Day 9, Madonna Rehab Center. One day closer to getting out of here is what these days are all about. Much of what we do here can be done at home without all the hurry up and wait. We started our day with a swallow test and a sweet little chuckle from Lora when I informed her I couldve tested her swallowing myself. I think its the same chuckle I get when I suggest stacking while we try to sleep in these tiny beds. Before we leave this place Im going to find one of those suggestion forms and suggest queen-sized beds. You cant get everything you need from a needle or a pill! :) I have started Lora on a little rewards program. Queen-sized beds would make my program much easier to implement. The swallow test Lora was given involved a much smaller tube than what Id have used at home. It also had a camera on the end and was hooked to a monitor that showed in real-time how food was going down. She knew shed have trouble with this test. Due to being orally intubated for three weeks, Lora has trouble swallowing due to a loss of swallowing muscles. She had feared this test a little because of having another tube shoved up her nose. It turned out not to be as bad as she thought. Lora is becoming more independent each day. I can feel muscles forming in her legs and belly that werent there a couple days ago. We have gone chair-less while in the room. She walks to her bathroom with just a little help with balance from me. The balance issues are still from either vision or vistibular issues. Dizziness was her main problem again today and it seemed to be worse than previous days. When she moves here head up or down she gets a feeling like shes falling. Her double vision makes it tough for her decide where the doors are and she bumps into things like a blind man. Rehab time would be greatly accelerated if she could get passed the dizziness and double-vision. Much of the day was spent in Occupational Therapy. She was given different medications and had to sort them in those containers marked Monday thru Sunday and then monthly containers were used. They also asked many questions about the medicine bottles and Lora proved to be a walking encyclopedia when it comes to medication. The human brain is an amazing healing machine. The troubles it causes and lengths of times its effected is different with everyone. Lora has some trouble with puzzles involving time but seems sharp as a tack with everything else. The therapy day ended with a vistibular exam. We were hoping this would be the answer to the dizziness. Ill try to explain the exam, keep in mind Im a plumber, photographer, and writer, not a doctor. We have crystals in our inner ear that help us with balance and also detect movement. These crystals can be dislodged when a significant brain injury occurs. They attempted to redirect these crystals with a series of head movements. Special glasses were worn that allowed us to see her eyes on a monitor. Were not sure how effective this was at this time but as always were hoping for the best. She will undergo this treatment again tomorrow for the other side. They just do one side at a time. Shes talking quite a bit now of things she wants to do when we get home. This is my favorite time of the day. I love her confidence! I love her determination! It cant be easy to stay so focused, but she does. Shes always smiling, and thats my reward... So far! Today is going to be another tough day for Lora as I plan to push harder now that we have a legitimate rewards and incentive program in place. Im surprised shes not lining up now anxious to get the day started. Maybe shes tired or something.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 10:51:51 +0000
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