One of my biggest concerns following Corey’s accident was…Does he remember me? He couldn’t talk and following commands was extremely difficult for him. So simply asking him if he remembered me, was not an option. It was a wait and see for quite some time. There were many days that this thought tore me apart.
July 18, 2011:
Another hard day. One of your therapists told you to look at your wife and you didn’t look at me. Whew!! This is so amazingly, unbelievably hard!! Do you remember me? Do you know the kids and me? Do you remember our life together? What is still there? What has been lost?
You had three therapies today. Physical, Occupational, and then Speech. You did very well on physical and occupational.
In physical therapy (PT) they sat you up on the side of the bed..you did well with this. Then you initiated wanting to stand–by pushing with your good leg on the floor. The PT at first said no, let’s just sit for today. But then she changed her mind since you were so adamant about it. 🙂
So, she and the other PT stood you up. You did very well…especially with your good side. You were holding your own weight on your good side. But really leaning into the PT with your bad side. She said the biggest reason for that is because your equilibrium is so off, making it FEEL like you’re standing straight up. With time, this will also get better.
After sitting you back down, they had you follow a few commands. You were only able to follow 2 out of the 6. 🙁
Your last task with them was tossing a balloon back and forth. You managed this very well…putting your fingers out to bat the balloon back at them.
Following PT, you had a short nap then occupational therapy (OT) came in. She sat you up on the side of the bed too. This time you balanced yourself without help for a short time. She also stretched some of your muscles on your weaker side. That had to feel so good.
Your last therapy of the day was speech therapy (ST). Once again you had some rest time prior to the ST coming in. I had a hard time watching this therapy. You did great at swallowing the food (pureed beef and mashed potatoes) and drink (water) she gave you. You took the spoon to your mouth after the action was initiated. You also drank from a cup and held it too (with a little help).
Then she held some items and told you which one to take from her (a hammer and a comb). She told you to take the hammer–you took the comb. 🙁 You were unresponsive to what you do with the hammer or the comb–you just examined them. She did the same test with a cup and a flashlight and again you took the wrong one and didn’t respond to how to use either one. Then she spoke some commands to you (i.e.: raise your thumb, 2 fingers, etc.). You were only able to follow one of the several commands she gave you. It was very daunting watching you struggle with these simple tasks. So discouraging. My heart was breaking for you.
The PT and the ST said that speech is usually something that takes a little longer to come back. I guess this gives me some peace of mind.
On a positive note, Dr. Cava cleared you (medically) to be moved to the Rehab floor. The therapists have rated you at a 2-3 on the coma scale. You need to be at a 4 and then they’ll move you. We’re believing this will happen very soon.
You seemed a little more uncomfortable today. A little more coughing–which I think was causing some irritation in your throat. You would moan when you had to cough. You were breathing through your mouth as if you were trying to calm yourself down. I had your nurse check your oxygen and lungs–they were fine.
You’re still carrying a fever; usually right around 100. They’re only ordering Tylenol if it gets over 101.
On a funny note…Your ST gave me a device to stimulate the muscles on the left side of your face…It’s called a mini-vibrator. 🙂 You would have so many comments about that right now…I can only imagine!!
