July 31, 2017 10:20 pm

Well, we had the big meeting at the hospital today with all of the medical personnel on our team. Frankly speaking, it was a bit of a disappointment. We really didn't learn anything more than we already knew. The main points were:

• Josh has severe brain damage to his frontal lobes, which affects many different aspects of his brain function; including, impulsiveness, short term memory, speech, and personality. Because the injury is to his brain, there is no way to predict where Josh will be after six months or even a year. We just have to wait and see.
• Josh is experiencing hydrocephalus right now, which is filling his ventricles with fluid and causing his brain to swell. This likely needs to be rectified with a shunt.
• It's the neurosurgeon's call, but it is likely that the shunt surgery will be performed together with his cranioplasty, where he'll get his new and improved fabricated plastic skull. This skull has been ordered and we are now waiting. It could take up to a couple of weeks to get it. A new CT scan has been ordered for tomorrow morning to see how the swelling has worsened since the CT last Thursday. This will help the neurosurgeon determine whether to proceed with the shunt surgery NOW or wait until the new skull is available.
• Josh is doing OK with his three therapies -- physical, occupational and speech -- but the hydrocephalus is making progress more difficult (although Josh did have three good sessions today). Since we only have a 60-day rehab benefit through Paul's insurance, the hospital is checking with the insurance company to see if there is a way to toll the 60-day period while we are waiting for the shunt surgery. We don't want to waste any of the benefit when medical conditions aren't favorable.
• The speech pathologist did say that Josh will likely have long-term speech problems, especially in recalling which words he wants to use. She is hoping to have him able to speak at a basic conversational level before we leave the center.
• Josh's discharge date from Craig is Sep 22 -- basically eight weeks since his arrival. This still could change. After discharge, the preferred next stop would be another in-patient clinic. They recommended a location in Portland and so we need to check into this.
• Josh can't travel as long as he is admitted here (for insurance purposes).
• Josh has an appointment with an ENT tomorrow to assess what is going on with his severely broken nose and vocal chords.
• Josh has an appointment with the eye specialists on Wednesday to further assess what is going on with his right eye.

Josh spent the day as he does most, attending classes, eating, being pushed around the third floor or outside, sleeping, and getting entertained by his tech and/or his parents. He ate pretty well today -- more than yesterday. He played a lot of toddler-level iPad games (connect the dots, color the animals, match the images, etc.), which he seems to enjoy. And it seems he has caught a cold

Every Monday is Newfie day! Josh's BA had taken Josh for a walk around the building, so when he returned, there were five large animals waiting outside his room to meet him! Josh really enjoyed petting the stinky, slobbery, sweet dogs.