Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and continues to spread the word! We are constantly hearing of someone who knows someone who tells someone and Jason is added to yet more prayers for continued healing. Carmen, one of Jason's college roommates, loved that Jason has wanted Chipolte so much and was inspired to write and send the blog post about it being his first solid meal on to the company. Within a day they had written him back wanting to help! (Hmmm guess what some items being raffled/auctioned off might be!)
This week Jason has also been enjoying some other treats. Carolin has been going out to get foods to tempt him and on Monday he had pizza and cheesecake. At this point they are lowering the food he is receiving thru his PEG tube, (though they feel he's not drinking enough so he is getting additional water thru it). They've also started to give him his meds orally with some applesauce which is great news in terms of a step towards going home. It was great to also hear that he no longer needs his 4x daily nebulizer treatments and he's now on an as needed basis only. Hurray!
His walking is going great! A few weeks ago he was leaning too far backwards and really having trouble being upright to move forward - now he is capable of walking the length of a football field and yesterday was given permission to walk around his floor with Carolin. (Although she did say he is still a little hesitant about that and tends to feel more comfortable in the wheelchair - but that is very temporary feeling I'm sure as he gains more and more confidence.) His physical therapists have been working hard with him on balance, reaching things on his knees, and continuing stair climbing both up and down. He's also making great strides in reading and writing.
We were amazed to hear he is tying his own shoes and getting dressed by himself. More steps towards being able to go home!
His short term memory - as is so common in traumatic brain injuries - is not where it needs to be yet. Now that the physical daily things seem to be moving forward at such a rapid pace we are praying like crazy that he will be able to retain day to day memories soon. He did tell Carolin he knows he was hit in the head and we have been told that most accident patients don't remember the actual accident or their hospital time. (Which I'm thinking is a good thing!)
So as we edge closer to Jason being able to leave the rehabilitation hospital there are so many new things to think about. While it looks like he will be able to go up and down the steps so he and Carolin can stay in the bedroom and bathroom upstairs where they had been - he will most likely need a wheelchair for longer trips for awhile until his strength and stamina is back to normal. For that he will need to be going to daily physical therapy. He will also need daily outpatient sessions to help improve his memory amongst other things. All of this is going to be tough on both of them once our next sweet baby granddaughter is born. There is no way to know when Jason will be able to work again and for him that is going to get more and more frustrating as he realizes it we're sure. He's already made some comments which we try to reassure him not to worry about. Meanwhile Carolin is really going to have her hands full with a newborn and a husband who needs her attention. She will have help from her family, our family, and friends, but what a daunting thing to face! That's why we feel so passionate about the benefit on October 12. With so much on their plates it is a wonderful gift we can give to them to at least be able to tell Jason - just get better and don't worry about anything else! It's time for Team Jason to make miracles happen again!
No comments:
Post a Comment