Just a quick post about yesterday's visit with Kirk. We went over and got him from Neurorestorative and then went to the store with a real list. The list wasn't terribly long but Kirk still had to walk the whole store. I didn't actually have him pick things out but he did push the cart and is able to maneuver it around without taking anyone out.
After the store we came home and had dinner for lunch. I made salmon, potatoes and asparagus. There wasn't a left over. He was picking at his teeth with his fingers so I asked him if he needed a toothpick. He said no, he needed a pencil (there was one on the table). I got him a toothpick and Sidney and I were talking at the table. I told Kirk several times not to eat the skin of the fish. I just caught out of the corner of my eye him using the toothpick to eat the skin. Lesson learned, take the plate away. Then he tried to eat the toothpick. He told Sidney to eat her flies, referring to her asparagus. He frequently realizes what he said was in error. And then has a laughing fit.
He was able to go upstairs to listen to Sidney play piano. Keeping him not restless is actually a lot of work. He can't do much independently so you have to watch him. I hope over time he will be able to say start laundry. He wants to help and be busy always. So now it is learning how to work with that.
He tells me he loves me many times when we are together. I think he doesn't realize he told me two minutes ago. He also asks how I am doing. He still doesn't demonstrate much memory. He was able to remember what we had for lunch for maybe an hour and then it was gone.
Sidney is still taking horse back riding lessons once per week. She is loving it. I am mostly hanging on. I am still fighting the computer. It is running but I can't get anything I want to work. Think I'll need more help.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
January 21
There really has been little changing in our lives. Kirk is still doing about the same at rehab and Sidney and I are in day to day. We picked Kirk up Sunday and went to the park. We brought Stormy and I packed a lunch for us. Sidney played at the playground for a while and Stormy got to go to the dog park. She and Sidney had fun there.
We tried walking a bit and Kirk dies very well on flat surfaces like sidewalk and flat crushed stone. But we tried some paths with mulch and that didn't go well. It is almost like he can't adjust his balance for any sort of abnormality under his feet.
We hung out in the backyard of his house for a while and brought Stormy in the back yard. She is a good dog. She was well loved and Kirk really likes her. I hope they will be good companions.
I had to haul the computer off to the Apple Store. That in and of itself was funny. It was cold and dark and the mall is outdoors. I didn't exactly know where the store was so I think I carried the silly thing around fir half a mile. I was a little tired. But it was the right move to take it in. It needed a new hard drive and all our back ups worked this time so at least we didn't loose anything else.
Sidney is still loving horse back riding lessons. Stormy and I take advantage of the relatively flat hills by the stable to run while Sidney is riding.
The Prius had a low passenger side rear tire a couple of times so I finally took it in. The car attracts nails. Nail removed, tire patched and tires rotated. Now the goal is to get the old Ford running.
Kirk still does not exhibit any moment to moment memory. Please continue to pray for that for him. He is also bored in the evenings and weekends so I am trying to come up with some ideas for him. I am going to take a recorder and some painting supplies to him. What ever we try has to be workable for him with his impacted vision.
Not sure yet what we will do this weekend. I think I'll try a full fledged store run with him. I might also try keeping him home longer, maybe through an early dinner. We will see.
Please pray for stamina for me and patience with me for Sidney. Thank you for your continuing support, love, and prayers.
We tried walking a bit and Kirk dies very well on flat surfaces like sidewalk and flat crushed stone. But we tried some paths with mulch and that didn't go well. It is almost like he can't adjust his balance for any sort of abnormality under his feet.
We hung out in the backyard of his house for a while and brought Stormy in the back yard. She is a good dog. She was well loved and Kirk really likes her. I hope they will be good companions.
I had to haul the computer off to the Apple Store. That in and of itself was funny. It was cold and dark and the mall is outdoors. I didn't exactly know where the store was so I think I carried the silly thing around fir half a mile. I was a little tired. But it was the right move to take it in. It needed a new hard drive and all our back ups worked this time so at least we didn't loose anything else.
Sidney is still loving horse back riding lessons. Stormy and I take advantage of the relatively flat hills by the stable to run while Sidney is riding.
The Prius had a low passenger side rear tire a couple of times so I finally took it in. The car attracts nails. Nail removed, tire patched and tires rotated. Now the goal is to get the old Ford running.
Kirk still does not exhibit any moment to moment memory. Please continue to pray for that for him. He is also bored in the evenings and weekends so I am trying to come up with some ideas for him. I am going to take a recorder and some painting supplies to him. What ever we try has to be workable for him with his impacted vision.
Not sure yet what we will do this weekend. I think I'll try a full fledged store run with him. I might also try keeping him home longer, maybe through an early dinner. We will see.
Please pray for stamina for me and patience with me for Sidney. Thank you for your continuing support, love, and prayers.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
January 10
I went for Kirk's second monthly meeting on Monday. He has been at Neurorestorative for almost 2 months now. Every meeting is difficult. I am still deep in the heart of grieving. I miss the old Kirk and it is difficult to walk this journey. Kirk worked hard to become a nurse and a linguist. And now he is working hard to walk, read, and simply live.
That all being said he is making some progress. There have been no repeats of events like those before Thanksgiving where he was so confused and unwilling to go to the clinic. He is very compliant and is building endurance. He can do 10 to 15 minutes of arm bike or stationary bike. He is taking shorter breaks and doing a bit more weight with the excel isles that use weight.
He exhibits better balance. He could not stand on one foot at all when he got there. He can stand on his right leg for about 9 seconds and 4 on his left. He still does not correct his balance quickly though. He can't catch himself which is part of why he needs the cane, which he mostly carries around with him and is never near when he starts to fall.
He still substitutes words to a point that makes him hard to converse with. However he is better at naming every day objects based on seeing them and descriptions. He is also able to more accurately copy words. He was re-ordering the letters and adding letters before. And he is starting to be able to read. He also has started to verbalized his difficulty seeing. We know it's there based on observable behavior but now he can acknowledge it. We won't treat anything formally until 6 months. He is still changing too much and can't yet accurately say what is going on.
The conclusion is he will stay for another month and we will meet again in February.
Sidney and I made it through the first week back to work and school. It is busy though.
We brought Kirk home for a few hours for the first time today. We went to the grocery store first and got some grilled cheese fixings. We came home and made sandwiches. Sidney did piano and Kirk helped with laundry. He can't match socks but that wasn't his strong suit before. If you give him matches he can fold them. It was nice to have him home for a little while but the 'aha!' moment Sidney and I hoped for didn't happen. It didn't seem he recognized any of it. He did really like Stormy.
He seems very content in general. In talking to the staff he is helpful and always pleasant. The most upset he might get is not wanting to get in the car and he just says no. It's easy to redirect him though and with no memory you can just re-direct him 30 seconds later. Many if the other patients can get aggressive and he has shown none of that.
That all being said he is making some progress. There have been no repeats of events like those before Thanksgiving where he was so confused and unwilling to go to the clinic. He is very compliant and is building endurance. He can do 10 to 15 minutes of arm bike or stationary bike. He is taking shorter breaks and doing a bit more weight with the excel isles that use weight.
He exhibits better balance. He could not stand on one foot at all when he got there. He can stand on his right leg for about 9 seconds and 4 on his left. He still does not correct his balance quickly though. He can't catch himself which is part of why he needs the cane, which he mostly carries around with him and is never near when he starts to fall.
He still substitutes words to a point that makes him hard to converse with. However he is better at naming every day objects based on seeing them and descriptions. He is also able to more accurately copy words. He was re-ordering the letters and adding letters before. And he is starting to be able to read. He also has started to verbalized his difficulty seeing. We know it's there based on observable behavior but now he can acknowledge it. We won't treat anything formally until 6 months. He is still changing too much and can't yet accurately say what is going on.
The conclusion is he will stay for another month and we will meet again in February.
Sidney and I made it through the first week back to work and school. It is busy though.
We brought Kirk home for a few hours for the first time today. We went to the grocery store first and got some grilled cheese fixings. We came home and made sandwiches. Sidney did piano and Kirk helped with laundry. He can't match socks but that wasn't his strong suit before. If you give him matches he can fold them. It was nice to have him home for a little while but the 'aha!' moment Sidney and I hoped for didn't happen. It didn't seem he recognized any of it. He did really like Stormy.
He seems very content in general. In talking to the staff he is helpful and always pleasant. The most upset he might get is not wanting to get in the car and he just says no. It's easy to redirect him though and with no memory you can just re-direct him 30 seconds later. Many if the other patients can get aggressive and he has shown none of that.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
January 4
I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted. Happy New Year. I hope everyone's year got off to a good start.
Sidney and I saw Kirk last on December 30. We went over and spent some time with him at the clinic again. We sorted a deck of cards and then shuffled them and played Go Fish. We had tried this before with a Go Fish deck but had been unsuccessful. The Go Fish deck has the name of the fish and the picture. Kirk can't read the names or tell what the fish were. He did much better with a regular deck. First he sorted the deck by suit and then each suit in order. He needed little help and corrected his single mistake. Then we shuffled and played a fun game of Go Fish. He did well.
Sidney helped him do some exercises and then we played Sequence Rummy. It's a special deck of cards that has sets of three cards that are related to each other. The goal is to get the most sets of three which are series together. For example one series is how to wash a dog. Another is getting a hair cut. Sidney won that game but Kirk did OK with coaching.
We spent part of New Years Eve with friends. We ate snacks and watched a movie. We tried to see Kirk on New Years Day but I didn't call ahead and the house was empty when we got there. Everyone had gone to the other house and we didn't know.
We finished a lot of chores around the house over the last two weeks and got Christmas down on New Years Day. We also parted ways with Kiwi. It was a difficult decision but I could not continue to care for him and I haven't been able to give him the attention he needs since the accident. He needed a full family who can spend more time with him and not just meet his most basic needs. He went to a family who home schools and lives near us. The daughter wanted him. She also loves falcons like Sidney and works with birds. She has the resources to get Kiwi trained back to being a family guy. We will miss him and we tried very hard.
Sidney and I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Houston. It was a rocky trip from the start. The folks who normally keep Stormy had to go out of town on an emergency and I tried various kennels which were closed. I finally got the vet and Stormy's bordetella was out of date. Fortunately the vet boards and she could get her treatment and stay there. The main purpose of the trip was for Sidney to see her friend in Katy. And we were going to stay with them. However when we got here, the friend and her whole family has the stomach bug. So we were a bit homeless and not sure what to do. We were going to go to our back up plan but she wasn't home and I couldn't remember how to get in. We finally found some people at church to stay with and ended up having a really nice time. We ate meatloaf and spoiled their dogs. We slept and then Sidney and I ran errands and went to a cool little museum. Then we watched Into the Woods before going to another friends. We got our refill of Lupe Tortillas before going to bed. By this time I was putting a lot of energy into fighting a cold.
Sunday was church to refill batteries. We miss our Katy church and it was good to visit sing in the choir, take communion and refill with hugs, lots of them. Afterwards we ate a quick lunch and stopped at the YMCA to say hello to a few old friends before hitting the road back to San Antonio. Fortunately no traffic trouble getting back to San Antonio so it was an easy trip. Stopped and got groceries before getting ready for the week. Back to school and work tomorrow.
In addition to feeling bad, it appears the computer has kicked the bucket again. Just what I don't need. I'm in over my head and don't know what to do.
I am meeting with Kirk's team tomorrow for his one month review and plan for the next month. I know they will recommend for him to stay another month. I will try to get a short post up tomorrow. Continued prayers for memory are appreciated.
Sidney and I saw Kirk last on December 30. We went over and spent some time with him at the clinic again. We sorted a deck of cards and then shuffled them and played Go Fish. We had tried this before with a Go Fish deck but had been unsuccessful. The Go Fish deck has the name of the fish and the picture. Kirk can't read the names or tell what the fish were. He did much better with a regular deck. First he sorted the deck by suit and then each suit in order. He needed little help and corrected his single mistake. Then we shuffled and played a fun game of Go Fish. He did well.
Sidney helped him do some exercises and then we played Sequence Rummy. It's a special deck of cards that has sets of three cards that are related to each other. The goal is to get the most sets of three which are series together. For example one series is how to wash a dog. Another is getting a hair cut. Sidney won that game but Kirk did OK with coaching.
We spent part of New Years Eve with friends. We ate snacks and watched a movie. We tried to see Kirk on New Years Day but I didn't call ahead and the house was empty when we got there. Everyone had gone to the other house and we didn't know.
We finished a lot of chores around the house over the last two weeks and got Christmas down on New Years Day. We also parted ways with Kiwi. It was a difficult decision but I could not continue to care for him and I haven't been able to give him the attention he needs since the accident. He needed a full family who can spend more time with him and not just meet his most basic needs. He went to a family who home schools and lives near us. The daughter wanted him. She also loves falcons like Sidney and works with birds. She has the resources to get Kiwi trained back to being a family guy. We will miss him and we tried very hard.
Sidney and I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Houston. It was a rocky trip from the start. The folks who normally keep Stormy had to go out of town on an emergency and I tried various kennels which were closed. I finally got the vet and Stormy's bordetella was out of date. Fortunately the vet boards and she could get her treatment and stay there. The main purpose of the trip was for Sidney to see her friend in Katy. And we were going to stay with them. However when we got here, the friend and her whole family has the stomach bug. So we were a bit homeless and not sure what to do. We were going to go to our back up plan but she wasn't home and I couldn't remember how to get in. We finally found some people at church to stay with and ended up having a really nice time. We ate meatloaf and spoiled their dogs. We slept and then Sidney and I ran errands and went to a cool little museum. Then we watched Into the Woods before going to another friends. We got our refill of Lupe Tortillas before going to bed. By this time I was putting a lot of energy into fighting a cold.
Sunday was church to refill batteries. We miss our Katy church and it was good to visit sing in the choir, take communion and refill with hugs, lots of them. Afterwards we ate a quick lunch and stopped at the YMCA to say hello to a few old friends before hitting the road back to San Antonio. Fortunately no traffic trouble getting back to San Antonio so it was an easy trip. Stopped and got groceries before getting ready for the week. Back to school and work tomorrow.
In addition to feeling bad, it appears the computer has kicked the bucket again. Just what I don't need. I'm in over my head and don't know what to do.
I am meeting with Kirk's team tomorrow for his one month review and plan for the next month. I know they will recommend for him to stay another month. I will try to get a short post up tomorrow. Continued prayers for memory are appreciated.
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