Wednesday Already?

 

Remember the phrase "time flies when you're having fun" well today I can say it and know we have been having fun.  The long days at the hospital days now seem to fly by quickly at home.  Sam has been home five days now and is adjusting to the freedom that being home brings, such as making his bed, unloading the dishwasher, and getting his own breakfast cereal.  He likes the independence but takes breaks afterwards.  What we might consider a simple task can be taxing to someone recovery from six weeks in the hospital after a brain injury.  This afternoon we emptied a small pond we have in the backyard with Sam running the vacuum while Cameron and I did the heavy stuff.  Sam went in to take a break when we were done.  His body is having difficulty adjusting to temperature changes like when exerting himself he gets hot fast easier and he gets cold fast when the air conditioning is on and then needs to put on a sweat shirt. 

 

Sam is doing great.  He no longer forgets to put on his helmet to get out of bed or to do anything that is not in the prone position.  Sometimes it appears as though his recovery has slowed down until I really watch him and see the baby steps that are progress, just the task of getting his own breakfast is awesome, Step 1 get bowl, Step 2 get cereal from the correct cupboard, Step 3 pour cereal.  Well you get the idea.  It wasn't all that long ago that any task that required more than a couple of steps he had to stop and think about it before continuing on.  Everything we do on an everyday basis requires many continuous steps that our brain processes and tells our bodies to do.  Until Sam's accident I took that for granted as I suspect a great many of us do.  Sam has recovered enough that he sees when his body and brain are not processing in sync and frustration sets in.  He is talking to both Cameron or I when this happens and being the mellow kid he is we help him to understand why this happens and how to cope.

 

He so wants the bone panel back in so he can feel normal and not have to wear the helmet.  Our next appointment isn't until early October so pray for his patience at having to wait possibly another month before this happens. 

Wake Up Music

So here we are, Thursday night all set for the last night here. Hmm, wake up music. How about . . .



Seems worthy of going home music too.

As I type, we are winding up what has been a typical night at the hospital this week. Grammy an Papa have been here and headed home. There's a movie that won't be over before Sam falls asleep and he's sending a few more text messages. Asked if he'll miss all this and he admits "a little bit." But you can tell he's ready to be done here.

I know it has been said before, but the doctors, nurses and everyone else here, at Dornbecher and at OHSU have been amazing. But even though others have said so, it is not possible to express how grateful I am, we all are at how far Sam has come. It could not have been done without all the people we have encountered along the way. Even as we say goodbye to them for now, perhaps there is time for one more thank you!

-- Patton

Wednesday, 2 Days to Release

Hi everyone
 
Sam has started his testing with each of the therapies as part of his release and I had my first family out processing meeting this morning.  I learned what he couldn't do right away such as play football or water polo and what he could do like take walks and do the grocery shopping with me at his side.  This helps his cognitive skills by reading the grocery list (guess I need to write one now) and looking for the items on shelves after finding the aisle.  We are also encouraged to put together puzzles, nothing difficult of course like a 2000 piece one but start with 50 to 100 pieces and build up from there.  He will be starting school work at home and his physical therapy as an outpatient as soon after he gets home. 
 
Many have asked when he will be returning to school and I don't have an answer for that yet.  We are waiting until his appointment the the pediatric neurosurgeon at the beginning of October and see how his CT scan is.  We should then have a date for the procedure to put back his bone flap.  Don't worry he will be starting homework before that with Cameron and I as his teachers, sorry Sam.  Sam would like to wait until he is out of the helmet before he tries negotiating the halls of his new school and I agree. 
 
Sam is thrilled to be going home and his smile is almost pasted on his face.  I seldom see him frowning unless it is with embarrassment over something I have done, like dancing in the elevator.  I too am very excited and can't look at him without smiling and praising God for Sam's recovery. 
 
All the prayers are appreciated and are working overtime to aid God in Sam's health.  Thank you and God bless all of our family and friends, and those that have become our distant family through others. 
 
Mom/Stephanie

Tuesday Already?

It's Tuesday. Patton here because Karylinn is in Chicago and Phili on business this week so I'm spending evenings with Sam.

Sam had another pass over the weekend and got to go home and sleep in his own bed. He proclaimed the weekend "pretty good." Apparently he did fairly little, hanging out with Cameron, spending some time with the pets and generally taking a break from physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc, etc. All the stuff that fills the days at the hospital.

As I am writing this Sam is rummaging around the room, clearing up his things, getting breakfast out of the way, working on his menu for upcoming meals. Pretty much self sufficient and only minor reminders. (Honestly? Less reminders than I would have needed at his age, and I never had a brain injury.) Apparently today will be a light day of therapy. At least that's what Sam says. I checked last night to see what the first thing would be. You know to make sure he's on time? But aside from alarm clock tender, Sam's been on top of it all.

By 8:45 he had 45 minutes until his first PT of the day and was running out of things to do. Fortunately, today is Vinnie day, so there was plenty of time for a visit.



-- Patton

If it's Friday, then Sam goes home one week from today!

Yes, you read correctly. Sam's faith, strength, sense of humor, and his body's amazing recovery have put him on the discharge list for September 12, 2008. This is truly exciting and we all are looking forward to having Sam home. I must be quick to remind myself and everyone that have been our prayer warriors that this is the beginning of our next journey. Sam will continue his occupational, speech, and physical therapies in Salem. No date has been setup for surgery to put the skull piece back in and we don't know when he will start school.

Everyday I see changes and steps in his recovery. I notice right away his evolving sense of humor and tactics to "get" to me. He has always been able to convince me that he is upset with me over something I have said or done just by a look or a response to me, and I believe he is really upset even if it is a really small thing. He then cracks up laughing over how he got me again. Well he did that on Wednesday and I knew Sam had checked off another step in his recovery "he can now mess with his mom and laugh about it."

He has a long way to go to full recovery and we really don't even know what that means. The brain after an injury a full recovery is different in every patient that has suffered a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). We can gauge his potential by where he was before the accident, or maybe he will be even better if the accident has given him a extra jolt of brilliance. What we don't know how far he will go. We are all praying for 100% recovery. I, and I believe I speak for many others, am thrilled he is alive and here to worry about not remembering the accident.

There are and have been so many "little" things I see that show me "our Sam" is awakening. Last night he put his hand on the soft spot to itch his scalp and I almost jumped out of my seat. I thought he was more upset with me until he said that his head itched and he wasn't going to hurt himself. I pointed out there was less than 1/8 of an inch thick, I have since found out it is about 1/10 of an inch thick, and he had to be gentle. He got that serious look and then started laughing, we cracked up, and laughed over the prospect of him poking his finger through his skin which of course he would not do.

He wants to get started on his new path and is excited to be going home. He would go home today if he could, which almost happened due to our health care providers "policies". Our doctor took the wheel and got it fixed that we would leave on our original date and not a week early. Thank you Dr. Steve.

Take care and God bless, because without God, the doctor's knowledge, our nurses' patience, love, and humor, everyone's prayers, and Sam's great spirit I don't believe any of this would be possible.

Stephanie/Mom

P.S. Some would say this is not the right forum but here I go anyway. I found out yesterday a dear friend is dying of pancreatic and liver cancer. Sam and Cam know him and remember the Halloween he carved pumpkins for them. Without his gentle strength and quiet love I may not have grown into the strong mom I am today. He encouraged me to always put my boys first, love them to death, and remember my time would come when I had them raised and they were starting families of their own that I would be able to live my own life. My friend, I will miss you and you will be in my heart always. As you all pray for Sam please add a prayer for this "good man", his family, and all of those whose lives he has touched as we struggle with a journey where our memories are the happy ending and we thank God for those.

Tuesdays with Vinnie

Sam, Stephanie and I were a bit out of sorts this morning.

Sam had a difficult time waking up fully and I think he would’ve opted to go back to bed after breakfast had the choice been his. Stephanie had a restless night and we both rolled, not jumped, out of bed feeling every one of our ‘boomer’ aches and pains. I also woke up discombobulated… Where was I? What day was it? Was I dreaming about wild animals or was I really back in Africa? Did I have to go to work or could I play?

Getting a three-day weekend is not without its hazards.

Then, Vinnie arrived and I knew it was Tuesday, that I was at Emanuel Children’s Hospital, and there were likely no actual wild animals in the vicinity (except, maybe, that one nurse…).

Vinnie enthusiastically shook Stephanie’s hand when introduced and even showed us his fancy footwork. Too bad Sam was already off to speech therapy and missed, once again, making Vinnie’s acquaintance. I think they’ll become fast friends when they eventually meet.

Vinnie can’t drive, so his best friend Harriet brings him every Tuesday to Emanuel to visit the dozens of children in the pediatric and school-aged inpatient programs. He doesn’t’ care about their diagnoses or their prognoses; he’s quite content to leave that to the fabulous doctors, nurses, techs and social workers. His job is to touch the heart and that he does. Ten fold.

Vinnie always looks so well put together with his security badge and ID, tailored lab coat, and perfectly styled hair. And, although he’s a volunteer, you can tell he’s a professional and that he takes his job seriously. Harriet was telling us that Vinnie also visits four eldercare homes each week to spread cheer to the aging.

Harriet said she’s going on 80 years and bringing Vinnie to his weekly rounds keeps her young. So, not only do the kids, the elders, the families and the professionals receive the benefits of Vinnie’s special medicine, so does Harriet.

Vinnie and Harriet have been inseparable for Vinnie’s entire life; all 5 years of it. Vinnie is diminutive in stature but not in oomph. Although I generally resist describing people by their physical and genetic characteristics, it’s probably helpful for you to know that Vinnie is an angel in a dog’s body. He’s a mix of small breed dogs but I’ve forgotten what Harriet told us.

Suffice it to say that Vinnie made both Stephanie and I forget our aches, pains and fatigue this morning. We stroked his soft fur and laughed when he performed for treats. It was a great way to start this short week.

If it’s Vinnie, it must be Tuesday.

-- Aunt Dart (Karylinn)

Quiet Weekend at Home

Good morning, it's Monday already and we need to be back at hospital by 8 p.m., but for now Sam is home, laying on the couch watching t.v., with dogs asleep at his side and all are content.  Sam had PT Saturday morning and then late afternoon so we didn't get home until about 5:30.  Our church has Saturday service and Sam wanted to go so we got there for most of the service and went home right away.  Sam was happy to see some friends and people that have been praying for him, but I could see he was wearing out so we went home to relax.  The dogs were excited to see us both and haven't left our sides much at all.  Sunday we slept in, I mean really slept in until about 1 p.m. and I never sleep in, but this is about Sam so reverting back to him.  He too slept in, no PT, no nurses waking him up for his meds, just dogs, family, and sleeping. 
 
Some of Sam's classmates from WCS came to visit him and brought some wonderful homemade cinnamon rolls.  Thank you Kelsey, Meadow, Karly, and Danielle.  We went to the movies last night and saw Babylon A.D.  After we got Sam spent the rest of the night hanging out with Cameron watching t.v., playing XBox and enjoying time with his big brother.  They stayed up until almost midnight long past my going to sleep.
 
I know it sounds like Sam has had a busy weekend but he's had more down time than activities and he is enjoy everything that is so normal.  He has also had fewer headaches (and less pain pills) since being home probably because his days are here are so less structured and fast paced than at the hospital.  He's doing stuff for himself (getting breakfast, etc.) and says it's good to be independent. 
 
I can tell he is anxious to be home for good but I also know the his road to recovery is still ahead of him us and this is but the first rest stop before starting his journey again tomorrow.
 
Thank you for all the prayers, cards, and thank so much to our WCS family who held a car wash in Sam's honor and gave him the proceeds towards future expenses.  We are truly blessed.
 
Stephanie