Sunday, October 28, 2007 day 78

This last Tuesday was a hard day. Eric had an appointment to go have outpatient surgery at KU to have pins removed from his hand and his cast was supposed to come off. Well…. He did have surgery and the pins came out. He was nervous about having anesthesia and not waking up. I was actually nervous also that somehow it might mess up his mind and cognition. But he woke up very well out of the anesthesia but the bad news was that they put another cast on his arm. The doctor thought it would be a good idea to have it on for a couple of more weeks because, now that the pins were out, the bone was potentially more vulnerable. It sort makes sense, but they never warned us that this might happen and Eric was REALLY counting on the cast coming off.

Well, they cut the cast off before the surgery and he was so happy but then he woke up post-op and he was so mad. He said he would take the cast off by himself when he got home if they didn’t take it off at the hospital. I was angry also because I thought the doctor should have let us know that this might be happening. It was a very bad situation and to make matters worse, the new cast was larger, and thicker and heavier. I talked to the doctor about getting a splint instead but he didn’t recommend it but he said Eric had the right to do what he wanted. Finally after much discussion (loud and intense discussion), a really nice and helpful nurse asked him if he would be alright with a smaller cast and he said that he guessed that would be OK. So we went out to lunch and came back (with his friend Sally) and Brad the cast man (and Sally) removed the big bulky cast and put on a new and much smaller cast. So, then – 2 more weeks. I think it will help him a lot when the cast does come off permanently.

The good part about this past week was Eric had his 24th birthday. We had a nice birthday dinner with his family and a couple of friends. The exciting thing was that his sister Ann was home from England after being gone for a year. Ann, Laurie and Sally cooked wonderful food and it was a pleasant evening. Eric says that his 24th year has got to be a better year than the previous year.

Sunday, October 21 day 71

I haven’t written in quite a while and for that I apologize. I will try to write an update at least every weekend and then write during the week if something significant happens. Having Eric at home makes our lives very busy but we are so glad and so thankful to have him home (and alive). On Saturday morning I was sitting on the couch reading and I could hear (and see) Eric typing away with one hand on the computer and I was thinking how wonderful and amazing his recovery has been.

Eric did get his contact lenses and that has all worked out well. He needs a little help from me to put them in. I have to hold his eyelid open from the top. I have never done contacts before and it was a little difficult the first few times but it has gotten easier. We did have a very good doctor to fit Eric for contacts. The contacts have helped his vision and Eric says he can tell that his natural vision is getting better. It would be good if eventually he didn’t have to wear contacts at all again.

Eric is still going to the Rehabilitation Institute five days a week. He is all done with speech therapy and just has physical therapy, occupational therapy and exercise group.

In physical therapy the therapist works on his walking. He is walking well but still needs work to get better and stronger and steadier. He can walk up and downstairs relatively easy but we still feel the need to be cautious.

In occupational therapy, the therapists are work almost exclusively on his arm, hand and fingers. He is making progress but it is extremely hard work. He has to work really hard to make his hand pick up objects and then place them where he is supposed to put them. It is almost agonizing to watch and yet at the same time it is very exciting. He literally seems to be straining almost every part of his body to try and make his hand work better.

On his lunch break, every day (week days) he goes to the Filling Station. If you haven’t had a chance to see him lately, that is a good time to connect with him.

This week will be a very big week. On Tuesday, he goes back to KU for surgery to remove the pins in his hand and that means the cast should be off for good which will be a very good thing and will make Eric very happy. On Wednesday, his sister Ann and brother-in-law Matt will be coming home after being in England for a year and that will be wonderful for everybody. On Friday, Eric will have his birthday and he will be 24 years old.

Please continue to pray for Eric to be protected from getting re-injured and for his arm and hand to work better and get stronger.

Thursday - Sunday, October 4-7 2007 days 54-57

I haven’t been writing in this journal as often as I was earlier and there are a couple of reasons for this. One reason is that there isn’t as much daily news happening everyday. That’s OK, sometimes “no news” is good news in the sense that Eric’s condition is stable and he is doing well. Another reason is, now that Eric is living with us, I am actually busier than when he was in the hospital.

There have been a couple of frustrating situations for Eric these past few days. One situation is with the cast on his arm. He has been looking forward to the cast coming off (that is probably the biggest understatement ever). He has been counting on it coming off and he has been counting the days. He had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Friday and from what we had been told, it sounded like the cast would probably be coming off unless it wasn’t healing properly.

The broken bone is actually in his hand and is called the scaphoid bone. The surgeon said that this is one of the trickiest bones to heal because there is not much blood flow into it and when the bone fractures it cuts off that blood flow and sometimes the bone doesn’t heal properly. I also read that it takes twice as much force to fracture the scaphoid as it does to fracture one of the large arm bones. At the appointment they cut the cast off so they could x-ray the arm. So we were very glad when the surgeon showed us the x-rays and told us that the bone was healing well and he couldn’t see any sign of fracture. So we thought that meant now cast. Then he said there were two pins in there that would have to be removed in a couple of weeks. And, in a very round about way, we found out that they would have to put another cast on for 2 weeks until the surgery (actually 2 ½ till the appointment). Needless to say, Eric was very disappointed (and angry). This was really important to him. I won’t say much about it but it was a vey hard time. The new cast is shorter and he is able to move his fingers. Brad, the cast man who had done the previous casts, also did this one.

The other situation was regarding the eye appointment that Eric had. We thought they gave him a prescription for contact lenses. The doctors were kind of unclear about it and the prescription said “contact lenses” on it. When we went to the eyeglass/contacts place they said that the prescription was for glasses. So I called back to the eye clinic and found out that Eric has to go back for a “fitting” with the optometrist in order to get contacts. So that is supposed to happen Monday morning and hopefully the contacts thing will work out.

Anyhow, things like this weigh heavy on Eric and disappointments are very hard. Often Eric will say to me, “I am so tired.” At first I thought it meant that he was physically tired and needed to rest but it really means that he is emotionally tired from the cumulative effect of everything that has happened to him. And he desperately wants to get back to normal and he is making great progress. But even as he makes progress, he realizes that everything takes time.

Today he asked me, “Will I ever be ‘me’ again?”

He is definitely walking steadier and we are feeling more secure with his walking. He has also been going upstairs to use the restroom (because of a major plumbing disaster in the downstairs bathroom) and he has been doing very well. He has been doing a lot of practicing on stairs at rehab.

Tuesday & Wednesday, October 2-3, 2007 days 52-53

I know I’ve already told you this before but Eric can move his fingers. I am still excited over this fact. You know something is significant when it keeps you excited for several days. Just a few days ago the fingers were lifeless and now there is life and it seemed to just happen overnight. This will always be a reminder to me of how things that look hopeless can change in a big way.

There is an old joke that goes like this…

A man said to the doctor, “So, Doctor, after this operation, will my son be able to play the violin?”

The doctor says, “Yes, he will be able to play the violin.”

Then the man says, “That’s wonderful doctor, he never could before.”

Yeah, it’s a pretty bad joke, but for Eric, it is no joke. Playing music is so very important to him. I really, really want him to be able to play the guitar again and make amazing music. Now, because of seeing his fingers move, I feel like there is some real hope.

Eric continues to work hard at rehab. He might say sometimes that he doesn’t want to go but when he gets there he works hard. I wish you could have seen him today working at this one exercise where he lays on his back and moves his arm in a movement like you would if you were making a “snow angel”. It was very hard for him, I could see him straining every muscle in his body to make his arm move upwards. He was able to do it but it really tired him out to do 10 repetitiions.

He also rode 3 miles on the stationary bike in exercise group. His other news today was that his physcial therapist decided he could switch to a different cane for walking. The previous cane was a “quad cane”, the kind with 4 feet on it for people who need the extra stability. Now he has a regular cane with just one straight leg on it. It may not sound like much difference but it is another step forward.

Tonight he fell asleep early because he was so tired.

Saturday & Sunday, September 29 & 30 and Monday, October 1, 2007
days 49, 50 and 51

Eric was feeling “woozy” (his description) all weekend after having the stomach tube removed last Friday. He said he felt unsteady and also that his vision was worse.

Eric had a relatively quiet weekend (a good thing). He did have some visitors. His aunt and uncle (Julie & Bill) came to visit on Sunday (and they brought treats). Treats are always nice. On Sunday night, Sally and Nathan came over and they played board games with Eric. It is worth mentioning that Eric has been sleeping through the night this past week (unlike the weekend when he first came home). This has definitely made my sleep more peaceful.

Monday, however, was an exciting day.

We went to the Rehabilitation Institute in the morning. I got to meet Leonard, the regular receptionist who is very friendly. Then Eric had a really good physical therapy session. The therapist was helping him to do a lot of work to strengthen his left leg.

The exciting thing happened while we were waiting for the physical therapist to come. Eric said, “Dad, I want to show you something.” So I looked and him and saw him move his fingers on his left hand! Eric unclenched his fingers and completely straightened them out. This is extremely significant. Normally, over the last 7 weeks, his fingers on his left hand have been clenched (hard) and you had to work at it to get them to stretch out flat. He did it one more time to show his physical therapist but then later at lunch time he was unable to repeat this accomplishment.

You might think I am overstating, but I would have to put this development in the “miraculous category.” If you have seen Eric’s lifeless left hand over the last 7 weeks since he got hit by the car, you will know what I am talking about. It was so exciting to see his fingers move by themselves. I had to go out to move the car to the parking lot after that and when I was outside, I started to cry because I was so happy and grateful. This was something all of us have been praying for and waiting for it to happen. He also wiggled his thumb for the first time.

I know it will take a long time for his hand to become fully functional and we don’t know what level of function it will be at but it was so exciting to see it begin. Thank you, everyone, for your prayers.

Please, please keep praying:

For Eric's arm and hand to be restored and fully functional
For his eyes and vision to get straightened out
For Eric to get steadier on his feet

Friday, September 28, 2007 day 48

Today I took Eric back to KU Med Center to get his stomach feeding tube (peg tube) removed. This was very exciting because it was the last tube to be removed. No more tubes! There is something about having a bunch of tubes attached to your body that reminds you that you’re really sick and/or hurt (duh…). So when the tubes come out, it’s a sign of progress and very encouraging and when they are all gone it’s a very good thing. Tubes also limit what you are able to do such as moving about freely and showering and so their removal is very liberating.

But it was not without cost – it hurt. The doctor said, “I’m not going lie to you, this will hurt.” And she was right. Eric cried out and winced and it seemed like it hurt really bad for 30 seconds or so and then it subsided. Basically they just grab it and pull hard and it comes out. It actually has a little umbrella thing on the end and that is what hurts to remove. He saved it because he wanted to show it to his friends. He did feel “woozy” a bit (all day he said) and he was trying to talk us out of going to rehab but we convinced him and he did go but he got a little grouchy in the afternoon.

The other good thing the doctor did this morning was to look at his wound on his side. It is still very strange and ugly looking, but it is all closed up and he now longer has to wear a wound dressing/bandage which has to be changed everyday. Now he can take a shower with out his stomach and side having to be wrapped in plastic.

Next week they will be looking at the cast on his arm and hopefully removing it (which will be another wonderful event. He is starting to move his arm more at the elbow and it is so encouraging to see that movement.

Please pray:

For Eric not to have any problems resulting from the stomach tube removal.
For Eric to have a good appetite and not lose weight. (we should know Monday how he’s doing because they will weigh him again).
For Eric to get complete movement back in his arm and hand.
For Eric to be protected from falling down (so far so good).
For Eric to continue to want to work hard at rehab & therapy.

Thank you, dear friends

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday September 25-27, 2007 days 45, 46 and 47

Eric has had more days at the Rehab Institute and I think he is doing really well. One of the sessions they have added is “exercise group” which is separate from physical therapy. In “exercise group” there are uaually several patients working out on various exercise machines with one therapist helping everybody. Eric has been working hard and usually asks to put the machines up on higher resistance to make it harder. On the exercise bike, he rode an equivalence of 2.5 miles.

At lunch each day and on the way home sometimes we have been going to the Filling Station. This has been a really good thing for Eric, actually very much like a therapy because it gives him a chance to visit with friends and to feel “normal”. I was checking the dictionary for the noun usage and all 3 words (normality, normalcy and normalness) are correct. Whichever noun you use, it is very important for someone like Eric to see that there is some progress towards getting back to feeling “normal.”

Some of Eric’s friends have come over in the evenings and have been playing scrabble with Eric. (Laurie has joined in on some of the games also.) It has been very fun and relaxing for us to have Eric’s friends over.

Sally, Eric’s sister, has taken a leave of absence from her job at the library to stay up all night (7 days a week) to watch over Eric while he’s sleeping. We will pay her some money (like what she would earn part-time at the library) and it sure makes things easier (and less expensive) than having to hire a person from an agency. So far it has been working out really well.

I went out yesterday and bought Eric a new mobile phone to replace the one that got lost and stolen after he got hit by the car. We never knew what happened to it after the accident other than somebody used it a couple of times before we cancelled service. The good news is, that he has his old original phone number back again.

Tomorrow, Eric is supposed to go for an appointment back to KU Med Center to have the feeding tube removed from his stomach which will be a huge step towards getting to “normal.”

Monday, September 24, 2007 day 44

Well, today was a big day for Eric. He went to the Rehabilitation Institute to begin his outpatient rehabilitation. I knew it would be hard for him to go (that he would probably be anxious and nervous) and it was. When he woke up this morning, he did not want to go because he said he didn’t feel well. It took some persuading and also some encouraging text messages from his friends and we (Laurie, Eric and I) went.

The Rehab Institute is a very friendly place and we felt very welcome. Once we got there, Eric did very well and was very friendly and engaging with everyone. He liked all 3 of his therapists, speech, occupational and physical. On his speech therapy he did a lot of evaluation exercises. On one of the tests (which you were supposed to try and finish it in 3 minutes) he finished it in 2 minutes and 52 seconds and the therapist said no one had ever finished it in 3 minutes or less.

The really fun thing today was that they said we could go out to lunch (with Eric). So immediately I knew we wanted to go to the Filling Station (Eric’s place of employment) where we were actually planning on going to at the end of the day. It is only 4-5 blocks away and it is a wonderful place to go for lunch. It was a very fun surprise because nobody was expecting Eric to show up until later. Needless to day there was a very warm reception from his co-workers and also some of the customers. We had wonderful food and it was a very happy time. This was the thing that Eric has wanted to do more than anything for the last 5 weeks that he has been concious and today it came true.

Then we went back to the Rehab Institute and Eric had occupational therapy and physical therapy. These went very well also. Not only did Eric “connect” well with the therapists, I could tell that they were all very good at what they do. I did see a couple of interesting things in the assessments that they did. One thing was that he was able to raise his left forearm (when he was laying down and the therapist was holding it parallel to the ground) to an upright position. It was very amazing.

The other thing that was revealing was when he was doing some vision testing. He was able to read the very smallest line on a chart 15 inches away (Laurie and I could only read 2-3 sizes larger even with glasses). But on a distance chart (20 feet away) He actually missed a couple of letters on the second largest line. He is supposed to to the neuro-opthomolgist on Thursday this week.

After rehab we went back to the filling station and spent three hours hanging out. Eric spent most of the time with his friend and co-worker Sally but also visited some with his employer (Robin) who was one of the people along with Nathan, Sally and Jillian who helped me when I was looking for Eric. She also told Eric that he still had a job to come back to when he was ready (which was a very wonderful and encouraging thing).

When we came home, Eric played “Battleship” with his sister Sally. Today was a very good day once we got to the Rehab Institute.

Saturday and Sunday, September 22-23, 2007 days 42-43

It’s been a hard weekend but a good weekend now that Eric is home. It is wonderful to be at home instead of the hospital. The hard part is watching Eric 24-7. There have been a few tense times but for the most part it is working out well. He is using his cane (although he can walk without it and complains about the cane). He can even walk up and down stairs without it but they want him to use it for a while. The hard part is that he has to be watched and isn’t supposed to walk with out someone holding on his to his gait belt.

Sally is watching him at night (in case he wakes up) and then she sleeps during the day. Laurie has been doing some exercises with him (Daniel did some also with Eric) and changed his wound dressing etc.

He is very worried about his vision and doesn’t read much or watch TV but he did get on the internet and did e-mail and watch music videos on You-Tube. It kept him busy and for some reason did not bother his vision or maybe it did but he wanted to do it so badly he didn’t care. He show us lots of his favorite music videos.

On Saturday morning Eric and Laurie made pan cakes. He helped mix them up and then he poured them and flipped them and they were very good. On Saturday night he talked to his friends a lot on the phone. This made the evening go a lot better and he wasn’t so lonely.

He had a pretty good appetite on Saturday but on Sunday he didn’t seem to be hungry hardly at all and I have no idea why.

This afternoon and early evening (Sunday) some of Eric’s friends came over and visited which Eric enjoyed very much. It was a very nice break for Laurie and me. His friend Sally gave him a haircut.

Tomorrow will be a big day for Eric as he starts at the Rehabilitation Institute at 30th and Baltimore. I am hoping he will “connect” well with the therapists and the staff etc. Going to a new place can be hard.

Please pray:

That it will go well for Eric at the new place tomorrow (and that he will like it)
That Eric will feel hopeful and want to work hard at rehab & therapy
That his vision will get better
That his walking will get more safe and secure
That he would be protected from falling
That he will sleep through the night (he woke this morning at 3:00 AM)
That his arm will heal and his cast will come off soon and that he would regain the ability to move his arm.

Also please pray for Laurie and me and our whole family - thanks

Friday, September 21, 2007 day 41

Yes, it’s true, Eric is home after almost 6 weeks at KU Med Center. I am glad and I am thankful. I am very thankful, especially when I think of what might have been.

We went early this morning and got some additional family training. I learned how to help him have a shower which is complicated because 3 parts of his body aren’t supposed to get wet (stomach tube area, cast area and the wound area on his side). It took a lot of plastic and tape.

Then at 10:30 we had a meeting with all the doctors and therapists etc. and asked questions. Then Eric had some more therapy sessions and lunch. At 2:30 we started getting ready (went over the discharge orders and meds) and picked up his prescriptions. They gave us a voucher that paid for all his medications for 1 month, which was very nice. Then I went to get the car and Sally (his friend), Sally (his sister) and Laurie brought him out and we put him in the car. It was a triumphant moment. I was glad that his friend Sally got to be there to see him get out of the hospital.

I am very thankful for all of Eric’s friends who came to visit him in the hospital. I don’t know if he would have made it with out them. I know we wouldn’t have.

When Eric got home he was sad because he was feeling hopeless and fearful and thinking his future was messed up. That lasted for a while and then he went out on the front porch (with supervision) and made phone calls on the cell phone. Then his friend Nathan came over and visited and then we had dinner and Eric actually ate a very good amount (which was encouraging.)

Please pray for Eric to be encouraged and hopeful.

Please pray for him to be willing for us to do the things we have to do for his safety.

Please pray for Eric to be protected.

Please pray for us for the grace to do what we need to do to take care of Eric.