Fun Day Out

Hi everybody! It's Karen . I just wanted to do a quick update about my dad's fun adventure yesterday. About a week ago, Patricia, his Recreational Therapist told us that she would plan sometime soon, to take Dad on a 'field trip' of his choosing. So yesterday was the day! Last week, when dad decided that he would like his field trip to be going to a movie, they read through current movies playing, and he chose to see 'Conspirator' a movie about the Lincoln assassination. He has been looking forward to doing this, everyday, since the chose the movie, date, & time! When I was here on Saturday, I asked him if he was excited and he indicated that he was excited to see the movie, but that he was most excited because a few of his kids were going too! So, yesterday I got to the hospital about 12:00 and spent the next couple of hours with dad in therapy. This was fun, because now that we mostly come in the evenings, we don't get so sit in on very many therapy sessions anymore. Dad is doing really good! Improving each time I come. Yesterday in therapy they worked with him moving from his wheelchair to a bed, on his own. This has been really tricky up until this point, because he has such limited use in his right side. He has to really support all of his weight on his left side. But, he did it, about 9 times actually! Exhausting work, and slow going most of the time, but he is getting stronger each day, and it shows. I was super proud of how far he's come. It was a big day, and I asked him if he felt good, knowing that he did that 'chair to bed' transition on his own, and he did. I'm not sure if he was as happy as I was though. ;) YAY for dad!

Anyway, about 2:30, Patricia came and walked my dad and I out to the Hospital Van that has a wheelchair lift. Dad thought that was pretty cool. She said that we didn't NEED to use it, that we could have taken him in a car, but 'hey, why not...it's here to use'. LOL. Dad operated the lift, to get himself into the van, and I was surprised just how secure the wheelchair was in the back. I don't think it even moved 1/4 inch, during the whole ride. Dad LOVED the drive. Loved seeing the different surroundings and such. I had fun showing him my favorite old homes, that I've driven past about 100 times now. We had a nice visit on the drive over to the Theater. Ryan, Sharon, Alison & Aidan (who got extra credit for school for seeing this movie), & Diane all met us at the theater. My dad was super excited to see so many of his kids there! He seemed to really enjoy the movie, and although I thought for sure he'd sleep through most of it, after such a hard day of therapy, he surprised us, and only took a little cat nap, during one part. (He didn't miss anything important) ;)

After the movie, we talked outside for just a bit, and then said our good-byes and then we loaded up in the van to head back to the hospital. We took a different route back this time, going up State Street. Dad noticed this and asked where we were going, which I thought was funny. As we got nearer to the State Capital building, dad and I wondered what Leslie would be doing at work right then. I told him that I'd have to message her and let her know that we'd seen her 'office' on our drive. When we got back to the hospital, there was a note on Dad's bed from Leslie. We thought it was too funny that we were just talking about her, and wondering what she was doing, when she was actually trying to visit Dad! :) He enjoyed the note she'd left for him, so thanks Leslie!!

Well, Sharon drove to the hospital from the movie, and brought some yummy take out food from Zuppas! We had promised my dad the chance to eat 'real food' on this outing. He didn't want to eat during the movie, so we brought it back here. Sharon & I took dad into the common room, where they have lots of tables & chairs, and had a nice dinner of yummy soup and gourmet grilled sandwiches. YUM! Once dinner was done, dad was worn out! I headed home, and Sharon stayed while he got tucked in and ready for a good nights sleep. He had a very fun, productive day of doing something that brought him much joy before his stroke....movies AND family! 2 of his favorite things! It was nice to see him get to enjoy something he actually enjoys doing....as it's been a long while since he's been able to do that. And it made me look forward to the chance to go to many more movies with him!

Thanks for all the well wishes still coming in! We appreciate your concern just as much today, as we did a month ago!

Long Overdue Update

Alison here. After seeing two comments today alone on Facebook about people missing the regular blog posts, I decided to do one. So... you can thank Phil and Rebecca for this update! :)

The last couple of posts have mentioned that, for us at least, the days all seem to run into each other and so each day seems similar to the last...and the next. But really, as I sat down to think about what I could update on, I realized that there has been a lot of progress and a lot of change over the last two weeks!

First of all, I'll share a little bit about what has become the normal routine with Dad. As you know, we took shifts so that we were with him 24/7 for the first 7-10 days. After that, he seemed to be sleeping better at night, so we stopped spending the night and instead take shifts to be with him from about 8:00am to 9:00 or 10:00pm. 

Weekdays are very busy for Dad. He typically has 5 or 6 therapy sessions, 45 minutes a piece, on weekdays. These typically consist of two physical therapy appointments, two occupational, one speech therapy and maybe one recreational therapy. My mom has been in the hospital every weekday for the past three weeks of therapy. She typically spends about 6-8 hours a day in with him. The therapists all love her, and she keeps copious notes on Dad's therapies and progress. On weekday afternoons, the kids take turns coming in to spend the evenings with Dad. He's usually pretty pooped in the evenings, after a full day of therapy, but it's a fun time to visit with him.

Weekends are a little more relaxed, especially Sundays. Saturday usually brings a little lighter therapy schedule (typically not with his regular therapists either... so the "replacements" don't tend to push him as hard), and Sunday is therapy-free. The kids take turns coming in on the weekends too, and then my Mom spends Sunday in the hospital as well. Side note -- those of you who know my mom know that she loves to walk. One Sunday, I went in and Susan was there. I asked where Mom was because Susan had mentioned they were going to drive in together. She said that my mom had asked to be dropped off at Temple Square to watch the choir broadcast and then was walking to the hospital. Now... if you googled this, you'd see it is "only" three miles (as my mom said), but if you've ever driven to the hospital, you know what a walk it would be! My mom is amazing!

So, my dad still has someone with him most of the time, except for when he's sleeping. This has been helpful because we tend to understand him a little bit better than the nurses and aides, although his speech is improving! (More on that later.)

Dad has had several other visitors as well. Some have asked if visitors are welcome, and I think for the most part the answer is yes. My own personal recommendation would be to try to come on Saturday or Sunday evening if possible. Therapy days are tiring, so he often is sleepy and worn out in the evenings on those days. Weekends, he's a little more alert. And, it may be better to call before coming too. Sometimes, the nurses take him off for scheduled tests, etc, so planning a visit ahead of time is a good idea. :)

So, now to the good stuff... progress. You know, when the stroke first happened, we didn't know what to expect. The doctors were hesitant to tell us what to expect because everyone responds and recovers differently. We knew that Dad's stroke was serious and that he'd likely have longterm or permanent disability because of it. But, it's really just been a "watch and see" sort of thing.

From the beginning, we had the sense that Dad's cognitive ability was largely intact. He has responded well to us even from the first night in the ER. So, that was and has been the biggest relief. He truly seems like he is "all there." And we are thrilled to see that his sense of humor has returned in full force. We love this and it definitely lightens the mood for all of us!

The two areas that Dad has struggled the most are physically -- he has effectively been paralyzed on his entire right side -- and his speech. We have joked on the blog about him sounding like he speaks Cherokee. Also, they think that he suffered some damage from the breathing tube in the ER, or that his vocal cords were temporarily or permanently paralyzed. As a result, when he does talk, it is in a whisper. This whisper has gotten a little louder over time, and he can even force out a louder voice at times (which we refer to as his "Barry White voice" because it is loud and deep). 

So, let me give you an update on these two areas:

Physical - Dad has amazed us with his ability on his left side. He is right handed and, as mentioned before, has suffered from a tremor in his left hand/arm for the last six months or so. So, we were worried about him being able to use his left side. He has done amazingly well! As of today, he eats completely on his own, with his left hand. As part of his occupational therapy, he dresses himself (with little assistance) and grooms himself. He uses the iPad and TV himself. He is very sturdy with his left hand and you would never guess that it wasn't his dominant hand before the stroke. He has drawn a few things in therapy and, again, we've been amazed with what he's done. In fact, here is a picture he drew in therapy two weeks ago.

It's kind of dark, but you can see how great it is. It is hanging in his room now and several people have commented that they couldn't even do that well with their own dominant hand. :)

Dad's strength continues to improve as well. One focus of his physical therapy is to practice standing and walking. He has continued to improve in standing and now does it unassisted while holding a bar. He also does much better in transfers (moving from the bed to a wheelchair, to a table, etc). When he first arrived, they had to do a full assist transfer, taking 2-3 people. Now, this can typically be done with just one aide helping him. Great! He has been practicing walking the last couple of days. Keep in mind that he still has very little feeling and use of his right side, so this still requires a lot of assistance, but he's up and trying it nonetheless. He has been experiencing a lot of pain in his right side, which is a good sign (to us) because it means he can feel something.

Last night, Sharon and my mom were with him at the hospital and all of a sudden he started raising his right leg off the bed on command. This is sort of how things have been happening lately. All of a sudden, he can do something that he hasn't been able to do before. They usually aren't huge steps, but it is exciting to see evidence that the brain is healing and that maybe some of the damage we assumed would be permanent may not be!

SPEECH

This is probably the most exciting thing for us right now. From day one, this has been the most frustrating thing for all of us, including I'm sure, my dad. It has always seemed to us that he knows what he's trying to say and just simply can't say it. Until recently, I would say that he was understandable only about 5% of the time. If he was trying to communicate something, it was typically a VERY long process of yes and no questions to try to get to it, and most of the time, we'd just have to give up. Thankfully, he had a pretty good sense of humor about this, but it still had to be very frustrating for him (and it was for us too because we couldn't help him). 

In the last week, though, we have seen HUGE improvements. I can barely type right now because I'm crying just thinking about it. LOL Thank you SO much for your prayers on Dad's behalf. We have prayed that his speech and ability to communicate would be restored because we knew that this was one of the most important things in his long term quality of life. I would say that Dad is understandable now at least 50% of the time, and is improving every single day. He has learned to talk slowly and deliberately and he can usually get the message across even if a couple of the words in between are a little off. And he regularly surprises us with completely clear, complex sentences. We love it! And he seems to love it too! :)

Well, hopefully that will suffice for an update today. I apologize that we haven't done a better job of keeping this up. We'll do better! I'm glad to know that you all still are interested and care to know how he's doing. It means the world to us.. and to him. 

Here is a final photo... Sharon took this of my dad overlooking the Salt Lake Valley from the Huntsman Cancer Center window (thank you for the tip, Von... he LOVED it!). This is before Karen just gave him a much needed haircut, but it is a great picture of a very peaceful, enjoyable afternoon for him.

Love you all!

Friday Afternoon Update

Hi...it's Karen. I just got home from visiting with my dad this afternoon. I just wanted to do a quick update. I was happy to spend time with my dad today, just doing 'normal' things. This is hard to explain, but my dad just seemed so 'normal' today. He looked great. He felt good. And he was alert and not in any pain or experiencing and discomfort. He had only had a short day of therapy - only having 3 sessions, when he usually has 6, so I am sure this contributed to his relaxed state of being. ;)

So, after an update on the snowstorm we were having on this not-so-spring-like day, we watched a couple of sitcoms on TV. This is something that I do often with my dad, as he frequently comes down to my house in the evenings to watch TV with Jim & I, so it was so nice just to do something 'normal'. Dad even chuckled at most of the funny parts.

One of dad's classmates, Don Fawson stopped by for a quick visit. It's always fun for dad to take a walk down 'memory lane' with his old friends, and it's always good for us to see that he still has those memories. I also heard that he had an visit earlier today from President Phelps from our Stake Presidency. These visits are all appreciated and are a welcome distraction from the mundane-ness of the hospital.

After Don's visit, dad shared his dinner with me, since I was starving (he ate the lasagna, roll & pink lemonade, and I ate the green beans). And we just had a nice time visiting and just....'be' - ing. He was upbeat, and in very good spirits, and other than his speech and him laying in a hospital bed (LOL)...it just felt like a normal, everyday visit with my dad.

The highlight of his day I'm sure, happened shortly after Susan arrived for the 'shift change'. I bent down to give my dad a hug and stood up and smacked my head on the metal extension bar that holds the TV. Dad made a pained face and said, 'ohhhhh', and then all three of us proceeded into a fit of laughter. It was worth the headache that followed, just to hear my dad laugh..... :) Anyway, just wanted to let you know that he is doing well today...so thank you for the prayers that have been being offered in his behalf...(and ours). I felt truly blessed today, to see my dad have a good 'normal' day!

Wednesday Evening

This is Karen. I got to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, just as dad was finishing his last therapy session. My mom was with him all day again today...(she is filling most of the day shifts during the week now, so we can get back to our 'normal lives'....and my sibilings and I will continue to fill the afternoon and evening shifts).

He had 6 therapy sessions again today, one of which included a session with therapy students, who each took turns giving dad instructions of things to do. Mom said he did very well. His days are getting more routine now...waking up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and heading off for a combination of 5 or 6 therapy sessions...with a break for lunch in between. Dad is doing really well in each. I think speech is his least favorite, as this is probably the most frustrating to him, since his speech has not returned. The speech therapist described this condition as Aphasia, or a disorder caused by the stroke that affects the portion of the brain that controls language (speaking and writing). As I spend time with my dad, this I believe is the most frustrating thing that he is dealing with. We spend a fair amount of time, trying to understand what he is telling us. He is getting better at using his left arm/hand to play 'charades'...sort of....to try to help us better understand. Once in awhile...he does speak a short phrase or something, just clear as can be. It will be interesting to see, as the weeks progress, how his speech recovers. Prayers in this regard would be greatly appreciated!

Dad was pretty upbeat most of the evening I was there. I'm not sure how at this point...but I am grateful for that nonetheless. ;) I talked to him about some of the information we had gone over in his stroke class. He always is very interested in learning more about the 'specifics' of what he is dealing with. I updated him on stuff going on with the grandkids, etc. He is always most interested in hearing about what's going on outside the hospital. I kept asking him if he wanted me to stop talking and let him rest, and he said no. I am glad when he can spend time alert and busy during the day, so that he has a better, more restful night.

The highlight of my visit today, was seeing a picture that dad drew (with his left hand), during one his therapy sessions. They asked him if he would draw something. They didn't tell him what to draw, they just let him choose. He drew a simple landscape scene, consisting of a mountain, sun, and a couple of streams, running at the base of the mountain. I loved seeing this! And I have to admit, he did a much better job, inspite of using his left hand, than I could've done with my right. Love it.

Thank for all the well wishes we continue to receive. We use those to continually remind dad that so many people are pulling for him, and he needs that encouragement right now. Sorry for the updates being so few and far between now....but as we have stated before, no news is good news, and dad just keeps plugging along, doing his best to be able to return home soon!

Quiet Sundays

Nothing much to update. I have been here since this morning, just visiting with Dad and watching General Conference. Its been a very nice, quiet Sunday so far.

My dad's brother, Ef, called earlier. I asked him if he wanted to talk to Ef and got a HUGE nod in return and he reached for the phone. I just handed it to him and he "talked" to Ef for few minutes. He tried really hard to respond to everything Ef said, and some of it was understandable. It was the first time this week that I've heard his voice loud and clear, so that was a treat for me! He seemed really pleased after talking to Ef and I hope that he will call again soon!

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and concern that have been coming our way. My dad loves to hear about all the people that ask about him. We really appreciate everything and hope that you will continue to keep him in your prayers! We need all the help we can get right now!

Just about to start the second session of Conference. Hopefully it will continue to be a nice, quiet day!