I have learned that everyday with Randy is an adventure!
This morning, Jon came over and was looking at our car to make sure it wasn't something that could be easily fixed. When he got here, Randy wanted to go out to the car with him but couldn't find his cell phone. I told him I would find it for him. As soon as they walk out of the door, I went into our bedroom and begin looking for it. I decided to take the easy route and used my cell phone to call it. Randy answered, laughing. Then he said "Thanks for helping me find it!"
The adventure didn't stop there.
At one point today, I was in the bathroom and I heard Randy walking around and noticed that I wasn't hearing the familiar sound of the "third leg" (a.k.a, the cane). I yelled at Randy "where is your cane". He responded "I am on my way to get it". I turned my head a bit more and saw the cane hanging right next to me. He had been walking around a little while without it and I hadn't even noticed! I yelled back "Randy, get in here". He responded "I am grabbing my cane, just give me a second". I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Then there was the key incident. I had given Randy the key when he and Jon were looking at the car. When they went to leave for Home Depot, Jon came in and said "We need the key to the car." I laughed and said "I gave it to Randy, check his pockets". I believe the key was actually found in the ignition.
I don't think my life will ever be boring again!
On another note, we received a copy of the statement from Christine Thompson (the trauma nurse that stopped at Randy's accident). In reading through her statement, there is no doubt in my mind that God was there with Randy and brought to there.
According to the statement she gave our attorney, she had completed a nursing trauma class a short time before the accident occurred. She witnessed the truck hit the concrete barrier and hit Randy's car. She stopped and went over the barrier to Randy's car. The doors were locked. This strikes me as odd. Randy didn't have a habit of locking the doors when he drove as far as I know. It reminded me of 10 years ago, though, when we were in a roll over accident in a little Geo Metro. I had a feeling that we were going to be in an accident or that something bad was going to happen to us that night, so I insisted the doors be locked because I wasn't given a clear vision of what exactly was to happen. It ended up that Randy fell asleep at the wheel due to being sick and taking cold medication before driving. The road turned and we didn't. We went off a small little embankment and rolled a couple of times. I ended up with some permanent scarring on my hand and Randy and Cass ended up with some bruises. God was definitely there then too!).
Anyway, because the door was locked, Christine had someone knock out one of the rear windows and unlock the passenger door. She found Randy slumped over on the passenger side. Randy wasn't breathing. She said it was obvious that his airway was obstructed because he was gurgling and rocking in an attempt to breathe. She said that she help up his head and blood discharged. She believed that he was seizing at that time and she opened his eyes and his left eye was "blown" (whatever that means exactly), which told her that he had an injury to his brain. She was in the car for an estimated ten minutes. I owe her Randy's life. If she wasn't there, if she hadn't stopped... Randy wouldn't be here.
As hard as it is to see him struggle through healing with a brain injury, life without him wouldn't be life at all. He is my best friend and my partner through this life.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Tonight was nice
We have a working fridge and freezer! Sears showed up today and spent a few hours working on things and now the freezer is freezing and the fridge is keeping things cold. The ice and water thing aren't quite working yet. We have to buy a hose for the water thingy (our friend Jon is going to help Randy with getting that tomorrow since I am a little clueless on this stuff ~ hence the words "water thingy").
Tonight was great. We went out to dinner with Jon and Kelli and their friend Jeanette. Randy had a great time. We both did. But it was great to see him out and about and laughing and having a good time being around people. It was funny, at dinner "Nero" came up and Randy had something to do with it in the back of his mind but couldn't quite bring it out. The conversation went on and then awhile later, without any warning, Randy switched right back to that conversation and commented that Nero had something to do with a role playing game and that was what he had been trying to come up with earlier. He did it in his very Randy way. Even before the accident, he would keep things like that in the back of his mind until he figured it out. It was how his mind worked. It just seems more pronounced now. He seems more "one-track" minded now. He did great, though, being out tonight and keeping up conversations with everyone. Much improved!
Tonight was great. We went out to dinner with Jon and Kelli and their friend Jeanette. Randy had a great time. We both did. But it was great to see him out and about and laughing and having a good time being around people. It was funny, at dinner "Nero" came up and Randy had something to do with it in the back of his mind but couldn't quite bring it out. The conversation went on and then awhile later, without any warning, Randy switched right back to that conversation and commented that Nero had something to do with a role playing game and that was what he had been trying to come up with earlier. He did it in his very Randy way. Even before the accident, he would keep things like that in the back of his mind until he figured it out. It was how his mind worked. It just seems more pronounced now. He seems more "one-track" minded now. He did great, though, being out tonight and keeping up conversations with everyone. Much improved!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Randy's Day
Randy started off his day by saying he wanted an "easy" day today. He didn't have any therapy sessions, so it was pretty much an easy day. He and his mom went to the grocery store. He got more of the logic problem and crossword puzzle books ~ he has really been enjoying doing those. He has also been enjoying working on his exercise bike while he watches tv.
Then this afternoon, our neighbors found that their lawn had been delivered a day earlier than planned, so Randy went over there and helped out by doing some of the watering and keeping them company while they were working. When I came home he was over there sitting in a chair in the middle of the lawn. He said he really enjoyed hanging out with them, but he wasn't sure if he did a good job watering because he couldn't see well enough to know where the water was going. But he enjoyed trying to help!
Today in the mail, we got a copy of the entire accident report. Both Randy and I read through it and we both had very different reactions. He, of course, doesn't remember that night or the days to follow so it was a bit less emotional for him.
The accident happened earlier than I had thought. I called him about 6:15 and had thought the accident had just happened, but it was reported around 5:30. The officer identified Randy through his Boeing badge. When she arrived, they were in the process of cutting Randy out of the car. Also, the guy driving the truck that hit Randy had to crawl out the driver's side window because of damage to the truck from hitting the cement barrier. His first reponse, though, wasn't to go see how Randy was. According to witness statements, he instead went up to someone who had witnessed the accident and said "Did you see that? The guy cut me off."
Traffic was backed up for over 3 hours according to the report.
I think that is all that we have learned from the report.
Then this afternoon, our neighbors found that their lawn had been delivered a day earlier than planned, so Randy went over there and helped out by doing some of the watering and keeping them company while they were working. When I came home he was over there sitting in a chair in the middle of the lawn. He said he really enjoyed hanging out with them, but he wasn't sure if he did a good job watering because he couldn't see well enough to know where the water was going. But he enjoyed trying to help!
Today in the mail, we got a copy of the entire accident report. Both Randy and I read through it and we both had very different reactions. He, of course, doesn't remember that night or the days to follow so it was a bit less emotional for him.
The accident happened earlier than I had thought. I called him about 6:15 and had thought the accident had just happened, but it was reported around 5:30. The officer identified Randy through his Boeing badge. When she arrived, they were in the process of cutting Randy out of the car. Also, the guy driving the truck that hit Randy had to crawl out the driver's side window because of damage to the truck from hitting the cement barrier. His first reponse, though, wasn't to go see how Randy was. According to witness statements, he instead went up to someone who had witnessed the accident and said "Did you see that? The guy cut me off."
Traffic was backed up for over 3 hours according to the report.
I think that is all that we have learned from the report.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Outpatient therapy
Throughout the day, Randy worked on reading his book for the class that he is taking. One of the first assignments for the class was to post an introduction to the discussion board so you can kind of get to know the other people taking the class. This was Randy's introduction:
"Hello everyone, This is my first class back to Green River since I graduated over a year ago at GRCC with my Associates degree. I have been working through an online program in Technical Management at Embry Riddle. I have also worked as a project manager in process engineering for the last 6 years. In June, a 2 ton truck totaled my car and I landed in a coma for 14 days and the hospital for two months because of a TBI. It’s been a long struggle to recover to a more “normal” life. This is my first try back to school since returning home. In addition to learning, I chose the course to prove to myself that I still remember aspects of being a project manager after the brain injury from th wreck."
Aside from the class stuff, Randy also went to his evaluations for occupational and physical therapy at Valley Medical. I didn't get to go, but his mom took great notes!
For occupational therapy, she tested how high he can lift each arm and the degree to which he could turn each arm over. She also tested strength on each side to get a baseline. She also had him put pegs into a peg board and then put them back into a dish with each hand. She asked him questions to get a feel for how he was doing with various tasks such as showing, grooming, cleaning, getting dressed (he has been having some issues with putting things on backwards lately) and she talked about working on some cooking (Randy did most of the cooking before the accident). She also said they have a driving simulator so he can start working on driving without having to be behind the wheel of an actual car.
For physical therapy, she had him hold his hands on his thighs while in a sitting position and tur both of his hands over at the same time. She also had him tap both feet at the same time. She advised that we check with the neurologist about the shakiness that Randy feels in his head and his body. It is something that comes and goes. He will be sitting there and all of a sudden his head just starts shaking.
We will be going to the neurologist on Monday.
"Hello everyone, This is my first class back to Green River since I graduated over a year ago at GRCC with my Associates degree. I have been working through an online program in Technical Management at Embry Riddle. I have also worked as a project manager in process engineering for the last 6 years. In June, a 2 ton truck totaled my car and I landed in a coma for 14 days and the hospital for two months because of a TBI. It’s been a long struggle to recover to a more “normal” life. This is my first try back to school since returning home. In addition to learning, I chose the course to prove to myself that I still remember aspects of being a project manager after the brain injury from th wreck."
Aside from the class stuff, Randy also went to his evaluations for occupational and physical therapy at Valley Medical. I didn't get to go, but his mom took great notes!
For occupational therapy, she tested how high he can lift each arm and the degree to which he could turn each arm over. She also tested strength on each side to get a baseline. She also had him put pegs into a peg board and then put them back into a dish with each hand. She asked him questions to get a feel for how he was doing with various tasks such as showing, grooming, cleaning, getting dressed (he has been having some issues with putting things on backwards lately) and she talked about working on some cooking (Randy did most of the cooking before the accident). She also said they have a driving simulator so he can start working on driving without having to be behind the wheel of an actual car.
For physical therapy, she had him hold his hands on his thighs while in a sitting position and tur both of his hands over at the same time. She also had him tap both feet at the same time. She advised that we check with the neurologist about the shakiness that Randy feels in his head and his body. It is something that comes and goes. He will be sitting there and all of a sudden his head just starts shaking.
We will be going to the neurologist on Monday.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Randy's Day
Short post because I am very tired:
Randy's mom has started to keep a log of what they do during the day, which helps me post what he has done. Let me tell you... it is very hard to ask someone who has very little memory what they have done during the day! This will definitely help me better track what he has been doing during his day!
Today, he started off wanting to watch a show about a group of guys who build custom motorcycles. Randy has always had a love of motorcycles. With what we had to watch going in and out of Harborview, though, we have been telling him that it is time to sell his motorcycle. He has said a couple of times "Well, maybe after just one more ride". We have seen both those who were at fault and those who were riding the motorcycle safely, but got hit by a careless driver. No more motorcycles!
Throughout the day, Randy and his mom also worked on his exercises ~ both for his left arm and hand as well as his eye exercises. He also went on two walks today ~ one with his mom and then one with me after dinner.
When I got home, Randy was working on reading his textbook for the class that he signed up for.
Last night, before he went to sleep, I had him make a task list for things he wanted to accomplish today. Tonight, I started to ask him about tomorrow and he interrupted me to tell me that he had transferred over tasks he didn't complete today to tomorrow's list. So he is using it. This is good.
Tonight, he got out of the house and hung out with his friend Brandon. That was definitely good for him.
Randy's mom has started to keep a log of what they do during the day, which helps me post what he has done. Let me tell you... it is very hard to ask someone who has very little memory what they have done during the day! This will definitely help me better track what he has been doing during his day!
Today, he started off wanting to watch a show about a group of guys who build custom motorcycles. Randy has always had a love of motorcycles. With what we had to watch going in and out of Harborview, though, we have been telling him that it is time to sell his motorcycle. He has said a couple of times "Well, maybe after just one more ride". We have seen both those who were at fault and those who were riding the motorcycle safely, but got hit by a careless driver. No more motorcycles!
Throughout the day, Randy and his mom also worked on his exercises ~ both for his left arm and hand as well as his eye exercises. He also went on two walks today ~ one with his mom and then one with me after dinner.
When I got home, Randy was working on reading his textbook for the class that he signed up for.
Last night, before he went to sleep, I had him make a task list for things he wanted to accomplish today. Tonight, I started to ask him about tomorrow and he interrupted me to tell me that he had transferred over tasks he didn't complete today to tomorrow's list. So he is using it. This is good.
Tonight, he got out of the house and hung out with his friend Brandon. That was definitely good for him.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Check out Randy!
He mowed the lawn today. Well.... part of it. His dad did part of it and then had him finish it. He did pretty well. His dad said he probably couldn't dump the bag, but he did alright pushing it.
Randy had a pretty busy dad. Aside from the lawn mowing, he also had speech therapy today and an eye doctor appointment.
His speech therapist worked with him on a few different things. Randy showed her some of the crossword and logic problem books that he has. She said it was important for him to do those types of activities to help him lengthend his attention span and build his concentration ~ to improve his overall memory. She had him do things such as repeating number patterns and the making it a little harder by remembering a list of numbers and then putting them in numerical order and repeating them back. He was able to do that with 6 numbers. His mom said the therapist offerred him a piece of paper, but he did it all in his head. She also had him counting backwards by 2's, 3's, 5's and 7's. Then she had him listen to a list of 4 numbers and he had to add another number to each and tell the list of two numbers (so for 3, 6, 7, 9 he would be asked to add 2 to each and say the new list ~ 5, 8, 9, 11). I think it was a good visit today. He emailed me and said "I think she thinks I am smart."
Randy then went back to his eye doctor to follow up regarding the prism glasses. Even though they still aren't quite working for him, the doctor wanted him to give them a bit longer before trying to adjust them. He gave Randy some exercises to do with some funky looking glasses to help work things a bit. I think he goes back in a couple of weeks.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Our Sunday
Today went pretty well. Randy, Cass and I made it to church. Randy did very well with walking in. He would much rather walk than use the wheelchair. He then got more exercise by going on a long walk with his dad. Then later in the evening, he asked to go another walk with me. He definitely got his walking in today!
Everyone in our household went off on separate ways today, so Randy and I took some time and went to Coldstone to get his ice cream fix since we can't keep ice cream around here currently for him with out freezer being out.
That is really it for updates today. It was pretty much just a quite day, which was very nice!
Everyone in our household went off on separate ways today, so Randy and I took some time and went to Coldstone to get his ice cream fix since we can't keep ice cream around here currently for him with out freezer being out.
That is really it for updates today. It was pretty much just a quite day, which was very nice!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Updates from the lawyer and other stuff
Before I go into our day, I have to take the time to brag about our kid. We just got the WASL test results back from the end of last year and Cass passed all three sections. She exceeded the standards in both Reading and Math, and she met the state standards in Writing. Her scores were above the average for her school, the district and the state in all three areas. We have a smart kid!
Okay, so for our day:
The attorney came by today to meet Randy. He is a very nice man. He said that he sent letters to the driver of the Taurus (the one that started the chain reaction), to the driver of the truck that hit Randy, and to the company that owns the truck that hit Randy. The Taurus guy got the letter (it was certified), but has not responded to anything sent by our attorney, our car insurance, or to the officer who was at the scene. The company who owns the truck that hit Randy did respond. Their insurance sent us a letter saying that per their investigation the sole liability should be with the Taurus. So our next step is to file a suit. We were warned that it is a very long process. Once we file, the date they set for trail will be at the minimum 18 months away. The only legality we have to stand on is the fact that the truck shouldn't have been in the HOV lane due to its weight. The HOV lane has a limit of 10,000 pounds. The truck was 11,000 pounds. If Randy has even a 1% fault in this, we would have no chance of collecting anything from the company due to contributory negligence. However, since Randy has absolutely no fault, we only need to show that the truck was at least 1% at fault and then they would be responsible to pay for everything.
So that is where we are at with the legal side of all of this. We will start the process of the suit and in a couple of years, we will see how it all comes out.
As for the rest of the day, we have had "one of those days"! The freezer side of our fridge has decided not to work anymore. Of course, it decides to do this just a few months after the warranty expires! Sears came out and checked on it today and decided that a part needed to be ordered. It should be fixed by next Friday. Our neighbors are letting us store things in their freezer for the time being. Then my car has decided to have issues ~ something is going on with the coolant. Shortly after the accident, I got a message saying that I needed to fill the coolant level. Someone filled it for me. Then a month later, I got the message again and when someone checked it for me, it was definitely low again. He filled it up and now I am getting the message again. I scheduled it to be looked at. Normally, Randy takes care of all of the car stuff since my knowledge with cars is very limited. When scheduling the appointment, the guy was asking me a bunch of questions and I sounded like an idiot trying to answer them! But I did get it scheduled.
Oh, one thing that I wanted to mention today is that, through the attorney, we found out a little bit more of what happened around the time of the accident. After Randy was hit, there was a lady travelling north on I-405. She saw the accident and pulled over and jumped over to the barrier to get to Randy. She was a trauma nurse. She was the first one to reach Randy. She sat him up and helped him breath. She saved his life. All I know is her name ~ Christine Thompson ~ and that she is going to or has moved to Colorado to be around family. I hope one day to meet her and thank her.
I think that is it for the updates.
Okay, so for our day:
The attorney came by today to meet Randy. He is a very nice man. He said that he sent letters to the driver of the Taurus (the one that started the chain reaction), to the driver of the truck that hit Randy, and to the company that owns the truck that hit Randy. The Taurus guy got the letter (it was certified), but has not responded to anything sent by our attorney, our car insurance, or to the officer who was at the scene. The company who owns the truck that hit Randy did respond. Their insurance sent us a letter saying that per their investigation the sole liability should be with the Taurus. So our next step is to file a suit. We were warned that it is a very long process. Once we file, the date they set for trail will be at the minimum 18 months away. The only legality we have to stand on is the fact that the truck shouldn't have been in the HOV lane due to its weight. The HOV lane has a limit of 10,000 pounds. The truck was 11,000 pounds. If Randy has even a 1% fault in this, we would have no chance of collecting anything from the company due to contributory negligence. However, since Randy has absolutely no fault, we only need to show that the truck was at least 1% at fault and then they would be responsible to pay for everything.
So that is where we are at with the legal side of all of this. We will start the process of the suit and in a couple of years, we will see how it all comes out.
As for the rest of the day, we have had "one of those days"! The freezer side of our fridge has decided not to work anymore. Of course, it decides to do this just a few months after the warranty expires! Sears came out and checked on it today and decided that a part needed to be ordered. It should be fixed by next Friday. Our neighbors are letting us store things in their freezer for the time being. Then my car has decided to have issues ~ something is going on with the coolant. Shortly after the accident, I got a message saying that I needed to fill the coolant level. Someone filled it for me. Then a month later, I got the message again and when someone checked it for me, it was definitely low again. He filled it up and now I am getting the message again. I scheduled it to be looked at. Normally, Randy takes care of all of the car stuff since my knowledge with cars is very limited. When scheduling the appointment, the guy was asking me a bunch of questions and I sounded like an idiot trying to answer them! But I did get it scheduled.
Oh, one thing that I wanted to mention today is that, through the attorney, we found out a little bit more of what happened around the time of the accident. After Randy was hit, there was a lady travelling north on I-405. She saw the accident and pulled over and jumped over to the barrier to get to Randy. She was a trauma nurse. She was the first one to reach Randy. She sat him up and helped him breath. She saved his life. All I know is her name ~ Christine Thompson ~ and that she is going to or has moved to Colorado to be around family. I hope one day to meet her and thank her.
I think that is it for the updates.
Friday, September 22, 2006
It's Friday!
This week seemed really long to me. I am glad Friday is finally here!
Randy had occupational therapy today. The therapist worked on stretching his left side. The therapist wanted him to schedule a time each day to journalize what has happened throughout the day. When I asked him tonight if he was going to do that he responded that he wasn't quite ready to yet. When he was in Good Sam, he was working really hard to trying to get better because he wanted to be home. Then, when we first got home, he seemed driven so that he could return to work. Now, he seems to be falling into "I will get around to it later" mode. I did my "you are only get to get better if you do the work" speech and the "it is all up to you how quickly and how fully you recover" speech, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears tonight. I am hoping that getting him into outpatient therapy will revitalize his drive to get better.
I set up his evaluations for physical and occupational therapy with Valley Medical for next Wednesday. It will be along day for him. Each evaluation is an hour long and they are back to back.
Randy had occupational therapy today. The therapist worked on stretching his left side. The therapist wanted him to schedule a time each day to journalize what has happened throughout the day. When I asked him tonight if he was going to do that he responded that he wasn't quite ready to yet. When he was in Good Sam, he was working really hard to trying to get better because he wanted to be home. Then, when we first got home, he seemed driven so that he could return to work. Now, he seems to be falling into "I will get around to it later" mode. I did my "you are only get to get better if you do the work" speech and the "it is all up to you how quickly and how fully you recover" speech, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears tonight. I am hoping that getting him into outpatient therapy will revitalize his drive to get better.
I set up his evaluations for physical and occupational therapy with Valley Medical for next Wednesday. It will be along day for him. Each evaluation is an hour long and they are back to back.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Today
There isn't much to report today, but Randy had a great day.
He was very worn out from all of the running around yesterday so he slept in until after 11. Then this afternoon, he had a friend from high school come and visit.We haven't seen him in a few years. Randy really enjoyed the visit.
Then this evening, his friend Brandon came and picked him up and took him out to dinner and hung out with him for awhile. It was his first time to be out and not around family. It was good for him and he had a great time.
All in all, a really good day.
He was very worn out from all of the running around yesterday so he slept in until after 11. Then this afternoon, he had a friend from high school come and visit.We haven't seen him in a few years. Randy really enjoyed the visit.
Then this evening, his friend Brandon came and picked him up and took him out to dinner and hung out with him for awhile. It was his first time to be out and not around family. It was good for him and he had a great time.
All in all, a really good day.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Dr Visit Today
The visit today ended up producing more questions than answers.
We started off with an MRI and then headed to the Neurosurgery clinic to find out the results. The doctor at the clinic was a resident that had worked with Randy while he was in the hospital ~ he was on his team of doctors. He said there appeared to be a small stroke that showed on the MRI. At first, he was talking as though that would be the reason Randy was weak on the left side. We weren't told of any stroke while he in Harborview and when he went back to check the MRI results from June, he said there were no documentations of anything then. I don't know when it could have happened. It is possible that the episode on September the 5th was a stroke, but the doctor in the ER said he didn't think it was based on the blood work and the Cat Scan done that night. The Resident today advised us to keep the appointment we have with the Neurology clinic with Harborview to get more answers. He was there on a purely surgical basis and this was outside his realm of expertise.
We also asked about the diagnosis from the Neurologist down here regarding the seizure. The answer we got back was that, again, it wasn't in his field of expertise. He did say that he didn't see any harm in waiting on taking the medication until we had our appointment with the other clinic, which is on October 2nd, since we don't know if it really was a seizure or not and he hasn't had any episodes since that time.
He did say that, from a Neruo Surgical standpoint, he was very happy with the recovery Randy has made. He thinks that where we are at right now is now where we are going to end up, meaning that he believes Randy will continue to get better. He said that Randy does not need to be seen by the surgery team anymore because everything on that end has healed up fine. There is some other clinic, though, that he recommended ~ it was the Traumatic Brain Injury one that can help deal with other "non neurological" issues such as change in personality and such, which we haven't really seen, but he recommended that we give it a try to see if there is anything they can help us out with.
So, it was a good day in that the Doctor is pleased with the recovery so far, but it was also a frustrating day in that we found out about a stroke and have no answers on that or the seizures.
So that is where we are at right now.
We started off with an MRI and then headed to the Neurosurgery clinic to find out the results. The doctor at the clinic was a resident that had worked with Randy while he was in the hospital ~ he was on his team of doctors. He said there appeared to be a small stroke that showed on the MRI. At first, he was talking as though that would be the reason Randy was weak on the left side. We weren't told of any stroke while he in Harborview and when he went back to check the MRI results from June, he said there were no documentations of anything then. I don't know when it could have happened. It is possible that the episode on September the 5th was a stroke, but the doctor in the ER said he didn't think it was based on the blood work and the Cat Scan done that night. The Resident today advised us to keep the appointment we have with the Neurology clinic with Harborview to get more answers. He was there on a purely surgical basis and this was outside his realm of expertise.
We also asked about the diagnosis from the Neurologist down here regarding the seizure. The answer we got back was that, again, it wasn't in his field of expertise. He did say that he didn't see any harm in waiting on taking the medication until we had our appointment with the other clinic, which is on October 2nd, since we don't know if it really was a seizure or not and he hasn't had any episodes since that time.
He did say that, from a Neruo Surgical standpoint, he was very happy with the recovery Randy has made. He thinks that where we are at right now is now where we are going to end up, meaning that he believes Randy will continue to get better. He said that Randy does not need to be seen by the surgery team anymore because everything on that end has healed up fine. There is some other clinic, though, that he recommended ~ it was the Traumatic Brain Injury one that can help deal with other "non neurological" issues such as change in personality and such, which we haven't really seen, but he recommended that we give it a try to see if there is anything they can help us out with.
So, it was a good day in that the Doctor is pleased with the recovery so far, but it was also a frustrating day in that we found out about a stroke and have no answers on that or the seizures.
So that is where we are at right now.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Randy's Tuesday
Randy worked his mind with games today. He played some Sudoku and some crosswords. He also worked on peeling and slicing apples to dehydrate them.
So often, Randy will seem to be so close to being back to "normal" but then days like today bring it back that his brain still has a lot of healing to do. Today, Randy took a couple of calls from different doctors' offices. He took notes when talking to them and then tried to tell me what they had called for. He was able to tell me some of what they needed, but then he confused the two calls. I tried to ask him questions to clue his memory, but that didn't work. I finally gave up and called the doctors' offices. One called just to remind of the appointment and the other was calling to discuss the orders needed for his outpatient therapy.
Tomorrow, we got back to Harborview for an MRI and then a follow up visit with the Neurosurgery clinic.
So often, Randy will seem to be so close to being back to "normal" but then days like today bring it back that his brain still has a lot of healing to do. Today, Randy took a couple of calls from different doctors' offices. He took notes when talking to them and then tried to tell me what they had called for. He was able to tell me some of what they needed, but then he confused the two calls. I tried to ask him questions to clue his memory, but that didn't work. I finally gave up and called the doctors' offices. One called just to remind of the appointment and the other was calling to discuss the orders needed for his outpatient therapy.
Tomorrow, we got back to Harborview for an MRI and then a follow up visit with the Neurosurgery clinic.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Randy's Monday
Randy's speech therapist is finally back from vacation so she came to meet Randy today and do her evaluation. She reviewed the planner that he has been keeping and asked him his goals. It was pretty much just a time for her to see where he was at and where he was wanting to go. She commended him for using the Franklin Covey planner system, but her recommendation was a PDA. He likes his planner, though.
I talked to his physical therapist for a bit today. She said it is time for her to discharge him and he needs to start outpatient therapy. I left a message for his Primary Care doctor to get the orders for that so we can get started. The therapist said that technically, she should have discharged him awhile ago since we have been taking him out and he does well with it.
I talked to his physical therapist for a bit today. She said it is time for her to discharge him and he needs to start outpatient therapy. I left a message for his Primary Care doctor to get the orders for that so we can get started. The therapist said that technically, she should have discharged him awhile ago since we have been taking him out and he does well with it.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Good Sunday
We have pictures from the party. here is one of Randy and I. For more pictures from the event, you can check out the photo album on our msn space: http://rarush.spaces.live.com/.
I did not get anything done that I wanted to today. Our room is still a big mess and very little cleaning got done throughout the rest of the house, but today was a really good day. We managed to get up in time to go to church today (not an easy thing to do currently!). After church, Randy wanted to try going to a restaurant. So, for the first time since the accident, the three of us (Cass, Randy and myself) all went out to lunch. We went to one of Randy's favorite places ~ the Black Diamond Bakery. We then went down the street to the little book store and spent quite a while going through all of the books (it is a great place to get well taken care of used books for a good price). The whole excursion wore Randy out, but he had a great time! We started to do some cleaning ~ Randy worked on sweeping the floors so he could work his left hand a bit, but we didn't get too far with it. Jon and Kelli came over for awhile and by the time they left, we had lost focus on cleaning.
Randy decided to try to do the Continuing Education online class through Greenriver Community College. He signed up for the Project Management Applications class, which will be centered around the applications that he would use at work. I think it is a great way to occupy his time and his mind and to see where his endurance is currently at. Tonight, he was working on a small project that entailed data entry into an excel spreadsheet. At one point, he asked me to take over because he felt like he was too slow at it, but with some encouragement, he finished out the task and did pretty good with it. He had just a few mistypes. We will see how he does with the class. It starts this Wednesday.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Organization
Today, we put Randy's desire to go through everything to good use. He and I went through filing cabinets and got rid of a bunch of old stuff (we had mail from 2004 in there!). We came across some old notebooks that he took notes from meetings in and he had a great time going through those. They, of course, looked like a foreign language to me, but he understood what things meant and enjoyed seeing them.
Today we talked more about him doing a Continuing Education class from Greenriver. The one we narrowed it down to was a Project Managment Applications class, so pretty much stuff he would know already. He and I were thinking it might be something to occupy his time and his mind. I am a little worried about setting him up to fail, though. If he struggles too much with it, or fails at the class, I am scared that he would get let it get him down. I can sit here and have a "normal" conversation with him and I start to feel that he is so close to being back to where he was prior to the traumatic brain injury, but then there are instances where he will say or do something that brings back the reality that he isn't the same Randy right now and I don't really know what his capabilites are right now.
We also dealt with some mood swings today. I have heard of them and been warned of them, but Randy has been pretty much even tempered as of yet. Today, though, as we were driving to the store, I knew something was wrong. When asked, he said he was in a bad mood, but he said he couldn't explain why. At first, I did the normal "girly" thing of wondering what I could have done to have caused this, but I finally came to the realization that I had done absoultely nothing and this was most likely the injury (and I had a short realization of what men must feel like as we women change moods on seemingly very short notice!)He came out of it pretty quickly, though, and overall we had a great day.
Today we talked more about him doing a Continuing Education class from Greenriver. The one we narrowed it down to was a Project Managment Applications class, so pretty much stuff he would know already. He and I were thinking it might be something to occupy his time and his mind. I am a little worried about setting him up to fail, though. If he struggles too much with it, or fails at the class, I am scared that he would get let it get him down. I can sit here and have a "normal" conversation with him and I start to feel that he is so close to being back to where he was prior to the traumatic brain injury, but then there are instances where he will say or do something that brings back the reality that he isn't the same Randy right now and I don't really know what his capabilites are right now.
We also dealt with some mood swings today. I have heard of them and been warned of them, but Randy has been pretty much even tempered as of yet. Today, though, as we were driving to the store, I knew something was wrong. When asked, he said he was in a bad mood, but he said he couldn't explain why. At first, I did the normal "girly" thing of wondering what I could have done to have caused this, but I finally came to the realization that I had done absoultely nothing and this was most likely the injury (and I had a short realization of what men must feel like as we women change moods on seemingly very short notice!)He came out of it pretty quickly, though, and overall we had a great day.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Dr Visit Today
We saw the Neurologist today. He listened to me describe Randy's accident and give short detail of what has transpired since, listened to me describe what happened Sept 5th, watched Randy walk a bit, then tested his reflexes. Based on that alone, he decided that Randy had a seizure and should be on seizure medication. He even said that he thinks Randy will need the medication the rest of his life. Because Randy has been having a lot of pain in the back of his head, he gave us a drug called Lyrica. He plans to schedule an EEG, but still prescribed the medication without it.
I definitely don't want to experience another episode, but am leary of starting this medication without doing some testing for seizure activity through the EEG. I also wouldn't mind getting a second opinion. The episode seemed like a seizure to me, but I have a hard time medicating without more definite testing.
I definitely don't want to experience another episode, but am leary of starting this medication without doing some testing for seizure activity through the EEG. I also wouldn't mind getting a second opinion. The episode seemed like a seizure to me, but I have a hard time medicating without more definite testing.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Not Much to Report
Randy's physical therapist cancelled today so no therapy. He walked around our block with his mom. His speech therapist finally called (she has been on vacation the last few weeks). I think she will start next week with working with him.
Tomorrow we have our appointment with the Neurologists. He hasn't had any episodes since September 5th, but I still think it would be good to have him checked out and it will be good to start establishing relationship with a Neurologist that is close by.
Tomorrow we have our appointment with the Neurologists. He hasn't had any episodes since September 5th, but I still think it would be good to have him checked out and it will be good to start establishing relationship with a Neurologist that is close by.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Another Day
Randy had occupational therapy today. She worked on stretching out his left arm. She also had him shuffling cards and using his left hand to flip cards over. I had read Doug's comment on having the therapist adjust the setting on the exercise bike after his session, so Randy wrote a note on his white board to ask his physical therapist when she comes next.
Today, Randy also ran errands with his sister. I think he likes getting out of the house as much as he can! They went down to Home Depot to check out the "oops" paint to choose a color for the bathroom that our neighbor has redone for us. For anyone that doesn't know what "oops" paint is, you can get a gallon of paint for $5. It is paint that could have been mixed wrong or that no one came to pick up so they sell them cheap.
Tonight, his mom worked on finishing up the primer and our neighbor came over and put the floor down in the new pantry and helped with finishing of the primer as well. It is coming along very nicely!
Randy has been talking lately about volunteering somewhere, perhaps to do administrative type tasks, to give him something to do and to get him to start working towards getting back to work, which he is very anxious to do.
Randy's sleeping has gotten a bit better than it was last week, but he still quite often will wake up and toss and turn for awhile. I think I am beginning to adjust to functioning on less sleep.
Today, Randy also ran errands with his sister. I think he likes getting out of the house as much as he can! They went down to Home Depot to check out the "oops" paint to choose a color for the bathroom that our neighbor has redone for us. For anyone that doesn't know what "oops" paint is, you can get a gallon of paint for $5. It is paint that could have been mixed wrong or that no one came to pick up so they sell them cheap.
Tonight, his mom worked on finishing up the primer and our neighbor came over and put the floor down in the new pantry and helped with finishing of the primer as well. It is coming along very nicely!
Randy has been talking lately about volunteering somewhere, perhaps to do administrative type tasks, to give him something to do and to get him to start working towards getting back to work, which he is very anxious to do.
Randy's sleeping has gotten a bit better than it was last week, but he still quite often will wake up and toss and turn for awhile. I think I am beginning to adjust to functioning on less sleep.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Randy's Tuesday
Last week this time we were taking Randy to the emergency room, right in the middle of the season permier of one of the few shows I really like, "House". I began warning Randy yesterday that I was absolutely not going to miss the show this week. I am happy to report that there were no episodes tonight!
Randy had a good day today. He had physical therapy. She got on to him for not doing his daily exercises. She said his left arm is starting to get more stiff. We bought him a white board for him to write down things he does or needs to do throughout the day to help remind him and us. He also walked along the street. She walked with you today and told him that he needs to go for walks with us a couple of times throughout the day.
Randy worked on his exercise bike some today but the therapist warned not to let him wear himself out on it.
Randy also went out and went shopping with his sister. I think he gets very tired of being in the house every day and looks for any chance to get out!
Randy had a good day today. He had physical therapy. She got on to him for not doing his daily exercises. She said his left arm is starting to get more stiff. We bought him a white board for him to write down things he does or needs to do throughout the day to help remind him and us. He also walked along the street. She walked with you today and told him that he needs to go for walks with us a couple of times throughout the day.
Randy worked on his exercise bike some today but the therapist warned not to let him wear himself out on it.
Randy also went out and went shopping with his sister. I think he gets very tired of being in the house every day and looks for any chance to get out!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Dr Visit Today
Randy got an exercise bike today. It works nicely. It has a back on the seat and it isn't too far off the ground. I am a little worried that he is going to push himself on it too much, though.
We met the doctor who will be Randy's Primary Care Physician today. It is kind of funny, Randy had actually met her before. She is with Multicare and anytime Randy has needed to go to the doctor, he goes into the Urgent Care Clinic at Multicare. A year or so ago, she was working in the urgent care center when he had to go in several days in a row. We had offered to take some feral cats over the mountains to a lady who was going to give them a home (they were some found to be abused by some kids). One of the cats scratched Randy's knuckle. He wouldn't go to the doctor right after it happened. He waited until we got back. By then, he was in so much pain. He had to go into the urgent care every morning and every night for a few days for shots of antibiotics. She still remembers him from that!
Today was really just a meet and greet. We gave her the history of what happened and all that he has been through and symptoms he still currently has. We told her about last Tuesday. We have been trying to get Randy in to see a Neurologist since the incident, but have had a hard time. I didn't realize the Neurosurgery clinic and Neurology clinic were two separate things at Harborview. Randy has gone to the Neurosurgery clinic as a follow up visit, but he wasn't a patient of the Neurology clinic so we had to get a referral from Neurosurgery to get him seen. So we got the referral and the first available appointment is October 2nd. I told the doctor today about it and she gave us a referral to another Neurologist ~ one that is closer and more available. We have an appointment for Friday morning. She also advised us to get into a chronic pain specialist because of the constant headaches he has. I tried to schedule with them, but had to leave a message.
Things We Have Learned
1. Share your passwords with someone you trust (or write down in accessible, safe spot): Randy and I have always shared our passwords with each other, excluding work passwords. He has said many times that he is very thankful we did because otherwise he would not have been able to get back into his accounts. It was also very helpful to be able to log into his accounts to notify various people of what had happened.
2. Make sure your partner knows all bill information: Thankfully, I am the one in the family that does all of the financial stuff. This really made us realize that, if anything happens to me, Randy would have no idea what bills to pay when or how to log on to any of the accounts. I had started making a spreadsheet before the accident with websites and login instructions, but I hadn't ever gotten around to finishing.
3. Make sure you partner has a name and number of someone at your workplace to contact: Since Randy had moved up to Everett, I knew from trying to call him the week before that on the voicemail of his new number, the person who had it before had left a voicemail that stated their new number. Otherwise, I would not have had anyway of contacting anyone at Boeing. I would have had to wait for someone to try to call him.
4. Establish Power of Attorney: No matter what your age, everyone should have a designated Power of Attorney. I ran into a few roadblocks because of not having this. Randy had 2 accounts that I wasn't on because we had never gotten around to putting me on them. Even though Washington is mutual property state, companies will not give out information or discuss accounts with someone that is not listed on the account. This even included his disability claim ~ I could file the claim, but I couldn't discuss the status of it after it was filed until I got Power of Attorney.
5. Make sure your partner knows what benefits you have: I am on Randy's insurance, so I had the contact information for them to talk about medical insurance, but a lot of companies have other benefits out there, such as the TotalAccess for Boeing. Without the assistance of other Boeing employees, I wouldn't have known all that was out there.
2. Make sure your partner knows all bill information: Thankfully, I am the one in the family that does all of the financial stuff. This really made us realize that, if anything happens to me, Randy would have no idea what bills to pay when or how to log on to any of the accounts. I had started making a spreadsheet before the accident with websites and login instructions, but I hadn't ever gotten around to finishing.
3. Make sure you partner has a name and number of someone at your workplace to contact: Since Randy had moved up to Everett, I knew from trying to call him the week before that on the voicemail of his new number, the person who had it before had left a voicemail that stated their new number. Otherwise, I would not have had anyway of contacting anyone at Boeing. I would have had to wait for someone to try to call him.
4. Establish Power of Attorney: No matter what your age, everyone should have a designated Power of Attorney. I ran into a few roadblocks because of not having this. Randy had 2 accounts that I wasn't on because we had never gotten around to putting me on them. Even though Washington is mutual property state, companies will not give out information or discuss accounts with someone that is not listed on the account. This even included his disability claim ~ I could file the claim, but I couldn't discuss the status of it after it was filed until I got Power of Attorney.
5. Make sure your partner knows what benefits you have: I am on Randy's insurance, so I had the contact information for them to talk about medical insurance, but a lot of companies have other benefits out there, such as the TotalAccess for Boeing. Without the assistance of other Boeing employees, I wouldn't have known all that was out there.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Museum of Flight
Randy had a good day today. He and his dad went to the Museum of Flight (Randy has a membership there). It wore Randy out a bit, but he had a great time being out and about. I thought it was great because it gave me a chance to catch up on sleep (Randy had another night of not sleeping much again last night).
Tomorrow, we go to another doctor. Randy has never had a Primary Care Physician before. He has always just gone into the Multicare urgent care clinic. Tomorrow we will be meeting who we hope to be his new Primary Care Physician. It is really just an appointment to meet her and see if we like her and see if she wants to work with us.
Tomorrow, we go to another doctor. Randy has never had a Primary Care Physician before. He has always just gone into the Multicare urgent care clinic. Tomorrow we will be meeting who we hope to be his new Primary Care Physician. It is really just an appointment to meet her and see if we like her and see if she wants to work with us.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
The Party
The Party went off very nice tonight in my opinion. Randy stayed for almost the entire thing. I was surprised. He really enjoyed being around people and getting to talk to people. I don't know the end result of anything because we left right as bidding was ending. But the food was fabulous!
Randy actually slept last night, which I think is great because it means that I actually got sleep. Today, he ran errands with me. His computer started having issues a couple of days ago so we took it to the Apple store to have it checked out. Randy did all of the talking while we were there and he did a great job! We ended up not getting it fixed because it was a bigger issue than we thought, but I was very impressed with how he was able to converse with the tech guy.
Randy and I have been talking about the things we have learned from this and things we wished we would have had in place before this happened ~ legal things mainly. We had wanted to post on here those things we have learned from this experience. Tonight, though, I am a little too tired to post anymore.
Randy actually slept last night, which I think is great because it means that I actually got sleep. Today, he ran errands with me. His computer started having issues a couple of days ago so we took it to the Apple store to have it checked out. Randy did all of the talking while we were there and he did a great job! We ended up not getting it fixed because it was a bigger issue than we thought, but I was very impressed with how he was able to converse with the tech guy.
Randy and I have been talking about the things we have learned from this and things we wished we would have had in place before this happened ~ legal things mainly. We had wanted to post on here those things we have learned from this experience. Tonight, though, I am a little too tired to post anymore.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Friday
This might be a short post ~ I am very tired! Ever since the episode Tuesday night, Randy hasn't been sleeping much, which means I haven't gotten much sleep.
Randy had both physical and occupational therapy today. The therapists worked on stretching out his left arm/hand. He, of course, practiced his walking. They gave him some putty type stuff to work with his left hand with. The therapist told Randy to absolutely not walk without his cane (which he tries to do quite often, especially whenever he wants to carry something).
I think Randy might be having too much ice cream or he is thinking about it too often. He and I were talking about something and he commented "They want to have their ice cream and be able to eat it too." I said "Ice Cream? What about the cake". He kind of laughed as he realizedwhat he has had, then responded "Nah, they skipped the cake and went straight for the ice cream!"
Randy had both physical and occupational therapy today. The therapists worked on stretching out his left arm/hand. He, of course, practiced his walking. They gave him some putty type stuff to work with his left hand with. The therapist told Randy to absolutely not walk without his cane (which he tries to do quite often, especially whenever he wants to carry something).
I think Randy might be having too much ice cream or he is thinking about it too often. He and I were talking about something and he commented "They want to have their ice cream and be able to eat it too." I said "Ice Cream? What about the cake". He kind of laughed as he realizedwhat he has had, then responded "Nah, they skipped the cake and went straight for the ice cream!"
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Exercise Bike
Before I go into Randy's day today, Randy's Physical Therapist recommended that we get an exercise bike for him. So if anyone knows of someone that has one that they never use and want to get rid of it for a low price, please let us know! It would be preferred to find one that has a back on the seat to make it safer for him.
Randy spent a lot of time today continuing to research TBI on the internet. I had found a site where people can post their stories or the stories of their loved ones. Randy has been reading through those. The site also has a chatroom for TBI survivors and caregivers. He also went through some of our boxes in our spare bedroom and found all of his cameras. He was really into photography a couple of years ago. He took a couple of classes at Greenriver. For those who have visited our home, there is a black and white picture of Cass hanging on our wall that Randy took and developed ~ it is an amazing picture. He has a few old cameras he had come across in antique stores.
Randy also went through all of our movies to see what we had. He says he went through everything because it all feels new to him.
I have a funny story from yesterday that I forgot to tell. Randy's sister and Cass were working on drying some cherries. It was mentioned that it would nice to have a cherry pitter and Randy commented that one could probably be picked up at McLendon's Hardware store during the off season for very cheap. What's funny is that, a few months ago Randy picked one up very cheaply at McLendon's Hardware. It was sitting in our garage. Of course, by the time I got home from work and got to hear Randy's recommendation, they had already done a bunch of cherries without a pitter.
Today, something triggered his memory of a train ride that he, Cass and I took a few months ago. He had to email me to ask me where it was ~ down in Elbe, WA. I think it was the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad. The trip is suppose to take 1 1/2 hours. I thin ours was about twice that long. The train had problems on the way back. We had to wait on it while they went to get another train to get us all back.
We called Harborview Neurosurgery today. The nurse said she was going to talk to the doctor and see if he needed to be seen sooner than the 20th and then call us back, but no one heard from her. I will call back tomorrow. I am just worried that what happened Tuesday night involved seizures and I would like him to be seen and try to get things figured out before we have to experience it again.
Also, yesterday I had posted about APD and wanting to get Randy tested for it. I found out today that there is more than one meaning of APD (thank you Chiara!). The one the eye doctor was referring to is Auditory Processing Disorder. The one that my friend's son experienced was Afferent Pupillary Defect. I think the best thing would be to get Randy into a Neuro Opthamologist as our friend Cyndi recommended to us. There is so much out there and so much to learn about traumatic brain injury and what can result because of it and what test to figure out what, it can be rather overwhelming sometimes. I keep feeling like I am missing something and I worry that I am not getting him the best medical care that he needs now because I don't have the necessary knowledge to know what he needs. Thank you to all of those who have sent their advice based on their experiences ~ even down to the foods that his body needs right now.
Randy spent a lot of time today continuing to research TBI on the internet. I had found a site where people can post their stories or the stories of their loved ones. Randy has been reading through those. The site also has a chatroom for TBI survivors and caregivers. He also went through some of our boxes in our spare bedroom and found all of his cameras. He was really into photography a couple of years ago. He took a couple of classes at Greenriver. For those who have visited our home, there is a black and white picture of Cass hanging on our wall that Randy took and developed ~ it is an amazing picture. He has a few old cameras he had come across in antique stores.
Randy also went through all of our movies to see what we had. He says he went through everything because it all feels new to him.
I have a funny story from yesterday that I forgot to tell. Randy's sister and Cass were working on drying some cherries. It was mentioned that it would nice to have a cherry pitter and Randy commented that one could probably be picked up at McLendon's Hardware store during the off season for very cheap. What's funny is that, a few months ago Randy picked one up very cheaply at McLendon's Hardware. It was sitting in our garage. Of course, by the time I got home from work and got to hear Randy's recommendation, they had already done a bunch of cherries without a pitter.
Today, something triggered his memory of a train ride that he, Cass and I took a few months ago. He had to email me to ask me where it was ~ down in Elbe, WA. I think it was the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad. The trip is suppose to take 1 1/2 hours. I thin ours was about twice that long. The train had problems on the way back. We had to wait on it while they went to get another train to get us all back.
We called Harborview Neurosurgery today. The nurse said she was going to talk to the doctor and see if he needed to be seen sooner than the 20th and then call us back, but no one heard from her. I will call back tomorrow. I am just worried that what happened Tuesday night involved seizures and I would like him to be seen and try to get things figured out before we have to experience it again.
Also, yesterday I had posted about APD and wanting to get Randy tested for it. I found out today that there is more than one meaning of APD (thank you Chiara!). The one the eye doctor was referring to is Auditory Processing Disorder. The one that my friend's son experienced was Afferent Pupillary Defect. I think the best thing would be to get Randy into a Neuro Opthamologist as our friend Cyndi recommended to us. There is so much out there and so much to learn about traumatic brain injury and what can result because of it and what test to figure out what, it can be rather overwhelming sometimes. I keep feeling like I am missing something and I worry that I am not getting him the best medical care that he needs now because I don't have the necessary knowledge to know what he needs. Thank you to all of those who have sent their advice based on their experiences ~ even down to the foods that his body needs right now.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Info on Party this weekend
Someone asked me to re-post the info for the Party this weekend to make it easier to find, so here it is:
Date: September 9th
Time: 5 pm to 10 pm
Where: 21035 100th Ave SE Kent, WA 98031
Phone Number to Reach Jon and Kelli if directions are needed: 253-856-1069 (or you can call/email me and I could provide directions as well)
Cost: $25 per person $40 per couple Dinner and open bar included.
Randy will be there for the first part of the evening (until he gets too tired). He is looking forward to getting to see those who are able to make it!
Date: September 9th
Time: 5 pm to 10 pm
Where: 21035 100th Ave SE Kent, WA 98031
Phone Number to Reach Jon and Kelli if directions are needed: 253-856-1069 (or you can call/email me and I could provide directions as well)
Cost: $25 per person $40 per couple Dinner and open bar included.
Randy will be there for the first part of the evening (until he gets too tired). He is looking forward to getting to see those who are able to make it!
Randy got his glasses
Randy got his glasses today. They look like normal glasses, which surprised me. They don't help him as much as we had hoped, but maybe as his eyes adjust to them they might help out more.
We didn't have any of the excitement that we had last night. Randy has been walking fine today with no falling into walls or pouring water where there is no cup. I had his mom ask the doctor about Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) at the recommendation of our friend Cyndi who went through all of this with her son a few years ago. The eye doctor gave us the name and number of an Auditory Integration Therapist, who can test him for that, but he said that it sounded like possible seizures to him. I plan to call the Harborview Neuroclinic tomorrow and see if we can get him in sooner than the 20th. Maybe from there we can get him to a Neuro Opthamologist to see if they come up with anything the other eye doctor might have missed.
We are all rather tired after last night's adventure. I was surprised Randy didn't sleep all day ~ he actually got up around 11. After returning from the hospital, he had a very hard time falling asleep. I think he finally stopped tossing and turning around 5:30 to 6.
Life with a Brain Injury
We have learned throughout the last 2 1/2 months that recovery with brain injury can be an up and down road with many twists and turns. The man that Randy first shared a room with on 3 west in Harborview was walking, talking, and doing seemingly well when Randy was still in a coma. Now he is in a nursing facility, not able to walk or even able to stand; not able to feed himself; and not really able to respond to people. We saw another man who was in the rehab program have to go back to 3 west and have part of his skull removed. He, also, is now at a nursing facility. You never know the twists and turns that will hit you.
Today started out as a great day. It was Cass's first day of school, so I took her in to find her classroom and meet her new teacher. Then headed back home to get the rest of the family to visit the outpatient therapy place. As Randy started walking down our front steps, he turned to me and said "I can jump. Want to see?" The place was okay ~ looked like any other rehab place I am sure. Then I went on to work. Later in the day, when Randy's sister was going to go pick up one of our dogs from the vet, Randy surprised everyone by saying he wanted to go. Normally he would prefer not go anywhere in the car because of the car sickness. So they all went to get the dog and then went to a grocery store. I guess Randy had to walk every isle, wanting to see everything. They got home shortly before I got home from work. While he was at the store, he did a great job walking.
When I got home, though, he had very little balance. He almost fell into the wall a few times. He went to pour hot water into a glass and completely missed the glass, but he had no idea he was missing the glass. Even with his issue with double vision, he has not had an issue with telling what is real and what isn't. He just seemed totally unaware. His speech seemed off and his whole demeanor seemed different ~ he was argumentative and refused to remain seated anywhere or do what I was asking him to do. I also noticed rapid movement in his eyes. It would happen briefly and he was able to respond to me while it was happening, but it was very odd. He was also running a low grade temp.
His mom ended up calling Harborview's neuroclinic and they advised us to call 911. We live right by a fire station, so they were here in no time. They asked him questions and by that point he seemed more lucid and his balance was already coming back, but his heart rate was rather high. They advised us to take him into an ER. We chose Good Sam because Harborview was so far away and Good Sam has his records as well.
The doctor there ran all sorts of tests. He had blood drawn, urine sample, EKG, and a Cat scan. Everything showed up perfectly normal. The doctor there said it could be that Randy has some sort of virus that is going around. Even something simple such as the common cold can affect him neurologically. We spent a total of 6 hours in the ER. Right now, we just need to watch him and see if it happens again. I think next time, I will drive the extra distance and take him to Harborview where he could possibly be looked at by Neurosurgeons. I am really hoping, though, that it was just a viral thing going around and that it will be/is already out of his system.
Today started out as a great day. It was Cass's first day of school, so I took her in to find her classroom and meet her new teacher. Then headed back home to get the rest of the family to visit the outpatient therapy place. As Randy started walking down our front steps, he turned to me and said "I can jump. Want to see?" The place was okay ~ looked like any other rehab place I am sure. Then I went on to work. Later in the day, when Randy's sister was going to go pick up one of our dogs from the vet, Randy surprised everyone by saying he wanted to go. Normally he would prefer not go anywhere in the car because of the car sickness. So they all went to get the dog and then went to a grocery store. I guess Randy had to walk every isle, wanting to see everything. They got home shortly before I got home from work. While he was at the store, he did a great job walking.
When I got home, though, he had very little balance. He almost fell into the wall a few times. He went to pour hot water into a glass and completely missed the glass, but he had no idea he was missing the glass. Even with his issue with double vision, he has not had an issue with telling what is real and what isn't. He just seemed totally unaware. His speech seemed off and his whole demeanor seemed different ~ he was argumentative and refused to remain seated anywhere or do what I was asking him to do. I also noticed rapid movement in his eyes. It would happen briefly and he was able to respond to me while it was happening, but it was very odd. He was also running a low grade temp.
His mom ended up calling Harborview's neuroclinic and they advised us to call 911. We live right by a fire station, so they were here in no time. They asked him questions and by that point he seemed more lucid and his balance was already coming back, but his heart rate was rather high. They advised us to take him into an ER. We chose Good Sam because Harborview was so far away and Good Sam has his records as well.
The doctor there ran all sorts of tests. He had blood drawn, urine sample, EKG, and a Cat scan. Everything showed up perfectly normal. The doctor there said it could be that Randy has some sort of virus that is going around. Even something simple such as the common cold can affect him neurologically. We spent a total of 6 hours in the ER. Right now, we just need to watch him and see if it happens again. I think next time, I will drive the extra distance and take him to Harborview where he could possibly be looked at by Neurosurgeons. I am really hoping, though, that it was just a viral thing going around and that it will be/is already out of his system.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Nice Day!
Today was a good day. It was my birthday and we had Jon and Kelli over (Jon is the tall guy next to Randy in the picture). They played a dice game with us and Randy ended up beating all of us. It was the first game that Randy really stuck to playing (probably because he was winning!).
Randy was very interactive today when they were here. We had burgers for dinner and Randy was insistent that since it was my birthday he was going to bbq, but then as he started getting stuff ready, he said "but Jon can probably help me out". It was good that he admitted he needed help! I have a picture of Randy flipping burgers at http://rarush.spaces.live.com/.
Tomorrow morning we all go to visit the outpatient facility at Valley Medical Center. I am hoping that we like what they have to offer.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Lazy Day!
We had a very lazy day today! Randy's mom and sister are staying at a friend's apartment this weekend to get some quiet alone time (not much quiet time with a ten year old, 3 dogs and 2 cats!). Randy, Cass and I ended up sleeping in this morning. I think we all woke up a little after ten, but no one ventured out of bed until close to 11, so we missed church this morning.
Randy played around on the computer. He likes to search out information on traumatic brain injury and healing from it. We also played a game together, or at least started to. Randy got through just a couple hands of it and wanted to take a break. I also dragged him to the store. He did great with walking around. His balance keeps improving every day.
Randy continues to struggle with finding words today. When he can't find the words he wants, he often searches others that mean the same thing or that can use to describe whatever he can't remember. Then, there are times like today that he pulls things out of nowhere. For example, he was trying to think of "Praying Mantis" and what he came up with was "sleeping tree".
Randy also went through a bunch of the cards that he/we have received over the last 2 months and read through what everyone wrote. That lead to him talking about work and how much he misses it and everyone there.
That was pretty much our day.
One thing I have noticed over the past couple of weeks is that Randy acts a little different when it is he and I than when others are around. When it is just he and I, he has a lot more inflection in his tone and he is able to voice opinions and frustrations. However, whenever others are around, I have noticed he sounds more monotone and is less likely to voice opinions and such.
Randy played around on the computer. He likes to search out information on traumatic brain injury and healing from it. We also played a game together, or at least started to. Randy got through just a couple hands of it and wanted to take a break. I also dragged him to the store. He did great with walking around. His balance keeps improving every day.
Randy continues to struggle with finding words today. When he can't find the words he wants, he often searches others that mean the same thing or that can use to describe whatever he can't remember. Then, there are times like today that he pulls things out of nowhere. For example, he was trying to think of "Praying Mantis" and what he came up with was "sleeping tree".
Randy also went through a bunch of the cards that he/we have received over the last 2 months and read through what everyone wrote. That lead to him talking about work and how much he misses it and everyone there.
That was pretty much our day.
One thing I have noticed over the past couple of weeks is that Randy acts a little different when it is he and I than when others are around. When it is just he and I, he has a lot more inflection in his tone and he is able to voice opinions and frustrations. However, whenever others are around, I have noticed he sounds more monotone and is less likely to voice opinions and such.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Not Much to Report Today
There isn't really a lot that happened today. Randy slept in until about noon. He pretty much sat around watching tv throughout the day.
Last night, Randy watched a movie that he has been continuously asking to see. The movie is "Memento". I think it is funny that he even thought of this movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, it is shown backwards. The main character in the movie suffers head trauma that causes him to have short-term memory loss. He uses notes, pictures, and tattoos to help him remember things.
Last night, Randy watched a movie that he has been continuously asking to see. The movie is "Memento". I think it is funny that he even thought of this movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, it is shown backwards. The main character in the movie suffers head trauma that causes him to have short-term memory loss. He uses notes, pictures, and tattoos to help him remember things.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Randy's Friday
Randy slept in today until about noon today. His mom went in once to see if he wanted to get up and he said "I'm working on it". Then a little bit later his answer was "No".
His Occupational Therapist came today. Her name is Lois and she will start coming 1 to 2 times a week until we enter into Outpatient Therapy. She pretty much did an evaluation today. She checked out what he can do and what he has been doing, checked out the house to see what needed to be changes such as the height of the chair used in the shower, and showed him exercises to do in between visits. When she asked Randy what he wanted to work on, he responded "Anything and everything!".
The therapist said she wants Randy to start using his left hand to do more to get it working better. She also suggested that Randy have a set schedule, which Randy said needs to include sleeping until 10 or so.
His Occupational Therapist came today. Her name is Lois and she will start coming 1 to 2 times a week until we enter into Outpatient Therapy. She pretty much did an evaluation today. She checked out what he can do and what he has been doing, checked out the house to see what needed to be changes such as the height of the chair used in the shower, and showed him exercises to do in between visits. When she asked Randy what he wanted to work on, he responded "Anything and everything!".
The therapist said she wants Randy to start using his left hand to do more to get it working better. She also suggested that Randy have a set schedule, which Randy said needs to include sleeping until 10 or so.
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