August 12, 2017 9:30 pm
I'm just gonna say it. Dangerous, but I'm gonna say it anyway. It was another good day today. Again, nothing exceptional, but another day of small progress. Josh just seemed a bit more alert and connected today. He initiated conversation on at least two occasions -- something he hasn't done since the accident. His responsiveness when asked questions is up slightly, but he still inaccurately answers a lot of questions. It's hard for us to know what he understands and what he doesn't. At times, he seems to grasp the conversation around him. (Today, Mary read something to Paul out of a book that was strongly worded and Josh suddenly interjected a "BAM!" into the conversation.) But at other times he doesn't know who or where he is. And it goes up and down. Very hard to read. And we definitely need to work on the some of the word choices (and finger gestures) Josh makes!!
Josh also walked quite a bit better today than he's walked for at least two weeks, if not longer. At one point he decided it was time to get up out of bed and go for a walk. Well, he doesn't have that liberty yet, since he is a high fall risk, so we had to keep him in bed until someone could help him. But then he was walking down the hall. This is the first time he's tried to walk on his own volition.
Eating is still a strange challenge. If left to himself, he really doesn't eat anything, even if there is food in front of him. He tends to load as much food as he can onto his fork and then push it around his plate. If he actually raises the bite to his mouth, he tends to get stuck right before putting it in, and holds it in front of his face for a long time. We usually have to use a different utensil and feed him while he is essentially playing with his food. And he chews forever. It seems like each bite takes about 10 minutes! (That is a literal estimation, not a figure of speech.)
The plan is to move Josh back to Craig first thing Monday morning, so we are definitely looking forward to that. We imagine Josh is too, even if he can't vocalize it.
Here are three photos of the model of the synthetic skull and two "flaps" that were used in Josh's operation on Tuesday evening. This illustrates how the two pieces fit seamlessly into his skull, "like a puzzle," to use the surgeon's words. Very interesting. Mary thinks the break above his right eye that extends onto the nose is very sad.
I'm just gonna say it. Dangerous, but I'm gonna say it anyway. It was another good day today. Again, nothing exceptional, but another day of small progress. Josh just seemed a bit more alert and connected today. He initiated conversation on at least two occasions -- something he hasn't done since the accident. His responsiveness when asked questions is up slightly, but he still inaccurately answers a lot of questions. It's hard for us to know what he understands and what he doesn't. At times, he seems to grasp the conversation around him. (Today, Mary read something to Paul out of a book that was strongly worded and Josh suddenly interjected a "BAM!" into the conversation.) But at other times he doesn't know who or where he is. And it goes up and down. Very hard to read. And we definitely need to work on the some of the word choices (and finger gestures) Josh makes!!
Josh also walked quite a bit better today than he's walked for at least two weeks, if not longer. At one point he decided it was time to get up out of bed and go for a walk. Well, he doesn't have that liberty yet, since he is a high fall risk, so we had to keep him in bed until someone could help him. But then he was walking down the hall. This is the first time he's tried to walk on his own volition.
Eating is still a strange challenge. If left to himself, he really doesn't eat anything, even if there is food in front of him. He tends to load as much food as he can onto his fork and then push it around his plate. If he actually raises the bite to his mouth, he tends to get stuck right before putting it in, and holds it in front of his face for a long time. We usually have to use a different utensil and feed him while he is essentially playing with his food. And he chews forever. It seems like each bite takes about 10 minutes! (That is a literal estimation, not a figure of speech.)
The plan is to move Josh back to Craig first thing Monday morning, so we are definitely looking forward to that. We imagine Josh is too, even if he can't vocalize it.
Here are three photos of the model of the synthetic skull and two "flaps" that were used in Josh's operation on Tuesday evening. This illustrates how the two pieces fit seamlessly into his skull, "like a puzzle," to use the surgeon's words. Very interesting. Mary thinks the break above his right eye that extends onto the nose is very sad.
Are you talking about the scar over his right eye? I didn't know it extended into his nose. Does that mean the cartilage in his nose is broken? I kind of like the scar over his eye. It reminds me of Harry Potter and has a lightening pattern that I think is pretty fascinating!!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember reading an update about his nose breaks. Has that been addressed yet? I might have missed something; I realize there is so much information you have to sift through all the time, so I'm sorry if you already covered this. The break is super sad to see on the model like that. It's harrowing.
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