Well, my question has been answered...they are definitely pushing him. Yesterday he did 12 1/2 hours off the ventilator; today theyre pushing him to 16 !!! Hes feeling a bit trampled and rushed by it all, and continues to complain that he cant breathe, but of course he has to breathe to complain, so there you have it. The therapists also surprised us this morning by starting to move him toward renewing his swallow reflex. Thats a precursor to eventually again taking food and liquids, something most of us thought would never again be in his future. We were wrong, which Im sure gave him a bit of pleasure. He also now asks us to help him with his range of motion exercises, in fact, hes down right insistent that we work him. Theres a whole set of exercises he wants us to do with his legs, but what really has his focus are the arm movements. He wants to get to the point where he can scratch his nose, and get there now! So, when you visit him, grab that right arm, put your left hand under his elbow to steady it, and work his biceps and forearm against the resistance hes putting up. If hes not resisting your move, ask him to step up his game and start. Hes no longer in this by himself; he needs his whole team in there, working his arms and legs, teasing him, laughing with him, bringing his body back to where his mind has been all this time. This afternoon I heard him tell his great friend Ken that he wants to write a book with him. He said this while waving his right arm around. He intends to hold a pen in those fingers again, and to write that book again.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 20:09:26 +0000
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