Tuesday August 23, 2005

Tuesday August 23, 2005 Zack was awake in bed with the lights out when I arrived. He was in such a good mood. He told me to get him up so we could take a walk. We ran into Nick a 14 year old in a wheelchair that Zack has met many times. I asked him if he knew his name and he said “Antonio McStuff”. He is very funny and he laughs at himself. Dr. Miller came in as we were throwing the baseball. He was impressed with how well Zack was using his right arm. He also told me that after talking with all of Zack’s therapist they decided to wait on the Zolof. Depression is a natural part of this phase and an indication that he is “coming out of his injury”. They don’t want to give him anything that will suppress his recovery so Zolof will have to wait. As long as we know the plan we can deal with it. 9:00 Speech in the room with Kathy he answers all of her questions appropriately. She gave him half sentences and he had to complete them. He did very well, laughed and gave some funny answers (“Do you want to check my Mom and see where she is?”). P.T./O.T. in the gym with Amy and Mary Beth at 10:00. They worked on the lightboard again and Amy held his left hand so that he had to use his right one. He did very well at scanning the board and was very proud of his score. Then they tossed beanbags at different colored targets on the floor with his right arm. He missed one and said, “That was weak”. He missed another and snapped his fingers on his left hand as he shot. He is very relaxed and animated with his therapist. He enjoyed the game even though he had to work hard at gripping the beanbag, keeping his wrist straight and making a hard toss. They also played the game that Rita (Scott’s Mom) brought that is an oblong ball on 2 ropes that you pull back and forth. He loved it and his coordination was great. It is the perfect exercise for him because it works his shoulders and arms. He had fun and laughed a lot. Mary Beth brought out the pegboard with colored pegs. Last week he had trouble putting only 2 colors of pegs in a straight line but today he used his right hand and successfully did 4 colors. He even made a pattern skipping a hole between each peg. He is still very competitive and told them “I kicked both your butts”. After his morning therapy sessions he was ready for a nap and lay down with a smile on his face. He was quite pleased with himself. Mary Beth (O.T.) joined us for lunch to watch how he ate using his right hand. He did much better with her than he did yesterday with Lori from speech. He didn’t get mad or frustrated once and even laughed when he snuck a green bean into his mouth using his fingers. We are always asking him if he has to go to the bathroom (his brain doesn’t always relay that message) that today he asked Donna if she had to go to the bathroom. 1:30 speech with Kathy again and they tried reading. He said, “It doesn’t make any sense”. She showed him objects and words and he correctly picked the word cup for a cup. This is “word object association” and something she just started working on. He missed the next 2 items, said he didn’t know and “I need help” and got upset for just a moment. Kathy let him try a pretzel and he put the whole thing in his mouth at once. He does not know how to take small bites so all meals have to be supervised. Kathy was aware that we needed to get another negative culture for MRSA to move him out on controlled isolation. His MRSA was in his sputum (the mucus you cough up) so to get a culture done they need a sample of his sputum. To do that he needs to cough (which he hasn’t done in a long time) or they have to put a catheter down his throat and suction him. Kathy thinks she can get his to cough and spit so we will try it tomorrow. When she asked him yes/no questions today he got 70% correct. The afternoon session in the gym with Mary Beth (O.T.) was tough. She really wanted to work his right arm and shoulder so she made him shoot basketballs from a crouched position while they electrically stimulated the muscles of his right shoulder. It was hard work, he complained but he wouldn’t give up. They are impressed with his determination. She even had him lifting light weights to strengthen the right hand and arm. At the end of the session he said, “thank you” even though he cried a little. I have noticed that he has become very polite and loving, always saying thank you and hugging everyone goodbye. He took a long nap after therapy until some of his girlfriends came for a visit. They were asking him questions. He told Kara that she was a “3” on a scale of 1 to 10 but he said “1” was the best. I asked him what I was and he said I was a 2. He said he was a 2 but he said his Dad was a 50. We all laughed and he knew he was funny. Scott arrives with Dylan and the girls. We have decided to switch nights this week because the kids want me to take them to the Fair. We have to keep their life as normal as possible so I’m off to pizza, funnel cakes, rides and farm animals (pray for me). Zack had a fabulous day today so your prayers preventing depression, for the meantime, have been answered. His friends are great therapy. They throw the baseball with him and make Zack use his right hand. They challenge him to hit the balloon in his room so that he has to raise his right arm above his shoulder. But he does get tired and needs his rest so sometimes we have to run people off. Please pray that his friends will understand when their visit is cut short. Pray that they will see how hard Zack has to work to recover and be patient with him. Pray that they will be as determined to make good choices as Zack is to get better. God has blessed us so richly by giving us great advances in his recover to sustain our hope. Pray that he will continue to use Zack to bless others by demonstrating the power of prayer.