Wednesday September 21, 2005

Wednesday September 21, 2005 Got Zack up at 8:00 for breakfast, showered, dressed and his morning walk (can you see the pattern here). Heidi came by with Dr Arnold (resident) to make rounds for Dr. Mook. I told them what Dr Han told me about not having a plastic surgeon involved when his bone flap was put back and they agreed it would be better to wait until the scull has fused back together. Zack got weighed this morning and is 143 lbs. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and we talk about Zack’s aphasia. His auditory comprehension is good but he has “anomia” which is one of the components of aphasia. Object recognition corresponding with the word is difficult right now. He also has problems recognizing symbols, which is why reading is a problem. She shows him a picture and asked him to find various objects within it. He needs a lot of hints but he tries hard, is patient and polite. The only indication of frustration is a sigh. P.T. with Amy and they worked on balance. Standing on one leg with his eyes closed. Stands on an incline and repeats different positions alternating legs with his eyes closed. Kari with recreational therapy comes by to say that she will schedule an outing for Zack sometime next week after 5:00 PM with me (yeah, maybe we can go shopping). Dr. Mook comes by with the news that Zack is going home Oct. 1st and is scheduled to start Frazier East Oct 3rd. He will go to rehab at Frazier East from 9:00 – 3:00 on Mon, Wed. and Friday. Judy Eberenz, our pediatric coordinator will contact Christian Academy about a program to work Zack back into school. They are also discussing a tutor through Jefferson County Schools (it is why we pay taxes) and it’s possible they would come to our house on Tues and Thursday when he is not at Frazier (does anybody out there knows how this works?).
O.T. with Mary Beth and they go to the Frazier grocery store. She gives him 4 things to get: ice cream, tomato, chips and cereal. He remembers 2 out of 4. Then she wrote the 2 missing items down but he still couldn’t find them. She gave him 4 new items and he reads them off the list. He still couldn’t find them in the store and 5 minutes later he couldn’t read the list. Mary Beth says that aphasia confuses her because it’s never consistent. “This is hard”. Lunch and a short nap Afternoon speech and Kathy talks to him about when he is leaving. She asked him how many days it will be before he leaves. He says “nine”. Wow! She asked him why he is here, “To see you”. She says no, what happened that you are here? He responds, “An accident, hit another car”. He worked a crossword puzzle. The questions were pictures with four words to find. She helped him figure out the picture then he could easily spell them and write them in the boxes. P.T. with Amy and she asked him what he had for breakfast. He thought that Amy had just stopped to talk to him so he asked, “am I supposed to go with her?” She stretches his hamstrings and it is very painful. They work on path finding. He apologizes to Amy for getting aggravated with her when they got lost. 3:30 O.T. with Mary Beth and they wash the Frazier car. Since the girls were out of school today Rita brings them by Frazier to see Zack. They help him wash the car and he thinks it is funny. Mary Beth asked Zack what kind of car his Dad has. He answered “a truck, black, Mercedes (well he got the black truck right but the Mercedes is wishful thinking). He finishes with the car and works a puzzle and the girls get to help. In the elevator he asked, “what are we going to do with Nana” (that is what he calls my Mom who is 87). They ask him what he wants to do with her and he responds, “I don’t know as long as it isn’t fishy”. We don’t know what made him think of my Mom. Kyle gives him a Wet Willy (licks her finger and sticks it in his ear) and he smacks her on the head. Big brother returns! He has dinner at 6:00 and then turns on the music and dances with his sisters. He decides he wants a shower before his visitors come. Dr. Han called me today and told me that Zack’s bone flap was good so he has scheduled the surgery for Oct. He couldn’t remember the exact date so he would have his office call me tomorrow and let me know. I would like to schedule it for the week of Oct 3rd since he will be in the hospital for at least 3 days and wouldn’t receive therapy that week. Frazier East would prefer his flap be put back on before he starts there so they don’t have to interrupt therapy. Now my mission is to convince Dr Han to fit me into his surgery schedule for that week. Then he would start Frazier East Oct. 10th and will go every day that first week so they can evaluate him. I am anxious to get everything set up in advance so I feel like I have some control over things. They are not used to a Mom that doesn’t just sit back and tell her how things are done. I like making things happen. I need to prepare things at home for Zack to return. I want a comfortable, safe place for him to hang out with his friends. I am looking for a sectional couch for our basement if anyone knows of a bargain. I am excited and frantic about his return home. I want things to be perfect. Please pray that I remember to breathe again. Pray that Zack shows great improvement just being in familiar surroundings. Pray that our whole family can adjust to this new stage of recovery. Praise God that he has gotten us this far and continue to lift Zack up.