feel very real. We continue to be uplifted by Scott's progress and by all of the love and support shown to our family.

Tomorrow, I head back to Utah for 11 days, and Michael returns. It is always hard for me to leave, but .... It will be nice to see Todd (definitely have missed him during this process! Thank you, Todd, for your love, patience, and support!) and Scott always looks forward to time with his dad, as well. It is nice that Scott has such good family support.... And, as a matter of fact, good family support is one of the top criteria (age being the number most defining criteria) for good recovery, according to the folks here at Barrow. The love shown to Scott from friends and family has had a profound influence on Scott and his recovery, and we are extremely grateful that his situation is so ideal. Michael, I am excited for you to experience a conversation with him now...in person.... And to see all of the little nuances that are hard to put into words on this blog. He is returning to "Scottie" more and more each day! I know I will be equally stunned when I return in 11 more days.

For those who have read the BNI traumatic brain injury guidebook and are following the Rancho Los Amigos criteria.... Scott is now at Level VI Confused and Appropriate. The scoring is based on highest level of performance, ....even though the recovery is a fluid dynamic, and he does exhibit pieces of the lower levels. He can pay attention and focus on activities fairly well. His speech makes sense now...when he is awake, most of the time. He still has time periods, especailly when he is tired, that he doesn't make sense (i.e., the honey bees). He is able to perform a lot of ADLs independently, although some verbal cueing is stil required. The right hemiparesis and the right arm injuries limit him more than his cognition in his independence with daily activities. His short-term memory is improving, but remains limited. His word retirieval is improving but remains problematic. His focus and organization of his thoughts are showing great improvement. His impulsivity is lessening, but does remain.

His nights are still restless....some better than others. Part of the problem there is that he is the most restful after 3 am. Then, breakfast comes at 7:30 am, therapy begins at 8 or 8:30 am.... So... He is not getting enough real rest at night. He can catch 15-30 minutes at lunch time, then he rests well after his therapies.... He is exhausted by then. So...for his sake and for ours, we will be glad when his sleeping stabilizes...and he can fully recover with his night's sleep.

Scott did some typing on the computer today with the speech therapist. It took him a few tries to figure out how to get his right hand working adequately, but he did it. His spelling is still spot on. No problems there. He remembered where all of the keys were without hesitation. He even helped the speech therapist fix a screen problem that she was having on her computer. We will have him continue to practice typing every day. When he is able to ... We will have him post some of the blog posts!!! Won't that be exciting?!?

He is walking so much better. He still requires a walker, but his gait (walking) pattern is steadily improving. He is able to walk with a gait belt without the walker, but he definitely requires assist. His strength and balance are improving to the point that he is now able to practice some single-leg stance activities (again with the gait belt and assistance). The right hemiparesis (neurological weakness) continues to be a large function and safety limiting factor.

I brought Scott's guitar from home, per request of Occupational Therapy. I think that his guitar will facilitate so many rehab goals. I wish I would be able to see the progress this week from using the guitar! Michael, this will be a fun one, i'm sure! I know his right hand will make things difficult for him, but it will be a fun way for him to resume using his hand, and it will rehab so much more than his hand. Getting back to the things he loves will be the best therapy ever. He will love doing them, so he will do a lot more repetitions than if he were simply performing a series of exercises.

One of the things I am really loving about his recovery is the return of his facial expressions, his sense of humor, and his engaging way of connecting with people. You don't realize how much something as simple as facial expressionsm matter, until they aren't there. It was so hard to feel that Scottie was really there when his face had no life to it.
I am just as grateful for these seemingly small things, as I am for the obviously huge things.

Well.... Time for the changing of the guard. .... For Mickey's awesome posts .... For the next level of progress.... See you all in 11 days!

Patti