Tuesday January 24, 2005

Tuesday January 24, 2006 Zack, Scott and I met with Dr. Perri (psychologist) at Frazier East to review his Neuro Psych Evaluation taken in the beginning of January. This determines where he is at in his recovery, his deficit areas and gives us a baseline to compare future evaluations. A lot of what they discovered was not surprising. Reading and verbal comprehension was impacted by aphasia. The test showed deficiencies in processing speed and attention to visual detail and visual tracking. His visual perception problems impacted his performance across tests requiring visual acuity, but we expect this to improve with vision therapy (more on this later). His immediate memory is impaired, with retention of auditory information being a bigger problem than visual memory (which was still weak). The surprising finding was that his working memory was very strong. Working memory is the ability to hold several facts or thoughts in memory temporarily while solving a problem or performing a task. Working memory is an intermediary and active memory system in the information processing area of the brain. It is an important memory system and the one that most of us use every day. He demonstrated above average attention and concentration and was strong in perceptual organization and reasoning. He scored above average in a category test that measures novel problem solving abilities (new learning) that are not dependant on academic training. He easily and quickly developed strategies to use in situations of novel problem solving. Some of the results were confusing and we didn’t have enough time to thoroughly review them with Dr Perri so we will have to meet again. Overall he is considered mildly impaired. In general observations they say he is cooperative, gives good effort, pleasant, friendly, charming and unconcerned about his deficits but not unaware of his aphasia. The examiners believe he may not fully experience the magnitude of his cognitive impairment until he returns to school. Dr Perri agrees with us that his attitude has been very good and he is not easily frustrated. Zack knows that reading is now very difficult for him and he states it as a fact much like he gets really tired in the afternoon. We have been blessed that depression has not been a factor and we pray that his attitude will remain positive. Encouragement, positive reinforcement and providing situations where he can succeed will continue to be our focus. Living his motto “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” will carry us through his recovery. Dr. Perri did get to see firsthand where Zack gets his sense of humor and silliness from since Scott met him for the first time today. Scott told him that he also suffered a head injury as a child (which explains a lot… lol). When Scott was 12 years old he was hit by a car while riding his bike, ironically on the day after he was baptized. He was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital and was in a coma for a while. He doesn’t remember the weeks leading up to the accident but he vividly remembers the old lady who he said climbed under the car and wiped the blood from his face at the scene of the accident. All the witnesses say there was no old woman, no one wiped blood from his face, but Scott still insisted she was there. He remembers when he came home that all his friends told him he was different, he wasn’t the same as before the accident. Now whenever Scott acts strange we always laugh and blame it on “blunt force trauma”. As we prepare to leave Dr. Perri asked Zack if he has any questions about the test. After his usual funny comments about finding a girlfriend he asked Dr Perri, “Did I do good? Did it say I tried hard?” Dr Perri responded that he didn’t need to look at test results to know that Zack tried hard. He has worked with him long enough to know now that when it is important Zack will give it his best effort. As we walk to the car Zack asked me if I thought he did good on the test and I assured him that he did fine. He may seem unconcerned about his deficits but he is definitely concerned that we know he is trying his best. When we get in the car I listen to the voicemail from Dr. Weinberg (behavioral optometrist) responding to my request on the progress of his visual therapy (I told you I would get to it). He explained that Zack is making gains in visual teaming, focusing and tracking and they are just getting started with visual processing. They are pleased with his progress but he needs to do more homework in visual therapy. I never knew they were giving him work to do at home. We discussed the importance of vision therapy for driving and reading so Zack brought out some papers to practice on teaming and focusing. As we drove home Zack kept pointing out the sky to me, showing me different clouds and they way the rays of the sun streamed through them. He always notices the sky now. I stop and get gas and we sit in the car and watch the clouds through the sunroof and he tells me how beautiful it looks. Appreciation of the world God gave him back is a blessing that doesn’t escape us. We stop at Coffee Crossing and he gets the coffee drink that Scott promised earlier. We pick up the rest of the kids at Christian Academy and then head home so Zack can take his nap. After dinner Zack practices his vision therapy and then we sit down with some of Dylan’s English workbooks and work on vocabulary. I was surprised and Zack was pleased with himself that he could fill in the blank on sentences using words like disgruntled, indignant and gingerly (words he doesn’t use everyday). Because he was successful he tells me that he wants to start sitting down more often and do “learning stuff like this”. He finishes his homework assignment from Leslie by reading a book to Logan (which of course she loved). Once everyone is in bed I read the Neuro Psych Evaluation for the 4th or 5th time, this time with a highlighter. I wonder how well he will manage school and then remember my visit there yesterday. When I came to pick the kids up from after school care I decided to see if some of Zack’s teachers were there. I got to speak with Janet Smith (8th grade science) and Mrs. “Mac” McFerran (English) both who are anxious to see Zack return to school and ready to help him succeed. They tell me what a great class the current sophomores are and that Zack has a lot of friends there. I leave feeling very much a part of a family here. This is not just where Zack gets an education but where he has grown spiritually. Since kindergarten he has learned scripture verses that he has now lived through. He has overcome tremendous obstacles and come out with a positive attitude and deeper faith. It is not coincidence. It is not due to great medical care or excellent therapy, although we have received both. It is a strong foundation of biblical truths. It is the sincere prayers of many believers. It is the awesome power of a mighty God delighting in the victory He is being given through Zack’s struggles. Please continue to pray for Zack’s complete recovery for God’s glory.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”.