New Rehab Doctors

Jon went to Toledo yesterday and met with 2 rehab doctors at the University of Toledo. One is an associate professor in the rehabilitation field. We talked for almost an hour--of course, we waited almost an hour before we saw them. I had prepared a brief history of the places we'd been, illness and therapy. We've been told before that the catheter should be attached to his leg to keep it in place and that it should be loose. When they checked it yesterday they felt it was still too tight. It seems that even though Jon can not feel anything on his leg the pain that would have been there kinda travels to other places he can feel, such as his hands which have been really bothering him lately. It can also affect the way his medicine works. They have proposed altering his medication and hope that his doctor here in Defiance honors that change. Another appointment for June 21 has been set and they will take some time to really check his records thoroughly. They also wanted a list of the equipment available in physical therapy so they could prescibe some specific therapy to work on. We've been interested in getting some training in using a transfer board. Many, if not most, quads at his level of injury are not able to transfer according to them BUT they were impressed by the movement, the strength Jon has in his arms and his positive attitude. There is one set of muscles Jon hasn't really worked on that is necessary to successfully transfer which they think he should work on. If Brookview doesn't have the necessary equipment they may take him for two weeks in their clinic and do some work. Meanwhile the object is to see if the new levels of meds and adjusting the catheter does the trick on the muscle spasms and pain he's been having. Jon did ask about a special kind of surgery that a Dr. Goldsmith in Nevada does with an omentum muscle(?) transfer but since they only do work on non-invasive techniques and rehab they quite honestly said they didn't keep up on the new techniques in other types of treatments.

Jon continues to be out and about, mostly in the afternoons and evenings. He has attended a couple of concerts and had a good time. He got caught in a violent storm one afternoon (there were tornado warnings posted on TV) and pulled up to the Center with a lapful of hail. Greg got there about the same time and dried the chair off and hung the cushion up to dry. Jon thinks that since the chair survived this storm that his chair is "waterproof."

Meanwhile there is much concern on our part concerning the path Jon has chosen to be an independent soul by restarting his old habits. After discovering burn marks on his fingers the Center has put him on a nicotine patch.

Hopefully the sun will come out soon, in actuality as well as metaphorically, and we can enjoy some sunshine.