Courtney had 2 sessions of PT today during which she worked on standing. Each time she stood for 10 seconds - it may not sound like long but when you haven't stood for 8 weeks it's a long time and alot of hard work!
Courtney is sitting forward using her core muscles very well and can reach for things on the tray table in front of her. She was watching Annie earlier tonight and was clearly getting tired. She reached out toward the portable DVD so I pulled her hand back. She reach out again and shut the DVD cover and looked at me as if to say "I'm done!" I got the point.
Courtney is becoming better at using the spoon to feed herself each day. She's doing more of the daily care and has a greater awareness of what she wants and what needs to be done.
Most exciting for me today was when Courtney rolled on her stomach, lifted herself onto her elbows and got herself almost all the way to a sitting position! Amazing but apparently not the proper way to sit in bed so PT is working on showing Courtney the safe way to do things.
As a Mom who gets excited I sometimes forget that it's not a good thing for her to be kneeling up in bed, grabbing a full cup of ice or cleverly pulling the seatbelt off in the wheelchair and leaning forward to make a quick escape! I'm always so impressed and excited by these things I don't think of safety - this is when I let the experts do their thing and become the cheerleader. I'll often yell "yes Courtney that's terrific."
Courtney's visitors today kept her busy as well. Among them was Sarah (SJ) a friend from LaSalle. Courtney quickly started checking out Sarah's pocketbook - very cute yellow bag. Then Craig said "oooh and look at Sarah's shoes." Courtney leaned forward in the wheel chair and looked right down at the shoes then back up at Sarah's face as if to say 'nice shoes'! It never fails to amaze us that she has such great object recognition.
Another impressive recent development is that Courtney is doing what's called 'sequencing'. She understands that things need to happen in certain order. For instance, when working with Melane and Kathleen, Courtney tired of following their commands. She held the brush brought her arm up in the air and threw it straight at Kathleen's head! Normally an employee would be upset about something like this - but this is the strange world of rehab - and so Kathleen and Melane were so excited that Courtney was 'sequencing'!
Courtney has also learned that while in the wheel chair she can grab at the hand railings and move herself! She is now spreading her blanket out to cover herself using both hands and will move items from one hand to the next to get the best grip.
All of this is amazing progress since the pump was put in just 3 days ago. Many of us have noticed that Courtney is attempting to say 'yes' and 'no'. The staff has noticed this a number of times and encourages Courtney to try to speak. I believe that once the trach is out she will make many more attempts.
Today is 8 weeks from the date of the accident and Courtney's progress has been miraculous. We are so grateful for all the support and prayers we have been given and of course mostly for God's grace in saving Courtney and giving us these miracles.
Each day in the hospital we are reminded that there are many people suffering. Craig's co-worker has 2 sons who were involved in a serious accident years ago. One of the sons lives with a life long disability, the other has recovered. Just the other day their third son, only 27 years old died following an asthma attack.
After these past 8 weeks we have some understanding of the immense pain these parents are feeling but will never truly understand their loss. We pray that they are surrounded by loving family and friends and that God will give them the strength to bear this pain. Each day we pray for Courtney's caregivers and also for the many others who sit by the bed of a loved one waiting in hope for a miracle or watching in faith for their loved one's passing to eternal life. May God give all of us strength to continue on our journeys.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Mom's Update
Courtney had her first try in the 'standing lift' - this is a unique device that starts in the seated position with support in the front of the knees and a harness around the chest. Her feet are placed inside metal foot plates that hold them in place. Slowly the machine brings Courtney to a full standing position. This was an exciting and exhausting moment for the therapists, Courtney and I as she is quite active all the time.
Courtney also stood with help holding onto a bar that looks like something you find in a dance studio. There's no doubt that Courtney wants to stand - the only thing keeping her from standing is the wobbly legs and stiffness in her left ankle. Most other areas that had severe spasticity have improved. She still has problems with her left wrist, elbow and left ankle.
The rest should continue to improve with the pump and physical therapy. For the more difficult areas Courtney will have botox injections and if necessary casting.
Courtney had orange juice, yogurt, chocolate ice cream today. She looked through a very special book that Courtney made on shutterfly about she and her friend Emma. Courtney turned the pages and looked at the pictures.
Courtney's restlessness and increased agitation and aggression are keeping everyone on their toes. She is active regardless of whether she's in bed or in the wheelchair - throwing teddy bears out of bed, pulling at the trachea, grabbing hands, hair and anything else she can get her hands on! Although Courtney's not speaking yet she makes it very clear what she needs and what is bothering her. Each day she's making vocal chord sounds and we all encourage her to speak.
The weekend will be very busy for Courtney with lots of therapy and visits planned by friends and family. Thank you for being understanding when Courtney is receiving therapy and for remembering that she is easily overstimulated by to many people or loud voices. We look forward to seeing visitors and appreciate the cards and packages that arrive daily for Courtney. We change the cards, pictures and other items around her room so that she gets to see it all.
Courtney also stood with help holding onto a bar that looks like something you find in a dance studio. There's no doubt that Courtney wants to stand - the only thing keeping her from standing is the wobbly legs and stiffness in her left ankle. Most other areas that had severe spasticity have improved. She still has problems with her left wrist, elbow and left ankle.
The rest should continue to improve with the pump and physical therapy. For the more difficult areas Courtney will have botox injections and if necessary casting.
Courtney had orange juice, yogurt, chocolate ice cream today. She looked through a very special book that Courtney made on shutterfly about she and her friend Emma. Courtney turned the pages and looked at the pictures.
Courtney's restlessness and increased agitation and aggression are keeping everyone on their toes. She is active regardless of whether she's in bed or in the wheelchair - throwing teddy bears out of bed, pulling at the trachea, grabbing hands, hair and anything else she can get her hands on! Although Courtney's not speaking yet she makes it very clear what she needs and what is bothering her. Each day she's making vocal chord sounds and we all encourage her to speak.
The weekend will be very busy for Courtney with lots of therapy and visits planned by friends and family. Thank you for being understanding when Courtney is receiving therapy and for remembering that she is easily overstimulated by to many people or loud voices. We look forward to seeing visitors and appreciate the cards and packages that arrive daily for Courtney. We change the cards, pictures and other items around her room so that she gets to see it all.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Mom's Update
Courtney was out of bed for a long time today and had a very busy therapy day.
She ate oatmeal, fruit and applesauce. She also drank water (although not for the first time). Courtney holds the cup with ice - once she finds the water in the cup she spits out the ice until she gets more water. The oatmeal really cracked me up since Courtney would not have eaten oatmeal before the accident. I am determined to have them feed her all the foods that wouldn't have eaten before in hopes that her finnicky eating habits will change!
Therapists conducted the JFK test today and Courtney scored a 17 - that's a 5 point jump since the last time they did the test. The JFK maxes out at 23 so she's almost on to another test.
Courtney used the brush a couple of times to brush her hair and is now demonstrating the strength of her 'throwing' arm when she gets tired of cooperating with therapy.
She grabbed Dr. Katz arm today and squeezed it very hard - smacked his hand away and tried to grab his flashlight. So in some respects everyone is meeting Courtney for the first time!!!!
Already Courtney's limbs are looser than before the pump and that's a hugely promising sign.
The trachea will be capped - meaning that no air is flowing into or out of it - for longer periods of time starting tomorrow in an attempt to move to removing it. Courtney will also be eating every day (although not 3 meals because it's exhausting) from this point forward.
All the progress we hoped for and a great first day back at Braintree. As we continue to pray for her full recovery let's add special prayers that we will soon hear her voice as we all miss it soooo much!!!! I long to hear her say "mommy". She is starting to sigh and make more noise so we believe she is very close to using her voice.
I'll finish today by saying we love everyone here at Braintree and all agree we can't decide whose our favorite since everyone is so amazing, caring and loving with Courtney.
Thank God for all these wonderful people!
She ate oatmeal, fruit and applesauce. She also drank water (although not for the first time). Courtney holds the cup with ice - once she finds the water in the cup she spits out the ice until she gets more water. The oatmeal really cracked me up since Courtney would not have eaten oatmeal before the accident. I am determined to have them feed her all the foods that wouldn't have eaten before in hopes that her finnicky eating habits will change!
Therapists conducted the JFK test today and Courtney scored a 17 - that's a 5 point jump since the last time they did the test. The JFK maxes out at 23 so she's almost on to another test.
Courtney used the brush a couple of times to brush her hair and is now demonstrating the strength of her 'throwing' arm when she gets tired of cooperating with therapy.
She grabbed Dr. Katz arm today and squeezed it very hard - smacked his hand away and tried to grab his flashlight. So in some respects everyone is meeting Courtney for the first time!!!!
Already Courtney's limbs are looser than before the pump and that's a hugely promising sign.
The trachea will be capped - meaning that no air is flowing into or out of it - for longer periods of time starting tomorrow in an attempt to move to removing it. Courtney will also be eating every day (although not 3 meals because it's exhausting) from this point forward.
All the progress we hoped for and a great first day back at Braintree. As we continue to pray for her full recovery let's add special prayers that we will soon hear her voice as we all miss it soooo much!!!! I long to hear her say "mommy". She is starting to sigh and make more noise so we believe she is very close to using her voice.
I'll finish today by saying we love everyone here at Braintree and all agree we can't decide whose our favorite since everyone is so amazing, caring and loving with Courtney.
Thank God for all these wonderful people!
Mom's Update
Yesterday was a terribly long and not very good day. I know that you were all checking the blog to see about Courtney's transfer. It did not occur until 4pm. While Dr. Brown, his team, the OR team and many of the nurses and aids were great at BMC we did not have a good experience with some nurses and the medicine residents.
So many times over the years we've said that you absolutey need to advocate for yourself or have a good advocate in your family in the medical system today. It is not worth going into the multiple errors, lies and problems we had with some people. The most important thing is that Courtney was returned to Braintree last night and they immediately began taking wonderful care of her including treating skin wounds she got while at BMC.
Courtney managed the pain after surgery very well - she slept most of yesterday which allowed for good healing.
This morning she had a shower and as Mary her nurse said 'she was like a slippery fish'. Courtney was sliding up and down the stretcher that goes right into the shower - it was funny but exhausting. Mary and I took a shower also!
Today's plan is very busy for Courtney with lots of therapy. She'll eat again (yeah!!) and get out of bed. We'll go for a walk and get her back into a normal routine. Very soon Courtney will standing using a special table which will be the first step in her learning to walk again.
When Melane, her OT, told Courtney this Courtney stood right up on her feet! She is very very determined.
Other exciting things have happened over the past 2 days that are signs of progressive recovery. Courtney is becoming more aggressive - she pinched me hard in the face and reaches out to push people away and pinch them. She is pulling her arm through her sleeves while dressing and undressing. This morning when I handed Courtney the brush she brushed her hair a bit - that's a huge change from before when she would simply stare at the brush or try to put it in her mouth!
Last night Courtney was throwing one of her stuffed animals at Craig and I over and over. Then we put one teddy near her foot and she was kicking her leg out to kick it to us over and over. She had a smile on her face as we laughed and were very excited about this movement.
I will try and give another update today about Courtney's activities.
So many times over the years we've said that you absolutey need to advocate for yourself or have a good advocate in your family in the medical system today. It is not worth going into the multiple errors, lies and problems we had with some people. The most important thing is that Courtney was returned to Braintree last night and they immediately began taking wonderful care of her including treating skin wounds she got while at BMC.
Courtney managed the pain after surgery very well - she slept most of yesterday which allowed for good healing.
This morning she had a shower and as Mary her nurse said 'she was like a slippery fish'. Courtney was sliding up and down the stretcher that goes right into the shower - it was funny but exhausting. Mary and I took a shower also!
Today's plan is very busy for Courtney with lots of therapy. She'll eat again (yeah!!) and get out of bed. We'll go for a walk and get her back into a normal routine. Very soon Courtney will standing using a special table which will be the first step in her learning to walk again.
When Melane, her OT, told Courtney this Courtney stood right up on her feet! She is very very determined.
Other exciting things have happened over the past 2 days that are signs of progressive recovery. Courtney is becoming more aggressive - she pinched me hard in the face and reaches out to push people away and pinch them. She is pulling her arm through her sleeves while dressing and undressing. This morning when I handed Courtney the brush she brushed her hair a bit - that's a huge change from before when she would simply stare at the brush or try to put it in her mouth!
Last night Courtney was throwing one of her stuffed animals at Craig and I over and over. Then we put one teddy near her foot and she was kicking her leg out to kick it to us over and over. She had a smile on her face as we laughed and were very excited about this movement.
I will try and give another update today about Courtney's activities.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Mom's Update
Courtney's surgery was a success today. It did not begin until 12:30 due to an emergency surgery at the original timeslot.
Courtney did well throughout the surgery and recovering from anesthesia. She is relatively comfortable tonight with her pain being well managed.
She is restless despite the surgery but that's still a good sign. One of the signs of the confusional state is aggressive behavoir and Courtney started to exhibit that today - squeezing our faces and reaching out to push people away. It's funny until she gets a hold of a good chunk of hair like she did with Craig and yanks it out!!!
The plan is for Courtney to be transferred back to Braintree tomorrow which will be a huge relief for all of us as they have a full understanding of the needs of someone with a brain injury like Courtney's.
We don't often write about being thankful to God - not as often as we should - but we all pray every day thanking God for Courtney's recovery so far. Particularly remarkeable since Christmas day. Today is a day that I would like for the heavens to hear our prayers of thanks for this successful surgery and all God's blessings on Courtney thus far just as loudly as the heavens have heard all of our requests!!!
Thank you so much.
Courtney did well throughout the surgery and recovering from anesthesia. She is relatively comfortable tonight with her pain being well managed.
She is restless despite the surgery but that's still a good sign. One of the signs of the confusional state is aggressive behavoir and Courtney started to exhibit that today - squeezing our faces and reaching out to push people away. It's funny until she gets a hold of a good chunk of hair like she did with Craig and yanks it out!!!
The plan is for Courtney to be transferred back to Braintree tomorrow which will be a huge relief for all of us as they have a full understanding of the needs of someone with a brain injury like Courtney's.
We don't often write about being thankful to God - not as often as we should - but we all pray every day thanking God for Courtney's recovery so far. Particularly remarkeable since Christmas day. Today is a day that I would like for the heavens to hear our prayers of thanks for this successful surgery and all God's blessings on Courtney thus far just as loudly as the heavens have heard all of our requests!!!
Thank you so much.
Courtney's Surgery -Mom
Courtney will be heading to the OR in just a little while (it's 8am). Her surgery will start between 9 and 9:30 and will last about 1 1/2 hours.
We had a very rough start here at BMC with misinformation, missing information and less than the quality of nursing care we've been blessed with thus far. I stayed the night with Courtney to ensure that she was cared for in a way that would keep her recovery moving. Thanks to "Auntie Bean" for always being there to listen and provide sage advice.
Hopefully today will be a better day and we get the heck out of Dodge early tomorrow morning!
Please pray for the skillful hands of Dr. Esmond Brown and his team today.
Courtney's progress continues even though she's not been out of bed since Sunday. She had fruit and yogurt yesterday before leaving Braintree. She is now using both hands to accomplish some tasks. While eating ice chips with a spoon (and help) she put the spoon back into the cup to get more!
She's still pulling at her trach but now she uses her right hand to pull the mask away then the left to grab the trach - and she does this with lightning speed!
Courtney is pushing people away, touching our faces and last night she started playing with my hair. She takes some in her hand and twists it around her finger. This morning when Craig was teasing her making snorting noises she reached up and grabbed his nose!
The complicated thought processes that are taking place to facilitate all of these movements are very exciting and show further healing.
There are stories that other families of TBI survivors have shared with us about the power of prayer. I will try to get a few of those posted over the next 2 days as they are very inspiring.
We had a very rough start here at BMC with misinformation, missing information and less than the quality of nursing care we've been blessed with thus far. I stayed the night with Courtney to ensure that she was cared for in a way that would keep her recovery moving. Thanks to "Auntie Bean" for always being there to listen and provide sage advice.
Hopefully today will be a better day and we get the heck out of Dodge early tomorrow morning!
Please pray for the skillful hands of Dr. Esmond Brown and his team today.
Courtney's progress continues even though she's not been out of bed since Sunday. She had fruit and yogurt yesterday before leaving Braintree. She is now using both hands to accomplish some tasks. While eating ice chips with a spoon (and help) she put the spoon back into the cup to get more!
She's still pulling at her trach but now she uses her right hand to pull the mask away then the left to grab the trach - and she does this with lightning speed!
Courtney is pushing people away, touching our faces and last night she started playing with my hair. She takes some in her hand and twists it around her finger. This morning when Craig was teasing her making snorting noises she reached up and grabbed his nose!
The complicated thought processes that are taking place to facilitate all of these movements are very exciting and show further healing.
There are stories that other families of TBI survivors have shared with us about the power of prayer. I will try to get a few of those posted over the next 2 days as they are very inspiring.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Mom's Update
Courtney had a good day today without alot of restlessness.
She is taking the cup in her right hand and drinking from it. She even knows enough to tilt the cup and her head back all the way at the bottom!
Courtney is also using a spoon lifting it to her mouth and feeding herself ice chips.
She's definitely ready to eat real food and that will happen after her surgery this week.
Courtney is actively moving everything - she sat up today without any help and held herself in that position for quite sometime. She is also rolling all the way onto her stomach which makes her very happy since she's normally a stomach sleeper!
Courtney was also following commands today - reaching for teddy bears and giving them to the nurse Marie. All in all it was a very good day before what will be 3 demanding and exhausting days for Courtney.
Tomorrow morning Courtney will travel by ambulance to the Boston Medical for all the pre-op workup during the day tomorrow. Surgery will be Tuesday and she will return here to Braintree on Wednesday.
We hope and pray that the surgery will be a success, that the baclofin pump will ease Courtney's muscle spasticity and that she will bounce back easily and quickly get back to her remarkeable recovery.
As always we'll keep you up to date with how things progress and thank you for your prayers.
She is taking the cup in her right hand and drinking from it. She even knows enough to tilt the cup and her head back all the way at the bottom!
Courtney is also using a spoon lifting it to her mouth and feeding herself ice chips.
She's definitely ready to eat real food and that will happen after her surgery this week.
Courtney is actively moving everything - she sat up today without any help and held herself in that position for quite sometime. She is also rolling all the way onto her stomach which makes her very happy since she's normally a stomach sleeper!
Courtney was also following commands today - reaching for teddy bears and giving them to the nurse Marie. All in all it was a very good day before what will be 3 demanding and exhausting days for Courtney.
Tomorrow morning Courtney will travel by ambulance to the Boston Medical for all the pre-op workup during the day tomorrow. Surgery will be Tuesday and she will return here to Braintree on Wednesday.
We hope and pray that the surgery will be a success, that the baclofin pump will ease Courtney's muscle spasticity and that she will bounce back easily and quickly get back to her remarkeable recovery.
As always we'll keep you up to date with how things progress and thank you for your prayers.
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