Day 58, Diane

Yesterday was busy because Coby & Cora believed they had to come and help again in therapy. This time they were a little more distracting than helpful, but this is a good thing. Part of Scott's rehabilitation is learning how to have them in the mix. The best part was how much harder he worked today not having any distratcions. Where as yesterday the therapy gym was full of therapists with patients, today it was only Scott, Sandy and me for PT. He is now walking to the gym. It's one floor up and a bit of a walk to get there:) Once in the gym he got on a recumbent bike with the goal of 5 minutes. At 5 minutes she asked can you make a mile, OK. At a mile he felt good and he decided to go for 10 minutes! After this he had to run through a series of bridges, abs, push ups, & lunges. She then added a 6lb ball to the lunges adding a twist at the waist. WOW he worked so hard all to walk back to his room.
In ST she asked is there a project at home you'd like to do soon? He said yeah build a shed. She asked him to explain from start to finish what it would take to accomplish this task. He first made a joke but then began explaining the processes. He listed all the materials he'd have to buy, then how he'd start with the foundation, moving on the the walls, the roof, explaining each in detail of what he would have to do to build it like wall post 16 inches apart on center. The detail he was able to give her was amazing. He does have some left side neglect, meaning he sees but doesn't interpret things off to his left side peripheral vision. But so much is still right there!

We have been talking a lot about this process and how he feels like there's no progress. Yeah in his view, great I did 10 minutes on the bike today, I use to do full hour 'spin' classes after playing a hour of recquetball!
Once upon a time I taught group cycling and will again someday:) So I'll share the analogy I gave Scott. This experience has been like a 'spin' class, because as an instructor I try to describe what you would be doing if, well outside on a real bike. We started on a major roller coaster with huge ups and downs (ICU). We then moved to the rolling hills, a little up a little down but nothing to major (medical floor). Now we're on the long steady mountain climb (rehab). This part is the hardest in a class. You barley feel like you're progressing but oh so slowly as you add a little, you're legs start to tell you no we're doing somethings here. The best part is by the end you're legs are burning with the resistance you've been able to add. His road feels flat right now, but I can see the gradual incline and each day it's a little more. By the end when we're standing on the top of this crazy mountain I call "living in hospitals suck" we'll both see how far we've come and our mind, body, & souls will ache with joy over what we have accomplished!

Day 56, Diane

Today was an interesting day. I'm not sure if it's because he slept better or what but every therapist commented on how well he has been doing. Even I could see a visible difference in PT & OT (I missed ST today). His steps are a little bigger and his feet are a little farther apart. His balance is coming slow & steady, and he has some perception fields to work on... He still has a long way to go but it is great to see visual progress.

With the 1st week here down, he's defiantly enjoying when people come to visit. He still gets tired easily; living in a rehab center is boring and that 6 &1/2 weeks in bed was killer on the body. His therapy schedules change each day, but a quick visit is always nice. He has lunch at noon and dinner at 5pm so he's always in his room then. The Medical Center is pretty open on visitors, feel free to stop in when it works in your schedule between 10am-8pm. Room 349 at the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center's, Hospital just as a reminder because well, I didn't know it was here :)

Day 55, Diane

The doctors and social worker meet on Tuesdays and review patients progress to see if they are on target with the goals the therapists set for the patient. For Scott it's basically full recovery in time. Scott's Doctor, Dr. Gross originally expected him to be here for 3 weeks. The social worker said he is progressing very well but he still in need of another week of rehab. I asked, originally the goal was 3 weeks, are we on track for that? She informed me that while they only talk about the coming week, they do believe with his progression 3 weeks is a good target. I don't know exactly when they would release him, but we're HOPING for the week of June 14th.
So what's the next step?
He will be in out-patient rehab next. I don't know all the details other than he'll be home and still coming in for rehab appointments with each of the 3 therapists. As always more information to come :)

Day 54, Diane

The kids got to be Scott's therapists this holiday weekend.
Ok they weren't the only ones, the therapists worked some too :)

On Sunday the kids helped me with getting Scott ready for the day before church, then after church we went walking with him and did 'homework' pages from ST. On Monday the kids had fun with friends in the morning & evening, spending the day with dad. Tracie came for ST. Scott was able to work with her even with the kids playing in his room, they helped some. It's nice knowing the speech therapist and having the kids help him because of the 3 this is his least favorite... Sorry Tracie lol.

I have to say this week has been a reality check for me. I am sleeping at the hospital with Scott again. After 6 & 1/2 weeks of being by Scott's side 24/7 (OK OK I left the hospital some, about 72 hours in total) the 3 nights away were not easey for either of us. We decided for a faster recovery, I should be here to help Scott if anything was needed at night. Thank you to grandma's for helping with kids! Scott's mom had the kids during the week, and my mom had them most weekends while we were at Swedish. My grandma is now here staying at our house with the kids at night. Coby & Cora need their mom, so with my grandma's help, I get to be mom and wife. Scott and I truely are blessed!