Courtney had a painful day today as her left arm was very sore and she had general aches and pains magnified by a hyperalert nervous system as she continues to wake up. Courtney also had emotional pain today as she was definitely struck with the magnitude of her current deficits. It was clear to Courtney today that she is walking, talking, writing and doing everything different and always needing help. She shed many tears today over this and we comforted her as best we could. Despite all her own pain Courtney managed to make us laugh - on purpose - with funny Courtney faces. At one point Craig said "is Daddy silly sometimes?" and Courtney made a funny face and shook her head no - everyone broke out in hysterics.
Today was a big eating day for Courtney as she passed the test to move on to ground and soft foods like pancakes and pasta. It was not an easy test and Courtney challenged Kathleen, the speech therapist by saying "you don't have the right to tell a person what to eat." We were all shocked and impressed by this obvious sign of personal independence, dignity and high level thought. Kathleen respectfully explained to Courtney why she has to make sure that Courtney can safely eat certain foods. Courtney was satisfied with the answer and continued on to pass the test!
Other than some walking today was a day of well deserved rest for Courtney. Imagine in the past two weeks she started and has greatly improved: walking, talking, eating, and independent personal care. These milestones and her diligence in improving at each have the entire staff amazed and delighted. We are so grateful for this progress. When Courtney made her sisters, friends and Mom and Dad laugh only one thought entered my mind: 'thank you God' and I repeated it over and over and over in my head while happy tears ran down my face.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Mom's Update
Today was a ride on the Courtney coaster. The day started on a funny note with Courtney making typical funny Courtney faces and showing typical Courtney impatience with certain adults. It was so true Courtney it made me laugh until she smiled along.
Courtney is starting to remember important things like the day, date, year, etc. Therapists use a box of commonly used items and ask Courtney to name them. For a 19 year old girl, a pipe and hammer are not exactly commonly used items. I suggested that we try things Courtney is more familiar with. I pulled out my makeup bag and Courtney went on to name :
makeup case; lipgloss; mascara (not an easy word to say). Then I showed Courtney my phone and asked what it was. Courtney said "work phone" - 100% correct not just any cell phone but my work cell phone. I asked Courtney to tell the speech therapist what kind of cell phone she has -"blackberry"she said - right again!
Courtney's voice is getting stronger and louder. Unfortunately we are not skipping the agitated phase when people use inappropriate language and physical aggression. I can't write what Courtney said but rest assured that she said it with much conviction and sent along the universal sign for a have a nice day!
While I make jokes about this it is truly upsetting to see Courtney act so out of character. While Jillian and Cary were visiting today Courtney had one of those upsetting moments. Her friends acted admirably in staying as calm as possible in a very emotional moment. Courtney would be very proud of them. The rest of the visit was calm and quiet. We are hopeful that this unpleasant phase of waking up ends quickly!
We ended the day on a high note with many warm and gentle hugs and Courtney enjoying 2 rocketpop popsicles. After having the 1st popsicle I told Courtney to use her voice so I could make sure that none of it went into her lungs. She said "like, I want another one?" Okay I said, but just 1 more. Courtney said "or 2?" No I said "1 more and that's it." She savored both popsicles. After 9 weeks of tubes and scopes and more tubes and trach tubes in her throat drinking cold water, cold apple juice and finally frozen pops is a truly enjoyable experience for Courtney. It's wonderful to see her enjoy something and as she does -she nods her head 'yes', 'yes', 'yes' ...that's sooo gooood!!!! We love you Courtney - it's good to see you coming back to us!
Courtney is starting to remember important things like the day, date, year, etc. Therapists use a box of commonly used items and ask Courtney to name them. For a 19 year old girl, a pipe and hammer are not exactly commonly used items. I suggested that we try things Courtney is more familiar with. I pulled out my makeup bag and Courtney went on to name :
makeup case; lipgloss; mascara (not an easy word to say). Then I showed Courtney my phone and asked what it was. Courtney said "work phone" - 100% correct not just any cell phone but my work cell phone. I asked Courtney to tell the speech therapist what kind of cell phone she has -"blackberry"she said - right again!
Courtney's voice is getting stronger and louder. Unfortunately we are not skipping the agitated phase when people use inappropriate language and physical aggression. I can't write what Courtney said but rest assured that she said it with much conviction and sent along the universal sign for a have a nice day!
While I make jokes about this it is truly upsetting to see Courtney act so out of character. While Jillian and Cary were visiting today Courtney had one of those upsetting moments. Her friends acted admirably in staying as calm as possible in a very emotional moment. Courtney would be very proud of them. The rest of the visit was calm and quiet. We are hopeful that this unpleasant phase of waking up ends quickly!
We ended the day on a high note with many warm and gentle hugs and Courtney enjoying 2 rocketpop popsicles. After having the 1st popsicle I told Courtney to use her voice so I could make sure that none of it went into her lungs. She said "like, I want another one?" Okay I said, but just 1 more. Courtney said "or 2?" No I said "1 more and that's it." She savored both popsicles. After 9 weeks of tubes and scopes and more tubes and trach tubes in her throat drinking cold water, cold apple juice and finally frozen pops is a truly enjoyable experience for Courtney. It's wonderful to see her enjoy something and as she does -she nods her head 'yes', 'yes', 'yes' ...that's sooo gooood!!!! We love you Courtney - it's good to see you coming back to us!
from UB
I saw Courtney Sunday and was very impressed with her progess. She continues to live up to the nickname I assigned her, "The Energizer Courtney". It was so encouraging to witness the speed and ease in which Courtney can now sit up in bed and how much more aware she is of her surroundings.
Since Courtney "woke", even in the limited sense that we see, as I have left her at the end of every visit, I have told her, "Bye Courtney, I'll see you soon." So far, Courtney has not responded to me in any discernable manner other than to look at me. That's good enough for me given her condition and the fact that I only see her once a week now and she may have trouble remembering me.
As a step-parent, I have learned that one the most difficult challenges of parenthood is achieving balance. The readers who are parents are more familiar with this issue than I. A child misbehaves and we may struggle with the penalty for such behavior. Is it too much or not enough? As they grow older - when should we press for info and when should we back off ? How much rope should we give them and when do we let go of the rope? I've found that this struggle can also be painful.
This point has been driven home to me while visiting Courtney over the course of these past few months. Day after day, Diane and Craig deal with this formidable challenge made all the more difficult and painful as Courtney's condition continues to change on a weekly basis. At times they may struggle with when they should back off and when they should intervene in Courtney's care, or when they should give Courtney room as they support and coax her back to her old self. Given the intensity of their love for their daughter, this must be extremely difficult and extremely painful.
God continue to bless them and hold them during this monumental struggle.
Since Courtney "woke", even in the limited sense that we see, as I have left her at the end of every visit, I have told her, "Bye Courtney, I'll see you soon." So far, Courtney has not responded to me in any discernable manner other than to look at me. That's good enough for me given her condition and the fact that I only see her once a week now and she may have trouble remembering me.
As a step-parent, I have learned that one the most difficult challenges of parenthood is achieving balance. The readers who are parents are more familiar with this issue than I. A child misbehaves and we may struggle with the penalty for such behavior. Is it too much or not enough? As they grow older - when should we press for info and when should we back off ? How much rope should we give them and when do we let go of the rope? I've found that this struggle can also be painful.
This point has been driven home to me while visiting Courtney over the course of these past few months. Day after day, Diane and Craig deal with this formidable challenge made all the more difficult and painful as Courtney's condition continues to change on a weekly basis. At times they may struggle with when they should back off and when they should intervene in Courtney's care, or when they should give Courtney room as they support and coax her back to her old self. Given the intensity of their love for their daughter, this must be extremely difficult and extremely painful.
God continue to bless them and hold them during this monumental struggle.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Mom's Update
Courtney's trip to BMC and back was quick and mostly uneventful. The only point of interest was the traffic and misguided driver who thought he could 'cut' through the city and instead gave us the grand tour of Beantown!
The trip was very tiring for Courtney and so between the traveling and exhaustion it cut her therapy time down. She did very well with speech today and was talking to her OT and PT. We saw the stubborn Courtney we know and love today. Maureen, from speech, came in this morning. Courtney wrote on the dry erase board "leave me alone". Maureen asked "why do you want me to leave you alone?" Courtney wrote 'because I want to be left alone" (da da duh)! I asked Courtney if she remembered why she is at Braintree -she wrote "because of Mom." So I explained again about the accident and head injury and said that Maureen was there to help her get better. She nodded and looked at Maureen and said "I'm sorry." Maureen said 'you don't have to be sorry, but what are you sorry about?" Courtney answered "for being bossy."
Tomorrow or the next day Courtney will be walking the practice stairs in the gym. Her walking is very good now and Alissa has been practicing with me so that Courtney and I can walk alone. This weekend she will practice with Craig so he'll know how to walk along with Courtney too.
The trip was very tiring for Courtney and so between the traveling and exhaustion it cut her therapy time down. She did very well with speech today and was talking to her OT and PT. We saw the stubborn Courtney we know and love today. Maureen, from speech, came in this morning. Courtney wrote on the dry erase board "leave me alone". Maureen asked "why do you want me to leave you alone?" Courtney wrote 'because I want to be left alone" (da da duh)! I asked Courtney if she remembered why she is at Braintree -she wrote "because of Mom." So I explained again about the accident and head injury and said that Maureen was there to help her get better. She nodded and looked at Maureen and said "I'm sorry." Maureen said 'you don't have to be sorry, but what are you sorry about?" Courtney answered "for being bossy."
Tomorrow or the next day Courtney will be walking the practice stairs in the gym. Her walking is very good now and Alissa has been practicing with me so that Courtney and I can walk alone. This weekend she will practice with Craig so he'll know how to walk along with Courtney too.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Mom's Update
Today was a slow day for Courtney as she started the morning off with an upset stomach. It seems to be due to the fact that they were trying to feed her to much. Courtney was getting 'food' -glucerna through her tube every 3 hours from 6am - 12 midnight. Along with us trying to get her to eat regular food it was all to much. Courtney didn't eat much at all today as a result but did drink juice and more water.
We all know how gross hospital food smells. Courtney is sniffing everything before she eats it. As soon as she smells it she pushes it aside and won't eat it. Then the smell of the hospital food was in the air and she wouldn't even eat yogurt or ice cream. This along with her finnicky (?) appetite is going to make eating a challenge.
I have let Courtney know how important it is for her to eat regular food so she can get better and come home. Tomorrow I will bring homemade scrambled eggs, Quaker oatmeal and yogurt smoothies. Wish me luck!
Courtney was speaking alot today and said "Daddy" for the first time. It made Craig soooo happy. I asked her "what's Daddy's first name?" she said "honey" (that's what I call him)!
When I asked her what his friends call him she said "Craig". Courtney wrote on the dry erase board again today. In clear letters she wrote "Courtney Eva Hollingworth" - "Courtney wants to know what else" (...she was doing before the accident i.e., school & work). She also wrote "obama" "the yogurt" "URI" "Emma".
Courtney played tic tac toe and answered alot of questions accurately today. Speech therapy is going to be mainly focused on repeating much basic information so that Courtney can retrain her brain to remember and reality orientation. Day, time, place, etc.
Courtney is now walking with assistance from only one person and we did some walking -just the 2 of us. Despite not feeling well Courtney once again showed her strong work ethic and determination by participating in almost all therapy sessions. Tomorrow we will travel to BMC for a follow up with Dr. Brown's office but so far the pump looks great.
We all know how gross hospital food smells. Courtney is sniffing everything before she eats it. As soon as she smells it she pushes it aside and won't eat it. Then the smell of the hospital food was in the air and she wouldn't even eat yogurt or ice cream. This along with her finnicky (?) appetite is going to make eating a challenge.
I have let Courtney know how important it is for her to eat regular food so she can get better and come home. Tomorrow I will bring homemade scrambled eggs, Quaker oatmeal and yogurt smoothies. Wish me luck!
Courtney was speaking alot today and said "Daddy" for the first time. It made Craig soooo happy. I asked her "what's Daddy's first name?" she said "honey" (that's what I call him)!
When I asked her what his friends call him she said "Craig". Courtney wrote on the dry erase board again today. In clear letters she wrote "Courtney Eva Hollingworth" - "Courtney wants to know what else" (...she was doing before the accident i.e., school & work). She also wrote "obama" "the yogurt" "URI" "Emma".
Courtney played tic tac toe and answered alot of questions accurately today. Speech therapy is going to be mainly focused on repeating much basic information so that Courtney can retrain her brain to remember and reality orientation. Day, time, place, etc.
Courtney is now walking with assistance from only one person and we did some walking -just the 2 of us. Despite not feeling well Courtney once again showed her strong work ethic and determination by participating in almost all therapy sessions. Tomorrow we will travel to BMC for a follow up with Dr. Brown's office but so far the pump looks great.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Mom's Update
Courtney did alot more walking today and practically walking on her own! She used the auto ambulator today - a special treadmill with a harness that helps people maintain proper posture while assisting with weight bearing. Courtney tends to walk with better posture without the harness machines as she quickly realizes she can sit down and yet walk at the same time!
Courtney also talked alot more today and the motivation for this was water -just plain old water. Because it is a thin liquid and staff here has been concerned that Courtney would aspirate she hasn't been allowed to drink water although she'll frequently grab the cup of ice chips and tip the cup back to get whatever water she can!
Kathleen brought a lunch tray in with mashed potatos, carrots, chicken parm all pureed. All that Courtney wanted was the water. Kathleen asked to hear Courtney's voice before she would give her the water and Courtney asked 'like yes?'. Kathleen said "yes like the word yes". After that Courtney gave the answer to everyone question ever asked at Braintree before it was even asked! She said "Courtney - Hollingworth - URI - 19 yrs old - Katy - Claudia -yes - no"
It was quite funny to hear her talk so much and be so motivated by a simple pleasure like ice cold water.
It's hard to describe how hard Courtney is working to do the multitude of things she's doing. The processing required to eat, walk, wash, dress, answer questions, count and generally stay awake through therapy is all exhausting. Courtney will often hold up her index finger and then point to her mouth - her non verbal way of saying 'give me a minute to get the words out.'
The JFK was conducted again today and Courtney scored a 19. We know that she can get a score of 23 and be done with JFK it's just a matter of hitting all the right buttons at the right time! Regardless everyone here continues to be amazed at her progress and we pray to God that it keeps on going.
Courtney also talked alot more today and the motivation for this was water -just plain old water. Because it is a thin liquid and staff here has been concerned that Courtney would aspirate she hasn't been allowed to drink water although she'll frequently grab the cup of ice chips and tip the cup back to get whatever water she can!
Kathleen brought a lunch tray in with mashed potatos, carrots, chicken parm all pureed. All that Courtney wanted was the water. Kathleen asked to hear Courtney's voice before she would give her the water and Courtney asked 'like yes?'. Kathleen said "yes like the word yes". After that Courtney gave the answer to everyone question ever asked at Braintree before it was even asked! She said "Courtney - Hollingworth - URI - 19 yrs old - Katy - Claudia -yes - no"
It was quite funny to hear her talk so much and be so motivated by a simple pleasure like ice cold water.
It's hard to describe how hard Courtney is working to do the multitude of things she's doing. The processing required to eat, walk, wash, dress, answer questions, count and generally stay awake through therapy is all exhausting. Courtney will often hold up her index finger and then point to her mouth - her non verbal way of saying 'give me a minute to get the words out.'
The JFK was conducted again today and Courtney scored a 19. We know that she can get a score of 23 and be done with JFK it's just a matter of hitting all the right buttons at the right time! Regardless everyone here continues to be amazed at her progress and we pray to God that it keeps on going.
Monday's update late
Lots of talking and walking yesterday.
Courtney was eating vanilla ice cream in the morning and we were talking about other foods Courtney might want to eat. She said 'maybe next time you could just order ***(unclear word). I asked 'pizza?' headshake no. 'chinese food?' headshake no. Then she began frantically looking around so I asked 'do you want to write it down?' Headshake yes. Courtney then wrote something that looked like the word 'chocolate' so I asked 'do you mean next time I could just bring chocolate ice cream?' - vigorous headshake yes!
Later when she was walking and she looked a bit pale Alissa asked her if she was feeling dizzy. Courtney shook her head yes. We brought Courtney into a therapy room so that Alissa could take her blood pressure. As Alissa was taking Courtney's blood pressure she looked up at us and said 'not now before when I was in the shower'.
Courtney communicated this morning that she would be watching the innauguration at noon.
There's still alot of work to be done on speech, cognition and eating. Although Courtney is speaking in sentences she's not always verbalizing. These are the things she'll be working on in the coming days and weeks.
Courtney was eating vanilla ice cream in the morning and we were talking about other foods Courtney might want to eat. She said 'maybe next time you could just order ***(unclear word). I asked 'pizza?' headshake no. 'chinese food?' headshake no. Then she began frantically looking around so I asked 'do you want to write it down?' Headshake yes. Courtney then wrote something that looked like the word 'chocolate' so I asked 'do you mean next time I could just bring chocolate ice cream?' - vigorous headshake yes!
Later when she was walking and she looked a bit pale Alissa asked her if she was feeling dizzy. Courtney shook her head yes. We brought Courtney into a therapy room so that Alissa could take her blood pressure. As Alissa was taking Courtney's blood pressure she looked up at us and said 'not now before when I was in the shower'.
Courtney communicated this morning that she would be watching the innauguration at noon.
There's still alot of work to be done on speech, cognition and eating. Although Courtney is speaking in sentences she's not always verbalizing. These are the things she'll be working on in the coming days and weeks.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Funny Faces
Those who know Courtney knows that she loves to make people laugh. Her personality began showing through yesterday with her working hard to smile - using every facial muscle she could make work.
Today as I wheeled her chair to a mirror I said "look at beautiful you" she did this funny smile with her eye brows raised. Several other times during the day she made funny faces that made us laugh and then repeated them.
It's a gift to know that her personality remains basically the same and we can't wait to hear her laughing.
Today as I wheeled her chair to a mirror I said "look at beautiful you" she did this funny smile with her eye brows raised. Several other times during the day she made funny faces that made us laugh and then repeated them.
It's a gift to know that her personality remains basically the same and we can't wait to hear her laughing.
Mom's Update
Courtney did some great walking today and went even longer than yesterday. Her posture gets stronger every day and her steps get faster too!
The challenge now is keeping Courtney down. She is constantly sitting up at the edge of the bed and wanting to stand and walk. In her state of confusion she doesn't realize that she can't walk alone yet. This afternoon she directed nurse Dottie to stand on one side of her and me on the other - positioning us like the therapists who walk with Courtney!
Courtney's also trying to speak more but still in a whisper - I reminded her today that I'm 'half deaf' and so now when she speaks to me she grabs my ear and pulls me in closer.
She seems to have gotten over the haircut thing and her appetite was back today. Just before noon Courtney told me she was hungry! What a great thing to hear - I ran and got some yogurt to give her. She also had vanilla ice cream today - not the best 2 things for a lactose intollerant kid but the choices are limited for soft foods.
Courtney will start eating more regular meals this week to see how much of her caloric needs she can get through regular eating.
Courtney's progress is so amazing that every day I tell her how amazing she is. The staff here are all sooooo excited about how well Courtney is doing. To think that it was one week ago that she started walking and now she is walking with very little assistance, becoming independent with dressing, eating and talking. We are so tremendously grateful for Courtney's amazing progress, her strong will to recover and her hard work each day to make that happen.
The challenge now is keeping Courtney down. She is constantly sitting up at the edge of the bed and wanting to stand and walk. In her state of confusion she doesn't realize that she can't walk alone yet. This afternoon she directed nurse Dottie to stand on one side of her and me on the other - positioning us like the therapists who walk with Courtney!
Courtney's also trying to speak more but still in a whisper - I reminded her today that I'm 'half deaf' and so now when she speaks to me she grabs my ear and pulls me in closer.
She seems to have gotten over the haircut thing and her appetite was back today. Just before noon Courtney told me she was hungry! What a great thing to hear - I ran and got some yogurt to give her. She also had vanilla ice cream today - not the best 2 things for a lactose intollerant kid but the choices are limited for soft foods.
Courtney will start eating more regular meals this week to see how much of her caloric needs she can get through regular eating.
Courtney's progress is so amazing that every day I tell her how amazing she is. The staff here are all sooooo excited about how well Courtney is doing. To think that it was one week ago that she started walking and now she is walking with very little assistance, becoming independent with dressing, eating and talking. We are so tremendously grateful for Courtney's amazing progress, her strong will to recover and her hard work each day to make that happen.
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