Brent had his first full day of rehab. From what I could tell he was in a very ornery mood. He did manage to fall out of the bed while trying to transfer himself to the wheelchair without help! He was not hurt. This is not something he is supposed to do on his own. Being the stubborn, hard headed boy that wants to do it on his own without help. He now has an alarm on the bed. If he tries it again they will know. They lowered the bed whenever he is in it all the way to the floor and put mats on either side of the bed. He also has to spend time at the nurse's station (when he is not in rehab or other group things) which will drive him nuts!! But he has to obey the rules! Not something he does anyway, but that is Brent.
No set schedule yet. The only day there is no rehab is Sundays.
Sorry about any grammatical errors, but I am exhausted ;)
Leslie, the girl and the boy
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Totally off topic.
Some of you already know. Some of you don't. We have always referred to our kids as the girl and the boy. You will probably never hear their names on these posts. The girl and the boy even use this vernacular. We do this because this is how our family "rolls".
Another reason is I do not like to use my kids names on the internet. Especially when they were little. However, they are now on the net so how they refer to themselves is up to them. I have tried to protect them and teach them responsibility. This will be evident once they are 18 and on their own.
This is not disrespect. It is just us.
Leslie, the girl and the boy
Another reason is I do not like to use my kids names on the internet. Especially when they were little. However, they are now on the net so how they refer to themselves is up to them. I have tried to protect them and teach them responsibility. This will be evident once they are 18 and on their own.
This is not disrespect. It is just us.
Leslie, the girl and the boy
Guess what?
What do socks with your name written on them mean?
We are going to rehab today!!!!! They will be here around 3:30 to transfer him
He will begin the long road back to "normal" tomorrow!
Do not know about visitors or his schedule yet so I will post again once we know!!!
Leslie, the girl and the boy!!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Look Ma! No wires or hands
He is totally free of alll wires, tubes and machines. One more step towards rehab. Brent was up and in the chair early today -- about 8:30 am to 12:30 then sleep. PT/OT had him sitting on the edge of the bed for about 5 minutes unassisted! This is major since he has either been relying on his left hand or them to balance him.
Leslie, the boy and the girl
Leslie, the boy and the girl
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Somewhat good news
He is asleep again! His parents, sister and neice came back into town to visit with him. They were there when we arrived today. It was just me and the girl. He ate while I tried my best to fill out the Adult Disability Report. Then he fell asleep shortly after his ex-wife Kristen came by to see him.
Per his doctor, he is no longer on an IV and will probably move to a regular room on Monday or Tuesday. This is our first step in getting him into the rehab center. He was to go 24 hours w/o a sitter. The regular rooms do not allow sitters, so fingers crossed he will be in rehab this week. His doctor says he may or may not get the use of his arm back. Hopefully, he does. He will probably get the use of his leg back, but again we will have to wait and see.
Per his doctor, he is no longer on an IV and will probably move to a regular room on Monday or Tuesday. This is our first step in getting him into the rehab center. He was to go 24 hours w/o a sitter. The regular rooms do not allow sitters, so fingers crossed he will be in rehab this week. His doctor says he may or may not get the use of his arm back. Hopefully, he does. He will probably get the use of his leg back, but again we will have to wait and see.
Friday, August 27, 2010
I can't think of a title!
Brent sat in the chair for 3-4 hours today! OT/PT came and did more exercises w/him. He is balancing himself when he sits on the bed w/o much assistance from them. This is good since he is using his back muscles and not relying on his left hand.
At their request, if you visit him sit on his right side so he has to look at you by turning to the right. Use short sentences and speak slowly. He still doesn't understand everything. Today they asked him to find the tv and the clock. He couldn't find either one even though he was watching the tv when they came in. This leads to frustration which can lead to a shut down of his wanting to get better.
OT/PT want to keep visits short. 10-15 minutes max and only 1-2 people. This is so all his energy goes towards rehab and not concentrating on the visits as he tires very easily. Once they leave he is wiped out for the day and he is only interested in sleeping. Which his body needs lots of in order to get better. So this is not unusual for a stroke patient.
This is very important once he is in rehab. I will not have visitor rules until he is settled in at the rehab center and once I do I will post him. But while he is there, he will have anywhere from 3 hours or more of various kinds of rehab daily.
At their request, if you visit him sit on his right side so he has to look at you by turning to the right. Use short sentences and speak slowly. He still doesn't understand everything. Today they asked him to find the tv and the clock. He couldn't find either one even though he was watching the tv when they came in. This leads to frustration which can lead to a shut down of his wanting to get better.
OT/PT want to keep visits short. 10-15 minutes max and only 1-2 people. This is so all his energy goes towards rehab and not concentrating on the visits as he tires very easily. Once they leave he is wiped out for the day and he is only interested in sleeping. Which his body needs lots of in order to get better. So this is not unusual for a stroke patient.
This is very important once he is in rehab. I will not have visitor rules until he is settled in at the rehab center and once I do I will post him. But while he is there, he will have anywhere from 3 hours or more of various kinds of rehab daily.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Rehab
He will be going to Health South Mid-America Rehab in Overland Park, KS. When will he go? Not sure yet. Has to be able to go 24 hours w/o a sitter. That is the one hurdle he has to overcome now. Will let everyone know when this happens.
Leslie
Leslie
Nothing new this morning.
He is asleep. It is not fun to watch him sleep. It is downright boring. It appears they may have tried to get him to write on paper. From what I can see, it looks like an improvement over his handwriting before this happened. Will post more later since the rehab place is here to evaluate him.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
I have some awesome friends
They want to know if there is anything they can do. They want to know if I am alright. They want to know how the girl and the boy are doing. Heck, even his ex-wife made us brownies! (I do not mention his oldest daughter since I have not asked her mother if it is ok or not). But she is a gorgeous young lady that I am so happy to have the opportunity to get to know at this time.
One friend (love you Soo Soo) even made a FB event for us. Pray for my family. I love my friends! They are trying to keep my spirits up during this way overwhelming time.
One friend (love you Soo Soo) even made a FB event for us. Pray for my family. I love my friends! They are trying to keep my spirits up during this way overwhelming time.
You had a bad day.
Today was not such a good day. There is no sugar coating it. Not every post can be a "happy"post. I know the frustration is getting to him. Let's face it, he has no control over half of his body. That has got to get to the best of people. Since he was in a mood, this post has no pictures today.
He was still sleeping when I arrived today. The girl can not go since she has a cold. Per his nurse, Heidi, he isn't in any danger from it, but other patients on the floor are susceptible. So, if any one has any cold/flu symptoms they are not allowed in ICU. On a side note, if he could he would probably be hitting on Heidi!
PT/OT had him move to the chair again. It is a very interesting process to watch. And you can see it in his face that he is just ready to get in the chair. For his safety, it's not that easy. He was there for about an hour. He didn't want to eat anything and just wanted to lay back down in bed. I asked him if he wanted me to go. He said, "Yep". So I took my leave.
He was put back on Cardene drip for high blood pressure. He needs to be off this and be able to be alone in the room w/o a sitter in order to go to rehab. The doctor has requested that the rehab center do an evaluation on him.
Lastly, the list of words is growing! In addition to the previous words, he says "listen" very clearly. So when he says it you better listen up!
Leslie
He was still sleeping when I arrived today. The girl can not go since she has a cold. Per his nurse, Heidi, he isn't in any danger from it, but other patients on the floor are susceptible. So, if any one has any cold/flu symptoms they are not allowed in ICU. On a side note, if he could he would probably be hitting on Heidi!
PT/OT had him move to the chair again. It is a very interesting process to watch. And you can see it in his face that he is just ready to get in the chair. For his safety, it's not that easy. He was there for about an hour. He didn't want to eat anything and just wanted to lay back down in bed. I asked him if he wanted me to go. He said, "Yep". So I took my leave.
He was put back on Cardene drip for high blood pressure. He needs to be off this and be able to be alone in the room w/o a sitter in order to go to rehab. The doctor has requested that the rehab center do an evaluation on him.
Lastly, the list of words is growing! In addition to the previous words, he says "listen" very clearly. So when he says it you better listen up!
Leslie
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
And we are standing!
Ok, it was for all of 2 seconds but it is a small step forward!!
Then we did this for about an hour and a half.
I know he is thinking that he wants to tell me to put the damn camera away, but I won't. I win this one!!!
When we arrived to ICU today, he was awake and alert. He appeared to be understanding more than he did this last weekend. This was confirmed by his Speech Therapist and his nurse Heidi. The CAT scan that they did today did not show any change, which is a good thing. We told him what happened and he seemed to understand that he had a stroke. The girl told him about all of his family and friends being here this weekend, but he didn't seem to remember that they were here. He may remember, but sometimes there is a failure to communicate.
Of course, as soon as the camera came out the dirty looks were shot in my direction. I was laughing too hard to get one, but here he is w/the girl.
As of today, he is eating about 25% of his food. He is feeding himself w/his left hand. This, of course, is very awkward for him as he is right handed. But he is doing it!
Of course, as soon as the camera came out the dirty looks were shot in my direction. I was laughing too hard to get one, but here he is w/the girl.
As of today, he is eating about 25% of his food. He is feeding himself w/his left hand. This, of course, is very awkward for him as he is right handed. But he is doing it!
Ice Cream was a big hit! But all that action has tired him out so he is sleeping again!
Monday, August 23, 2010
It all changed on Friday, August 20, 2010 at 7:15 pm. While waiting to be discharged from the hospital for a minor stroke, my husband Brent, suffered a stroke in the left side of his brain. He was rushed for a CAT scan then went to ICU. He has been there since and as of this evening is still sleeping the majority of the time. There was some minor swelling of his brain, but nothing that required surgery---that's a good thing.
He is paralyzed on the right side of his body. Communicating is an experience right at the moment. He can say "Yep", "No" and then some other stuff we have yet to translate.
This blog will allow us to update everyone on his progress as we pick up the pieces of our lives. There will be ups, downs and everything in between. This is our way of healing our lives. It will be done through honesty, laughter and tears.
He is paralyzed on the right side of his body. Communicating is an experience right at the moment. He can say "Yep", "No" and then some other stuff we have yet to translate.
This blog will allow us to update everyone on his progress as we pick up the pieces of our lives. There will be ups, downs and everything in between. This is our way of healing our lives. It will be done through honesty, laughter and tears.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)