Randy's Day

Randy slept in again today. His mom had to wake him up late morning in order to get up and ready for physical therapy. I am sure his body needs the sleep as part of the healing process. During physical therapy, she had him practice going up and down the steps and they walked down the block. She also gave him some homework to do ~ some exercises for him to do in between sessions. We still haven't heard from the occupational or speech therapist.

Next Tuesday, we will be touring the outpatient therapy at Valley Medical Center in Renton. I am thinking it would be good for him to start outpatient therapy soon. He hasn't been getting much therapy from the home health people. I am hoping the prism glasses (which hopefully will come in tomorrow), will help his car sickness problem so getting him to and from therapy won't be a big ordeal for him.

Dr Visits Today

Today was a long day! We left early to get to Harborview for followup visits. That was the longest car ride Randy has been in and he didn't fare too well (he got sick about 5 minutes before we got there, so he got a new pair of sweatpants today via his mom and the gift shop!). We started with x-rays of Randy's neck at Harborview and then walked about 3 blocks away to the Neurosurgery Clinic.

We spent about 2 hours at that clinic and very little time was with the doctor. We started off with a student who irritated me. He kept asking me questions and I would then in turn, look to Randy for the answer, who would only need my help answering for things he couldn't remember. At one point, when the student asked if Randy was experiencing any neck pain, I said "You need to ask him that". The actual doctor, though, talked directly to Randy. Both the student and the doctor tested Randy's strength in both his right and his left side, his arms and his legs. The doctor said they have no real concrete explanation to why Randy's left side is weak. They just know it is due to the brain injury and not spinal cord. The fracture Randy had in his upper spine has healed. The doctor said that neck pain Randy is currently feeling (which is very minor) is due to weakness in the neck that will get better with time. The doctor said that he would expect Randy's left side to always have some weakness ~ it won't return to what it was before the accident. They ended the appointment with saying they want an MRI and to have Randy come back in a month.

The last appointment we had (and the one we were an hour late to due to the Neuro clinic) was with Ear, Nose and Throat clinic. During that one, they tested Randy's hearing and found no hearing loss ~ not even on the left side, which is absolutely amazing. They have been telling us all along he probably would have hearing loss on that side. They also tested his facial nerve on the left side and said it is currently working at 95% to normal and they expect it to become fully normal or at least close. Currently you can see some weakness in the lower left side of his face, but it has improved quite a bit the past few weeks. We also asked about the motion sickness and they said it should improve some when we get the prism glasses (which we should have by the end of the week) and, of course, as time heals things, it should improve a lot more. If it doesn't improve within the next couple of months, they said to bring him back in, but they fully expected time to heal it.

I think that is it for updates from today's doctor visits.

There isn't much to report today ~ Randy slept until 12:30!

I went back to work today and Randy emailed me throughout the afternoon. His emails were pretty well written. He commented that his spelling has gotten worse, but I told him that is what spell checker is for!

This evening, Randy got down on his knees to pick something up and did great at getting back up. I joked that he must be getting a lot of practice with getting back up (from the few falls he has had) and he said "No Comment".

Tomorrow, he goes back up to Harborview for check up appointments. He is having x-rays, meeting his the neurologist, and then he is seeing the Ear Nose and Throat doctors. This evening, Randy sat down and wrote out questions he has been wanting to ask each of them.

This is how Randy talks on the phone. See... he gets good use out of that cane! He was talking to his friend Jon and dropped the phone a few times because he was trying to walk and talk at the same time.

Randy had physical therapy today. She didn't do much with him, just walked him outside a bit. After the walk she told me she thought it would be okay to take him for short walks to start getting use to being out. I didn't want to tell her that I have taken out and he has walked all over Target and Home Depot. I know he is probably about past the point of being eligible for Home Health services, but I wanted a little bit more time to find an Outpatient Therapy place for him to go. Good Sam does have Outpatient but I will be starting back to work tomorrow so I can't take him and Randy's mom doesn't like the traffic around here (understandably so). I also wanted to find a place that Randy could get to on his own for down the road and in case his mom needs a break ~ their is a service from Metro that will come pick Randy up, help him into the bus, and walk him into the building, but he would need to stay in King County and Good Sam is in Pierce. I called Valley Medical and they have Outpatient rehab, the occupational, physical and speech. We plan to go in and visit their facilities here soon.

I am sure they will be saying that Randy doesn't need Home Health services here really soon. He is getting so mobile. His balance is getting better everyday.

Randy still definitely has his sense of humor. His mom was telling Cass that she would have to fight with her dad over gummy worms that she bought and Randy said "Remember, I have a cane". Also, earlier in the day, he showed his smart-alec side. When he drops his cane (which he does quite often), I tell him that I will pick it up for him because I am worried about him bending down to get it and falling over. Well, his cane fell, I picked it up, I tried to put it against the counter and it fell. I said "Man, now I am dropping your cane!" Randy promptly said "Do you want me to pick it up for you?"

Mr Randyman!

Randy is itching to go flying! He searched out his flight bag tonight and had to put his headset on! When he started to get up to take the bag back to the closet, I told him that I would do it next time I got up. He insisted he could do it. I told him it was probably a little heavy for him to carry and maintain his balance. He again insisted he could do it. I said "Okay, but if you fall, I will be mad at you". Not even two seconds later, he starts to get up and slides right to the ground. I started laughing and he turned to me and said "Point well taken". He let me put the bag in the closet.

Today, on our way home from church, he continued to go through the names of the people he met yesterday at the picnic. For some reason, though, he can't remember Cyndi. He got Stacy stuck in his head. Then he moved to Becky. There were a few others as well. He is determined to remember her name, though.

This afternoon we went to Jon and Kelli's house. I think it was really good for Randy to get out of the house and he loves visiting with people.

Randy wanted me to put a message from him on here: He wanted to say that he has good intentions and wants to get back to everyone that has emailed him, but with the difficulties with his eye sight, it is taking him longer than he would like.

Our Saturday

Today, we went to our church picnic. I think it was really good for Randy to get out and be around people. He said he enjoyed it but it wore him out a bit. He got to meet some of the people I have talked about alot over the last few weeks. Terry told him that he wanted Randy to remember him when we see them at church tomorrow ~ he said he didn't expect Randy to remember his name, just that they met today. Randy has been, throughout the night, verifying his name - "So his name was Terry, right? Terry, Cyndi, and Marty, right? And then the girl with the J. Jessica?". He is determined to remember tomorrow!

One thing that Randy has been doing lately that drives me absolutely crazy is trying to walk around at times without his cane. At one point, he was in the kitchen and he was carrying something in this right hand (the hand that should be utilizing the cane) and I got on to him and said "Randy, you are suppose to have your cane". At that point he lifted up his left hand, in which he was carrying the cane "I do. See?!".

Cass and Mom Rush are Back

Here is what Cass did in Yakima ~ played in the dirt! She had a great time helping Grandpa out with pear harvest. She came back this evening, though, with Randy's mom.

Randy and I had a great day. I took him to Target and Home Depot today because I had a couple of things I needed to grab. I brought his wheelchair along, but he didn't want it ~ he wanted to walk. He did great. I was amazed how much people were in a hurry and I worried a bit that someone would knock him over, but he managed just fine.

Over the last couple of days, he has been emailing those people who have sent him an email. It takes him a little while to compose the email because his left hand isn't to the point yet it can help yet, so all the typing is one handed and it takes him a little bit to determine what he wants to say, but he is working on it. It amazes me how well he is doing with getting his thoughts out and putting them into full sentences that make perfect sense (at least the ones I read made sense!).

Another thing I have noticed over the last couple of days is the inflection in his voice is returning. It is common for people with head injuries to talk very monotone and some don't get their inflection back. With Randy, I definitely hear more inflection, especially as he is talking to people over the phone or as he is talking to the dogs.

He is doing amazing.

We started Home Health Today

The physical therapist came by today to start off the home health visits. The visit consisted pretty much of filling out paperwork and her having Randy do stuff so she could see how he was doing. She said that she doesn't think Randy will need home health services for too long because he is getting pretty mobile. It is a nice transition, though, before having to drive him anywhere for outpatient therapy. He should be starting occupational and speech therapy soon as well, though she said it might take a bit longer for speech therapy to start due to people being out for vacation.

Randy is doing much better with his walking. His balance is so much better. Unfortunately, with his improvements, he is starting to feel like he can do a lot more than he actually can. Something fell on the floor today and he bent down to pick it up and ended up on the floor himself. Thankfully he was already close to the floor to begin with! He up just laughing at himself and throughout the day, anytime anything fell to the ground, he would jokingly ask if I wanted him to pick it up.

All in all, we had a pretty relaxing day today. We both ended up falling asleep late morning and slept for a couple of hours, which I think we both desperatley needed! We played on the computer a bit and he ended up taking some IQ test (http://uk.tickle.com/test/iq.html) and didn't do too bad ~ his score was 111. Then I had him help me make dinner and for walking practice, I took him to the movie store and had him walk the wall of new releases. He did much better with walking in a public place than he did two days ago.

It is so nice having him home!

Our First Full Day at Home

We made it through our first full day at home. I think Randy was bored a bit this morning because I had a lot of things to take care of, but then I got him started on the Sudoku puzzles (I found an easy one online). He was doing great with them! Then Jerry Otis from RAMP came to install the railings and he invited Randy to hang out with him and his helper. I think it did Randy a lot of good. Jerry talked about his story of what happened to him years ago and he talked to Randy a bit about what Randy is going through.

I got a call from the home health services today. They are going to be able to start Randy's therapies tomorrow.

Randy had his first fall last night. I am letting him walk short distances by himself and he is doing absolutely amazing with it. Well, I left him at our bedroom door and went to check on my daughter's hamster. As I opened her door, I saw the cage wide open and no hamster. I said outloud "Oh great, the hamster got out", which brought Randy into the room. He was convinced he was going to help me find the hamster. I told him he could sit on the bed and he could help by watching for anything running across the floor (if Kim is reading this ~ remember some 11 or so years ago when I called you when our hamster got out. I wouldn't get off the bed until you got there. I have come so far since then!!). While Randy was sitting on the bed, he spotted the picture of a hamster on the hamster food and he was so sure that was Hammy, our hamster. He kept saying "Isn't it right there" to which I said "Right where?" and as he was trying to use his cain to point to the hamster picture, he slipped right off the bed. Thankfully, he started laughing. I still feel that he is so fragile. What is really funny, though, is that the hamster was right behind the food. So he did help me find it.

Randy is Home!

We finally left Good Samaritian Hospital around 2:30 this afternoon. They had quite a few discharges today so it took awhile to get our paperwork. While we were waiting for everything, we went ahead and went to classes for the last time. Randy asked every therapist what he should be working on so we have a list of stuff to do while we await the start up of home health (hopefully they will call me sometime this week and we can get started, if not by the end of this week, then by the beginning of next week.

In his speech class today, Randy's first therpaist was trying to challenge him and he flew right through everything she threw at him. She gave him analogies and he had to finish them, but she made it progressively harder. She started by giving him all but the ending word (example ~ Time is to clock as speed is to...). She then just gave the first part and he had to come up with the second half (example ~ Night is to Day as ...). She then only gave him one word and he had to finish it. He did absolutely amazing through all of it. He then told her that he decided to keep a journal. Since last night, he has been writing down thoughts, questions, and happenings that he has throughout the day. He did this completely on his own without prompting from anyone. She was very amazed.

Upon his release, I had to drag him to run errands with me since it is just he and I here (his family went back to Yakima this last weekend, taking Cass with them). At the drugstore, I made him walk so he got a bit of therapy there. At home and at the hospital, he is pretty much walking on his own ~ meaning he is using his cane and not needing someone to hang on to him). In the store with other people around, his balance was a bit off. I think it was because he was very selfconscious about how he looked to other people and was focused more on that than he was walking. Then I dragged him to the grocery store, but I had him use his wheelchair. It is interesting having to deal with someone in a wheelchair when you aren't use to it. I didn't feel comfortable with having him in one of the powered ones they supply with baskets on them, so he and I used our problem solving skills (picture Randy, sitting in his wheelchair, with food and other stuff piled on his pretty much up to his eyes!)We made it work! I did get him some things that the therapists said would be good for him to use ~ small 1 lb weight for his left hand and some weights for his left leg.

It has been absolutely great having him here! Anyone who wants to come visit him is more than welcome to. He loves having visitors (probably more so now that he is stuck only getting to see me everyday :-)!For those who need our address, you can just shoot me an email or give me a call.

Randy Goes Home Today

Randy will be going home today. I don't know what time yet ~ probably right after lunch. I am still trying to get in contact with the social worker here to work out details of the home health services. From what the RN said, the social worker has ordered Speech, Physical, and Occupational therapy, but I don't know who with or when it starts. So I don't plan on leaving until I talk to her!

But Randy is very excited that today is the day!!!!

Quick Updates

Randy had both his doctor and the eye doctor visit tonight. The eye doctor will order the prism glasses and Randy should have them in about a week. Per the recommendation of friends, though, we still want to try to get Randy into a Neurooptamologist. The doctor thinks that Randy can be released from here tomorrow. It will all depend on us having the time to set up everything such as the home health care before we leave. Randy is so very excited!!!!

Randy's Day

Today has gone very well! We told the therapists how well the weekend pass went. They talked about it in rounds and think Randy could be discharged sooner than expected. It is up to the doctor at this point.

In physical therapy today, Randy practiced walking without a cane. His balance is getting so much better! For occupational therapy, they worked on weight bearing activities. She had him grab rings (she placed them where he had to reach for them, putting weight on the left hand for balance) and then tossing them. Then she had him practice tossing them with his left hand. That left side is getting stronger everyday. He is able to do so much more with it than he was 3 weeks ago.

For speech, the first therapist gave Randy common proverbs and he had to say what their meaning was. She gave him one that I had never even heard before (something about swallowing a camel and straining a gnat)and, though he hadn't ever heard it before, he was able to deduce the meaning of it. That therapist commented on how much progress she has seen in such a short time. She feels that over the last week, he has made huge bounds ~ even just since last Friday there is definite improvement in how his mind is working. She suggested that when Randy gets home, to watch sitcoms and when they are over, reiterate what it was about and also to ask Cass about what she thought of it so that his mind would have to process her response. In the second speech class, that therapist did the exercise where she gives him a list of three words and he has to come up with another word that fits into the lise ~ making him figure out what the words have in common and then finding something that fits. Last week, he really struggled with that exercise. Today, he only struggled with one and it happened to be the one that was the most obvious one (Randy has always been an "over thinker", often making things more complicated than they needed to be!). The list was Hot Tamales, Hot Cakes, and Hot Peppers. He just couldn't get the connection, but of course the more complicated ones that I even struggled with, he got right away.

I think that is it for updates today. As soon as we see the doctor and find out when Randy can be released, I will post and let everyone know.

RAMP

I wanted to put a little "plug" for the organization that will be putting in the rails for our house.

The story can be found here: http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/word/ea/Otis.doc (when the box pops up asking for a password, just hit "Cancel" and the document will appear).

I think it is an amazing story of how one man took something negative that happened to him and turned it into something positive for others. It is a volunteer and donation based organization. For those of you out there that are handy at building things and have wanted to find a way to use your skill for those in the community, this would be a great way.

After Jerry left our house on Sunday (he came to see what tools and materials would be needed for our steps), Randy said that when he gets better he thinks he would like to help out ~ he has always loved to build things and had actually started building Cass a playhouse that he had designed before the accident.

Thank you to Jerry and to those who brought me into contact with him.

Randy's Weekend Home

The weekend went great. It was so nice to have him there. I wasn't ready to bring him back. We actually got back late because we were having such a nice time sitting on our back patio talking to our neighbor. Someone had joked with Randy earlier in the day that if he were late returning they might keep him longer. As the time that we were suppose to be here passed, Randy started asking if they really were going to make him stay longer or how else they might penalize him for being late. He is so worried that he won't get to come home this week ~ he wants to be there so much! They actually didn't say anything about our lateness.

Randy had such a nice time throughout the weekend. We all went to church today. Randy told me throughout the day how nice it was to go. He played a game on the Gamecube with Cass for a little bit. He didn't do too bad with it ~ Cass and I just had to walk him through parts of it. He was only able to play for a short time due to his vision.

Last night, Randy did well with being outside of a hospital bed. I was a little worried about him falling off so I made him sleep in the middle of the bed (which he use to do anyway). I was worried for nothing, though. He did absolutely fine.

One thing Randy is struggling with, though, is still feeling very unsure about himself. With all of the visitors we had this weekend, as soon as it was just he and I he would ask him if he was embarrasing or if he sounded stupid. He also kept asking how he was different than before the accident.

2nd Weekend Home

So far our overnight visit is going pretty well. Randy hasn't wanted to do much except sit on the couch and read through all of the blog. He is so funny, every so often he bursts out laughing at some of the things he has said and done. At one point (I think while he was reading about trying to get out of restraints), he turned to me and said "I guess I have been a pain in the butt".

We got to leave right after breakfast this morning. They didn't schedule Randy for any classes today because all of the therapists knew he was coming home this weekend.

He was asking me who all was visiting him ~ he was wanting visitors. However, when people were there, he would wait till we were alone and ask if he was embarrassing or if he was sounding normal. He seemed to be very unsure of himself. It kind of breaks my heart that he is so self conscious. He also started talking to me about wanting to ask the doctor for anti-depressants. I am not sure if he came up with this on his own or if he heard/read it somewhere. I think he is really feeling far from normal and is having a hard time dealing with it. I hear the same Randy ~ same sense of humor, same soft spoken, polite man. I think it was also a bit hard for him when people at the house were moving around in rooms he wasn't in and he was sitting there stationary, not really able to participate. I just wish I could make this all go away for him.

People have been amazing today (as they have been many other days as well). Randy got to see the work that our neighbor has been doing on the bathroom project that Randy had started. He loved how it is turning out and he was appreciative! Then our other neighbor brought us over some very good ribs. Another neighbor anonymously donated to us ~ which will be going for the rails on our steps. Last, our friend Jon came over today and installed bars in the bathtub, a shower head that is easily accessible for Randy, and bars for the toilet. Jon was going to install the railings today, but the cost of what we could find at Home Depot was a little too much. Per a recommendation, I called the non-profit group R.A.M.P and they are able to do it a lot cheaper! I talked to the head man for quite some time last night and it sounds like an amazing group ~ it is all volunteer based.

Today was a great day!

Through his recreational therapy, Randy was given the chance to go on an outing today. He chose Baskin Robbins. He did quite well during the outing. We brought his wheelchair just in case, but he didn't need it. His legs started getting a bit tired when waiting in line, but he was able to handle it well.

Also today, during his physical therapy, he was able to walk 500 feet with his therapist only having to put her hands on him once to help him catch his balance. He went most of the way all on his own (with the use of a cane). She then practiced walking without a cane, but he is not able to do that without someone helping him balance.

During speech class today, the therapist asked him situational questions and asked what he would do and why, for example, what he would do if a kid pushed ahead of him in line at the grocery store. All of Randy's responses were very typical Randy ~ very polite. For the kid, he said he would say "excuse me" and the kid nicely to please go to the back of the line.

During occupational therapy, the therapist really worked his left hand. She had him unscrewing bolts with just that hand.

Tomorrow we get to leave here and have our first overnight pass. Randy is very excited! At this point we are planning on going to church (the Real Life Church in Covington) as long as Randy is still up to going Sunday morning.

Quick Update

The eye doctor just visited Randy. He had hoped that Randy's double vision would have been getting better on its own, but it isn't. So he will be writing a prescription for prism glasses for Randy. He said that, as Randy's body continues to heal, we can hopefully wean him off of the glasses. For now, though, they will help Randy not see two of everything.

Our Day

Today Randy continued to work on his balance and his walking in his physical therpay sessions. One therapist had him walking through the cones again and he did much better this time at turning. When walking down the hall with another therapist, she had to barely hang on to him ~ he only lost his balance a couple of times. He continues to improve with his walking every day.

In occupational therapy, that therapist had him put pegs into a board. She didn't give him any pattern to do. She just wanted him to use his left hand to put them in. Of course, Randy had to put them in a pattern, but he did great with using his left hand. There were a couple that were rather difficult for him to get in. I was so proud of him ~ he didn't get frustrated, he just kept trying over and over until he got them in.

In speech, the therapist really worked Randy's brain today. She started by giving him words and then he had to tell her opposites. He did very well with that. She then gave him a list of words and his task was to find what they had in common and give an object that would fit in with the list. He struggled at first, but towards the end he seemed to be really getting it. She then gave him a list of words and he had to say which one didn't fit and why. He correctly identified which one didn't fit on all lists but had difficulty with explaining the why. She then read him a paragraph and asked him questions about the paragraph. He did better on this than he has in the past ~ he averaged about 8 out of 10 correct. The last thing she did was give him logic problems (like the ones you would find in the crossword puzzle books). He struggled with doing those ~ most of the struggle was with following the directions of "x"ing the incorrect ones and "o"ing the correct ones. His mind was just having a hard time grasping it.

He continues to have headaches every day, which I guess is to be expected with his injury. Pain medication isn't making them go away, it just dulls it a bit for him. I am hoping those fade with time. All in all, though, he seems to be doing well medically. At Harborview, we came across quite a few people who went on to rehab and then had to come back to the 3rd floor because of medical issues. I feel that Randy has really been blessed. He continues to make improvements and really, the only issues he has had to deal with have been his eyesight, his headaches, and the left side (which continues to get stronger every day).

Also, Kelli called me tonight with an update on the benefit. She ordered a lot of food and it all sounds wonderful!! She has also had quite a few more people donate items. There will be food from a variety of places (Greek, Italian, and Pizza just to name a few of the different types). She also had a place donate 2 rounds of golf and a lunch from the nearby restaurant (the Firecreek Grill). She has had jewelry donated (a variety of types) and even had a dentist donate a toothbrush that isn't on the market yet. Lots of stuff to auction off!

RE: Jon's Comment

As Jon stated in his comment from yesterday's post, even if you didn't RSVP for the benefit, please don't feel like you can't come! Even if you decide that day that you are able to make it, come see us. Randy will be there, at the very least, for the first part of it. Items are being added to the list for the silent auction as well. One fun item is from Randy's flight instructor ~ he has donated an hour scenic flight around the Puget Sound area. The headcount request was just to get a rough estimate, but there will be plenty of food and beverages for even those who decide last minute they can come!