AJ's sleeping is improving every night. The last 2 nights have been excellent - waking only for the nurses to do their thing. This morning we celebrated one of the small successes. AJ has been working with his OT's to be able to feed himself. This morning he ate all of his pancake by himself! For the last couple of bites, AJ asked me to make the following video to send to Mom so she could also witness the success. It's amazing to me how much AJ is always thinking of others, even in his time of need. This feat of feeding himself was a real work out for him. The nurses came in shortly after he completed it, and his heart rate was up to 130! Who would've thunk this would be such a good workout, especially for AJ?!?
Therapy time went well today. In OT he played dominoes with the therapists, to work on the strength and dexterity of his fingers and grip. In PT he had another small success to celebrate - he was able to maintain the tripod position for 5 minutes!! We think his success today was due to a few key pointers given by the weekend therapist. She was not his regular weekday therapist, but she was very helpful in teaching AJ a little more about the position. The key was that he needed to place his arms further back behind him. He was very comfortable in the tripod position and said that he could have maintained it for even longer.
Something that has been developing over the past week or so is muscle spasms in his legs and abdomen. These are happening more and more frequently and becoming more noticeable (larger spasms). They usually occur when his upper body is moved (i.e. picked up to be dressed/undressed or to be moved into his wheelchair). They do not cause him any discomfort. When I asked the doctor about it, he just said that this is normal when the nerve connection between the brain and muscles is not at 100%. In some patients, these spasms can become quite bothersome and painful, and require medication to control, but this is not AJ's case at this time.
The doctors reported that the x-rays taken on his left shoulder the other day were negative. Meaning that they found no bone fractures or problems with the shoulder joint. They assume that he may have sprained the shoulder in the car accident and that it will heal with time. We are keeping a close eye on it. The pain has not been increasing, nor does it seem to impede his rehabilitation therapy. Mostly, it just hurts when we need to roll him on his left side or when he does his stretching.
After watching both the Utah Utes and BYU Cougars football teams win their football games, we went for a walk around the hospital. First, we went outside and down the sidewalk on the same path that we would take to get to our hotel. However, the nurses would not allow us to leave the hospital property, so I couldn't actually take him to the hotel, like I had hoped. The fresh air and sunshine were very good for our souls! Next, we went over to the ICU area, where AJ spent the first 3 days of this journey. He was interested in seeing as much as we could there. Unfortunately, he could only see the waiting room, where so many friends and family gathered over those first few days, and many prayers were offered. We couldn't go back to the actual ICU room without a good reason to be back there. Next, we went to a sky bridge walkway that connects two buildings together. The view of the valley from there was fabulous, but the sun was low in the West and shining right in our eyes. Lastly, on the way back to AJ's room, we stopped and visited a man named Brian, with whom AJ has become friends while in rehab. He is recovering from an illness that attacked his nerves, rendering him paralyzed but with the hope for full recovery within a year. AJ was surprised to hear that his discharge date is coming up so soon - next Friday. September 26th seemed like such a long time away when Brian first told him his discharge date a couple of weeks ago. Time is passing quickly!
Really awesome video! I had no idea you were doing so well, AJ. We didn't know you could do all that... we were thinking you had no sensation in your arms or hands and could move a little but not even close to doing this! Great video... everyone is very proud of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, David! Just to clarify, AJ has movement in his shoulders, biceps and wrists. He doesn't have any movement in in hands or triceps yet, but does have some sensation. He's using a strap around his hand to hold the fork and uses his wrist to control his hand. He's really getting better at the whole process!
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