Kirk's morning starts with occupational therapy at 8:30. OT will focus on life skills like shaving and physical care to start with. This morning he got his first shower in seven weeks. That has to have felt good. I didn't have his clothes there in time so he us still wearing hospital garb.
He went to speech therapy at 10 am and physical therapy at 1 pm. His medications are getting changed around a bit also. He is off coma cocktail and on a Ritalin and serotonin combination. That has shown to work well with sleep/wake cycles and attention in brain injury patients.
He is also back on an antibiotic for a urinary tract infection. He has a pretty severe one and that can be contributing to his lethargy and pallor as well as nausea. Hopefully he can kick that quickly. He had a CAT last night and that shows that the traumatic injury to his brain is stable.
I forgot to put a few things in the blog yesterday. The first thing was our "argument". I went to see him yesterday morning and told him he was moving today. He said no tomorrow and would not let it go. We went back and forth several times. I won, he moved.
I also met his occupational therapist yesterday and she told me traumatic brain injury patients were her favorite. I liked that right away. I will be working to arrange my schedule to spend enough time with him along with work and Sidney.
Sidney had evening activities every day this week. Visiting hours are 4 to 8 pm. I would encourage any one who wants to stop by to please do so. He is to the point where he needs the stimulation. His room is private and comfortable. If you come to the hospital, look for the C elevators. They are in an older part if the hospital. Go to the 6th floor and ring the bell. Kirk's room is down the left hallway on the left side.
I also went over to the VA today to try to enroll Kirk for benefits. In never dawned on me that he was eligible for benefits until I talked to a neighbor this weekend. I didn't have enough paper work so I will try again tomorrow. VA benefits could have a large positive impact on our future including a good place for Kirk to go before coming home to continue rehab therapy and after he comes home.
Congratulations on the big move! This is just great to hear. Every bit of Kirk's progress sounds fabulous. I'm so proud of him for his improvements. Kimber, I'm continually amazed at the grace you hold throughout this incredibly challenging life change. (at least from afar you're handling this really well) I know that there are really hard days and moments, but I hope you know in your core what a fabulous mother and wife you are. Hang in there! And that Sidney... thank you for sharing stories about her and how much she is caring for you. Sending really big hugs to all three of you!
ReplyDeleteMuch Love,
Alexis Troschinetz
Minneapolis, MN