WOW...what a difference 2 days can make!
Thursday, Deb underwent a nearly 3 hour Neurological Psychology examination, during which the focus was her cognitive ability, reasoning, short term recall, long term recall, problem solving. And she blew the test out of the water. The Neurological Psychologist was totally impressed with the results of Deb's testing and said that Deb had the best short term recall she had ever seen in someone who had experienced a "major cranial trauma".
It gets better!
Friday: Deb called me shortly before noon to tell me that she no longer uses the wheel chair during the day. She used the walker to go to her various therapy sessions, to go to the bathroom. She does have someone with her during all of this...but that is a huge step forward. In physical therapy, she did walk 25 feet with no human assistance....just her and her walker!
During the afternoon Occupational Therapy sesssion, Deb mentioned that it was her sister Tina's birthday. So, Kay (Occupational Therapist) put Deb into a wheel chair for the long stroll to the gift shop so Deb could buy Tina a present. Deb has been charging people 50 cents per visit and had extorted nearly 20 bucks out of us in 5 or 6 days. She bought Tina a jar of Buckeye candy and a OSU Buckeye key chain. They took the gifts back to the Occupation Therapy room and Deb stood at the high table, without assistance or mechanical device, and tied the ribbons to the handles of the gift bag and wrote out the card. She STOOD on her own two feet.
Monday was her first day of eating all three meals...pureed foods and thickened liquids. She, after only four days of full meals, was moved to Mechanical Soft foods...which includes foods that are naturally soft (noodles, pastas, mashed potatos, bread) and meats that have been coarsely ground.
The PEG feeding (feeding tube in the abdomin) has been cut back to only 3 hours per night and her blood sugar levels have returned to normal. The endocrinologist was saying that Deb was diabetic, but we knew better. She was having very high blood sugar levels and was taking some serious amounts of insulin. As she began eating and getting less of the feeding tube goop, her blood sugars began lowering. Now that she is eating all three meals and nearly off the feeding tube goop, her blood sugars have all come back perfect the last 3 days and the endocrinologist now says that Deb is not diabetic afterall.
Her bowel movements are totally normal and totally under control. No more catheter, no more bed pan, no more incontinence.
Every day brings new break throughs....and they are coming faster. At this rate, she will be back to her normal self before long. The two big areas that are still way off are her left foot (still can not move it upwards, but she can move her toes upward a bit...which is a good sign) and the right side of her face (still paralyzed, right eye lids still not closing all the way...but these areas are controlled by the same nerve that controls swallowing...her swallowing is getting better, so it will only be a matter of time to allow the nerve to heal up and her facial control will return).
Monday will be her last full day at the hospital (Tuesday goes to the rehab center in the neighboring county/town...and boy is she anxious to be out of the hospital and to have a change of view). They are planning a pizza party for her...and she will get to eat pizza! They will have to cut it into smaller pieces and put it in the microwave with a dampened paper towel to soften the crust...but my baby will have her much longed for pepperoni, mushroom, green olive and banana pepper pizza!
OBIO
......wouldn't want her any other way.
:isadizzy: