Push It!

My mom and I went to see Uncle J tonight, all in all a pretty good visit. He was giving us the rundown on all of the upper body and arm exercises he has been doing with weights and telling us how strong he was getting. He told me to stand up and he held his arm out, palm down and told me to push on his wrist. I wasn't sure what was up, so I was quite tentative at first and only applied light pressure to which he demanded, "HARDER!" I did and I'll tell you what, he had me- he resisted any pressure I applied! He is really building his strength in his arms and I told him I was pretty sure that if we had a table to arm wrestle on, he would smoke me! YAY!

....and More Independence!

I went to see Jon yesterday and they informed me that Jon was "out." "Out ", I said, "Where did he go?" She showed me the sign out sheet and sure enough a friend of his signed him out earlier in the afternoon. I said, "Hunh, I wonder where they got a van."..the reply? "They took off on foot, said they were just going down the road." They were under the impression he went to my house which is kinda just down the road. We found out later that their original intent was to go to a friend's house who indeed did live "just down the road" but he wasn't home....don't know why Shawn didn't notice that when he walked by the house on the to Brookview but.... anyway they decided to go across town to see the landlady that he'd done a lot of walk for and then ended up across the street at his girl friend's house. I asked about a ramp and he said no problem...they just laid two 2 x 6 boards on the front steps and guided him right up, slick as a whistle...and that's his story and he's sticking by it!

I passed the two of them on my way into town and the grins on their faces spoke volumes. Jon was thrilled to be out and about and is looking forward to more trips. My concern is about the condition of the sidewalks, especially on High St. where in some cases there are none and the traffic tends to move quite quickly.

Pray, folks, pray!

Independence Ain't Just a Dam in Defiance

So, I haven’t written a blog post in quite awhile. Even when I could go to Columbus and visit with Uncle J, I never felt compelled to write or share many of the happenings from my visits. Today though, Josh and I went to see Uncle J for a bit and Grandma was already there. He showed us the new room he will be moving to next week and I worked on his hands, giving him a mini manicure. There was a lot of grooming going on and his moustache was also trimmed for him. Then, it was time for a shave with the electric razor. The great part about that was that HE was the one using the electric razor!

I love these moments. He could’ve been doing this for a long time, I’m not sure, but this is the first time I have seen it. I have loved every time I see Jon accomplish a new task on his own. When he could feed himself with his utensils, learned how to use his hands to eat a sandwich or pick up chips, learned to maneuver himself to hit the TV buttons, and I absolutely love the way he can use his Camelbak to drink water himself. None of us could have predicted any of the events of the last 16 months any more than we can predict the next 16 months, but I can only hope that these instances of independence will continue to multiply!

P.S. I read an article in Forbes a few weeks ago that I found inspiring and I have pasted the link below. A-MAZE-ING!

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1214/breakthroughs-mit-herr-robotics-step-beyond-human.html


Angelique-I forgot to mention that I saw Jon leaning forward then pulling himself backward. That will make it even easier to position himself. The first time I saw Mark at the Village lean over to pull ouut a Kleenex I was amazed and Jon seems on the way to being able to move his upper torso more...
Grandma

Back in the Saddle Again

Jon came back from the hospital shortly before noon today and reports that's good to be back in his chair again! He looked pretty rough all day Wednesday and must have been pretty cranky but he was asleep most of the time that I bopped in. He did remind me on Thursday to bring his gum he asked for since I didn't do it the day before but I had done as asked. Since he was asleep I didn't wake him up to tell him I put it right beside the sink so he ended up with 2 big packs of Juicy Fruit.

The nurse at Brookview commented that if she had her way he wouldn't be in his chair so much...much the same that the Village had said. However, Jon balks at the idea and so we need to cross our fingers that his bedsore that is healing so nicely does not take an unexpected turn for the worse again.

He reports that his weight is down to 168 - that's a loss of 4 pounds for which I'm glad. He's carrying some of that along his jaws and his tummy when where he really needs it is on his bottom end.

Look forward to seeing some of you on one of my visits with Jon.

Getting to know Defiance Regional Hospital

Was awakened this morning on Brookview's third attempt at getting a message to me. They called on the land phone, (6 feet from my head)- then my cell phone (1 foot away) where they left a message and then again on the land phone which Greg answered. He finally got me awake with the second hit on the arm. Jon has been coughing the last few days and last night added a fever of 102. Oxygen level down in the 80s again so they sent him to the hospital just down the road. By the time I got there they had just admitted him. Blood had been drawn and chest x-rays taken. Found he has an itchy reaction to levaquin, an antibiotic, which was being given in addition to rocephin. Both medications are new to me although Barb seemed to think she recognized levaquin. They had an order in for a new medication when I was there at 5:45. Bless their hearts-they were going to call and give me an update around 8:30 a.m.

Went back around 2 this afternoon and his chest x-ray came back negative, his urinalysis showed a urinary tract infection and his sputum culture won't be read until sometime tomorrow. He already had a special bed and he was trying to nap. His fever still is in the 100-101 range. Stopped at Brookview to pick up his Camelbak water bag since his cleaning supplies arrived in the mail today. It has never been thoroughly cleaned since we got it. We were under the impression that that would probably be okay for the bag as long as it was constantly being filled with fresh water but the hose is getting a little yucky looking.

We are finally getting balmy weather--surpassed the predicted high of 30 by 2 degrees! Hope you're enjoying your winter so far. Thanks for looking in....

Signs of Independence

Yesterday I talked with Jon today and it seems he's had a bit of a medical emergency. He had an urinary tract blockage which can lead to a condition called autonomic dysreflexia which fequently happens to persons wiith spinal cord injuries. Since his injury is aboe the thoracic vertebrae he has no way of feeling pain and the body reacts in a different way to those signals. He noticed that he had very little urine output and asked that his catheter be changed. He had been questioning the Village about changing it since it is routinely done once a month. Somehow it was not changed before he left. Saturday a new catheter was put in. Sunday he noticed the urine flow was slow and it contained signs of blood (another indicator that things weren't working well) So another catheter was inserted. He also asked that his oxygen level be checked. Good thinking on his part, it was down to 85. Since respiratory therapists like to keep it above 90 he asked to be put on oxygen for a while and they put him back to bed for a couple of hours. They removed the oxygen when his level went to 95.

He has had several bouts with autonomic dysreflexia but I think this is the first time he had to handle it on his own and I'm proud of how well he thought things out. Barb said that she reminded him that that was one of the things he would have to take responsibility for since not all places have had much experience with quads. He went through the whole process with her of what to look for and what to do so that was a good reminder. Anyone wanting to know more about this condition can refer to: http://www.apparelyzed.com/autonomic.html for a quick overview.

I noticed when I was talking to him that he sounded hoarse and out of breath. He said he had been doing a lot of coughing and was congested. Today when I visited I took his little blue "pickle" which he blows into andmakes a rattling sound. Those vibrations travel to his chest and help break up his congestion. He hasn't used it since his last bout with pneumonia months ago. He blew into it at least 4 times today and said his coughing was a more productive.

His hands were really bothering him today. He had at least three sets of people work on them before I got there and he let me rub in some Aspercreme and then massage them. That seemed to help.

He also commented that he wasn't getting all his meds and wanted me to look at his medication list. Shortly afterwards his LPN came in and reported that their pharmacy wasn't sending all his meds--they didn't have them on hand and evidently they were slow to arrive when ordered. Since this wasn't a new problem they have changed pharmacies and were promised to have all his meds delievered by tonight. Certainly hope so.

Thanks for checking in.....

First week at a new home -- amended

Jon has been back in Defiance at Brookview on Harding Street for a week now. I stopped by today to take a picture of the view he has and found him sitting by the window enjoying it. I am happy to report that he is being seen daily by both physical and occupational therapy. He was looking forward to getting back on the mat and doing more with his legs and torso. O.T. is working on his hands again. He likes his new room. He has in essence a private room so there is plenty of room for his power chair and the hoyer can maneuver better without another bed in the way. Allows more space for company, too, which he seems to be getting almost daily. Having just family visiting was getting to be a drag, I fear. Greg didn't get down as often as the girls and I so he spends a good deal of time there and usually brings a friend along. He has been enjoying the company so keep it up guys!

The food is more to his liking. Looks more like home cooking and not rolled, pressed and thinly sliced! Think Greg took him some homemade meatloaf the other day, too. Jon reports that he is the youngest person at the facility and I think the population is mostly older women but that doesn't seem to bother him. A lot of the staff is younger and seem to know someone in the family and that gives him things to talk about. He and the Director went to school together and the Admission Director's mother and I worked together on Crisis Line in days gone by.

While visiting tonight I noticed that the wound vac was lying on the floor and he commented that the staff was so pleased with how his bedsore looked that he didn't need it anymore. It has very little depth and is looking good. Absolutely, positively what we have all been waiting for!

The weather here this week has been snowy as I guess it has for most of you. Hope you are making the best of it.