Friday August 26, 2005

Friday August 26, 2005 Zack was in bed awake trying to get out when I arrived. He was mad at me because I wasn’t there and he said, “Look what time it is!” (7:28 AM).
He was in a hurry to go to the bathroom and I was fumbling with the lock on his bed zipper. Finally got him to the bathroom and (how can I put this) he had really bad aim on purpose. I asked him why he did that and he responded, “It’s your fault, you should have been here”. I think he is very clear minded and now acting more like a teenager.
9:00 Speech in our room with Kathy and she was working on identifying letters and numbers (he got about 50%). She had him complete phrases (table & ______) and
complete sentences (yesterday I saw __________). He did pretty good although sometimes he made up words. On the way to the bathroom after Kathy left he has another attack. It seemed to be very mild and he did not see double after wards.
10:00 P.T. with Amy they tried something new to work on hand/eye coordination. He had to throw a beanbag to Amy while catching one that she threw to him with the other hand. She worked on his balance by making him stand on a piece of foam and close his eyes. Twice he fell back but on the third time he was able to balance to the count of ten. He stood on a balance platform to work on body control and strength. He loves the physical challenges because he is so competitive. Then he had to do squats and push-ups on his knees (sounds like baseball training). She had him walk crossing his left leg over his right in a scissors formation but Amy had to help him to keep his body straight. She tried to get him to walk on his tiptoes but that was too much for him. Amy suggested that we get some balloons to toss back and forth with him in his room using his right hand. Balloons will move differently than his baseball and he will have to coordinate his movements. 10:45 O.T. with Mary Beth and Zack got a little frustrated trying to communicate some thoughts. She had him put together a large sunflower puzzle and he did it with minimum instruction. He was hearing pages over the intercom and repeating the names they called. He heard a page and wrote Mr. Linker on his paper very clearly. Mary Beth told Zack, “write your name” and he wrote his entire name, first and last, without help, without seeing it first, with such determination and confidence. It is the most beautiful signature (even though it’s printed) I have ever seen. Mary Beth wanted to work on problem solving and had him pull a flexible tube through and up and over holes in wood. He said something about “my car, in a coma” and was very upset. I’m sure that will come up later when he can express himself better. Both Mary Beth and Amy see marked improvements since yesterday. Lunch again with Mary Beth in our room. He is eating at a much slower pace and more relaxed. Mary Beth doesn’t think she will have to come for lunch therapy any more but reminded us that we need to limit the number of people in his room (no visitors during meals right now) and no phone calls to distract him. At 1:30 I take Zack to Kosair Children’s Hospital for his EEG. The preparation for it takes as long as the actual test. They have to attach 25 electrodes to his head in exact locations. Of course he doesn’t help the process because he keeps reaching up and touching them or scratching his head. Once they get him ready they turn off the lights and lay him back in a recliner. The actual test takes about 30 minutes and I can watch the monitor with the nurses. I see interruptions in the patterns but according to the nurses the test is so sensitive it can pick up a hard swallow or an eye blink. They can’t give me any results. It will have to be read by Dr. Holmes the neurologist who saw him last Sunday. We barely make it down to the gym (in fact we were late) for our afternoon P.T. session. Amy uses E-stem (electric stimulation) and has Zack pick up beanbags and drop them through a basketball goal. It is hardest for him to let go of the beanbag and although he complains that it hurts he never quits. Back in the room after therapy Zack has another attack on his way to the bathroom again (I wonder if there is such a thing as bathroom seizures). 3:30 Speech with Kathy and Zack does very well at identifying letters and numbers. She asked him several questions including how old are you. He said he was 20 and when she doubted him he insisted he was 20. Finally he admitted he wasn’t 20 so she asked again how old he was…18 he said with a smile. Kathy loves his sense of humor. 4:00 O.T. with Mary Beth and Zack plays a video game. He has to move a basket to catch balls. He had played it for the first time yesterday on the beginning setting (1). Today he scored very well on 5. He also played basketball. My brother had showed up and they took turns shooting baskets, Zack with his right arm. Zack enjoyed the competition and began to shoot better when my brother teased him about not shooting as well as Dylan. Mary Beth said his right arm is getting much stronger. Zack got a new wheelchair. It’s a sleek little number that has much bigger wheels that he could move himself. When we finally got back to the room Zack was very tired. He was asleep soon after getting in bed. Dr Mook (physiatrist) and Heidi stop by to check on Zack but they don’t wake him. He tells me Zack can get his hair washed in the shower tonight (that should feel really good since he hasn’t washed it in 50 days). I also think Dr. Mook likes teasing me because when I showed him how Zack wrote his full name he asked me “are you going to put it on the website?” Actually I hadn’t thought about it but it sounds like a good idea so if it shows up here you can thank Dr. Mook. At 7:00 Zack’s friends start to arrive and I stick to the rule about only 2 or 3 people in the room at one time. Everyone is so patient about waiting their turn in the hall so they make it easy for me.
7:30 and 7:50 Zack has 2 attacks. I am anxious to talk to Dr. Holmes tomorrow and figure out what is going on. I got a phone call today from Mrs. Funderburg who was Zack’s assistant principal in Middle School (she is now the principal at one of Christian Academy’s other campus). She is involved in the Discovery Program at her school,
which teaches kids with learning differences. She has been thinking about Zack a lot and what she can do for him. She said God has put it on her heart to come work with him on the weekends when he is not having therapy. That is such a blessing to us for several reasons. Zack could use additional help with writing, reading and comprehension. Zack gets bored on the weekends when he doesn’t have therapy so this will be something he will enjoy. He told his friends tonight that he wants to go back to school. We are so overwhelmed at the outpouring of compassion for Zack. I was reading again today about the factors that impact a person’s recovery. They stress the importance of personal motivation and family support. Zack has the biggest family in the world and tons of support! Please pray that the staff here will see his support and realize it is the Christian connection that ties us all together. When one child of God is hurting He sends healing in many forms…teenagers, schoolteachers, ministers, parents, people who hardly know him and give encouragement on line and prayer. We are tremendously blessed and want the world to know it. Pray that we will have many opportunities to share Zack’s story. Pray his recovery will impact others to want to know how great is our God!
2 Cor. 1:7 “And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort”.