Neuropsych Eval

Today was a very long day! We headed out of the house around 6:45 and didn't get home until after 6 tonight. The appointment started off with Randy, Cass and I meeting with Dr Fordyce (the Nuerospychologist). Dr Fordyce got the background of what happened, what Randy has done and where he wants to go. Randy did a lot of talking throughout the time. Since the accident, Randy does talk a lot more. If asked a simple question that should get a short, simple answers, Randy responds with a speech. He is very aware of it, though, and warned the doctor that he talks a lot. Of course, knowing about it doesn't stop him from doing it. Often it is kind of funny! I have noticed that during these times that he is talking a lot, what he is talking about is centered around self-esteem items. For example, it is very important to Randy that people know that he was highly intelligent prior to the accident. He also talks a lot about his work. He doesn't talk about specifics, but talks more of the overview of what he did because he loved it so much and was proud of where he had gotten.

The doctor then kicked Cass and I out and talked to Randy alone for a little bit before the testing began. I don't know what they talked about, though, because I wasn't in there and Randy didn't take notes so he doesn't remember. Randy then moved on to the testing part, which he did with Joan, the doctor's assistant. They did testing from 9:30 to 12, took a break for lunch until a little after 1, then went back to testing until 5:15. Randy was exhuasted after it was all done. We will find out the results of all of the tests Friday morning. Randy feels that he did quite well with most of the areas he was tested on. He said there were just a couple that he struggled on. I am very interested to find out the results. They should tell us his areas of deficts and what we can possibly do to work on those areas. They might also be able to give us an idea of how soon he can try to get back to work.

Cass and I entertained ourselves around the hospital area for the day. Since it takes us an hour to get there, I didn't want to drive all of the way home to turn around and come back. Her and I spent the morning reading ~ I actually fell asleep while sitting there and slept for almost an hour. After the lunch break, her and I decided to venture out to try to find some cards to play games with. The gift shop there (Virginia Mason) didn't have a lot, so we decided to head out to some place we were very familiar with ~ Harborview. It was 5 to 6 blocks away. We get there to find out that the gift shop there was closed due to the holiday. We hung out at the cafeteria for awhile before venturing out in the cold again. We decided to try the nearby gas station. The guy there said they usually carry them, but they were out and told me to try Bartell's. Bartell's was about 4 blocks away. We get to Bartell's, get the cards, and then realize we are only a couple of blocks away from where we started ~ at Virginia Mason!