Thursday, July 8, 2010

Just an Update....



Hello all! I just wanted to give you an update on what has happened the past few days. I was told that the average stay at Casa Colina for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient is 4-6 weeks! Greg has a lot to work on in that time period!! When I got there yesterday, he was in the standing frame. He was doing really well and he was standing pretty straight. The pictures show him in the standing frame. In the one with me, he was showing me that he's taller than me!

Greg has been pretty happy at Casa Colina, but he keeps saying that he wants to go home. He says, "My baby is waiting for me." Everyone keeps telling him that he's here to work hard so that he CAN go home. He has to do this therapy first and there are a lot of things that he has to do (like walk, eat, etc, etc) before he can go home. I don't think this concept has completely sunk in yet, but we'll just keep repeating it.

Today when I got there, Greg was sitting in his wheel chair in his room, watching TV. There is a phone in the room and it was on his lap. There's an on/off button on it and the phone was on. I asked him what he was doing with it and he said, "Calling you." Also today, he drank water from a cup! This is something that sounds so small to most people, but it's a big deal for Greg because he has not done this in 15 months. You can see him doing this in the picture to the left. He put the cup up to his mouth, tipped his head back, and put the water in his mouth. Then...he swallowed it!! Yay! After that, Greg had to go to Audiology. They check the hearing of every patient who is getting Speech Therapy. The woman conducting the hearing test put earbuds in both of his ears and she explained to him that he needed to raise his hand when he heard a sound. I was kinda wondering if Greg would perform correctly. I sat right next to him and watched him intently because I couldn't hear what he was hearing. It was so cute to watch. He was really concentrating...then I'd see him lift his hand every few seconds! He did great! And his hearing is normal as well. After Audio, he went to PT. He was very sleepy in PT today. Oh well, he'll do better tomorrow. He was supposed to get a cast on his leg today. His right ankle is very tight and he doesn't put his foot flat. The procedure is called serial casting and it is a noninvasive way to improve his range of motion. He didn't get it today because the Physical Therapist wanted to hold off a few days. She thought it might be a little too soon and she wanted to speak with the doctor about it first. She is thinking we'll go ahead with it on Monday though.

Another thing that Greg did on his own today was brush his teeth! He also gave himself mouthwash out of a cup and then spit it back into the tray. It is so great to see him doing things for himself. I am learning a whole new approach with Greg. He used to not be able to do anything for himself, so everyone did everything for him. He has become a bit lazy. He'll even say, "You do it for me." So, now we have to MAKE him do things on his own.

I'm almost done...I promise! Since I was taking pics, I gave Greg my camera. If I would've done this a few months ago...it would've ended up on the floor...broken. Anyway, he took a pic of me! It's not a great pic, but I like it because Greg took it. I didn't even have to show him how to take the pic...he knew what to do! Ok...I'm done...THE END!

"Greg can do all things through Christ who strengthens him!"

8 comments:

  1. I don't know why the font size changed and I couldn't fix it! Boo! This site is really not that easy to use!

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  2. omg! carrie, i so admire your strength as a person, a wife, and a mother. :) i am sooo happy to hear of greg's progress. thanks for keeping us updated. god is good! :)

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  3. Carrie, I love the blog so far. I wish I had a really cool blog name to give you, but I think what you have up obviously works just fine!

    It's neat to see the pictures you've put up so far and the one Greg took of you is pretty awesome too!

    We sure miss you both and can't wait to meet Ellie too, Hopefully we can work out a trip down at some point soon in the future!

    Love, Marcy

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  4. you are such a beautiful person Carrie. I admire your strength...what an inspiration. My favorite part is how you put Greg's name into the verse at the end. Hold on to that promise. God's word never returns void!!!
    love ya!
    Tiana

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  5. Carrie Thanks so much for doing this and keeping everyone updated it really helps with knowing what to pray for for you guys and it is really encouraging to see Greg's progress. This is actually Stacey but it is Shawn's account.

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  6. Carrie! That is great news! I am so happy for him and for you. It does take a strong person to make it through this. Drinking in a cup is not a trivial thing, it is a wonderful thing. We take so many thing for granted. I am so glad and happy for you guys! You and your adorable little family are in my prayers. Samantha and I will be home soon if you need anything let me know. Oh! You probably don't know me, but I know of you and your family. I used to live down the street. I live in Japan now. Ask Joann about me. I am sure she will tell you all about it. My youngest sister Nancy hangs out with Karly. But again I am happy that Greg is starting to do so well.

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  7. Carrie, this blog is so awesome! Thank you so much for keeping us posted! Especially since there is so much going on now! It is so exciting to see the progress that is happening! God is so good! God never gives you more than you can handle - therefore, He knows that you are such a strong person and He really thinks very highly of you! I know that He is pleased with all that you have been doing! It takes a special kind of person to be able to endure what you have, like you have. Most of us are not "wired" to handle a situation like this. This has to be such an honor to do this work for Him. Keep up the good work!

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  8. I knew he would do it! If anyone could pull out of such a mess it's Greg. TOOOOOOO cool! I would type more about my stoke-age but my eyes are to busy pouring tears of joy. CONGRATS to all especially Greg for pulling out of what seemed to be pretty bleek. Life only gets better from here. I love you guys. See you soon...
    Ry

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