Marty's Page: “If you are going through hell, keep going.”

Tiffany picked out today’s quote but I am unsure if she is making reference to what Dad and Mom are going through or if she finally admitting what it is like having two toddlers at home.

The Deal’s made the trek out to Denver, their old stomping grounds, last weekend. They said it was great to finally meet the new friends and family that have come into our lives since Craig became a temporary home. Below are some pictures...

Max and his new friend...her Daddy is at Craig

On April 22 we had Dad’s third care conference. All the key players (Dr. Hsu, nursing, OT, PT, etc.) were there to go over the progress they, as individual departments, are making with Dad…or, the progress Dad is making with them. Here are the highlights…

Dad is neurologically stable. His deltoids and biceps are strong (they have been since the beginning) and although it is weak at this time, he does have some wrist movement and

strength. He still has his trach tube in; Dr. Hsu called it the “safety valve.” He will most likely keep it for a while, perhaps even going home with it. Even though it is not regularly used, it does make it more comfortable for Dad to do suctioning.

Both OT and PT are working on addressing the pain in Dad’s shoulders. PT is getting the prescriptions in order for the equipment they will need at home and Mom is doing more of the transferring. OT is helping to finalize the placement of the gadgets on his chair to best utilize the movement and strength Dad has.

From a nursing standpoint, things are going great. Although Dad’s skin care will be an ongoingissue, everything is healing very nicely now. His nutrition is great and they are only using the feeding tube for protein powder supplements and some meds. Once all medication is converted to oral, they can get rid of the tube.

The nurses also say that there is no longer the look of “shear panic” on the faces of both Mom and Dad when Mom helps with suctioning, transferring, or other routine care type of issues. They have attacked the educational goals together and are now working to “chew the elephant one bite at a time.”

Dr. Houston, the psychologist, made several references to the fact that Dad’s “head is in a good spot and helping him move along instead of hindering things.” He also said that both Dad andMom are “very engaged and involved and it can’t be overstated how important that is.”

It seems the biggest hurdle now is the position of Dad’s arms. His arms are in a supinated (palm up) position. This makes it very difficult to use his arms and hands to their fullest extent. He also has some spasticity in his biceps, making elbow extension difficult. Later this week he will have phenol injections in his biceps and then begin a series of castings to help with the elbow extension and pronation. This will be a long process, perhaps six to eight weeks. Again, chewing that elephant one bite at a time.

Dad did get to enjoy perhaps one of his favorite pastimes, car shopping, in the last week. After all the research and (and I am guessing a few issues of Consumer Reports and Car and Driver), they bought a modified Honda Odyssey. It will now take time to be built with the goal to haveit finished by the time they drive home.

Speaking of pastimes, Dad did go bowling last week and also resumed the giving of Zayde advice. He said it was time for George to start walking and, by George, he did learn that weekend the Deal’s were in town. I guess the therapy room is not just for patients anymore…Jake got his workout a few weeks ago and George is now walking.