Today only an hour total of therapy. But it is work. He was jogging and hopping through the halls. I guess the halls out side of a rehabilitation gym are not the same as school halls. Good thing the kids didn't see that dad gets to 'run' in the halls.
Happy Fathers Day to all the papa's out there following the blog.
Seriously another holiday in the hospital? At least he'll be out for the 4th of July! Yay this year the bombs bursting in air will have a little more meaning to them for our little family... like freedom from hospitals lol
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Day 69
Scott says the home eval went well. I say it was amazing!
For anyone who's been to our house, you know it's full of stairs inside and out! I was really worried. I thought we would have to set up a make shift bedroom in our living room... NOT the case... he navigates stairs very well! No problems going up to our room, hooray. We wont have to make any changes to the house for him other than an extra hand rail on the bathtub.
It was so exciting seeing Scott chill in his chair. I can't wait in 5 days he'll be there all the time!
Our drive way & back yard were also concerns. The driveway is extremely steep and the back yard is full of hills and stone steps. He walked around enjoying the scene (slowly) without any troubles.
The rest of the time he's here the therapists will be working on helping him get stronger based on what they saw at the house today. Oh this is so exciting! It's so wonderful to see his body catching up to his mind. I still am shocked at how he has remained the same person mentally after such a traumatic brain injury. He sure may look different... hehee mountain man Scott... but his personality is not different.
For anyone who's been to our house, you know it's full of stairs inside and out! I was really worried. I thought we would have to set up a make shift bedroom in our living room... NOT the case... he navigates stairs very well! No problems going up to our room, hooray. We wont have to make any changes to the house for him other than an extra hand rail on the bathtub.
It was so exciting seeing Scott chill in his chair. I can't wait in 5 days he'll be there all the time!
Our drive way & back yard were also concerns. The driveway is extremely steep and the back yard is full of hills and stone steps. He walked around enjoying the scene (slowly) without any troubles.
The rest of the time he's here the therapists will be working on helping him get stronger based on what they saw at the house today. Oh this is so exciting! It's so wonderful to see his body catching up to his mind. I still am shocked at how he has remained the same person mentally after such a traumatic brain injury. He sure may look different... hehee mountain man Scott... but his personality is not different.
Pictures
Whoa...is this really me here? Yup, Betsy's doing a post. It's been nice since Booger's been back in Wenatchee and mom can go see him every day. Then I get the updates from her and don't have to bug Diane anymore. ;) We got to see him last Tuesday and Wednesday for a bit and it was great to see him up more. Of course, my favorite part was trying to pop wheelies in his wheelchair. Not cool, I know. But, how could I resist?
Diane asked me to post a couple pictures of Scott so people can see what he looks like. As everyone can probably assume, the dude's lost some weight. Then there's the major, obvious change goin' on....um....the mountain man look! Since he has to wear a face mask for work, he's never been able to grow a full beard and let me tell you, that guy can grow one. Just like our dad's was, it's full and thick, with a tad bit of Scottish red in it. Mix that with the head look he's sporting, just slightly different than pre-April 8th. 
Booger, keep that up and I'm gonna make you dye it white for Christmas and put on the Santa suit mom made. And watch out Diane, we've still got the Mrs. C (no pun intended) outfit for you!!!
~Betsy
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day 68
Insurance is kicking Scott out on next Wednesday the 23rd! Yay for insurance companies.
The plan is:
~Home evaluation in the morning. This will help us determine what we need to do to get the house ready for Scott.
~All his remaining rehabs will be in focus to get him ready for being in our home.
~ At home he will be considered in-home-rehab, meaning therapists will come to the house 2-3 times a week to help him continue to progress.
~ Then he moves to out-patient rehab where he will come here 3 times a week, decreasing as he gets better.
~ And eventually life back to normal:)
The plan is:
~Home evaluation in the morning. This will help us determine what we need to do to get the house ready for Scott.
~All his remaining rehabs will be in focus to get him ready for being in our home.
~ At home he will be considered in-home-rehab, meaning therapists will come to the house 2-3 times a week to help him continue to progress.
~ Then he moves to out-patient rehab where he will come here 3 times a week, decreasing as he gets better.
~ And eventually life back to normal:)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Day 68
Wow it's not even 5pm and Scott has had a huge day! The outing to the eye doctor went very well. So the explanation I promised to get... Keratoconus is a deterioration of the cornea causing the round shape of the cornea to change to a cone shape. Light enters the eye differently causing blurry vision. 20/20 vision is only possible with gas-perm contacts for his right eye that has this, but we're not looking for 20/20 we're looking for improved to progress in rehab (for more info do a google search on keratoconus) The glasses should be here by Wednesday and if we're super lucky his medical insurance will pick up the cost, because they are really only a therapy tool in getting him better (his vision insurance is different than medical & I don't want to use the coverage for glasses that wont be used for years when I know we will be going back to gas-perms once recovery is complete).
Speaking of insurance... it make the world go round you know... I have had a few conversations lately with friends and a concern has been brought up that I think I should address. We/I am very fortunate that Scott has disability insurance and great health insurance. Both of which his Employer Cascade Auto Center has picked up/continued paying so we don't have the added expense of maintaining premiums. This along with cashing out vacation and added help from our church has made it possible for me to stay by Scott's side. We have been extremely fortunate in this not so fortunate experience.
I have not heard results from the EEG, which brings me back to the good old days of no news is good news. They haven't rushed in with seizure meds so I'm assuming we're good until they tell me other wise. Given Scott's schedule today he Rocked PT & OT today!
His schedule today: 8am Breakfast ~ 9am eye exam ~ 10-11:30 EEG appointment ~ noon lunch ~ 1-2pm PT ~ 2-3pm OT ~ Rest (happening right now)~ 5pm Dinner ~ 6-7pm ST ~ PASS OUT for the night lol
Speaking of insurance... it make the world go round you know... I have had a few conversations lately with friends and a concern has been brought up that I think I should address. We/I am very fortunate that Scott has disability insurance and great health insurance. Both of which his Employer Cascade Auto Center has picked up/continued paying so we don't have the added expense of maintaining premiums. This along with cashing out vacation and added help from our church has made it possible for me to stay by Scott's side. We have been extremely fortunate in this not so fortunate experience.
I have not heard results from the EEG, which brings me back to the good old days of no news is good news. They haven't rushed in with seizure meds so I'm assuming we're good until they tell me other wise. Given Scott's schedule today he Rocked PT & OT today!
His schedule today: 8am Breakfast ~ 9am eye exam ~ 10-11:30 EEG appointment ~ noon lunch ~ 1-2pm PT ~ 2-3pm OT ~ Rest (happening right now)~ 5pm Dinner ~ 6-7pm ST ~ PASS OUT for the night lol
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Day 67
It has been an interesting weekend. On Friday it was decided they would try to take him off the seizure medicine because the side effect has been an increased tremor in his right hand. It finally got to the point where his therapies were effected.
But why does he have to be on seizure meds? Will he always? After a patient has a brain hemorrhage they always go on seizure medicine, typical length of time 6 months. After seeing that these meds are causing side effects the question became are they really needed? Back in the day... at Swedish he was on Keppra for seizures, side effect pancreas levels raise causing extreme stomach pain that kept him from eating for days! They switched to Dilantan which side effects are now showing. (meds spelled as they sound, probably not how they're really spelled) So he has been off all seizure meds since Friday and will have an EEG of his brain in the morning to see if he has had a seizure. Let's hope and pray for a NO, we really want him to be able to stay off any kind of seizure medicine since they seem to cause the most trouble.
On a happy note, he gets to go for an eye exam in the morning. It has been decided that getting temporary glasses to help him see for rehab is better than waiting until his eyes regulate on their own. He does have some previous vision concerns that I'll try to get better clarified so it makes sense when I post lol. Typically they don't allow patients to go for eye exams of any kind, because it's not so much a vision problem as it is the eyes and brain are having to relearn how to send signals. In Scott's case he needs glasses to help his brain progress with this process.
No one has said Scott is typical through this intire ordeal :) Diane
But why does he have to be on seizure meds? Will he always? After a patient has a brain hemorrhage they always go on seizure medicine, typical length of time 6 months. After seeing that these meds are causing side effects the question became are they really needed? Back in the day... at Swedish he was on Keppra for seizures, side effect pancreas levels raise causing extreme stomach pain that kept him from eating for days! They switched to Dilantan which side effects are now showing. (meds spelled as they sound, probably not how they're really spelled) So he has been off all seizure meds since Friday and will have an EEG of his brain in the morning to see if he has had a seizure. Let's hope and pray for a NO, we really want him to be able to stay off any kind of seizure medicine since they seem to cause the most trouble.
On a happy note, he gets to go for an eye exam in the morning. It has been decided that getting temporary glasses to help him see for rehab is better than waiting until his eyes regulate on their own. He does have some previous vision concerns that I'll try to get better clarified so it makes sense when I post lol. Typically they don't allow patients to go for eye exams of any kind, because it's not so much a vision problem as it is the eyes and brain are having to relearn how to send signals. In Scott's case he needs glasses to help his brain progress with this process.
No one has said Scott is typical through this intire ordeal :) Diane
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