Before I get into updates on Randy, I have to tell a funny story ~ more for my parents enoyment than anything else. I was on my way to work today, driving on highway 18 where it is still only a two lane highway. I had my radio on and was singing to whatever song was on. I then noticed a little white spider running along the top of my dashboard. I am sure it was trying to run away from my wonderful off-key singing! I am illogically and comically afraid of spiders. Enough so that in my high school years, in the middle of winter (there was snow on the ground), I ran outside in my barefeet, standing in the carport until one of my parents got home because no matter where I tried to run away from the huge spider in the house, I swear it followed me!
So here I am this morning with this little white spider inside my car. The first thing I do is look for a place to pull over at. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room on the side of the highway for me to stop my car. I know that I can't let this spider continue running around because I could not take my eyes off of it, and that just isn't safe. So with one hand on the steering wheel, I use my other hand to pull my planner out of my purse and then start trying to hit the spider with the planner. Let me tell you, it was a difficult task trying to drive with one hand, keep my eyes on the road long enough to make sure I was staying between my lines, and reaching up to try to hit this spider with the planner! I missed a couple of times and then finally got him. Right after I got him, I quickly checked my rearview mirror and saw that the truck behind me had decided to give me plenty of space! I am sure I looked like a crazy woman!
Anyway... on to Randy's updates for the Memorial Day weekend. Friday, Randy went in to see his physical therapist to work on getting together a game plan for exercises he should be doing now. She was so amazed at the progress he has made since she saw him last (which I think was at the end of November). Friday, she did an evaluation with him. She found that he has gained considerable strength in his left side. It still not comparable to his right side, but it has come a long way. She started working on putting together some exercises for him to do. She said she thinks he should start doing some of the weightlifting in addition to the pool exercises he has been doing. She set up a few follow-up visits to work out the exercise routine with him. He goes back tomorrow for the first follow up visit.
Today, Randy was suppose to start his volunteer work in the church office (he is going to be doing the power point presentation for Sunday sermons). Unfortunately, he and I both forgot. We had a hard time with thinking it was Monday all day. They said they would set it up for him to do tomorrow.
Randy spent the weekend doing little projects around the house. We got a little reimbursment check from insurance for overpayment on presciptions. Since it wasn't money we had budgetted, we decided to use it on a couple of things we had wanted ~ another bookcase and some cheap curtains for our main window. Randy spent the weekend assembling the bookcase and getting the curtains hung. The curtains were a bigger project than I had imagined. We didn't have curtains there before, so Randy had to hang the bar for them. We have blinds on the window, but the blinds are broken. Then, of course, the bar we got was one of the cheapest ones, but it doesn't quite work with the curtains we got. And the curtains were way too long for the window, but we really liked the price so we got them anyway. So he spent awhile using that fake hemming stuff and and getting the bottoms trimmed up.
I wasn't feeling well most of the weekend so Randy wouldn't let me do anything. By Monday, my back and my right leg felt better than they have in quite a while. Our little Yorkie, Max, got his dew claw caught on something and it ripped it part way off, so he got babied this weekend (like he doesn't already!). Today, Randy took him into the vet to get it pulled off the rest of the way. While he was there, Randy had the brilliant idea of getting some drugs for Max for the barbecue. Max loves people and is a very hyperactive dog. He loves to yip and lick everyone to death. He also can't handle being away from people, so if were to lock him up in a room, he would yip non stop. So we had been trying to figure out what to do with him since we want to create an environment where we can visit with everyone. Randy, in all of his brilliance, decided that our best option is to drug Max and let him sleep for awhile. Randy has always been a great problem solver!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Funny Story
I had to share a funny story. At church, Randy doesn't like to sing so he usually sits and looks up things in his Bible. Today, he came across a verse he wanted to show me. He tapped me on the arm and lifted the Bible up to me. As I was reading it, he whispers to me "This verse really correlates with the one that I am learning". To help with Randy's memory problems, the whole family has committed to work on memorizing scripture verses. This week, we all had different ones we wanted to memorize. Randy has been working on his so hard that he often talks about it in his sleep. When he showed me the verse and told me how much it correlated to his verse, I just started laughing. See, the verse he showed me was Proverbs 3:6. The verses that Randy had been learning all week were Proverbs 3:5&6. So, it was the second half of his set of verses.
Also at church today, our pastor used a prop, which he often does. His prop today was this thing that went on his head. It was a band that had spring things coming out of the front of it. The springs came down, ending just about eye level. During the first part of the message, he began putting sticky notes on the ends of the springs so the notes were right before his eyes. Cass and I decided that Randy needed one of these contraptions!
Also at church today, our pastor used a prop, which he often does. His prop today was this thing that went on his head. It was a band that had spring things coming out of the front of it. The springs came down, ending just about eye level. During the first part of the message, he began putting sticky notes on the ends of the springs so the notes were right before his eyes. Cass and I decided that Randy needed one of these contraptions!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Exhausting Week
This week has been a very tiring week this week. Randy has seemed to move from grinding his teeth to talking in his sleep. Both Randy and Cass talk in their sleep, but with Randy, it is usually only once in awhile. This week, though, it has been every night starting with the Friday before Mother's Day. Even on days that he had gone to Bally's and had exercised ~ he still woke me up throughout the night. One night, he woke me up several times to tell me how much he loved me and appreciated me. Of course, he was asleep through it all. The next day, I told him I would like to be loved and appreciated a little less. I was so exhausted the next day that I had to take a nap during my lunch break.
Today, the three of us had volunteered to do some service work with our church for a place that provides housing for single mothers who need a little extra help. I woke up with a horrible headache. I think it was from a mixture of lack of sleep and allergies. Cass and I stayed home (she is still having some issues with her allergies) and Randy went to help out. So I got to catch up on a little bit of sleep!
Randy had a great time helping out. He worked alongside the pastor, who is familiar with some of the deficits that Randy has with his left side.
Tonight, the three of us played Clue. Randy had a little bit of a hard time with it. He won the first game, but only because Cass and I reminded him of things he had already discovered. Cass has never played Clue before. She is a little too talkative of a kid. She kept giving clues away. But then Randy would forget the clues she had given away. Thankfully, he finds his lack of memory as humorous as we do, so we all had a great time tonight.
Today, the three of us had volunteered to do some service work with our church for a place that provides housing for single mothers who need a little extra help. I woke up with a horrible headache. I think it was from a mixture of lack of sleep and allergies. Cass and I stayed home (she is still having some issues with her allergies) and Randy went to help out. So I got to catch up on a little bit of sleep!
Randy had a great time helping out. He worked alongside the pastor, who is familiar with some of the deficits that Randy has with his left side.
Tonight, the three of us played Clue. Randy had a little bit of a hard time with it. He won the first game, but only because Cass and I reminded him of things he had already discovered. Cass has never played Clue before. She is a little too talkative of a kid. She kept giving clues away. But then Randy would forget the clues she had given away. Thankfully, he finds his lack of memory as humorous as we do, so we all had a great time tonight.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Catching Up
It has been a few days since I have updated... and they have been busy days!
Randy went to his Primary Care Physician on Thursday. He and I keep her in business! He talked to her about what the Neurologists at Harborview said about upping his Gabapentin (the medication he takes for his nerve damage). She upped his dosage from 900 to 1200. I guess 1200 is still a low dose comparetively with that medication. We are hoping this increase will help his sleeping habits and his tremors. So far they haven't done much for the sleeping habits! He has gotten very little sleep since starting them, which unfortunately means I have gotten very little sleep.
While he was at the doctor, I got a call from Cass's school. She has been having issues with rashes from allergies. Thursday, she had been in the nurse's office a couple of times so they tried to reach Randy to bring benadryl, but they couldn't track Randy down. When they finally got a hold of me, though, Cass said it was starting to hurt her. So I left work and took her to the doctor. Apparently, something in her system didn't react well with the sun. She hasn't taken any new medication or anything, so we aren't sure what the cause was. Everywhere the sun touched her other than her face, was covered with a rash. It wasn't just a minor little rash. It looked awful. The doctor gave us some medication that wouldn't make her tired like Benadryl does and said to give her oatmeal baths. We took her home, gave her the medicine and the oatmeal baths. Then, as the sun was starting to go away, we let her go outside and play with friends. A couple of hours later, she was miserable. The next day, her leg was all purple. We kept her home and inside the next day and that evening, we headed to Yakima for Mother's Day weekend. By Saturday, the rash was starting to look a bit better. There were some festivities going on in Zillah (a little outside of Yakima), so we covered her with sunscreen and clothes and let her go. The sun still got to her. Today (Monday) we kept her home from school again and kept her inside. It is looking so much better, but I fear that tomorrow will bring the rash back out when she goes outside. I really hope whatever is causing this will get out of her system!
Mother's Day weekend was very nice. Randy's parents got tickets to a play at Zillah high school ~ they put on Beauty and the Beast, and they did an excellent job! We also got to see Randy's Aunt and Uncle and their son. They haven't gotten to see Randy since he was in the hospital. They were amazed at the recovery he has made since then!
Sunday, we all went out for a very nice breakfast and then headed to church. After church, I took a nap so I would have enough energy to drive home. As I said earlier in the post, Randy did nto sleep well at all. When he did finally sleep, he tossed and turned and did a whole lot of talking in his sleep. Nights like that, I hate the fact that I am now such a light sleeper.
Tonight, we took Cass up to Seattle to have her picture taken. They had someone there that did her hair and makeup. We brought a suitcase full of clothes and the photographer picked out the outfits. The guy that did the hair and make up did an excellent job. He made Cass look like a little girl, which is not something I get to see often. Cass loves baggy clothes and doesn't care for the color pink. Even when her hair was long, she wouldn't wear it up. It always had to be down and pushed back behind her ears. The guy tonight used a curling iron, put a little makeup on her, and had her wearing a pink ribbon. She looked adorable. She hated it! I will have to post some of the pictures when they come back in a week or so.
Last little thing I wanted to post ~ Randy's 1 year anniversary is coming up next month. We would really like to celebrate it because we feel like we have so much to celebrate. We of course want to celebrate the fact that Randy is alive, but we also want to celebrate in the fact that we have been put on a path of an amazing journey, though it isn't the path we would have chosen ourselves!
Randy wants to have a Barbeque potluck at our house. We will supply burgers, hotdogs and some pops. We want to invite people to come and bring whatever dish they would like to make and any additional drinks they would like (no alcohol please). Kids are welcome! We would like to have this on Saturday, June 23rd. Randy would love to see everyone, so please pass this invitation around!!
Randy went to his Primary Care Physician on Thursday. He and I keep her in business! He talked to her about what the Neurologists at Harborview said about upping his Gabapentin (the medication he takes for his nerve damage). She upped his dosage from 900 to 1200. I guess 1200 is still a low dose comparetively with that medication. We are hoping this increase will help his sleeping habits and his tremors. So far they haven't done much for the sleeping habits! He has gotten very little sleep since starting them, which unfortunately means I have gotten very little sleep.
While he was at the doctor, I got a call from Cass's school. She has been having issues with rashes from allergies. Thursday, she had been in the nurse's office a couple of times so they tried to reach Randy to bring benadryl, but they couldn't track Randy down. When they finally got a hold of me, though, Cass said it was starting to hurt her. So I left work and took her to the doctor. Apparently, something in her system didn't react well with the sun. She hasn't taken any new medication or anything, so we aren't sure what the cause was. Everywhere the sun touched her other than her face, was covered with a rash. It wasn't just a minor little rash. It looked awful. The doctor gave us some medication that wouldn't make her tired like Benadryl does and said to give her oatmeal baths. We took her home, gave her the medicine and the oatmeal baths. Then, as the sun was starting to go away, we let her go outside and play with friends. A couple of hours later, she was miserable. The next day, her leg was all purple. We kept her home and inside the next day and that evening, we headed to Yakima for Mother's Day weekend. By Saturday, the rash was starting to look a bit better. There were some festivities going on in Zillah (a little outside of Yakima), so we covered her with sunscreen and clothes and let her go. The sun still got to her. Today (Monday) we kept her home from school again and kept her inside. It is looking so much better, but I fear that tomorrow will bring the rash back out when she goes outside. I really hope whatever is causing this will get out of her system!
Mother's Day weekend was very nice. Randy's parents got tickets to a play at Zillah high school ~ they put on Beauty and the Beast, and they did an excellent job! We also got to see Randy's Aunt and Uncle and their son. They haven't gotten to see Randy since he was in the hospital. They were amazed at the recovery he has made since then!
Sunday, we all went out for a very nice breakfast and then headed to church. After church, I took a nap so I would have enough energy to drive home. As I said earlier in the post, Randy did nto sleep well at all. When he did finally sleep, he tossed and turned and did a whole lot of talking in his sleep. Nights like that, I hate the fact that I am now such a light sleeper.
Tonight, we took Cass up to Seattle to have her picture taken. They had someone there that did her hair and makeup. We brought a suitcase full of clothes and the photographer picked out the outfits. The guy that did the hair and make up did an excellent job. He made Cass look like a little girl, which is not something I get to see often. Cass loves baggy clothes and doesn't care for the color pink. Even when her hair was long, she wouldn't wear it up. It always had to be down and pushed back behind her ears. The guy tonight used a curling iron, put a little makeup on her, and had her wearing a pink ribbon. She looked adorable. She hated it! I will have to post some of the pictures when they come back in a week or so.
Last little thing I wanted to post ~ Randy's 1 year anniversary is coming up next month. We would really like to celebrate it because we feel like we have so much to celebrate. We of course want to celebrate the fact that Randy is alive, but we also want to celebrate in the fact that we have been put on a path of an amazing journey, though it isn't the path we would have chosen ourselves!
Randy wants to have a Barbeque potluck at our house. We will supply burgers, hotdogs and some pops. We want to invite people to come and bring whatever dish they would like to make and any additional drinks they would like (no alcohol please). Kids are welcome! We would like to have this on Saturday, June 23rd. Randy would love to see everyone, so please pass this invitation around!!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Last Few Days
The last few days have been good. Randy hasn't been grinding has teeth at night, or maybe I am just sleeping through it, either way, I love it!
Wednseday, he did some volunteer work at Green River Community College. They were having health days and he worked in one of the booths. I think he enjoyed being out and getting to meet some new people.
Friday, he went to go to Bally's, but when he got there, he realized that he had forgotten his swimming clothes. So he and Cass went Saturday and had a great time. Randy did some laps using a floaty device. He was really working his arms. It really wore him out and he is a little sore today from it. He wants to get into the habit of going swimming at least 3 times a week. He usually feels really good after going, though it does really wear him out.
Wednseday, he did some volunteer work at Green River Community College. They were having health days and he worked in one of the booths. I think he enjoyed being out and getting to meet some new people.
Friday, he went to go to Bally's, but when he got there, he realized that he had forgotten his swimming clothes. So he and Cass went Saturday and had a great time. Randy did some laps using a floaty device. He was really working his arms. It really wore him out and he is a little sore today from it. He wants to get into the habit of going swimming at least 3 times a week. He usually feels really good after going, though it does really wear him out.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
NeuroPsych Visit
Today, Randy had an appointment to talk to the Neuropsychologist. Someone had sent him a job description of what they are anticipating what Randy would do upon his return and the Neuropsych was a little worried about it and wanted Randy and I to come in and discuss it with him. Upon reading the job requirements, it does sound like a lot. However, Randy read it and said "Oh yeah, that all looks like easy stuff. Only a portion of what I use to do." The doctor was feeling very uneasy about it, though. We all came to the agreement that Randy will undergo another Neuropsych evaluation towards the beginning of June so that we can get a good measure of how much he has healed and what his capabilities are at that point.
Randy and I also had a session with the counselor today ~ the one that has a lot of experience dealing with TBI survivors and their families. Twenty minutes into the session, she told Randy that she sees a big change in him from last week. She said that he is so much more focused this week. I hadn't noticed it until she said something, but then I did realize that he was staying on topic very well and wasn't going off on long-winded tangents. He really was staying more focused in his thought processes and his conversation. Over the last week, he has been doing a lot more reading and has been able to retain things for a longer period of time. He is actually able to read a book and is able to follow along with the plot. So a lot of change has been happening, a lot of healing going on. I don't always see it because I am with him every day. I love it when people who haven't seen him in awhile point things out.
Randy and I also had a session with the counselor today ~ the one that has a lot of experience dealing with TBI survivors and their families. Twenty minutes into the session, she told Randy that she sees a big change in him from last week. She said that he is so much more focused this week. I hadn't noticed it until she said something, but then I did realize that he was staying on topic very well and wasn't going off on long-winded tangents. He really was staying more focused in his thought processes and his conversation. Over the last week, he has been doing a lot more reading and has been able to retain things for a longer period of time. He is actually able to read a book and is able to follow along with the plot. So a lot of change has been happening, a lot of healing going on. I don't always see it because I am with him every day. I love it when people who haven't seen him in awhile point things out.
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