Wednesday, March 25, 2009
HE IS HOME!!!!!
Just a quick note - he came home this evening, a day early, so I got to bring him home and watch a movie on the couch with him! I love it, and we are both so happy that he is home. Out patient therapy will not start for a couple of weeks, so visitor are welcome, and help him with his therapy when you are here! He also has his cell phone back, so you can try to call him, but he may not always be up to talking alot, so please respect that and make calls short, unless he wants to keep talking :) I am out of here for the next couple days, but will post more info later. Thanks dad for installing railings for Liam, thanks Marylyn and Sue for cleaning the house, and thanks Mom for taking care of the dogs:)
Time Travel
I'm sure we can all forgive Erika for getting the date wrong on her last post. She has a lot going on after all. Liam is going home tomorrow, MARCH 26th and not on 2/26/09. If we had access to time travel, I'm sure we would not use it to get Liam discharged from the hospital on 2/26/09, but instead we'd get Doc Brown and Marty McFly to let us borrow the DeLorean and take Liam back to he morning of 2/22/09 and have him sleep past his alarm and piss off the entire team by skipping the game. Writing this post made me realize that I need to go visit Liam at home next week and watch Back to the Future with him, who's with me?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
DISCHARGE DATE: 2/26/09!!!!!
Liam's coming home Thursday evening!!!! I can't wait, but I'm also bummed because I will be in New Haven visiting Yale.... I am going to miss the big event, the day I have been waiting for. But, I am still so glad he is coming home. Not as glad is he is though;) He can't wait to sit on the couch, sleep in our bed, just relax and not be in the hospital. This does mean I have to clean the house in the next couple nights. For those of you who don't know, Liam is OCD when it comes to cleaning and organizing. Kiea and I aren't quite as good at those things, and the house is not up to his standards right now. For once, I will be excited about the cleaning because it is for him to come home to.
Luckily, Scotty and Sandy will arrive on Friday. Sandy stays through Monday, and Scotty through the 5th. Joel will be around to stay with Liam also while I am gone. Kiea will of course be here in the evenings since she lives here:) Ashley will also get moved in so she can be around to help out. We have so many amazing friends helping all of us out, thanks to everyone!! Once he is home we can start having visitors here also.
He will be doing out patient therapy, we don't have a schedule yet, but it will be a combination of speech, occupational, and physical therapies. He will most likely go in 3 days a week for a number of hours. It will take them a couple weeks to get him into the schedule. In the mean time, they will give him all kinds of exercises (physical and mental) to work on at home and we all need me make sure he does them. So, when you come to visit, come hang out, but also work with him on some of his stuff. Playing easy games is great to, UNO, cards, anything you want to try with him.
Okay, I need a nap. I got a bad cold after Kristen's wedding on Saturday. Yeah Kristen!! It was awesome, thanks to Matt, Joel, Rene, and Dave for staying with Liam so I could be in the wedding without feeling bad. By the way, Liam is fully with it now, and still agrees to marry me :)
Luckily, Scotty and Sandy will arrive on Friday. Sandy stays through Monday, and Scotty through the 5th. Joel will be around to stay with Liam also while I am gone. Kiea will of course be here in the evenings since she lives here:) Ashley will also get moved in so she can be around to help out. We have so many amazing friends helping all of us out, thanks to everyone!! Once he is home we can start having visitors here also.
He will be doing out patient therapy, we don't have a schedule yet, but it will be a combination of speech, occupational, and physical therapies. He will most likely go in 3 days a week for a number of hours. It will take them a couple weeks to get him into the schedule. In the mean time, they will give him all kinds of exercises (physical and mental) to work on at home and we all need me make sure he does them. So, when you come to visit, come hang out, but also work with him on some of his stuff. Playing easy games is great to, UNO, cards, anything you want to try with him.
Okay, I need a nap. I got a bad cold after Kristen's wedding on Saturday. Yeah Kristen!! It was awesome, thanks to Matt, Joel, Rene, and Dave for staying with Liam so I could be in the wedding without feeling bad. By the way, Liam is fully with it now, and still agrees to marry me :)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Day 27
Mat here, posting for the first time. It's 11:49, Liam crashed about 20 minutes ago, and it's my turn to stay the night. Liam says he gets a little scared to wake up in the middle of the night with nobody around, but really he wants someone here because it's the only way he's allowed to not have the bed belt locking him down all night. Erika will take her first full day away from the hospital tomorrow because she'll have Cristin's wedding activities - congrats, Cristin, and well done, Erika, you deserve the break.
Liam starts OT at 9:45am. This morning his therapist decided it might be a good idea to have him walk down to the cafeteria, get a sense for crowds, and if he did well there, he may be granted a "day out" on Sunday to go watch Magic play in the final (I'll tell you now: he did awesome, and he gets to go to the match on Sunday). So he put on his gait belt - Liam, notice there's a "t" sound on the end of that? - brushed his teeth, and we started our stroll down to the cafeteria. We got to the top of the flight of stairs, moved him over to the right rail so he could use his stronger arm, but I'm not sure he relied it on all that much! He was striding down the steps, just under normal pace, and it surprised us all that he didn't have to do the little kid-style of stepping both feet onto each step. The therapist asked, "Wow, are you sure you're okay to take a full step each time?" Liam's response: "Apparently I am." Nice one. Full flight of stairs: check. After that he weaved the breakfast crowd, Erika holding onto the belt but not aiding, and Liam commented on only one guy in the whole cafeteria, the guy wearing the motorcycle shirt. "Check out the Harley guy." He's warming up to the idea of me exercising the Buell until he can ride again, then made a joke about strapping the "gait" belt around both of us and sitting on back while I rode.
I took off to work, but Erika said in the early afternoon they (therapist included) took Liam for a walk outside. He read a map, walked them a few blocks away to Boren, read the map again, and walked them all the way back to the hospital. He also wrote in his journal - right handed still because he doesn't have the dexterity in the left hand/arm yet. Let's just say I could read "Liam and Erika," but he's got nothing on my 5 year-old niece...yet. I'm sure his writing will progress right along with everything else and be back to normal in no time.
The evening hours saw some usual suspects (Frank, Erika, Joel, Dave from AZ, Ashley and the Mooses). Liam is pretty chuffed to have all his friends come by, so if you've wanted to stop in but aren't sure about when/how, call someone who is sure and come along for the ride. He'd love to have another target around to poke fun at for a little while. Everything considered, things are great. He still thinks I put him in my truck, snuck him out of here for a drive across the bridge at Vantage, and then brought him back, but he's come to just believe me when I tell him it never happened. Time to crash out now. We can't say enough thanks to all of you for all of your support, cards, prayers, emails, pictures and visits - it's all going to help get our boy get out of here and home just that much sooner.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
sleepover
Were having a sleepover tonight. Liam asked me to spend the night so I got a sleeping chair - it turns into a bed, it's what I slept in when I was staying with him in the ICU. Were getting ready to go to sleep right now. He had another great day. His dad, Frank, has been here since last Thursday so he has been spending alot of time with Liam during the day so I have started going back to work part time. Liam is itching to go home, and everyday they tell us it could be sooner. This morning they said maybe before I got to Baltimore (April 2-4th)!!!! Scotty will be staying with us that week which works out perfectly, and Ashley is planning on moving back in with us to help take care of Liam when he is out of the Hospital. Liam hasn't given me any food suggestions yet, he just wants to go home and then have people bring stuff. But, feel free to bring stuff, or to call and see if he wants lunch or dinner if you are coming by. He is reading all his emails and cards now, so keep sending them. And thanks to Gracie and Henry for their cute emails!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
major improvements
Hi everyone,
Liam is going amazing, in case you couldn't guess from the post below. He typed some comments onto the blog with his dad earlier. I copied and pasted them into a post to make sure eveyone would see them. And yes, he is cleared to eat whatever he likes, so, everyone can feel free to bring him food and snacks if they want. I will take Allison's advice (Joel's wonderful mom) and have Liam post a list about what he wants to eat on the blog so people will know what they can bring. Just so all of you don't get any ideas becuase it's St. Patricks day, no beer for a year. No alcohol for a year actually. It sucks, but he is accpeting of it. Also, no driving for at least 6 months, then they have to decided if they want to clear him and then he has to get licensed again. No motorcycles for a year (that he is not very excited about). No soccer, skiing, tennis, ect for a year. Nothing that could cause injury to the head. And when he is cleared to do these things again he will always have to wear a helmet. So, start looking for some fun ones....
Now that he is a rehab patient there is a weekly meeting with all the therapists, doctors, nurses, and us to discuss goals and answer questions. We just had the meeting at 2pm today, and everything sounds great. They are not setting a discharge date at this time, but they are guessing it will be sooner then the predicted 4-5 weeks. Probably early to mid April, so soon!! I told them not until after I get back from visiting the schools of course ;) The main goals are to get him to a point where he can get in and out of bed, get ready for the day, and move around the house safely and without assistance. Someone would need to be around just to make sure he is okay, but he wouldn't need any help. They also mentioned that they want to make sure he can prepare a simple meal. I said, good luck, he never cooks and I have been trying to get him to make me dinner for 8 years... They will also be working with him to improve his reading, writing, and problem solving. And eventually get him back to work, but we have no idea how long that will be at this point. Thanks to everyone at AON by the way for being so supportive, understanding, and just helping out with everything we have needed!
After he is released from the hospital ( I can't believe I am writing that!!!!) he may get rehab with out walls - where they come to our home so it's still pretty intensive. This is for when he still needs intensive rehab, but doesn't need to be an inpatient anymore. Then he would transition to outpatient rehab.
On a funny note, he is going to get Botox today or tomorrow!! It's for his left arm to help relax the muscles (release the tone) and it's a standard treatment, but he and I are very entertained by the idea. It lasts about 2-3 months and then he may have to have it done again.
Seeing him in rehab is just amazing. He is walking on his own to the gym and back, walking on treadmills, using a recumbent bike ect. He really knows what's going on and his memory is so much better. He is much more awake, less groggy, and very talkative. He can hold normal conversation about anything he would have before the injury. Liam is on his way back to us!!
It's still going to be a long process, but I am just so great full for how fast he is improving, how far he has come, and that he is still Liam (I was so scared his personality might have changed because that is very common with head injuries.) He is excited and read to come home, and I can't wait to have him there. We will have to see if we need to make any modifications to the house when he is closer to coming home. Having him home would be just amazing.
On the note of things getting back to normal slowly, I am starting to go back to work. I went in to meet with my boss (Beth is awesome and so supportive by the way! Thanks Beth!!). I am going to start back part time tomorrow and do as many hours as I can while still being here for Liam, and not killing myself. It will be nice to get back to work and have some normalcy. I am thinking maybe a scooter to get around and not have to pay for parking - paying for parking is so expensive...or maybe BRI can let me park there for free for a couple months, just until he is better? I'm going to talk to them about it when I am back.
Anyway, visitors are welcome in the evenings and weekend. He has a very intense therapy schedule see below:
9:45 - 10:30am Occupational Therapy
10:30 - 11:15am Speech Pathology
11:15-12:00pm Physical Therapy
lunch and nap
1:00 - 1:30pm Recreational Therapy
1:45-2:30pm Speech Pathology
3:15-4:00pm Occupational Therapy
crazy long day...but he is doing it all. I am sure when he gets back from OT at 4 today he will need a nap. I am sure he will nap everyday from 4 until dinner. So, after work and around dinner, and after dinner are good visit times. His Saturday schedule is less intense and changes, I can post it on Fridays so people can know when to visit. And, on Sunday's there is no therapy, so visitors all day please!
Erika
Liam is going amazing, in case you couldn't guess from the post below. He typed some comments onto the blog with his dad earlier. I copied and pasted them into a post to make sure eveyone would see them. And yes, he is cleared to eat whatever he likes, so, everyone can feel free to bring him food and snacks if they want. I will take Allison's advice (Joel's wonderful mom) and have Liam post a list about what he wants to eat on the blog so people will know what they can bring. Just so all of you don't get any ideas becuase it's St. Patricks day, no beer for a year. No alcohol for a year actually. It sucks, but he is accpeting of it. Also, no driving for at least 6 months, then they have to decided if they want to clear him and then he has to get licensed again. No motorcycles for a year (that he is not very excited about). No soccer, skiing, tennis, ect for a year. Nothing that could cause injury to the head. And when he is cleared to do these things again he will always have to wear a helmet. So, start looking for some fun ones....
Now that he is a rehab patient there is a weekly meeting with all the therapists, doctors, nurses, and us to discuss goals and answer questions. We just had the meeting at 2pm today, and everything sounds great. They are not setting a discharge date at this time, but they are guessing it will be sooner then the predicted 4-5 weeks. Probably early to mid April, so soon!! I told them not until after I get back from visiting the schools of course ;) The main goals are to get him to a point where he can get in and out of bed, get ready for the day, and move around the house safely and without assistance. Someone would need to be around just to make sure he is okay, but he wouldn't need any help. They also mentioned that they want to make sure he can prepare a simple meal. I said, good luck, he never cooks and I have been trying to get him to make me dinner for 8 years... They will also be working with him to improve his reading, writing, and problem solving. And eventually get him back to work, but we have no idea how long that will be at this point. Thanks to everyone at AON by the way for being so supportive, understanding, and just helping out with everything we have needed!
After he is released from the hospital ( I can't believe I am writing that!!!!) he may get rehab with out walls - where they come to our home so it's still pretty intensive. This is for when he still needs intensive rehab, but doesn't need to be an inpatient anymore. Then he would transition to outpatient rehab.
On a funny note, he is going to get Botox today or tomorrow!! It's for his left arm to help relax the muscles (release the tone) and it's a standard treatment, but he and I are very entertained by the idea. It lasts about 2-3 months and then he may have to have it done again.
Seeing him in rehab is just amazing. He is walking on his own to the gym and back, walking on treadmills, using a recumbent bike ect. He really knows what's going on and his memory is so much better. He is much more awake, less groggy, and very talkative. He can hold normal conversation about anything he would have before the injury. Liam is on his way back to us!!
It's still going to be a long process, but I am just so great full for how fast he is improving, how far he has come, and that he is still Liam (I was so scared his personality might have changed because that is very common with head injuries.) He is excited and read to come home, and I can't wait to have him there. We will have to see if we need to make any modifications to the house when he is closer to coming home. Having him home would be just amazing.
On the note of things getting back to normal slowly, I am starting to go back to work. I went in to meet with my boss (Beth is awesome and so supportive by the way! Thanks Beth!!). I am going to start back part time tomorrow and do as many hours as I can while still being here for Liam, and not killing myself. It will be nice to get back to work and have some normalcy. I am thinking maybe a scooter to get around and not have to pay for parking - paying for parking is so expensive...or maybe BRI can let me park there for free for a couple months, just until he is better? I'm going to talk to them about it when I am back.
Anyway, visitors are welcome in the evenings and weekend. He has a very intense therapy schedule see below:
9:45 - 10:30am Occupational Therapy
10:30 - 11:15am Speech Pathology
11:15-12:00pm Physical Therapy
lunch and nap
1:00 - 1:30pm Recreational Therapy
1:45-2:30pm Speech Pathology
3:15-4:00pm Occupational Therapy
crazy long day...but he is doing it all. I am sure when he gets back from OT at 4 today he will need a nap. I am sure he will nap everyday from 4 until dinner. So, after work and around dinner, and after dinner are good visit times. His Saturday schedule is less intense and changes, I can post it on Fridays so people can know when to visit. And, on Sunday's there is no therapy, so visitors all day please!
Erika
Friday, March 13, 2009
Rehab baby!!
Changes for today:
1) Liam moved next door to 461
A private room, because he is now officially a rehab patient, and no longer a neuro patient!! Today he met with the doctors that will be taking care of him and they evaluated him. Tomorrow he will meet with the each of the therapists for his initial evaluations and they will start planning everything they are going to do with him. It's going to be a long day, so not a great day for visitor, but he might like to see people come by to encourage him. I think they aren't going to want us around much at the beginning. His biggest problem is staying focused, and having others in the room makes it much worse. I was talking to his doctors, and they may have us leave alot during the first parts of therapy so they can get more out of him.
Tomorrow he has :
8:30-9:30am physical therapy
9:30-10:30am occupational therapy
10:45-11:15am theraputic recreation
1:00-2:00pm speech pathology
2) Next week starting on Monday he will have a set schedule for each of these therapies, we will find out that schedule on Monday. It's going to be a struggle to keep him awake and functioning for all of this time.
3) Liam had his second shower today, I helped him of course :) He loved sitting on the stool under the hot water. We were in there for so long the nurses came to check to make sure everything was okay. Any of you that have every lived with Liam know he loves 30-40 minute hot showers. And when the nurses told him that there would be a weekly meeting with the nurses, doctors, therapists, and family to plan and that he would need to tell them what his goals were he said "longer showers, but they are going to say shorter showers."
4)His cast came off today. He did keep it, and they might use it as a splint still. They might put another straighter one on tomorrow after the evaluations. We will have to wait and see.
5) He has been feeding him self for all his meals, and cleaning his plate completely.
6) His diet has been changed to semi solids, so soft stuff like pasta and fish are now on the menu! This will start with breakfast tomorrow, and he is excited about it. They also mentioned that we can bring in food and there is a fridge and microwave here.
He really wants to go home, but isn't ready yet. I did find out that there is some paperwork I can do to allow me to bring the dogs into his room! I am very excited about that and so is Liam. He keeps asking to see the dogs again, he misses them a lot.
Lastly, I am going to need some coverage because I need to go out of town twice to visit Yale (March 26-28) and John Hopkins (April 2-4). If you are available to spend some time with Liam on those days please let me know so we can get a schedule set up. Thanks!!
1) Liam moved next door to 461
A private room, because he is now officially a rehab patient, and no longer a neuro patient!! Today he met with the doctors that will be taking care of him and they evaluated him. Tomorrow he will meet with the each of the therapists for his initial evaluations and they will start planning everything they are going to do with him. It's going to be a long day, so not a great day for visitor, but he might like to see people come by to encourage him. I think they aren't going to want us around much at the beginning. His biggest problem is staying focused, and having others in the room makes it much worse. I was talking to his doctors, and they may have us leave alot during the first parts of therapy so they can get more out of him.
Tomorrow he has :
8:30-9:30am physical therapy
9:30-10:30am occupational therapy
10:45-11:15am theraputic recreation
1:00-2:00pm speech pathology
2) Next week starting on Monday he will have a set schedule for each of these therapies, we will find out that schedule on Monday. It's going to be a struggle to keep him awake and functioning for all of this time.
3) Liam had his second shower today, I helped him of course :) He loved sitting on the stool under the hot water. We were in there for so long the nurses came to check to make sure everything was okay. Any of you that have every lived with Liam know he loves 30-40 minute hot showers. And when the nurses told him that there would be a weekly meeting with the nurses, doctors, therapists, and family to plan and that he would need to tell them what his goals were he said "longer showers, but they are going to say shorter showers."
4)His cast came off today. He did keep it, and they might use it as a splint still. They might put another straighter one on tomorrow after the evaluations. We will have to wait and see.
5) He has been feeding him self for all his meals, and cleaning his plate completely.
6) His diet has been changed to semi solids, so soft stuff like pasta and fish are now on the menu! This will start with breakfast tomorrow, and he is excited about it. They also mentioned that we can bring in food and there is a fridge and microwave here.
He really wants to go home, but isn't ready yet. I did find out that there is some paperwork I can do to allow me to bring the dogs into his room! I am very excited about that and so is Liam. He keeps asking to see the dogs again, he misses them a lot.
Lastly, I am going to need some coverage because I need to go out of town twice to visit Yale (March 26-28) and John Hopkins (April 2-4). If you are available to spend some time with Liam on those days please let me know so we can get a schedule set up. Thanks!!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Day in The Life: Week 3
Hi Everyone,
I'm here at the hospital, and Liam has been relatively with-it for the past couple of hours, but seems to be winding down now. Mat was here this morning, then Erika and Ashley, so I thought I'd try and piece together what they told me to give everyone an idea of what today was like.
So far it seems to be one of his better days, and that roller coaster is still trending gently upwards.
Mat said that Liam was fairly awake and chatty this morning. By chatty, he was speaking every once in a while, and is still sometimes difficult to hear and understand. He speaks like someone who is sleep-talking. Alot of whispers and mumbles. The good news is, if you ask him to speak clearer, he can usually whisper louder and mumble less.
Anyway, Mat was with him this morning, and Mat got him in his wheelchair and took him outside to meet Erika and and the dogs. Erika says he had fun seeing the dogs and being outside in the sun.
He was up a while more and was falling asleep when I got in at around 12:30. He slept pretty well until about 2:00 when the physical therapist came around. They did some walking exercises. With her holding him, he is somewhat able to walk. He takes very small steps and cannot balance on his own at all. He loses concentration and will start to fall, and the left leg is still pretty weak. She also had him sit and try to move his left arm more, which he was able to do.
When she was working with him, his former boss, also named Joel, came by for a visit. When the PT finished up, we got him in his chair and took him to the 4th floor skybridge for the view. He really enjoyed seeing Joel, and had one of the best conversations I've heard him have so far. He was answering questions, asking relevant questions, and making relevant comments. Not that topics moved much beyond the basics, or we stayed on one topic for more than a minute or so, but it was still great to see.
After Joel left, he got back in bed, but pretty soon after his speech therapist came by. Liam performed well for her. He knew his name, the date, and his birthday. He even knew his age, which was giving him alot of trouble two days ago. He stumbled on the President, saying the current president was "HW," but later, on his own, said Barack. I asked where Obama went to college and he pointed at himself and said "Oxy," and then said, "I got better grades than him." Basically, he was able to answer almost all the questions asked, and was able to read for her.
She asked him to name all the animals he could in a minute. He started well, saying, "Hippo," and then "Zebra." After that, he got distracted, and said "Joel," and "monster." He said another non-animal that I don't remember, and then repeated Hippo and Zebra several times. She told him each time to say a different animal, but he couldn't. Finally, he said "Blue Jay," and "rooster."
She took off, and we watched some of the UW-Stanford basketball game. He was able to read the score for me, but didn't really keep his eyes on the game. He sat up and was able to feed himself, and looked at some pictures we have on the wall. He saw pictures of himself during Spring Break our senior year. A bunch of us had a great time on Lake Powell, and he looked at those pics and said, "we really need to do that again soon." It's something we always talk about, so it was good to hear. He got back in bed, and has now been sleeping for another half hour or so.
When awake, he usually still keeps his eyes closed, but will open them if he is talking. The tests the therapists did were interesting. I think they showed how far he has come, and how far he still has to go. If he is drowsy, he sometimes doesn't know where he is, or thinks he is someplace totally different (he was in Mexico the other day.) He sometimes forgets his age, or says things that don't make sense. But when he is doing well, it is great to see.
Erika, Ashley, Kiea, and Chris Moose are all here now, and Liam is stirring a bit, so I'll end this here. We'll be sure to let you guys know how therapy goes in the next couple of days.
I'm here at the hospital, and Liam has been relatively with-it for the past couple of hours, but seems to be winding down now. Mat was here this morning, then Erika and Ashley, so I thought I'd try and piece together what they told me to give everyone an idea of what today was like.
So far it seems to be one of his better days, and that roller coaster is still trending gently upwards.
Mat said that Liam was fairly awake and chatty this morning. By chatty, he was speaking every once in a while, and is still sometimes difficult to hear and understand. He speaks like someone who is sleep-talking. Alot of whispers and mumbles. The good news is, if you ask him to speak clearer, he can usually whisper louder and mumble less.
Anyway, Mat was with him this morning, and Mat got him in his wheelchair and took him outside to meet Erika and and the dogs. Erika says he had fun seeing the dogs and being outside in the sun.
He was up a while more and was falling asleep when I got in at around 12:30. He slept pretty well until about 2:00 when the physical therapist came around. They did some walking exercises. With her holding him, he is somewhat able to walk. He takes very small steps and cannot balance on his own at all. He loses concentration and will start to fall, and the left leg is still pretty weak. She also had him sit and try to move his left arm more, which he was able to do.
When she was working with him, his former boss, also named Joel, came by for a visit. When the PT finished up, we got him in his chair and took him to the 4th floor skybridge for the view. He really enjoyed seeing Joel, and had one of the best conversations I've heard him have so far. He was answering questions, asking relevant questions, and making relevant comments. Not that topics moved much beyond the basics, or we stayed on one topic for more than a minute or so, but it was still great to see.
After Joel left, he got back in bed, but pretty soon after his speech therapist came by. Liam performed well for her. He knew his name, the date, and his birthday. He even knew his age, which was giving him alot of trouble two days ago. He stumbled on the President, saying the current president was "HW," but later, on his own, said Barack. I asked where Obama went to college and he pointed at himself and said "Oxy," and then said, "I got better grades than him." Basically, he was able to answer almost all the questions asked, and was able to read for her.
She asked him to name all the animals he could in a minute. He started well, saying, "Hippo," and then "Zebra." After that, he got distracted, and said "Joel," and "monster." He said another non-animal that I don't remember, and then repeated Hippo and Zebra several times. She told him each time to say a different animal, but he couldn't. Finally, he said "Blue Jay," and "rooster."
She took off, and we watched some of the UW-Stanford basketball game. He was able to read the score for me, but didn't really keep his eyes on the game. He sat up and was able to feed himself, and looked at some pictures we have on the wall. He saw pictures of himself during Spring Break our senior year. A bunch of us had a great time on Lake Powell, and he looked at those pics and said, "we really need to do that again soon." It's something we always talk about, so it was good to hear. He got back in bed, and has now been sleeping for another half hour or so.
When awake, he usually still keeps his eyes closed, but will open them if he is talking. The tests the therapists did were interesting. I think they showed how far he has come, and how far he still has to go. If he is drowsy, he sometimes doesn't know where he is, or thinks he is someplace totally different (he was in Mexico the other day.) He sometimes forgets his age, or says things that don't make sense. But when he is doing well, it is great to see.
Erika, Ashley, Kiea, and Chris Moose are all here now, and Liam is stirring a bit, so I'll end this here. We'll be sure to let you guys know how therapy goes in the next couple of days.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
New room, new floor! (460)
Hey Everyone,
First of all, Liam has finally moved to the 4th floor, the rehab floor. The is a half-step up for him. He is not considered ready for rehab, but they needed the bed-space in his old unit, so moved him even though they won't start the intense rehab yet. This is good, because they expect him to be ready for that rehab soon. He is now in room 460.
First of all, Liam has finally moved to the 4th floor, the rehab floor. The is a half-step up for him. He is not considered ready for rehab, but they needed the bed-space in his old unit, so moved him even though they won't start the intense rehab yet. This is good, because they expect him to be ready for that rehab soon. He is now in room 460.
Another good day
It's been a good day all around. Liam's white counts have come down a bit more. The catheter is out, and he has used the bathroom a number of times (with the nurses helping him walk back and forth and keeping him from falling in the bathroom). I know he is going to kill me for talking about that when he reads this.... He is talking a lot more, and is much easier to understand, except when he is tired. He was speaking a lot of French today - he took this in school and college. Of course I am only fluent in English and German, I don't speak any French, so I don't know what he was talking about. He also kept insisting that we ask other people if we were in the right place when we were pushing him through the hospital. I am curious to see what he is like tomorrow. More good news, he is moving upstairs to the rehab floor tomorrow!!! They got pre-authorization today so he is set to move sometime tomorrow. Once he moves I will post a room update for people who want to come visit. I bought a new I-Phone today also, and the dog is fine! Good night :)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
End of the weekend
It's Sunday night, time for a blog entry....
Things are still going well. As expected everything is not perfect, but still trending upward. Liam does have a STAPH infection in his blood, so if you are sick, please don't visit right now, his immune system isn't at it's best. He's been on oral antibiotics since last week when they noticed his white cell count was going upward. When they figure out it was staph yesterday morning they started him on an IV antibiotic as well. However, yesterday afternoon I noticed he was developing what appeared to be a drug rash and notified the doctors. I was right, and they stopped the IV antibiotics, but the oral ones will continue. It takes five days for the blood culture results that tell us what type of staph this is and what antibiotics it will be sensitive to. When those result are back the doctors can decide if he needs different antibiotics. He's been sleeping a lot today - could be due to the infection - could be because of his busy day yesterday.
Yes, a busy day! Since the physical therapists taught me how to transfer him on Friday I was able to get him out of bed and we took him for a ride around the hospital in a special chair. They in the afternoon I got him up again and with help from the nurse on one side and me on the other he walked out of his room and about 30 feet down the hall before he got tierd. They we strapped him into a wheel chair and took him for another ride around the hospital. Each time he was very tired and took a nap afterwards. But it was amazing to see him walking down the hall!
His speaking is getting a bit clearer. Whole phrases are understandable, and he is definitely expressing what he is thinking. Maybe not always the most appropriate things (I can't repeat some of these things here but, he did tell his mom "you look pregnant and I look normal") but he is able to express what he wants to. His voice is still very quiet, and when he is tired it is almost impossible to understand him.
He has been eating well, about 2 complete meals a day, which is more then I could eat of the horrible hospital food. He is still on a pureed food diet - this includes pureed meat and veggies. The part that I thin is worst is that they then reform to food with molds to look like the real thing. The turkey is shaped into slices of turkey breast, the corn is pressed into a mold that looks this corn on the cob, and the peas into a mold that looks like a pile of peas. Well, they don't really look like the real thing, but they are trying to. I think it just makes it that much worse.
I thought I would also tell you all about my adventurous afternoon, it's frustrating and funny.... it started with me really wanting to get our dogs back from my parents. I have been missing them, Kiea has too, and I need to cuddling. Plus, I like getting outside with them. I asked my dad to bring them back on the ferry and agreed to meet him at the ferry terminal so he could get right back on the ferry. I was tired so Kiea drove me. When my dad came off the terminal i shoved my iphone (which i love) into the pocket of my sweatshirt jacket and grabbed Alfie from him. In his rush he had forgotten Alfies collar and had to carry him the whole time. We ran to the car and tossed the dogs in the car as well as the food, bowls, and treats. My dad ran back to the ferry and Kiea and I drove home while I cuddled with the dogs. When I went to get out of the car I realized I couldn't find my iphone.... We searched the car and tried calling it with Kiea's phone - it went straight to voice mail....not a good sign. I had an instant bad feeling that I had dropped it and it had been run over by a car. Kiea and I drove back to the where she had parked the car under the Viaduct, and there, in a pot hole in the parking spot was my iphone :( Kiea had backed over it when we had pulled out of the spot (not in anyway here fault). I grabbed it and looked at it, the screen was shattered into a million pieces, the only reason it hadn't fallen apart was becasue I have a screen protector, and it was holding the screen together. I think having been in a pothole must have kept the phone from getting all the pressure of the car because amazingly enough the phone turned on when I pushed the power button. Unbelievable! It still works, but the screen is destroyed. And you can't get insurance on iphones, this means tomorrow I have to go talk to apple and see if I have any options other then paying for a new one. This couldn't have happened at a worse time, right? I mean I use my phone all day everyday now, and I don't exactly want to spend the money to get another one. I could buy a cheap replacement of some other type, but I love my iphone and really need it's funciontality. I'll have to think about what to do tomorrow. The funny part is, I have broken or lost 3 phones in the last year and a half. Liam bought me the iphone on my last birthday, and the card said "make sure you don't break this one." If I told him he would say "your fired." Expensive to replace, and it was from him :( To make it better, we get home and Alfie, being Alfie, has gotten into my purse and pulled everything out of it. He destroyed the shipping envelopes for my netflix movies, but I can get new ones. The real problem is he ate a half a bag of Cadbury chocolate easter eggs that I love, and an entire sleeve of Thin Mint girl scout cookies. This is the third time he has eaten a large amount of chocolate. We figured he should be fine, since he has done this before and had no problems. But I am getting a bit worried right now, this evening his breathing has gotten labored and his heart rate seems faster then usual, ad he seems lethargic. I hope I don't have to take him to the emergency vet, that's the last thing I need, more stress about a sick loved on (not that he is on the same level as Liam) and more medical bills.... So, that was my probably to be very expensive evening.
More tomorrow.
Erika
Things are still going well. As expected everything is not perfect, but still trending upward. Liam does have a STAPH infection in his blood, so if you are sick, please don't visit right now, his immune system isn't at it's best. He's been on oral antibiotics since last week when they noticed his white cell count was going upward. When they figure out it was staph yesterday morning they started him on an IV antibiotic as well. However, yesterday afternoon I noticed he was developing what appeared to be a drug rash and notified the doctors. I was right, and they stopped the IV antibiotics, but the oral ones will continue. It takes five days for the blood culture results that tell us what type of staph this is and what antibiotics it will be sensitive to. When those result are back the doctors can decide if he needs different antibiotics. He's been sleeping a lot today - could be due to the infection - could be because of his busy day yesterday.
Yes, a busy day! Since the physical therapists taught me how to transfer him on Friday I was able to get him out of bed and we took him for a ride around the hospital in a special chair. They in the afternoon I got him up again and with help from the nurse on one side and me on the other he walked out of his room and about 30 feet down the hall before he got tierd. They we strapped him into a wheel chair and took him for another ride around the hospital. Each time he was very tired and took a nap afterwards. But it was amazing to see him walking down the hall!
His speaking is getting a bit clearer. Whole phrases are understandable, and he is definitely expressing what he is thinking. Maybe not always the most appropriate things (I can't repeat some of these things here but, he did tell his mom "you look pregnant and I look normal") but he is able to express what he wants to. His voice is still very quiet, and when he is tired it is almost impossible to understand him.
He has been eating well, about 2 complete meals a day, which is more then I could eat of the horrible hospital food. He is still on a pureed food diet - this includes pureed meat and veggies. The part that I thin is worst is that they then reform to food with molds to look like the real thing. The turkey is shaped into slices of turkey breast, the corn is pressed into a mold that looks this corn on the cob, and the peas into a mold that looks like a pile of peas. Well, they don't really look like the real thing, but they are trying to. I think it just makes it that much worse.
I thought I would also tell you all about my adventurous afternoon, it's frustrating and funny.... it started with me really wanting to get our dogs back from my parents. I have been missing them, Kiea has too, and I need to cuddling. Plus, I like getting outside with them. I asked my dad to bring them back on the ferry and agreed to meet him at the ferry terminal so he could get right back on the ferry. I was tired so Kiea drove me. When my dad came off the terminal i shoved my iphone (which i love) into the pocket of my sweatshirt jacket and grabbed Alfie from him. In his rush he had forgotten Alfies collar and had to carry him the whole time. We ran to the car and tossed the dogs in the car as well as the food, bowls, and treats. My dad ran back to the ferry and Kiea and I drove home while I cuddled with the dogs. When I went to get out of the car I realized I couldn't find my iphone.... We searched the car and tried calling it with Kiea's phone - it went straight to voice mail....not a good sign. I had an instant bad feeling that I had dropped it and it had been run over by a car. Kiea and I drove back to the where she had parked the car under the Viaduct, and there, in a pot hole in the parking spot was my iphone :( Kiea had backed over it when we had pulled out of the spot (not in anyway here fault). I grabbed it and looked at it, the screen was shattered into a million pieces, the only reason it hadn't fallen apart was becasue I have a screen protector, and it was holding the screen together. I think having been in a pothole must have kept the phone from getting all the pressure of the car because amazingly enough the phone turned on when I pushed the power button. Unbelievable! It still works, but the screen is destroyed. And you can't get insurance on iphones, this means tomorrow I have to go talk to apple and see if I have any options other then paying for a new one. This couldn't have happened at a worse time, right? I mean I use my phone all day everyday now, and I don't exactly want to spend the money to get another one. I could buy a cheap replacement of some other type, but I love my iphone and really need it's funciontality. I'll have to think about what to do tomorrow. The funny part is, I have broken or lost 3 phones in the last year and a half. Liam bought me the iphone on my last birthday, and the card said "make sure you don't break this one." If I told him he would say "your fired." Expensive to replace, and it was from him :( To make it better, we get home and Alfie, being Alfie, has gotten into my purse and pulled everything out of it. He destroyed the shipping envelopes for my netflix movies, but I can get new ones. The real problem is he ate a half a bag of Cadbury chocolate easter eggs that I love, and an entire sleeve of Thin Mint girl scout cookies. This is the third time he has eaten a large amount of chocolate. We figured he should be fine, since he has done this before and had no problems. But I am getting a bit worried right now, this evening his breathing has gotten labored and his heart rate seems faster then usual, ad he seems lethargic. I hope I don't have to take him to the emergency vet, that's the last thing I need, more stress about a sick loved on (not that he is on the same level as Liam) and more medical bills.... So, that was my probably to be very expensive evening.
More tomorrow.
Erika
Friday, March 6, 2009
And he moved again.....
Room 376 bed one, and it sucks. It's a shared room, he is two feet from the door, his space is about 7 feet by 12 feet. Tiny, and the next bed is about 4 feet away with a curtain in between them. No privacy. Also no storage space in this one. As much as Joel and I want to complain about moving him so much and not doing a good job with it, we kinda want to wait in the hopes that they move him again. Frustrating. If anyone knows any high-ups at Harborview, put in some good words for us so we get a better spot ;)
Physical therapy just taught me this afternoon how to get him standing, transfer him to a special chair, and get him back to bed. It was really exciting and he had a whole crowd watching: Joel, Rebecca, Ashley, Marcus, Scott, my mom and dad, and of course me:) Now the room is so tiny I don't know if I will have enough space to get him out of bed. When he is awake I want to get him in the chair and take him for a walk. He has asked to see Alfie and Tootsie (our dogs) so one of these days we will take him outside and have my parents meet us with the dogs.
He's having a sleepy day. I think he is tired from all the hard work the last couple days. We were able to do therapy, but he's just sleeping all day. It's to be expected that he has up and down days, nothing to worry about. But, it does keep him from being able to move to the rehab floor. No rush, one day at a time. Thanks everyone for the food, the well wishes, the company, and the communications. He loves the emails that I read to him. Sorry I haven't been getting a chance to write back to everyone yet, he's been keeping me busy:)
Physical therapy just taught me this afternoon how to get him standing, transfer him to a special chair, and get him back to bed. It was really exciting and he had a whole crowd watching: Joel, Rebecca, Ashley, Marcus, Scott, my mom and dad, and of course me:) Now the room is so tiny I don't know if I will have enough space to get him out of bed. When he is awake I want to get him in the chair and take him for a walk. He has asked to see Alfie and Tootsie (our dogs) so one of these days we will take him outside and have my parents meet us with the dogs.
He's having a sleepy day. I think he is tired from all the hard work the last couple days. We were able to do therapy, but he's just sleeping all day. It's to be expected that he has up and down days, nothing to worry about. But, it does keep him from being able to move to the rehab floor. No rush, one day at a time. Thanks everyone for the food, the well wishes, the company, and the communications. He loves the emails that I read to him. Sorry I haven't been getting a chance to write back to everyone yet, he's been keeping me busy:)
Another room change - downgrade this time
Good Morning,
Liam has been moved again, just a couple doors down to 272, bed 2. He is in a shared room again, I think they moved him becuase they needed a single room for a patient on contact isolation. The woman in his old room is on contact isolation, so they don't want any other patients around her so they don't get whatever she has, and she doesn't get anything else from them or their families. The frustrating part is that they didn't move all of his stuff, I eventually got them to bring everything out of the closest, my blankets, snacks, magazines and books. But, they hadn't removed everything from the walls, and that stuff can't be moved because of the new patients state. It sucks because he lost some of the drawings that James and Marcus kids drew and some of his cards. He lost his private room and his awesome view of the harbor and park, which sucks. But his new room is okay. The other patient was getting dressed and walked out of the room to go home just as I came in. I don't know when they will bring someone else in.
Yesterday was another long, but great day. He spent time with all three therapists (speech, occupational, and physical) and was very successful. He (with help of course) stood up a couple times, shuffled around the room a bit, and even did a little dancing for us all by himself! Someone had made a comment about Liam being a great dancer and he smiled and started shaking his hips and moving his arms dancing, it was very cute and fun to watch. He loved it, and so did all of us. He was also able to put on pants and socks yesterday with just the tinniest bit of help from the occupational therapist - the biggest thing hindrance for him is not being able to use his left arm. If he had use of his left arm he wouldn't need help with these things.
They also started him on some broad spectrum antibiotics last night since his white counts have been high. They can't find a source or infection, but they want to try to knock down whatever is causing the rise in white cells. So far they have dropped a tiny bit, but not much. They just keep checking and trying to figure it out.
He loves visitors, and definitely recognizes everyone and love to interact. So keep coming to see him. He also really likes the cards and pictures, so keep those coming also.
Liam has been moved again, just a couple doors down to 272, bed 2. He is in a shared room again, I think they moved him becuase they needed a single room for a patient on contact isolation. The woman in his old room is on contact isolation, so they don't want any other patients around her so they don't get whatever she has, and she doesn't get anything else from them or their families. The frustrating part is that they didn't move all of his stuff, I eventually got them to bring everything out of the closest, my blankets, snacks, magazines and books. But, they hadn't removed everything from the walls, and that stuff can't be moved because of the new patients state. It sucks because he lost some of the drawings that James and Marcus kids drew and some of his cards. He lost his private room and his awesome view of the harbor and park, which sucks. But his new room is okay. The other patient was getting dressed and walked out of the room to go home just as I came in. I don't know when they will bring someone else in.
Yesterday was another long, but great day. He spent time with all three therapists (speech, occupational, and physical) and was very successful. He (with help of course) stood up a couple times, shuffled around the room a bit, and even did a little dancing for us all by himself! Someone had made a comment about Liam being a great dancer and he smiled and started shaking his hips and moving his arms dancing, it was very cute and fun to watch. He loved it, and so did all of us. He was also able to put on pants and socks yesterday with just the tinniest bit of help from the occupational therapist - the biggest thing hindrance for him is not being able to use his left arm. If he had use of his left arm he wouldn't need help with these things.
They also started him on some broad spectrum antibiotics last night since his white counts have been high. They can't find a source or infection, but they want to try to knock down whatever is causing the rise in white cells. So far they have dropped a tiny bit, but not much. They just keep checking and trying to figure it out.
He loves visitors, and definitely recognizes everyone and love to interact. So keep coming to see him. He also really likes the cards and pictures, so keep those coming also.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
You can email Liam!
Hey Folks,
I just wanted to drop a quick note that you can email Liam through Harborview's hospital website. You simply fill out a form and hospital volunteers will print them out and come read them to Liam.
Here is the link:
http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Facilities/Harborview/ClinicsAndServices/emailGifts.htm
His current room is 369.
I just got here, and he is asleep. Erika said that he had about an hour of physical therapy this morning, and they again had him standing for a while! His left arm, however, is still weak.
Keep up the positive thoughts, and Liam will keep working on getting better.
I just wanted to drop a quick note that you can email Liam through Harborview's hospital website. You simply fill out a form and hospital volunteers will print them out and come read them to Liam.
Here is the link:
http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Facilities/Harborview/ClinicsAndServices/emailGifts.htm
His current room is 369.
I just got here, and he is asleep. Erika said that he had about an hour of physical therapy this morning, and they again had him standing for a while! His left arm, however, is still weak.
Keep up the positive thoughts, and Liam will keep working on getting better.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Getting better = exhausting for everyone else
Hi everyone,
I tried to write a post earlier today, but Liam has been so awake and active that it demands all my attention. I got here are 11:30 this morning, Marylyn came in early so I could sleep in. At about noon he started waking up and demanding water. He is very thirsty, but not allowed water. He spent the next almost 2 hours sucking on this sponge on a stick that he is allowed to use to wet his mouth, pulling himself into sitting positions, and having us help him sit up. At one point when Marylyn was struggling to help lift his weaker left side while I was lifting his right said he pointed at her and said "fired." He fired here from helping because she wasn't doing a good job ;) It was rather funny. Then he sniffed her and looked at her and very pointedly said "stinky." Apparently, he doesn't like the smell of her perfume. The feeding tube clogged this morning, so they had to remove it. Marylyn and I fought with the nurses not to put it back in until the speech therapist could come as she thought Liam might be able to swallow and eat and not need the tube. We finally convinced the nurses to wait after a lot of arguing, Marylyn was very vocal about Liams needs, it was great.
The Neuro doctor came by to check on him and cautioned us again that this is going to be a long process, but that if Liam keeps improving as much as he has that he should be able to move up to the rehab floor in a weeks or so and not have to go to an outside facility. Alot depends on how much time he is awake and how much he can participate in therapy, as I have mentioned before.
The speech therapist was able to come by while he was awake around 1:30pm. She introduced her self and started with some questions. "I know this is your mom, but who is that at the end of the bed?" (pointing at me) and Liam says "I'm not stupid, that's Erika." When asked what year it is he said "I'm not stupid, 2009." Very entertaining, the smart alec side of him is alive and well.
I do need to mention that when I say that he said something he is not talking normally at point. His voice is very quiet, and he is hard to understand, we get about half of what he is saying. Somethings are very clear, like when he asked for pink lemonade, ice cream, and when he called Joel a "wussy pussy" (sorry Joel) but other things are unintelligible and we just can't figure out what he wants. This is very frustrating for everyone involved.
Back to speech therapist. She asked him to stick out his tounge for her, he did, and the he proceeded to screw up his face and really stick out his tounge in a nasty face and put his thumb to his nose and wiggled his pinky finger at her. She did a couple other things and then went through a swallowing test with him. First she gave him a spoonful of crushed ice and water which he gulped and chewed. Then she let him drink out of a straw, eat some juice the consistency of honey, eat some apple sauce, and finally eat some canned peaches. He did really well, however, he has a delay in his swallowing. Get something in his mouth, and there is a pause before he swallows. What this means is that he can only have things that are a honey consistency or thicker. The worry is that since he isn't swallowing right away anything thinner, like water, could run down his throat into his lungs before he swallows. When you swallow your body blocks off your airway so that food or water don't end up in your lungs. He may not be able to do this, so he can't have anything to liquid, but he is on a liquid diet. When the therapist used the word diet he got very annoyed and was quite adamant that he did not want to be on a diet, we had to explain that it was just a term for allowing him to have food, that he was very excited about.
He drifted off to sleep about the time his mom left (around 2:30) but they physical therapy showed up and woke him up to get him sitting up, and standing!!! He needed a lot of assistance, but he did stand! He does seem to be having some problems with his left arm. The nurse was trying to put in a IV and trying to unbend his arm with a lot of force and he kept saying it hurt and wouldn't unbend it. Then the rest of the afternoon he didn't want to use the arm. He would pick his left arm up with his right hand and move it and place it somewhere, I am thinking that he may have landed on his shoulder during the accident because the ICU nurses thought his shoulder was hurting him, and now I think it got re-aggravated by the nurse trying to unbend his arm. Well have to keep an eye on it.
He asked for Joel a couple of times this morning so I called Joel and had him come by this afternoon. Liam was very interactive with Joel, trying to role the soccer ball back and forth on his arms, tossing the soccer ball to Joel, and trying to head but the ball, which we quickly put a stop to. We don't need anymore trauma to his head right now. He also kept throwing his wet washcloth at Joel. He figured out how to work the bed controls and the TV remote and used those a lot. Joel and I had quite the afternoon trying to keep him in bed. He really wants to get up and was constantly trying. Throwing his legs over the side, reaching for the end of the bed, turning onto his stomach, trying to get on his hands and knees. He's quite acrobatic. The nurses finally fed him so pudding with hydrocodone and tylenol and he fell asleep at 6:30pm.
On one hand, it's absolutley amazing and wonderful having him up and so interactive all day, but on the other hand its completly exhausting. As Kiea put it, it's like having a kid. He either can't, or isn't allowed, to do things on his own so you have to do everything for him and he needs attention all the time. I am enjoying a bit of solitude in his room while he sleeps, and then just now went for a chest x-ray. Hopefully his lungs are clear and he didn't aspirate any food so he can keep eating and not need a feeding tube again. I think that's it for now. The hydrocodone just knocks him out completly, so he will most likely sleep until tomorrow sometime. It'll be interesting to see if he is more awake tomorrow, or less because he is tired from today. All in all, it was a great exhausting day! Thanks to everyone for everything:)
I tried to write a post earlier today, but Liam has been so awake and active that it demands all my attention. I got here are 11:30 this morning, Marylyn came in early so I could sleep in. At about noon he started waking up and demanding water. He is very thirsty, but not allowed water. He spent the next almost 2 hours sucking on this sponge on a stick that he is allowed to use to wet his mouth, pulling himself into sitting positions, and having us help him sit up. At one point when Marylyn was struggling to help lift his weaker left side while I was lifting his right said he pointed at her and said "fired." He fired here from helping because she wasn't doing a good job ;) It was rather funny. Then he sniffed her and looked at her and very pointedly said "stinky." Apparently, he doesn't like the smell of her perfume. The feeding tube clogged this morning, so they had to remove it. Marylyn and I fought with the nurses not to put it back in until the speech therapist could come as she thought Liam might be able to swallow and eat and not need the tube. We finally convinced the nurses to wait after a lot of arguing, Marylyn was very vocal about Liams needs, it was great.
The Neuro doctor came by to check on him and cautioned us again that this is going to be a long process, but that if Liam keeps improving as much as he has that he should be able to move up to the rehab floor in a weeks or so and not have to go to an outside facility. Alot depends on how much time he is awake and how much he can participate in therapy, as I have mentioned before.
The speech therapist was able to come by while he was awake around 1:30pm. She introduced her self and started with some questions. "I know this is your mom, but who is that at the end of the bed?" (pointing at me) and Liam says "I'm not stupid, that's Erika." When asked what year it is he said "I'm not stupid, 2009." Very entertaining, the smart alec side of him is alive and well.
I do need to mention that when I say that he said something he is not talking normally at point. His voice is very quiet, and he is hard to understand, we get about half of what he is saying. Somethings are very clear, like when he asked for pink lemonade, ice cream, and when he called Joel a "wussy pussy" (sorry Joel) but other things are unintelligible and we just can't figure out what he wants. This is very frustrating for everyone involved.
Back to speech therapist. She asked him to stick out his tounge for her, he did, and the he proceeded to screw up his face and really stick out his tounge in a nasty face and put his thumb to his nose and wiggled his pinky finger at her. She did a couple other things and then went through a swallowing test with him. First she gave him a spoonful of crushed ice and water which he gulped and chewed. Then she let him drink out of a straw, eat some juice the consistency of honey, eat some apple sauce, and finally eat some canned peaches. He did really well, however, he has a delay in his swallowing. Get something in his mouth, and there is a pause before he swallows. What this means is that he can only have things that are a honey consistency or thicker. The worry is that since he isn't swallowing right away anything thinner, like water, could run down his throat into his lungs before he swallows. When you swallow your body blocks off your airway so that food or water don't end up in your lungs. He may not be able to do this, so he can't have anything to liquid, but he is on a liquid diet. When the therapist used the word diet he got very annoyed and was quite adamant that he did not want to be on a diet, we had to explain that it was just a term for allowing him to have food, that he was very excited about.
He drifted off to sleep about the time his mom left (around 2:30) but they physical therapy showed up and woke him up to get him sitting up, and standing!!! He needed a lot of assistance, but he did stand! He does seem to be having some problems with his left arm. The nurse was trying to put in a IV and trying to unbend his arm with a lot of force and he kept saying it hurt and wouldn't unbend it. Then the rest of the afternoon he didn't want to use the arm. He would pick his left arm up with his right hand and move it and place it somewhere, I am thinking that he may have landed on his shoulder during the accident because the ICU nurses thought his shoulder was hurting him, and now I think it got re-aggravated by the nurse trying to unbend his arm. Well have to keep an eye on it.
He asked for Joel a couple of times this morning so I called Joel and had him come by this afternoon. Liam was very interactive with Joel, trying to role the soccer ball back and forth on his arms, tossing the soccer ball to Joel, and trying to head but the ball, which we quickly put a stop to. We don't need anymore trauma to his head right now. He also kept throwing his wet washcloth at Joel. He figured out how to work the bed controls and the TV remote and used those a lot. Joel and I had quite the afternoon trying to keep him in bed. He really wants to get up and was constantly trying. Throwing his legs over the side, reaching for the end of the bed, turning onto his stomach, trying to get on his hands and knees. He's quite acrobatic. The nurses finally fed him so pudding with hydrocodone and tylenol and he fell asleep at 6:30pm.
On one hand, it's absolutley amazing and wonderful having him up and so interactive all day, but on the other hand its completly exhausting. As Kiea put it, it's like having a kid. He either can't, or isn't allowed, to do things on his own so you have to do everything for him and he needs attention all the time. I am enjoying a bit of solitude in his room while he sleeps, and then just now went for a chest x-ray. Hopefully his lungs are clear and he didn't aspirate any food so he can keep eating and not need a feeding tube again. I think that's it for now. The hydrocodone just knocks him out completly, so he will most likely sleep until tomorrow sometime. It'll be interesting to see if he is more awake tomorrow, or less because he is tired from today. All in all, it was a great exhausting day! Thanks to everyone for everything:)
New room assignment
Just so everyone knows, Liam moved to room 369 this morning. It's a private room just a couple feet from where he was, and his roommate Clint is going home!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Long Road
Hi Again Everyone,
Liam is doing great. By all accounts, he is doing better than the doctors expected, and his improvements are very encouraging.
So, with the relatively dramatic change in his condition in the last couple of days, I thought I would give a summary of where the little bugger is at (yes Liam, I'm ending the sentence with a preposition).
Liam is doing great. By all accounts, he is doing better than the doctors expected, and his improvements are very encouraging.
So, with the relatively dramatic change in his condition in the last couple of days, I thought I would give a summary of where the little bugger is at (yes Liam, I'm ending the sentence with a preposition).
- He is still mostly asleep. Yesterday was his most active day yet, and he was up for maybe 2.5 hours out of 24.
- Of those 2.5 hours, he was only really responding well and interactive for about 1.5 hours.
- He still has trouble breathing well and controlling his airway. A respiratory therapist visits him 4x a day.
- Most of his movements when he is awake are very slow and deliberate. He moves his left side but his right is much stronger.
- He has feeling on his left side (which is an improvement!), but less than his right. Tyler touched his left toe, and asked Liam if he felt it, and he showed us the thumb-forefinger sign for "a little bit." When Ty touched his right toe and asked the same thing, he nodded a definitive "yes."
- He seemed to attempt to talk last night (this is great!), but what escaped his mouth were a series of whispered mumbles that nobody could understand. It is frustrating, you know he is there, and wants to communicate, but can't.
- He still has a tube that goes into his nose for feeding. When awake, this bugs him. It must feel like the biggest booger ever.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Long, but great day
I am completely exhausted, but very happy. This evening Liam woke up again for about an hour and half while Joel, Kiea, Casey, Tyler, Marcus, Beth, and I were there. He's being his old self, it's pretty awesome. I know if will still be up and down, but it was cool to see. There are a million details but, I am to tired to think or write. I just want to let everyone know that he is doing well, and is now in room 373 (3rd floor, west hospital). He is in a shared room with a guy named Clint and his wife's name is Heather. That's all I can do right now. More when I am less exhausted, although that might not happen anytime soon since he has been awake and needing attention.
Awake Again!
After a pretty quiet day yesterday, and another quiet morning, Liam's been up for about half an hour now and has been interacting a ton!
The nurses had him up in the cardiac chair, and his eyes gradually opened and he started slowly looking around. He was nodding yes or no to questions, and started pointing at the bulletin board at the cards people have sent in. I asked him if he wanted to check them out and he nodded yes. I showed him a picture of Dave Burke, Jonah, and himself during a spring break trip in college (they were dressed like make-shift pirates) and he cracked a smile looking at it. He also smiled when a hot assistant nurse turned around and I gave him a knowing nod, thumbs up, and cheesy grin. He knew what was going on. Another funny thing he did...I was reading cards to him, and asked him if the girl that wrote it was hot. He shook his hand, the universal sign for so-so.
I pointed to cards and pictures on the wall, and he shook his head yes or no if he wanted me to take them down and show them to him and read them. So, keep sending those cards, because he was definitely interested in them, and I read him all the ones that we have here.
Erika came in, and he gave her a one-armed hug. The nurse asked him to say his name, and he moaned an ET like "Liiiiaaaammm."
Other things he did:
Another step forward!
Joel
The nurses had him up in the cardiac chair, and his eyes gradually opened and he started slowly looking around. He was nodding yes or no to questions, and started pointing at the bulletin board at the cards people have sent in. I asked him if he wanted to check them out and he nodded yes. I showed him a picture of Dave Burke, Jonah, and himself during a spring break trip in college (they were dressed like make-shift pirates) and he cracked a smile looking at it. He also smiled when a hot assistant nurse turned around and I gave him a knowing nod, thumbs up, and cheesy grin. He knew what was going on. Another funny thing he did...I was reading cards to him, and asked him if the girl that wrote it was hot. He shook his hand, the universal sign for so-so.
I pointed to cards and pictures on the wall, and he shook his head yes or no if he wanted me to take them down and show them to him and read them. So, keep sending those cards, because he was definitely interested in them, and I read him all the ones that we have here.
Erika came in, and he gave her a one-armed hug. The nurse asked him to say his name, and he moaned an ET like "Liiiiaaaammm."
Other things he did:
- ask for water, with the universal drinking sign (he can't have it yet)
- wiped his own mouth and nose
- blew his nose
- gave me a high five when I told him I was getting a new bike tomorrow (unasked for)
- shook his head "no" when we asked if it was okay if Mat road his Buell
- made a fist for a fist-bump
Another step forward!
Joel
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Ocupational therapy
Just had a first visit with an occupational therapist (OT). He's not awake enough today to participate in therapy, but she did an evaluation and moved his joints to test range of motion. He's a little stiff but he his joints move well. Someone will come back tomorrow, and hopefully he will be more awake and be able to participate in the movements. The OT today told me if he wakes up latter I can start doing some stuff with him. That's it for now, he's still just sleeping.
Morning Update
Good Morning. After such an exciting day yesterday he seems pretty tired today. He's been sleeping almost the whole time I've been around with just a couple minutes of waking up. His nurse this morning said he still needs to be suctioned almost every hour, so no chance of him moving upstairs yet. I might have already mentioned this, but they don't have the "nurse power" upstairs to suction him so he stays here. We'll have to wait and see how the rest of the day goes.
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I just passed the eating test! Dad and Mum are getting me Governor's Beef. I'm back and things are getting better every day. Thank you everyone for your support.
Love,
Liam
Liam dictated the comment above. Now he's typed this one with his right hand.
It’s a wonderful day.
I’ve received good news that I’m allowed to eat WHATEVER I LIKE.
Thank you.
Liam