Hi all -
I arrived yesterday for a visit, and Dad had had a very busy day by the time I got here, so we didn't go see him until this morning. He had a really busy day today as well. When he started doing rehab he could only handle 2 30-minute sessions a day. Today, two weeks later, he was busy all day with therapy and a lunch time stroke meeting, from 9 am til 2:45 pm, and he really didn't have any time to rest in between activities. He was definitely beat by the time it was all over, but it was great to see him in action. Mom and I were able to hang out during his PT time, and we watched him stand up from his wheelchair and then step up and down on an exercise step 4 or 5 times. His PT, Joe, made him repeat this several times. It was clearly a lot of work for him to do it, but he did it!
Every Wednesday, all the stroke patients in the rehab hospital come together for a lunch meeting to talk about stroke-related issues. Last week, Dad didn't say anything and asked Mom to speak for him. This week, he introduced himself, and knew which side of his body has been affected by the stroke. He had his eyes closed through most of the meeting, but he was clearly listening, because he would nod his head, and give a thumbs up when he agreed with what some of the other patients were saying.
After that was over, it was time for OT. He was pretty beat by this time, so his OT, Jon, didn't make him work too hard. He tried to get Dad to stand and do the step exercise like Joe did, but he just didn't have the energy. So, he worked on writing. Dad wrote his name, and it was just about perfect. I sent a picture of it to BJ, and he said "WOW!!! His signature looks the same!" Keep in mind he's right-handed and his doctor told us he would have weakness on his right side, and may have very little use of his right arm and hand. Clearly he doesn't know Dad!
Dad still has a lot of mental confusion, but that's to be expected at this point. For the most part he knows us, but he drifts in and out of the present, sometimes thinking it's many years ago. Today he couldn't remember what school I went to, but he knew I studied engineering. And he thought I went to school for longer than 4 years, but I think he just had me confused with Kate, the family scholar, who is on her way to getting her Ph.D. When I told him he was thinking of Kate he was quick to acknowledge that he was confused and remembered that it's her he was thinking about.
Another milestone is on the horizon for Dad. We heard today that the doctor is planning to remove his catheter either tonight or tomorrow. I don't think the feeding tube will be far behind, because they're haven't been using it for a while. We're pretty excited to see him tube-free. Now that he's much more alert and aware, he can call the nurses when he needs help to get to the bathroom. It may be a little bit of a tough transition for him, but we're so glad to see him moving in that direction.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of Dad in action tomorrow. I'll try to get a good picture of him to post here.
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