Brian's surgery a success!

Brian is home from the hospital, after staying a mere 2 nights. Here are a few photos of him sleeping at the hospital post-surgery, and at home with his mum.

Oi!

Heyo peoples-o.Brian here, posting onn me own blog.How is things over in the world of people?dime lo!(tell me en es pan yole) This is my farst visit to me own little blog thing typing. Rock! How cool am I???????!!!! If you said "damn cool!, then you'd be right.I'm out now. Esta la ahora por el breakfasto.Anywhose, thanks many bunches for making me all internet famousy and stuff. I'm now more popular than AOL.FACT.You best respect. Yo. Visitors welcome.Waffle time!Ah dee ose.
Bernardo(mi nombre de espanol)

Update on Brian

Brian, Rachel, and Marcy were on the news last week! Copy and paste the WHOLE link below to view the report (both lines!). Or, you can go to www.myfoxdetroit.com and search the site for "brian beckett."

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=3814204

Well, Brian is improving in amazing ways. He is now able to walk on his own. Of course, he always has a little bee buzzing around him to make sure he doesn't trip (Marcy, Rachel, me), but he is strong and wheelchair-free! The next step for Brian (no pun intended) is his surgery on August 2. I don't have the details of the surgery but I know he will finally - God be praised - have his bone put back in his head. This should improve his balance, and it also means NO MORE HELMET! Brian has plans to go to his friend Chris's home for a helmet burning party. What a day that will be! Brian's eye sight is also improving. Marcy mentioned how he read small words on a water bottle, and I've seen him navigate a computer. His right arm is really strong now - Brian whipped a nerf football at his brother REALLY hard. I was impressed!

"For Brian's Benefit," a fundraiser at St. John Lutheran Church, took place last Friday, July 20. Brian came walking in to the amazement of many. If you can remember him at the bowling fundraiser, he was wheelchair-bound and needed to leave early. At this fundraiser, he was walking around a lot and stayed till the very end. That's at least 4 hours of socializing and being the center of attention. I do not know how much money was raised at this event, but I've heard rumblings and once again we must praise and thank God for the generosity and love of Brian's friends, family, and even complete strangers. I'll let Ben (my brother and one of the main event organizers) fill everyone in on the details of the fundraiser.

Prayer request: please pray for Brian's short-term memory to improve. This is something that bothers him, because he can't always remember what day it is today, or what he had for lunch. But there are signs of improvement because, for instance, he remembers going to see Harry Potter with Rachel (even if he can't remember the exact day it took place). Also pray for his left side to strengthen (arm, hand and eye).

-Kelly

Click Here to download and print the For Brian's Benefit RSVP Form

Follow this link to download the "For Brian's Benefit" RSVP Form. Hurry up and RSVP and space is limited and we are rapidly filling up!

Thanks!!!

Whew! It's been awhile

Well, Greg is home and G & G have come and gone. It has been some time since I posted anything on this site. What a blast it was to have Gramma and Grandpa here for 3+ days. I think that's a record. They even got to come down to RIM to watch Brian in rehab action. Very nice! We all had a lovely Mothers Day full of food (Dad's ribs were the best) and people. Dan and Kathy and Julie were here too. Deb and Clyde came over early and went to church with us. It was such a nice day and so much fun to sit on the driveway and talk to Julie and Kelsey and Greg and Brian. Lots of laughter...the best medicine.
Today was the perfect day at rehab. Brian now sees Robbin (PT) first in the schedule. She had him doing balance exercises in the parallel bars, one and two leg presses on a piece of exercise equipment, another machine that strengthens the thigh, inner leg, and butt, and even more stuff on the stairway. She really pushed him, he did great,and she was thrilled. Next, he saw Jean (OT). They have such an easy rapport. She teases him and he teases right back. He worked with nerf balls...picking up and tossing them, a dowel that he stretches out and up with, and a "loop-de-loop" arch where he has to grasp a small piece of plastic and work it over a wire hump. There are 2 humps...one is smaller and the other one is very high. Jean only asks him to go over the smaller one but he was trying to do both of them on his own. He was successful about 80% of the time. Very tiring for both his arm and his brain. Last, he was with Tracy (speech and memory). She has him keeping a daily journal of everything that he does. Amazingly, he is getting better at his short term memory. Nothing huge but definately better. He knows that he keeps a journal and mentions it frequently. He can look at it to remember the day, date and important stuff. Like last Sunday, Chris came over with his 4 orphaned raccoon kits. How cute was that?!?!?! Kelsey and 2 of her girlfriends were also in on this and Justyne arrived soon enough to witness the cuteness too. Brian admitted that not only were the girls making squealy noises of joy, he was too! They really were SO adorable. Probably won't be cute for much longer so I'm glad that we had the opportunity to hold them. Maybe I can get a computer genius to put some pics on this blog. (Hint, hint Kelsey)
That's it for now...Love to all, Marcy :)

Dr. Zamorano update

Yesterday, after therapizing, Brian, Rachel and I finally got to see Dr. Zamorano. She is the neurosurgeon who removed Brians bone flap and allowed his brain to swell safely. She was very pleased to see how well he is doing. She actually said that the swelling is gone and the "indent" is great. BUT...no surgery until after he is off of coumadin and no sooner than mid-June. Probably will talk to her again in late June or early July to set the surgery date. As long as he is no longer on blood thinners, the surgery can be scheduled quite quickly. She considers it an easy surgery. He would only be in the hospital overnight or 2 days. Once the bone is back, there is no need for the helmet from hell. It makes his head itch and is uncomfortable to sleep in. We can hardly wait!!!
Today is a beautiful day and we are going to take a stroll outside. Rachel comes back tomorrow to go to therapy with us. Brian has a new OT. Her name is Jean and she replaces Bhawna. Bhawna was on bedrest for a week, she is about 4 months pregnant. We were assigned to Jean and she is the answer to our prayers. She is a mom of 3 boys and she just loves Brian! She is a year or two older than me and might actually remember Kathy. She is fun and funny and keeps his spirits up. Lots of praise for jobs done.
Greg came home yesterday - YAY! G and G are coming over on Saturday - double YAY!
All for now...Love, Marcy :)

Ben's Recap

Gas money to get to the Bowling alley? A few bucks.

Tacky collared bowling shirt? $20

Bowling shoes? $50

Beer? Depends on how much of a boozehound you are.

Bowling 4 Brian? Priceless.

....WELL, not exactly PRICELESS. More like $10,900. That is how much money was raised at the little shindig we threw last weekend. And I am still receiving donations.

(sorry for that unbelievably crappy MasterCard analogy, I've been busy all day and am really tired)

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in knowing what you did to help the Becketts.

All this money came from people who were there, and people who sent money through the mail.

The people who donated their time and money are amazing, and we all thank you for your contributions.

I was thinking, all you hear about on the news is gloom and doom. The world is ending, global warming will destroy us all in the next 5 years, you will surely die if you answer your cell phone while pumping gas, and Britney Spears shaved her head and proceeded to viciously attack a paparazzi dude.

Under this barrage, you tend to forget that positive things happen from time to time.

A little interesting tidbit: 3 or 4 people that we don't know from Adam, but who were bowling at the alley at the same time the fundraiser was going on, came up and gave us cash. Out of the blue. Complete Strangers. Giving us their hard earned cash.

I guess people like you, and the aforementioned strangers, coming together to help a family makes for boring headlines and crappy ratings, but to me, it sure helps maintain one's faith in humanity.

It was unbelievably fun. Sur got top score, and Zo came in second. Of course they had the bumpers up so they wouldn't throw gutterballs.

I took video of the event. We had an after party at Mark and Carey's. Brian loved it too - he remembered it all the next day.

Next bowlathon, he'll be bowling with the rest of us, God willing.

One final thing, a Bible verse my mom brought up the other day has resonated with me, and I thought I'd share it here. This scripture serves as a Biblical shout-out to you fine donater folks, and also as a thank you note expressed in words I couldn't conjure up myself at this late hour:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galations 6: 9-10)

I'd say that just about sums it up...

Once again to everybody: Thanks!!!

Oh, what a partay!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who put this wonderful bowling event together and to everyone who came or participated in one way or another. Ben, what a concept...what a terrific job!!! Deb, Kelly, Clyde, Scott, Hollie, Sarah, Stacey, Thom, people I didn't recognize and everyone else...WOW!! The turnout was incredible. I have no idea how many people showed up but the place was packed. Bowlers aplenty and great non-bowlers just having a ball. My biggest surprises...John Kurap, thought he was in New Guinea...Deanna and Bob, all the way from Farmington, didn't know they lived there!...Chuck Mathews, new eyeballs and all...and mostly Larry Clemans and Andy and Lynn Patzert, Clem and Andy were guidance counselors for Deb, Dan and I in the olden days! How cool was it to see those guys?! Brian had a great time but could only handle about an hour and a half. His day begins very early and all the noise and stimulation was overwhelming. But, today at therapy he was wearing his shirt and proudly telling everyone that his sister designed it and that Saturday was the fund raiser. It is very cool that he remembered it with no prompting. Memory is definately getting better...sometimes. He is walking a little bit with a four pronged cane. Getting stronger but a long way from solitary moving. His forearm in tight but he wears a new contraption during OT that helps him to grasp objects and release them. I tell him that he looks like Ahnold or Robocop. He likes that. So, keep those prayers a coming. He is doing so well with everyones help.
All for now, Love, Marcy :)

COME TO BRIAN'S FUNDRAISER THIS SATURDAY!!

Brian wants to see you! So please join us for the fundraiser, if you haven't already rsvp'd. See Ben The Organizer's email below.

Hi Everybody - Just a final reminder about the Bowling event that you've all received 8 billion times by now (attached).

If you haven't registered or let me know you are coming, now's the final opportunity, as it's the deadline on lanes day. Just drop me an email at this email address or at ben.kamm@comcast.net if you're coming.

If you've already responded "yay" or "nay" then ignore this message - it will self destruct in 5 minutes.

A partial raffle and prize list (the below items are definates):

Autographed pucks donated by the Detroit Red Wings: Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Yzerman - can you believe there's a Stevie Y one???

A 2gig iPod Nano - listen to Yanni or John Tesh full-blast as you do your workout

2 $100 gift certificates to Salon 6 in Royal Oak - You can get your hair did at the best hair-did-ing-est place in all the land

4 tickets to Tigers-Brewers, Thursday June 14th - Who's your Tiger? Mine is Johnny Grubb.

A Trader Joe's Gift Basket - there's a bunch of stuff in it

An original work, 8x10 framed photo capturing the final game at the old Tigers Stadium created by Christine Crossley

A scented candle basket created by Doreen - these things are awesome, I have one in my room and my room no longer reeks.

$$$ from the 50/50 raffle

Free Bowling From Hartfield Lanes

A gift certificate from Marinelli's Restaurant - now you don't have to eat the horrible food you cook, unless you're a good cook of course, then forget I said anything.

So, if you haven't already, let me know if you plan on coming! Thanks…

BK

update

Hello everyone, I have had some difficulties getting on to the post part of this blog. Today, it's working. Here's what's going on. Yesterday, Brian had a thorough checkup at the Kresge Eye Institute. The best news is that the neuro-opthamologist could find no damage in either eye or in the optic nerve. Praise God! He checked to see if Brian possibly could use a stronger prescription, but that didn't seem to be useful. Apparantly, his eyes, just like his brain, need more time to heal and catch up to the strength that they normally had. Right now, vision is about 20/80 I believe. They were not able to get it any clearer. So, he just has to adjust and wait for more healing. There may always be some left side deficits or areas that he can't see as well, but again only time will tell. Today after therapizing, we go to see Dr. Cullis, his neurologist. He prescribes all the seizure meds and hasn't seen Brian yet. This will be a very long day. 1:45 to 4:00 at therapy and a 5:30 appt in Eastpointe for Cullis. Thank goodness the church ladies cook for us today. Therapy is very tiring both physically and mentally. Pray for strength for him to be successful in this area.
Brian would like to add some info. A big thank you and a hug to everyone who has been praying for me. Believe me I can tell that you are doing this. I hope to see you all this Saturday at my bowlathon. Love,Brian and Marcy :)

CLICK HERE for "Bowling for Brian" Fundraiser Registration

I think I fixed it. Just click on the title of this post and you'll get the registration form!

Kelly

P.S. I figured out how to fix the time as well. =)

AARRRGGGGHHH!

Brians OT's name is Bhawda, not Bhawa, so it is pronounced Bavda. Sorry! Also, the entire website link did not come up on my computer for the deadline info. Probably cut off on everyone elses, too. Ben, is this your department? Kell? Hope you can fix it.
Love, Marc :)

Bowling Fundraiser Registration

Bowling Fundraiser on April 28th:
Please click this link and print it for a registration form.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e386/kammkell/Bowling_For_Brian2.gif

REGISTRATION ENDS APRIL 21ST!!

Happy 23rd birthday, Brian!

Today is Brians birthday. I have a few minutes to update, finally. He and Rachel are watching Napoleon Dynamite as I sit here. He has been enjoying videos since he got home. He loved The Pursuit of Happyness and even seems to remember that he watched it. This is his biggest challenge right now. Very bad short term memory. He will ask the same questions again and again. Usually if he is prompted to remember it himself, he will come up with the answer. By the end of the day when he is tired, he gets very repetitive. I think that his battery gets worn out and he just needs a new charge. He wakes up very pleasantly. Usually he asks about what is going on and we go through the whole AVM bleed, Harper Hospital, Clarkston Specialty, RIM and home routine. Then, after that, he starts to remember again. He knows all the therapist names and doctor names from RIM. His sense of humor is fabulous and he even pokes fun at himself.
We have all survived an entire week at home. It is time consuming but not as bad as I thought it would be. He needs 24 hour supervision. This obviously includes sleeping, too. He sleeps on a twin bed in the den and I sleep on the lazy boy next to him. This way, he cannot accidentally think that he is able to get up by himself and go to the bathroom or anything else. He relies on a wheelchair and transfers are very easy to do. He cannot walk without a lot of help and only walks down the 3 stairs of the garage and over to the car. This works well, thank goodness. He eats like a horse and bathroom duties have been going great. One of the biggest deals is taking a shower. He feels cold so quickly so I try to keep it warm and have lots of towels handy. The transfer from chair to shower bench works well but I have to switch belts from dry one to wet one and I know he gets chilled. I try to make sure that he is plenty warm before getting dressed. Even with all of these preset measures, he seems to get a headache after showers. I hate that part. Hopefully we can figure out a way to lessen the headache.
Brian saw a primary care physician in Detroit to get his medicines refilled. He also has to have a blood test once a week for cuomidin levels. He should be off of the blood thinners in about 2 months.
Yesterday was his first day of outpatient therapy. First, we met Bhawa (Bava), his OT. She administered tests to assess where he is at and how to help him improve. She is upper body therapy. His left arm is at about 130 degrees which is much better than a month ago. His shoulder is still very tight and he can only lift his arm to shoulder level. He was asked to put little pegs into little holes and then remove them as fast as possible. He did great with the right but could not even pick them up with the left. Too small, he said. Plus, his vision in impaired...(he goes to Kresge Eye Institute on Tuesday). He also had his grip strength tested and finger strength tested. These are obviously going to be the base lines for Bhawa to judge his improvement.
Next, he saw Tracy, speech. She did some neat vocal tests with him to determine if there are any muscle weaknesses. He did great. When she got to ca,ca,ca,ca,ca it was obvious that there was a little slur there. What she gathered from all of this is weakness from the middle to the back of the tongue. Apparantly she can strengthen these muscles. She also noticed a little droop on the left side of the mouth. And I thought that this was his rakish pirate grin! She told us that this might improve or might not. It's a nerve thing.
Finally, we met Robbin, PT. She tested his leg strength in various ways. He did very well on this and she was very impressed. Right leg is of course very strong and mostly scored 5 of 5. Left leg was not too far behind. Lots of 4's, 3+'s, 4-'s. His hips were the weakest part and need the most work for walking. He walked with her and a "cane" and is so not coordinated at it. She attributes it to time in bed, hip weakness, brain confusion on working cane, left leg, right leg and the visual problems. So, there is much to do but she, and he, are raring to go.
He was tired when we got home and so was I. He conked out at about 8 and I had a devil of a time waking him for his 9 pm pills. Took about 10 minutes to get him awake enough to swallow them.
Rachel has spent a lot of time with us and as always, she is the best medicine. Looks like she has been able to arrange her work schedule into longer days and more days off so she can be here more often. Superb!
Got to go get my boy a gift...talk later! Love, Marcy :)

The Condor has landed

Well, we are all home and it feels really good! Kelsey, Rachel and I arrived at RIM at 11 and we were on the road by 12:30. Most of the time was spent saying good-bye to all of the wonderful people who took care of Brian there. We had to promise to come up to visit when we were doing outpatient rehab. Ali told us that he is usually down in outpatient about the time we will be there to visit his former patients. That will be fun. Loading him in the car was no problem...the chair was awkward. I'm sure it will become easier with time. I got all of his prescriptions filled and went to the secretary of state to get a hanging handicap sign for the car. In the meantime, Dan and Kathy, and Mark were getting other things ready. Mark brought over the sliding bench for the shower and a spare commode. Danny switched out the broken TV for a working one. Ben and Zo had come over yesterday to take the sofa bed out of the den and bring the twin bed from Cindy in to the room. Oh, Dan also brought the recumbent bike up from the basement. I'm not sure if it's super steady but he doesn't pedal very fast yet. He walked up the garage steps pretty well. Then we practiced down and then up again. All of us tried, even Kelsey. While I was gone, Dan and Kathy had him go up the house stairs and back down again. Apparantly, he did a great job with their help. Now, we are rethinking the ramp, and may just have Mark build a stairway with rails to go over the existing steps. Something to think about.
He sure seems happy to be here and we are thrilled to have him.
Hopefully I'll have more details later in the week.
Later, Love, Marcy :)

Helloooooo, again, Hellooooooooo

Buenos dias mis amigos!!!! Soy ZO!

Hey Aunt Marcy, I saw your last post and would like to donate my time (and truck) to help the cause. The cause I speak of is, of course, Operation: Condor. The operation consists of getting the house prepared for Brian's triumphant return home. I have a pick up truck and a rock hard body capable of lifting many times my own body weight (but not all at once). I'm sure that Ben and some of the other guys would be more than willing to assist, so let me know when you would like to execute said operation and we can work out the deets.

XOxOox, (Big kiss, big hug, little kiss, Big hug, little hug, little kiss)
ZO

5 days and counting

Today is Sunday...Brian is due to come home on Friday. Praise the Lord! He seems to be very anxious to come home.
Let me begin by saying that I was having some problems logging on to this site and I am glad that today was successful. I have no idea what the problem was but now, no problemo. (That was for you, Zo)
Last Wednesday, they pulled the feeding tube out of his stomach. When I visited on Thursday, I asked him if it hurt and he said "not that I remember". At the same time, Dr. "Babe" was nodding his head up and down indicating that it did indeed hurt but obviously he was over it. He now has a wonderful scab about 2 inches above his navel. Looks like it will make a great lumpy scar therefore Brian will have 2 navels! I got to watch some pretty cool therapy on Thursday and glean some info on what to expect when he comes home. They are setting up his therapy at a RIM offshoot at 13 Mile and Stephenson Hwy. It is one of only 3 RIM's that deal with neurological rehab. He will have PT, OT and speech all in one day, three days a week. I also have to find out if they will set up a visit at Kresge Eye Institute. I feel that his therapy would be much easier, especially walking, if he could see better! I have already talked to Mark Neindorf about installing a ramp, grab bars in the shower and finishing the bathroom painting. My friend Cindy from Trader Joes told me that she has a twin bed that I could have to put in the den. I will probably sack out next to him on the lazy boy until we figure out something better. I could use a couple of big strong backs to move the sofa bed to the garage for pickup, and move the bed into the den. Any takers? Anybody have a truck? Cindy might have a truck but I'm not certain.
Anywho, Kelsey and I visited today and had a great time. He knows that he forgets and he knows that he asks the same questions over and over. I feel that this is a good sign. He isn't frustrated about it and I don't mind answering the same things again and again. We were able to go outside and enjoy the beautiful, sunny, 75 degree day for about an hour. How nice! He really liked being out there. I told him that I was looking forward to sitting on the deck, Brian in his wheelchair, me with a glass of wine. He said...hey, I get a glass of wine too.
Lately, he has been calling me and Rachel several times a day to ask questions and wonder if we were coming to visit and to tell us that he was confused. So, I guess that it is time for him to come home to the people who love him the most. Although, he is well loved at RIM. What's not to love?
I'm done for now...more tomorrow. Love, Marcy :)

Bowlin' 4 Brian (and Marcy)

It's ON!!!

If you haven't heard yet, we are putting together a charity bowl-a-thon for Brian Beckett. This will help cover some medical expenses and give us an opportunity to get together and play Brian's favorite sport (next to Extreme Shuffleboard, that is).

Event details will be coming soon - I hope to have the invite out this week with how much you'll have to pay, prize details, etc.

HOWEVER - I wanted to at least get the word out to mark your calendars for April 28th, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM. This is a Saturday.

I have officially booked it for this day and time.

There'll be a bar, food, and prizes - all that good stuff. We even have the possibility of Thrivent Financial, a Lutheran financial aid association, matching our donations (we have applied and are awaiting approval).

We have an initial hookup of 20 lanes at fabulous Hartfield Lanes in Berkley. There are a total of 52 lanes at this particular alley - once the invites get out, and I see some RSVP's, I can always reserve more lanes.

If you've never heard the legend of Hartfield Lanes, you will soon. Let's just say there have been many an eventful karaoke night there, and leave it at that...

But once again, April 28, 2p-5p. Mark it down, and I know I'll see lots of ya's there!!

BK

Yo

Alright, alright, my blog is up there. Sorry it took so long, I'm a procrastinator.

For some reason it appears UNDER "Rachel is Better" blog. Man, this intra-web thingy is weird...

By the way, glad you're feeling better Rachel...

BK

RACHEL IS BETTER!!!!!!

Happy day! Rachel is feeling better and is visiting Brian as we speak (or type, or something). I took the opportunity to leave them alone (!!!) and catch up on home stuff. That would include Kelsey. She is still fighting a virus but she usually feels pretty good. No mono, thank the Lord. I guess it is just a waiting game on the sore throat and everything that comes with it.
Kelsey and I are going to enjoy a meal that has more than 2 ingredients in it. Luckily, we enjoy the same foods, although I like a good filet every once in awhile! She stays with chicken, chicken, chicken.
I spent a lot of this beautiful 80 degree day in the garage cleaning the bunny cage. When I came back in, there was a message on my phone. I listened..."MMMOMMMMMMY"! Where are you, Mommy? Typical Brian humor. I called him back and everything was great...he just wanted to say hello.
I'm very excited, and nervous about taking the Family Medical Leave in a couple of weeks. This is definately the only way to go. I can be home when Brian comes home and have the time to figure out what is best for him and how to handle everything that he needs. I understand that he will probably need 3 days of outpatient therapy each week. He could do this at RIM but it's so far away!! Carolyn, the social worker, has put Beaumont, Troy on the list. I will have to check it out but Carolyn recommends it and it is in a hospital setting.
So, this is all I have for now...if only Ben would blog his blizzy (?)
Love to all! Marcy :)

BK Blogger - Sunday's Visit

Hey. Ben Kamm again.

I visited Brian Saturday prior to the big Mexicali fundraiser and have some interesting details to pass along. So, in the spirit of Mexicali, and the Spanish language in general, I'd like to greet you all with a hearty "Sacre Bleu!!! Oui-Oui, huh huh!!!!" Oh wait....that's French. Never mind.

As Aunt Marcy said, I took notes and asked questions in order to record what I heard and relay info back to all of you. I felt like some 2-bit hack reporter working on a puff piece for the News of the World, but hopefully this blog doesn't come across that way.

This might be a long one, so go ahead and print this one out, sit back, relax, and read this one on the crapper (Zo), or couch (most normal people, albeit not me, as I enjoy a good reading on the aforementioned crapper as well), or wherever you do your reading.

First and foremost, as Kell and Marcy have previously mentioned, Brian's condition is greatly improved. But you all know that.

So I guess we'll make this blog about me. Well, my favorite color is blue, I HATE cheese, and I enjoy long walks on the beach. Oh wait, none of you care about that. Back to the visit.

Secondly, I, like everyone else, was shocked by his conversational ability, and how it differed from the last time I spoke with him.

I asked Marcy when the turning point was, or what precisely happened to trigger this "light bulb" effect. One day, Brian was hardly speaking or moving, and the next he is chatting like Robin Williams on speed, and moving around with the grace of Mickael Bareesh-Mackov. Alright, maybe not to those extremes but you get the picture.

Marcy said they're pretty sure it was Dr. Horn. He likes to tinker with medications, and they decided to up the ante with one specific med. This, combined with the Great Physician's touch (God), has resulted in what seems like continued healing, and this new and improved Brian.

Now, for some things we talked about:

When I walked in, he said right off the bat, "Hey Benjamin." I figured that was a good sign. Due to my blase nature, most people don't remember me, and if they do, they soon wish they could forget they ever met me.

We talked about how Grandma and Grandpa were in Florida. He said "Did I drive them away?" (joking of course). He guessed that "they peeled out of the parking lot, burning rubber, anxious to get outta here as quick as possible."* We both laughed.

*editor's note: Jokingly, I told Brian that the REAL reason Grandma had to get to Florida was because she had a Colony Cove shuffleboard league game to get to against their fierce rivals, the Boca Breeze shuffleboard squad. She was itching to get her game on down in the Florida sun.

The conversation turned towards talk of Grandma as we imagined her in baggy mesh shorts, a headband and a Colony Cove Basketball jersey, talking trash to next-door-neighbor Ethel as she shuffles a puck, or whatever those things are, closest to the circle. We were both laughing pretty hard at that thought.

Just kidding Grams and Gramps you know I love ya's!

I asked him how his vision was. He said good. Marcy prompted him, "how about your left eye?" He closed his right eye and said "I see moving shapes and colors." He didn't seem all that concerned about it, seeing as it was only his left eye, and overall problems with the left side of his body (arm, leg, etc.) seem to persist. He attributed that to something the Doctor told him: he has 'left side neglect.' That got him singing "N-E-G-L-E-C-T. Find out what it means to me" to the tune of RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. Man, he's a regular Hennie Youngman over here!

We discussed the March Madness tournament. I told him State went out in the 2nd round. A game was actually on the television in Brian's room while I was there - Florida vs. Oregon. He remembers Joakim Noah (that "guy" that plays on Florida - you know, the "guy" with a huge ponytail who looks like a cross between Juwanna Mann, the Predator, and a Chia Pet). He asked right as I was leaving about an hour later, "Did State win?" That gives you an idea of where his short-term memory currently is at.

But like everyone said, interestingly enough, his long term memory is on point. Marcy was talking about St. John's and something the kids had to do in "3rd or 4th grade" (maybe Greenfield Village?) and Brian piped in with "3rd Grade." He said it definitively...I was convinced anyway.

He couldn't believe that A.) Aunt Marcy was "blogging" and that B.) people were actually reading it. Well Aunt Marcy, welcome to like, the 20th century, and stuff. But he couldn't believe people wanted to read about HIM.

I asked him where he was at, and he said "RIM." I said "yeah, and the next stop is home." He said, "I'm going HOME???" I said in a couple weeks, but the smile on his face at the mention of home was unmistakeable.

The conversation turned to art, and Kelsey's amazing achievements. For those who don't know, she is a regular Vincent Van Picasso (you know, that great artist that painted soup cans and stuff), and Marcy was talking about how all the accomplishments and awards she is winning will only help get into an art school.

Somehow, we began talking about how much money ar-teests make (because it costs like 3 trillion dollars a year to go to a good art school, or something like that), and Brian says "if they made money, they'd be called Well Fed Artists, not Starving Artists." I giggled like a school girl and high fived him.

Um, Kelsey: ignore the above paragraph - this was just two idiots (me and Brian) trying to be funny. You can make TONS of money as an artist if you're good, and you sir, are good.

I mentioned the Mexicali fundraiser at Trinity-Utica. Brian responds NOT with "awesome," or "sounds fun," or "cool." He actually says, "hmmm, our mortal enemy." I guess Trinity-Utica is a big rival to St. John's in Rochester (the Beckett's church). I could relate to that, if they were having the fund raiser at Pewamo Westphalia, arch rivals to Our Savior Lutheran, I wouldn't go. Or maybe I would, but I would most likely complain the whole time. And Sarah would be annoyed at me. But that's neither here nor there.

I told him what has been going on with him, from his coma to where he is now. He was honestly surprised about it all. I mentioned how obvious it has been that God has been with him every step of the way because he continues to surprise us with his healing process. He said "that's good" which made me laugh for some reason.

And that's about it.

One other thing: My mom, Kelly, and myself have been tossing around the idea of setting up a Bowl-a-Thon (Brian's favorite sport, next to underwater basket-weaving)as a fundraiser for Marcy, Brian, and medical expenses incurred. Nothing is concrete yet, we are still just talking. HOWEVER, the wheels may be in motion, and be on the lookout for further updates. I am shooting for late April, early May...anything later than that, and everybody will most likely be gone every weekend because it's summer.

This is just a alert to be on the lookout for further info. And a prayer request that if this Bowl-a-Thon does go down, it goes down BIG TIME.

Alright, that's officially it.

BK...out.

Saturday and Sunday

When I arrived Saturday, I could tell that someone had been there. A telltale McDonalds container was on his tray. I found the note that Kuraps had left so I asked him about it. He recalled that Kuraps had visited and I told him that their names were Kathy and Mickey. "Mickey"? Yes, Brian, Mickey. "M I C...K E Y...K U R A P" Yes, Mick, we sang your name on and off during the day much to Brians delight. He loved how it just fit right into the tune. Thanks for the visit, the note with the darling pics and the email, too!
I happened to have brought a McDonalds grilled chicken sandwich, lettuce only and a chocolate shake. Wow, was that the right purchase. They had served a pretty good beef dish but he's not too keen on beef. This hit the spot.
It was a beautiful day outside so he put on his sweatshirt and we went right outside the building to enjoy. I'm not sure how far to take him so we went on the sidewalk to John R and then back to the valet lot. This is usually where the inmates...I mean patients go to have cigarettes, etc. We sat outside for about half an hour. By the time I left at 8 pm he got into bed and could barely keep his eyes open. Slept well that night!
I visited on Sunday after church. Kelsey did not come because she doesn't want him to catch the tail end of whatever it is she's been "virusing". Good sister. Stacey was in the room yakking with Brian when I got there. Thom was already getting the car. This time I had brought him a Wendys spicey chicken sandwich, lettuce only. (Notice any pattern?) He dug into that and commented on how they got spicier since the last time he had one. I asked him if it was too hot and he said no. Thom had brought him some slim jims for snacking. Again, good thing I had food because the meal was chicken cordon bleu. Yucky cheese again. I found out that I can call the food service people to make sure that he gets non cheesie stuff. So I called and ordered him the fish (which he had already ordered) but they were going to leave off the swiss cheese/broccoli sauce. Good thing I called.
Stacey said that he was up walking with a PT using just a walker and a brace on his weaker left leg. I haven't seen this yet, but it sure sounds interesting. Stacey left and Ben showed up. Now the real guffawing began. Grams and Gramps called and Ben was background music. He was taking notes so I'm very interested to read his blog...or whatever he called it. Left about 3:15 to go to Mexicali dinner with Kelsey. Got to go now...more later Love, Marcy :)

A Note from Gramma & Grampa

Grampa and I talked to Brian today. He sounds so good. I talked to
him last week one day and his voice was very weak sounding - but today
it sounded strong. Can't tell you how happy both of us were to talk to
him. Every so often Grampa would say, wasn't that neat to hear his
voice ?" Ben was there, I could hear him in the background - he was
laughing in that quiet laugh of his. Marcy and Kelsey were going to be
at the Mexicali dinner tonight - I'm sure they will have a ball with all
the Kamms and their friends there. Love to all you guys. Gramma/Grampa
Mom/Dad

Thursday

I managed to get to RIM in time to watch quite a bit of therapy. I was an assistant on the strong side of Brians body as he walked (still wobbly) a total of 150 feet. He moves so fast! Amy held his weak side...she's about 5ft. nuthin'. I don't know how these tiny little women hold up these big people. He did some pedalling and we worked on transfers from wheelchair to the car, the shower, the toilet. I helped him, by myself, to transfer to the "commode". He lists a bit like a tall sapling and I was amazed at how heavy he felt. After two transfers he told Sarah he had to use the toilet and all went well so that was a great thing. He also had ultrasound treatment on his shoulder. Robyn was there for a lot of the time and was amazed by him. She brought us some food. He had a pizza in his lunch tray and devoured it. Robyn left, Stacey arrived! Around this time, Salva and Christy showed up for speech. They were asking him problem solving questions...If you ate a meal at a restaurant and realized that you forgot your money at home,,,what 2 different things could you do to solve the problem. Most of the questions were real thinkers. At the end of the session, Christy asked him what the date was. He answered, the 22nd. What month,,,March. The 2 women just about fell off their chairs. This was the first time that he remembered the date without just being told. He also remembered the names of all of his therapists when I asked him that morning. He remembers who his Dr. is and who Ali (another therapist) is. He and Ali have a great, funny relationship going on. Lots of teasing and laughing and "Ahnold Schwartzenegger" talk. Dr. Rabe (aka Dr. Babe) actually brought a group of doctors to meet Brian in the gym because he is so funny. He is definately the comic relief for a lot of people there. Everyone who walks past his room comes in to say hi, what's my name, how you doing, remember me? One popular dude! So, obviously, we also talked and laughed a lot.
Stacey and I left after he devoured his hamburger. He was on his way to watching a movie on the 7th floor with his sitter. Gotta keep him busy. Rachel talked to him on the phone the night before for an hour. I don't know how she did it. Her voice is interrupted every 5 seconds with coughing. Sure hope she's feeling better soon.
Brian asked constantly who has been visiting and where is his mail!! Salva is going to have him keep a journal of activities and visitor sign ins so the PRESSURE IS ON TO VISIT!!!! No, seriously, if you have not seen him in a while, you will not believe the change. Stacey could not stop shaking her head. He will lift your spirits with his humor...just ask the staff!
Off to work, Love, Marcy :)

Quickly

Kelly and I both saw Brian on Tuesday and I was there on Monday. He was so much fun. He was rolling all over the room, talking constantly, cracking jokes, one time he laughed so loud it was just like 4 months ago. What a blessing. He ate his entire meal of white fish (it was good), mixed veggies( even though he calls the lima beans frog kidneys), yellow rice, vanilla wafers, chocolate cake and pop. He needs reminders to stay on task and has a very difficult time seeing the plate. He told us that the left eye sees shapes and colors but they flick like a TV used to do. The right eye is not seeing well either. The docs want to wait on the Kresge Eye visit but I'm hoping to pull an eye doc in for at least a quick consult. Don't want it to get any worse. He wears his arm brace even though it "hurts like hell". He doesn't complain and will only tell you that if you ask him. It's doing the job for now and they are still talking about casting it.
They had changed his "wake up" medicine just this morning and they obviously hit on the right med and the right dose for Brian.
Oh, he is also taking all of his meds by mouth now. The stomach tube is not being used at all so I'm hoping that it is removed soon.
Got to go to work...Til later, Marcy :)

Sunday

Kelsey and I got to RIM just after Brian had finished 2 hours of therapy. Even on Sunday they keep him moving. He had had a shower and had washed his hair. We chatted and he was in good spirits but tired. Lunch arrived. He demolished a hamburger with lots of mustard, had apple juice, a few fries and a pudding cup. I mentioned that I thought there might be ice cream sandwiches and something on a stick downstairs in the canteen, his eyes lit up. Ice cream!! (He managed to crack us up with all sorts of jokes about the "something on a stick") Scarfed down the ice cream sandwich. Then, the mom of Frank gave us 3 twinkies. I tossed one at him and he caught it, and devoured it too. Eventually, he ate all three.
His memory is changing in that he is constantly wondering why he is there, where is he, where am I going and why, who's at home, etc. The nurses seem to think that this is a great thing. More aware that he is not at home. Still, he cannot remember in 5 minutes what he did 5 minutes ago.
Ali, OT, decided to hook up his left arm in that splint I got at Clarkston. It's very state of the art. We all joked about how he was going to figure it out without reading the directions. Brian said, "here, give me the directions and I'll pretend to read them". Yuk, yuk. So, it fits great and keeps his arm open. Ali was really liking it. It has adjustments so they can open his arm more and more. Brian said that it didn't hurt at all. We also talked with Brianna who is a recreational therapist. Her job is to help get him back to doing the fun stuff that he likes to do. Probably will take him on a restaurant field trip. Neat.
So, got to go to work...talk later
Love, Marcy :)

Saturday for Friday

Kelly tells me that I can change the time on this crazy clock that is like 3hours and 22 and a half minutes off but I cannot find the doohickie that might change it. AAArrrggghhhh! It is 8:58 pm on Saturday and I am watching MSU vs. UNC. Thought I might need to catch you up. One biggie that I never posted was regarding Brians last day at Clarkston. Stacey and Thom were already there when Kelsey and Greg and I got there. Brian was awaiting a shower since the water was once again cold for his regular scheduled time. Finally, Liz appeared to whisk him away. While he was gone, Sally Shryock and her fiance John arrived with their malamute, Nick. Sally is, if you need a refresher, one of Stacey's oldest friends and the gal I helped get a job at Chevy. Her folks lived next door to Jim and I in Birmingham when we first got married. Brian came out of the shower and was truly excited to meet the dog. Malamutes are his favorite "brand" of doggie. The dog is so sweet and smart! He obeys and performs on command. The best part was tossing treats around and watching him leap around after them. Thank you Sally and John for such a nice day. Nick is welcome at our home anytime...you two too!
Back to the present. I visited Friday after work and Rachel was there and had been most of the day. She got to go with him to Harper for the LONG awaited swallow test. She said that she actually got to view the "x-ray" of the swallows as they happened. Salva proclaimed him a perfect swallower and ordered him a real lunch for when he got back to the room. YaaaaaaaaY! Nothing like food. I stopped at Kruse and Muer's for a bag-o-bread, ate one loaf on the way down, and presented him with the bag when I got there. His jaw dropped, he dug out the bread, ripped off the end and began to munch away with glee. Everybody loves K and M bread! He was very chatty and goofy and funny. Rachel and I were constantly cracking up over the stuff he was telling us. I think that he may have been insulting me once or twice but I loved every minute of it. We called Grams and Gramps and Brian talked to Grammy for about 5 minutes. Voice got quiet once in awhile but the love was obviously flowing. He was confused about where he was...wanted to know why we weren't going into the family room...but so far he doesn't seem to get upset when he is corrected. After Rachel left he was a little bit quieter but also very tired. Julie, (nurse) came in for meds. Really like her. She wanted the whole Brian story so I told her everything. She decided that since he was eating he could start taking some meds by mouth. He took 2 coumadin pills with absolutely no problem. Everything else that he takes is liquid so I'm sure they will be changing those to oral meds shortly.
When it was time for me to leave he was in the bed. He wasn't sure where he was and wanted to know why I was leaving. I told him that I had to go home to sleep so I could go to work on Saturday. I hate leaving him. I would prefer to leave him after he was asleep but I can't. Kelsey and I hope to see him early on Sunday and catch some of the therapy sessions. He's working so hard! I am so proud of him. Til next time...Marcy :)

Thursday, PM

When I showed up at 2 pm, Brian was in his chair by the bed watching TV (sort of), with the sitter close by. I thought he looked tired and he was talking pretty quietly. I checked his schedule and found out that his day began at 8am. By the time I arrived he had seen OT and PT 5 separate times! That's grueling. Salva, (speech), came in and we went to a room for 45 minutes. She talks, he answers. Lots of repetition i.e. ---what year is it, where are you, why are you here, what day is it, did you see the doctor today? She will ask some of the same questions only minutes later and some he remembers some he doesn't. The new ones like "where are you" take a bit longer to remember but she said that he is already improving. She would show him a picture of a ladder and underneath it says, ladder leader dealer. He has to point to the correct word. Unfortunately, most of the correct answers are on the left. He really isn't seeing those at all. If she points to each word, he is always correct. I imagine that being so fatigued makes concentrating even harder. BUT, he never complains or refuses to do the work. He would stretch his legs out and then lean forward, then repeat. I have learned that this is surely a sign of fatigue. When we got back to the room Kathy was there with Mary (is it Reikel?). Wow! Two PT's at once! Dr. Rabe came in to answer questions and Kathy was firing all the good ones at him. They started talking some crazy kind of hospital jargon and I had to keep asking, "huh?" I won't get into the details but it was about the arm casting and leg thingies. That's the best I can do. Also found out that the swallow test is tomorrow at 1 pm. Rachel is spending the day and they said she is welcome to come along. They will wheel over to Harper and it should take about 1/2 hour. Salva also wants to see Brian at an earlier time to see if there is a big difference in his abilities. I'm sure that after he gets used to all of this work, he will do just fine in speech in the afternoon. I asked about the eye problem and the doc said that that is usually a long day at Kresge Eye Institute and he will most likely do that after he is released so that he doesn't miss any therapy time. When I left, he was snuggling the "Rachel cow" looking pretty pooped. I'll see him later tomorrow. Til then, Marcy :)

A couple more details about B

I got to visit Brian last night for about an hour after work. RIM is really amazing - definitely more modern than the rehab place in Clarkston. Totally state-of-the art and clean as can be. Marcy and I marveled at the clean bathroom, and there's a checklist to keep track of the cleaning schedule. Nice to know they try to control passing germs. Anyone concerned about Brian's recovery can really feel confident that he's getting the best possible therapy and care here.

Brian looked great, definitely fully alert as Auntie Marcy said. He showed us how they had him shooting hoops to work out his arms. And when it was time to go, Marcy just had to page the "sitter" who showed up within one minute to stay with Brian. He was yawning a little bit, but from what I know of Brian, he's not used to waking at 8 am. I'm thinking of July Birthdays up north when we were all up and swimming and running around by 10 am and Brian didn't crawl out of Joyce's cabin until like 1 in the afternoon!

And visitors, definitely get your ticket validated if you park in the Wayne State garage. I tried to sweet talk the attendant into giving me a break, since I had left my ticket in the car and couldn't get it validated. He wouldn't budge. $6 for an hour ain't easy to stomach.

Love,
Kelly

P.S. CONGRATS, KELSEY!!!!!!

A weely wonderful Wednesday

First of all, directions to RIM and parking instructions. Drive I-75 south to the Mack exit. Turn right on Mack and go a couple blocks to Brady. There will be a sign on the lamp post pointing right to RIM. Turn right and the building is right in front of you. If you arrive after 4 pm, park in the lot just right of the building. There is a booth because it is the valet lot until 4. After 4, FREE! If you park yourself, turn left at the building and go straight ahead to the WSU parking garage. Bring your ticket with you and validate it in the RIM lobby. This will bring the price down from $6 to $2.50. If you choose valet, it is $4.
Now, some very exciting non-Brian news. Kelsey's artwork has earned a National Silver Key award!!!!!! This is tres prestigious. She (and I) will be invited to the national ceremony in early June (we think). She will walk across the stage, with all the other winners, at Carnegie Hall. How cool is that? Her teacher Diane Heath is beside herself with happiness. Two other girls earned silver key portfolio awards and Dianes own 8th grade son Austin earned a gold key photo award. I'm so excited for Kelsey!
I visited Brian after work and he was in bed with the sitter watching him. He wasn't sleeping, just hanging. He was talkative and very alert. His left arm looked much more relaxed. He never pulled it up tight to his chin the entire time I was there. This was a first. The nurse, Amanda, came to give him his meds and asked him to help push the plunger on that big ol' syringe. It's not like a needle, it holds about 1/2 cup of liquid, is 6" by 1" around. It was difficult but he tried to push. I looked at his sitter chart and noticed that they monitor his activity every hour. Day and night. Sleeping, sitting, therapy, quiet, cooperative etc. I think he earned a gold star. Very cooperative as far as I could tell. Dr. Zamorano had a consult with Dr. Horn today but I don't know when I get any results. Brian finally remembers the name of Clarkston and now has to unremember that and remember that he is at RIM. Let's hope that he gets that swallow test soon so the food can start flowing. I can get there at about 2 today so I'm hoping to catch some action. Gotta go to work, Love, Marcy :)

Hey, Kelly, another new address!

Apparantly Brian has moved again. He is in room 437, bed 2 because the young man in that room also needs a sitter. Kathy and Rachel both went down today. From what I gather, therapy started at 7 AM!!!! By the time they got there he was seeing the speech gal and was already exhausted. I was told on Monday that he would be wiped out for a few days as he gets used to all the work. Maybe this will finally put Brian on a non vampire schedule. We'll see. The social worker called today and in her mind he will be there 2-3 weeks. That seems pretty short to me. If they are casting him every couple of days, I don't know how he'll walk much. There hasn't even been a conference of the minds over him yet. That happens on Thursday. Dr. Zamorano is supposed to see him and have a consult with Dr. Horn on Wednesday.
One of the other things I am concerned about is his vision. Nurse Alfre Woodard said that his pupils are sluggish and don't contract all the way with bright light. I knew that he wasn't seeing correctly. He holds things real close to read them. He had a lot of pressure on his optic nerve when he had the bleed and I remember Dr. Steele saying twice that he "blew a pupil" and then that it was "back". Not sure what that all means but obviously they will look into it.
I'm hoping to catch up a little tonight on all of the paper work. It is absolutely endless! I'm going to see him after work tomorrow. Got some papers to give to the doctors. Til next time, Marcy :)

Brian's new address

I took a guess at Brian's address; see info in column on the right.
Such great news about his new digs. Glory be to God!
Kelly

Success!

Wow! What a day! The move to RIM in the wheelchair van went very smoothly. I got to Clarkston at about 9 and he was on the move by 11. We were greeted by Miss Juanita who took us both up to Room 423, Bed 2. I'll get the address today. Everyone was very friendly. Almost immediately a student nurse and her advisor came in to take down all of Brians info into the computer. (The advisor looks like Alfre Woodard, one of my favorite actresses) He was talkative and helpful for questions that I was unsure of. After about half an hour, I could hear Rachels Florida flip-flops coming through the curtain. Well, you would have thought there were angels and rainbows and little cartoon bluebirds flying around! Brian lit up like a firecracker. Love was in the air. They were so happy to see each other!!! Rachel looked so rested and even TAN. Soooooo glad to have you home, Rachel. We met with Dr. Horn (main therapy doc) and Dr. Rabe (resident or something). They had Brian laughing and eager to get started. They will use a lot of ultrasound on his shoulder to free it up. They will cast his elbow and ankles into better positions and change the casts every 3 days or so. Dr. Horn had seen him at Harper and seemed pleased with his progress. Brian will have a "sitter" with him at all times when he is in the bed so there will be no falling out on to the floor. Genius idea. Kathy the OT came in to assess him and asked him if he was up for a shower. He said yes and off they went to the bathroom he shares with Mr. Green. It's huge and has no barriers. She let him do all the work and observed his skill level. She also encouraged him to dress himself. He needs a lot of assistance but this is obviously the place that will teach him the ropes. All in all Rachell and I were VERY happy with what we witnessed. Got to go to work...more later, Love, Marcy :)

Friday

Real quick before work...Stacey visited yesterday and there was a lot of commotion about Brian leaving. People coming and going and saying goodbye and wishing him well. All sounds great but he was confused and I think worried. After the dust settled down, he wrote to Stacey, call my mom, which would have worked but I had no phone yesterday. He then wrote, I want to go home. When Greg and I got there, he was done with dinner and everyone said he was tooling around in the chair all afternoon looking for his family. I had brought homemade tater soup and after he said hello to us he ate some and said ," wow, there's bacon in the soup". Greg shared some music from his phone which is called a chocolate phone. It looks like an I-pod. He loved the tunes and told me that he wanted a chocolate, too. He already has a phone on a plan with Rachel so I'm going to get him some kind of I-pod thing but not at RIM. He talked quite a bit in a strong voice. That was great to hear. I told him about the move in 3 days. That we would be with him and that they will help him to get ready to go home. As we were leaving, he stole my water bottle, uncapped it and started chugging away. I'll bring him another today. Til later...Marcy :)

The move is on!

Today, Sheila called me at 2:00 to tell me that bc/bs has approved the move to RIM. Hallelujah! It couldn't happen today because they can only accept new people by 3:00 and there was not enough time to order a wheelchair van. BUT, Monday is the day. I will find out for sure if the move is at about 11 am. He should be all settled in by 1:00 or so. I hope that Rachel can come along...I'll find out later.I will see how early I can leave work to join in on the move. We will have to pack all of his wonderful letters, cards and pictures and his ton of clothes. Looking forward to the move!!! Love, Marcy :)

A move is in store

Today, Sheila informed me that Brian has been approved for RIM. This seems awful fast since just yesterday a woman from RIM called and told me that he would not be approved unless I could tell her that I have 24 hour care at home for when he is released from there in 4 to 6 weeks. She assumed that I would tell her that there is plenty of family around to take shifts. I told her that there was no family capable of helping and that I would have to look in to some sort of home health care. I didn't think she would approve the move without my guarantee. It's hard to determine what kind of help is needed when he still has so much time to improve. He has been at Clarkston for about a month and a half and even with the pneumonia setback, he has gone from a ragdoll to a wheelchair dude. When I left today, he was checking in on June, across the hall. He's very adept at going backward but his long legs make forward progress more tedious. Kathy said that the chair is actually a little to low to the ground for his legs. It's the 9000 XT which we assume means extra tall, just not tall enough! He was in good, quiet spirits. When we started singing cartoon theme songs, he named the shows, out loud. This is good. Kathy told us about a bicycle racer guy that had to recoup from a brain injury. He talked about how he felt as if he was listening through water or a quagmire or something gloopy like that. She asked Brian if that was how he felt and he said yes. It must be awful frustrating to not have full command of how your brain is processing. I think he does a darn good job of staying positive through this very difficult situation. He had a little dinner and more of Judy's crazy good cheesecake (yes, I tried it and it was indescribably delicious!!!) and I had to go after that to feed me, Greg and sick Kelsey....she has a bad sore throat virus. Tonight is shower night, Hallelujah! His hair gets so dirty and so itchy!
Gotta go cook. Til next time, Marcy :)

Monday

Brian was a little bit quiet today. I found him outside his room when I got there. He has a new chair that is much more compact. He no longer needs the soft foam seat, the slanting back, or the head support. This one is much lighter and will be easier for him and the rest of us to maneuver. We sat in the hallway to talk to George and Larry . As usual, George does most of the talking. Nice guy. Brian was silent but paying attention. He backed himself into the room so we watched TV for awhile. Dinner came and the fruit was actually real pieces. Pineapple and mandarin oranges. He ate them by himself and had no problem chewing or swallowing. He also had hot chocolate and some sherbet. He told me that he had a headache. 3 on a scale of 1-10. Matt gave him tylenol with his other meds and the bolus. He wanted to lean back in the chair...not possible any more so he relaxed in bed. I 'm pretty sure he misses Rachel. Maybe we will do a countdown til her return. Come visit! Til next time...Marcy :)

Sunday Funnies

I wish that I was smart enough to post pictures like my sister-in-law is! What a wonderful picture of Brian with Connie. He has asked about her and I am positive that he was overjoyed to see her. It doesn't always show, but these visits are awesome!!!
Today was the first time that Greg had seen Brian since Harper Hospital. I haven't asked him for his opinion on the day but I am pretty sure that he was impressed. Justyne was with us, as well as Stacey, Kelsey and Rachel, of course. He was in his room in the bed lookin good. When Rachel got there, he was on the floor and the bed WAS NOT in the low position that it should have been. He was quietly calling for help and his left arm was sore. The nurse ordered x-rays of both arms but when I got there he seemed perfect. Both hands were working just fine so I'm pretty hopeful that he was just bruised. Nevertheless, heads will roll for not informing the new aide that the bed should always be low, low, low!!! I wanted to put him in his chair so we could all go to the lounge. He seemed to be fighting the aide and didn't want to go down there. I told him that he would be able to sit next to Rachel on the couch and that got him moving top speed. The seven of us just sat around and talked and laughed and laughed and tossed a superball around. Once he starts getting relaxed in a situation he really opens up to join in the conversation. We talked about movies, sports, Bobeth...anything. When the talk got to that Borat movie he was right in it talking and laughing. What a joy!! When I show up and he is alone, I usually start with a hug and he always hugs me back. I'll ask him very directly how he is feeling and he will usually give me a thumbs up. As I talk, I will ask him a question that has two options so that he has to give me an answer and not just a nod or a yes or no. This is usually all that it takes to get him to open up and start talking a bit. Humor is definately the best way to go. He loves to laugh!
Anyway, the visit was just wonderful. There is so much more "Brian" coming to the surface every day. He is such a fun guy to be with (just ask Rachel). If you haven't visited him in a while, please try to do so this week. Especially during the day. Rachel is taking a much deserved vacation to Florida. She leaves Monday morning and returns Saturday. Brian will surely miss her so I'd like to distract him as much as possible. I am usually there by 4 pm every day. He usually has his therapy in the morning and it's pretty cool to see it.
Please call me if you want to meet me there! Til next time...Marcy:)

Hugging Cousins

I finally got to see Brian!!! It had been a really long time since I last saw him, and I was amazed at how much he has improved! He didn't talk much when we were there, except for when Kelsey's new boyfriend came up?!?!?! :)
He was smiling a lot when we were talking to him, especially when I told him how beautiful Rachel's ring is. It was so nice to see him.
~Connie

The three of us were watching Myth Busters and Brian kept turning and looking at Connie with his famous Smirk on his face. ~Kathy

Snowy Saturday Visit

Hi ya'll, Brian's cousin Kelly reporting live.

The last conversation I had with Brian before his AVM bled was on Thanksgiving. He had arrived late to our family dinner and was nibbling at a few foods after eating many delicious delights at Rachel's home. We talked about his job with a catering company, and about he and Rachel, of course. =)

Looking back, I can't really recall the subject of too many of our conversations over the years, except for the time we bonded about our crazy ear piercings and the gross ear wax smell that results from having large holes in the lobes.

Today when I stopped by to visit Brian around 3:30 pm, I realized just how little I know about my cousin. It was just the 2 of us, Brian sitting in his chair staring out the window, and me commenting 3 or 4 times on the snow swirling around outside. Brian was shaking his head "yes" and "no" to my few questions, and in the silence I struggled with the desire to make him smile, to engage him in some way, but not knowing how.

After about 20 minutes, Judy and Ron (Rachel's parents) swept into the room like a ray of sunshine. Brian's face brightened as they surrounded him, saying hello to him and chatting happily. Ron asked Brian to say his (Ron's) name, and Brian said it.

I, Kelly, have not witnessed Brian speaking, and it was awesome to hear that quiet voice. And he kept speaking. He said my name (yeehaw!). Judy is so sweet, she asked Brian if he wanted some chicken and said she'd sneak it in for him. Kissed his hand, asked lots of questions, made him smile so much. Ron and Judy brought Brian a black t-shirt with a big flashy silver and red Superman "S" on it, and Brian said "Superman" when prompted.

Judy and Ron obviously know Brian very well. They were able to ask him lots of questions and tease him about different things, like tv shows, music, food, etc. Judy called Rachel on a cell phone and held the phone up to Brian's ear. He talked with her in a quiet voice and told her he loves her.

Brian ate some dinner (smashed tators, bean puré surprise, cake with a splash of milk) and it was time for me to leave. I leaned over and grabbed Brian's hand and told him that I love him so much. Immediately Brian said he loved me, too. There is a slight possibility that I have told Brian that I love him once before, like when I was 5 and he was a newborn and I was allowed to hold him as long as I sat still on the couch with a pillow under my arm for added support. However, just because there has been a 22 year gap between expressions doesn't mean I love my family member any less.

I praise God for this beauty in Brian's recovery: giving this family a new opportunity to express love for each other. To God be the glory!

"Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts." 1 Chronicles 16:9

A fun Thursday

I started the day by going to Social Security to apply for disability for Brian. They are very nice there and Mrs. Ortiz told me that I did a great job of gathering all the info they needed. Still,it took almost 2 hours to complete everything. Now we wait for approval.
Brian was waiting in the hall when I got there. It was close to lunchtime/medicinetime. He ate a full pudding cup before Matt gave him the bolus and his meds. He was nice and full for therapy. Rachel and Judy showed up a bit after me. Therapy started with a lot of heat and stretching. The heating pads make him itchy and the stretching is painful. But he endures it without complaint. When he was perched on the end of the "mat-table" Stacy made a comment about his long legs. I started to regale them with stories of Brian when he was about 4 and he had the shortest legs and this big ol'head. Alien boy! AND, the contrast to Greg who was 1 and soft and fat with crazy long legs and arms. He would wave those arms around when he walked to keep his balance. As I was demonstrating this Brian was laughing as much as the rest of us. It really put a sparkle in his eyes. Then, Stacy and Kristy got him up and walked with him right out of the room. Rachel followed right behind with the wheelchair in case he tuckered out. He did such a great job keeping his feet straight and didn't step on himself at all. The girls were so happy with him that they wheeled him to the nurses station so he could do it again with everyone watching. After all that bending and stretching and walking he was really ready to sit. We all went to the lounge and Brian and Rachel sat together on the couch again. Well, between Judys stories and my stories and Rachels laughing, you could see how much fun he was having. He was laughing and joining in and answering questions when asked. I mentioned how I accidentally held the shift button down on my keyboard for more than 8 seconds, and before I could say anything else, he yells out "sticky key". I had never heard of this until I did it, and Danny and I had to figure out how to get me out of it! So, the entire visit was a real blast.
Sheila was going to contact bc/bs about transferring to RIM. She had letters from the therapists and even Dr. Salloum is recommending it. I spoke later to a gal from California and explained to her the differences and how RIM has a lot of younger people and more advanced therapy and more to do so he won't get as bored. I told her it was farther but we didn't care because we all feel he will benefit so much from the move. Let's pray that this all works out for Brians good.
All for now, we're getting hungry!! Love, Marcy

Post from G & G

Just looked at the blog and saw the pictures you posted , Clyde. They are great. Scott's shoes look very good, too.

And reading about the visit with Julie, Steve,Kath and Dan - Just can't express how much these messages mean to us.

And of course, Ben and Sarah's report was great. Ben, maybe you should think about writing a novel some day - you have a way with words. What did you call it - a Bleezy???

Marcy - you sure are writing long and informative messages - I know you must be tired when you get home, so sure appreciate your input. Loved the part about Brian and Rachel sitting on the couch and you exiting so they could have some privacy.

And thank you, Rachel, Judy and Ron for loving Brian so much - and Judy for making all those goodies for the staff.

Just 2 more months and we will be heading home - anxious to see our family.

love from Gramma and Grampa

Uncle Clyde and Brian...and Scott's feet

Scott and Brian

Tall Man Walking

Wednesday

Brian and I took Julie, Steve and Uncle Dan on a tour of the facility. We stopped in the therapy gym, and it was like a clue for Brian, he started to stand up. We got a little nervous,but then the PT came in and said she walked with Brian today, with one person on each side. So, since we were in the therapy room and I am a therapist,we went for it. Dan and I assisted Brian to stand- it didn't take much assistance. It was great seeing him at his full height-way up there. Brian stood a couple of minutes and then took about 5 steps towards Julie.
We mentioned to Brian that when he got a little stronger that he could go on a home outing for a couple of hours. I asked him if he would like that and he gave a big thumbs up!

and then along comes Tuesday...

What a difference a day makes. When I got to Clarkston and went to Brians room, he and his chair were missing in action. I assumed that he was in the therapy room but, no Brian. I checked out the lounge, the "main cruising circle', the community dining room...EVERYWHERE! Still, no Brian (or Rachel for that matter). I asked Sal if he had seen him, but he had just arrived. Finally, Nurse Deb said that he might be in the speech office. She took me there and voila!!...Brian and Rachel, and April. After a nice hello hug and kiss, April asked Bri what Moms favorite TV show was..."not Sex in the City.......not Family Guy" (so far,so good) then, "Law and Order". Right on Brian! (He could have said football, baseball, basketball etc. but I digress). She asked him to tell me what he did today in therapy. He told me that he threw a ball. Again, what did you do today in therapy? "I threw the ball at Sarah". Ha Ha. So, what he REALLY did in therapy was walk the distance of the parallel bars 5 times!!!!! (Rachel is a witness!) He held the bar with his right hand and Sarah with his left. Rachel said that he held his feet in line and they didn't cross. Awesome! He did a lot of clapping when we applauded him. It was so obvious that he was joining in on our wry jokes and sense of humor. He identified his favorite teacher as Mr. Grothaus (8th grade) and his favorite high school class as Russian...kudos to you Mrs. Okun. I hope that April keeps up the intense speech workout.
Next...the three of us are in the lounge talking and Brian was pretty darn responsive. He was looking at me, on his left, and Rachel on his right. He answered questions, laughed and joked. I left the room to get my purse and when I got back, Rachel was on the couch and the aide was helping Brian out of his chair and on to the couch next to Rachel. Apparantly this was his idea. As soon as he sat his keester down, (my apologies to Rachel), he put his arm around her, squeezed her shoulder, kissed her on the top of her head. It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a very long time. So sweet! He just wanted to be close to the love of his life. That was my cue to exit, stage left! I hope to see much more couch sitting.
Sheila, the case worker, said that she is trying to get Brian into the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM) which is back at Harper. It is the Cadillac of rehab (they say), and Kathy worked there when she was younger, in the 20th century! Clarkston says that he tolerates therapy very well and would most likely qualify. Problem is that my insurance is most likely going to fight this. I am getting questioned about where he will go when he is released from this place. Obviously, he will come home, but what provisions must be made are still mind-boggling to me. We will get through this too, just like we are getting through all of this...prayer, prayer, prayer.
Hopefully, tomorrow Brian will enjoy some peppermint cheesecake courtesy of Judy. She has 10 or 12 of them stashed away for him. He is definately looking forward to this treat!!!
Still not sure about the frequency of teeth brushing. Rachel and I talked about getting any problems fixed as soon as he blows this joint! I will probably talk to my neighbor who is my former dentist. His wife is a dear friend who prays for Brian all the time and asks for specific needs. His son, Kevin, is a good friend of Gregs.
All in all...a very good day!!! I needed it and I'm sure Rachel did too!
Til next time, Marcy

Monday

Real quick...Stacy tested Brians grip strength today. When he first got there it was 5 on the right and 10 on the left. Today it was 39 on the right and 25 on the left. Really nice progress.
Still not talking much. I want to find out if April is doing much speechwise or just eatingwise. I never see her work with him and get no reports from her. I also want to see if they think he is a bit depressed and if so, who can talk to him.
He did answer a few of my questions before I left. Still taking the helmet off at night and still getting out of bed. Don't like that at all.
Gotta go to work...Marcy

Saturday afternoon

We (Clyde, Deb, Scott, Kelly, Kelsey) visited Brian today and he was a wonderful sight to behold. When Clyde & I arrived, there he was, sitting right inside the open door to his room, just looking FINE. We were astonished -- seeing him sitting, a first for us, and moving about, pushing his chair around with his feet. Giving super strong hugs!! He felt so solid - the weight re-gain is great. Looking like he could get out of the chair at any moment.It was the best. Until just now, after reading Marcy's blog from yesterday, I didn't realize he had run a temp recently. He just really seemed fine.

Some highlights for MY bleezy: again, the hugs; the handsome face, the smiles when we joked around, the plaid tennis shoes in motion, sipping water from a straw, listening to Drop Kick Murphy (thanks, Ben!), Brian putting on the latest pair of get-well shades that Scott brought (this moment is captured digitally on Scott's phone I believe), me fighting with Brian as he was inches away from getting from his chair onto the bed (good natured struggle, he was smiling ... though maybe later on he'll tell me differently!)

Kelly and Kelsey arrived and Brian did some showing off for them. Then he was resting his eyes for a bit (they had seemed dry/ irritated so we had requested the eyedrops, which may sting a little). We did not get to hear Brian speak today - guess he wasn't in the talking mood, but he communicated with us instead through actions, facial expressions, thumbs-up, that sort of thing.

Brian, you were a blessing to us today. Thanks for having us, and may the Lord continue to bless and keep you. We love you! Uncle Clyde & Aunt Deb

Update

I called nurse Elaine at 10:00. Brians x-rays were clear, the bloodwork was all negative, and Dr. Salloum visited him and feels that he probably just caught a bug. Elaine said that he took his 2 bolus feedings without incedent and held them down just fine. He was sleeping but more "active" than earlier. All sounds well. Prayers answered once more. Marcy

Speaking of prayers

This morning Brian had a fever of 100 and threw up, just once. He seems to have swollen glands. He also had a headache. The tylenol took away the headache and also took away the fever. The doctor ordered a series of blood tests and took 3 various chest x-rays. I sat with him with Judy for a couple of hours and he was sleeping and looked very comfortable. Please pray that this is just a bug. Bugs go through places like this at an alarming speed. Also, pray that he soon realizes the importance of keeping his helmet on and staying in the bed. I will be calling Clarkston later for an update. He can certainly still have visitors at this writing...as long as no extra bugs come with you. Marcy

What up? Ben Kamm back up in the bleezy! If you're asking yourself what "bleezy" is, then you are obviously not very cool.

No offense.

Bleezy is slang for blog. At least, that's what I call it.

But I digress.

Me and Sarah went to visit Brian tonight and I thought I'd throw a couple details your way. At the very least, Zo will have a new blog entry to read on the crapper tomorrow AM.

Firstly, Scott and I created a CD for Brian. The CD cover is above, and is the fine work of one Scotthew A Kamm, the first.

Brian loved it.

We proceeded to jam to music for the next hour and Brian was "air guitaring" to the tunes. So that was cool.

He was also pretty talkative - we talked about how we hate cheese, love potato soup and stuff. We also talked about the music we were listening to. I put a few 311 songs on there cuz we both dig 311 ("Don't Dwell" is his fave 311 song as far as I know, so the CD kicks off with that). I mentioned that I also put "Light Years" from the album Transistor on the disc because I love that song.

He said he's "not a big fan of Transistor." That is of course blasphemy, and I was about to head right on out there in a steaming rage, but Sarah talked me out of it.

Sarah also read to him off the back of the CD and he cracked up at what Scott wrote on it. I don't remember what he wrote, so you'll have to just see it in his room.

Let's see, what else transpired?

Oh yeah, at one point I demonstrated for Brian how that sissy wimp DW-YANE Wade (Miami Heat) got hurt in a game last night and was CRYING. Yes, you heard me correctly, a grown man crying. Granted, he had a separated shoulder, but come on...

Anyway, for those who don't know, DW-YANE Wade is known for his flopping during games. That is, he fakes that he is fouled by flailing his arms wildly when nobody actually touches him, and he drops to the floor like he just got shot in the chest at close range by a M16 assault rifle.

He is so good at this little trick that I have zero doubt in my head he moonlights as a human instruction manual for the Italian national soccer team.

Now, I can only assume that he got injured whilst performing one of his trademark Oscar-worthy flops(I didn't see the game so I can't be sure). In order to demonstrate his floppy-ness to Sarah, who naturally was very curious (yeah right), I told her to pretend to be an NBA player and I would pretend to be DW-YANE Wade.

I says to her, I says "OK brush against me super lightly." She does, and I proceed to pull a Wade, flailing wildly and windmilling my arms rapidly as I tumble into the hallway and execute a perfect 10 barrel-roll across the floor...yelping and pretending to cry all the while.

What is the point of this long winded story you may be asking yourself?

I guess the point is that I looked in the room while laying on the floor writhing in fake pain and saw Brian laughing pretty hard. So, I guess that's the point. His sense of humor (along with MANY other things) is right where it used to be.

Other than that, he looks great. At one point in our visit (he was sitting in a wheelchair) he stretched his right leg out and rested it on the bed. That was cool too. Was very mobile, moved his chair around at times for better positioning and stuff.

Just amazing to see the improvements made from his time at Harper. The place he's at now is awesome! Very clean, lots of room, nice people.

Rachel: Awesome decoration job.

Kelly: Awesome wedding pics (and captions) you put up there.

I guess that's it. Sorry if I bored you. I'll leave the blogging to Aunty Marcy from here on out.

God is at work here. No doubt in my mind, after seeing his improvements. Everybody keep praying...

Thursday

I got there about 11:00 a.m. I stopped on the way for cleaning products. Not too sure how often or how well the bathroom is cleaned. Brian was still in bed which is a no-no at that hour. April was very disappointed that the aides didn't have him up by 9:30 at the latest. I think that they are just getting used to Brian. If they ask him if he wants to get up he will totally ignore him. They just have to take the bull by the horns and tell him it's time to get moving. They'll get it soon enough. After he was dressed and in his chair, I had a chance to re-clean the bathroom that was cleaned just before I got there. I don't want to insult anyone but I will continue to do just that. He brushed his teeth, had lunch (went back to bed after breakfast), and finally off to therapy. Stacy started with ultrasound on the left arm and a lot of stretching. This is pretty painful and he looks like he wants to slug her. Then she put a weight around his wrist to keep it straight. The delay on the brace is just in the long process it takes...measuring, deciding the correct brace, getting insurance approval, etc. I watched him excercise his arms, legs, back, stand up 3 times. Stacy said that his standing was very solid and good! He was on his back on a matte about 2 feet off the ground and they told him to sit up. He immediately put both legs over the edge, popped his torso up to vertical and sat up like it was nothing at all. I was very impressed...as was Stacy. You can see how proud she is of him. He was very balanced and steady.
Here's the best news...he now weighs 162 lbs!!! That's 11 pounds since he got there 1 month ago! It's easy to see the difference. He isn't talking very much and I don't know why. Hopefully it's a phase...April said that these things come and go with brain injuries. She is totally not concerned so that's cool.
Rumor has it that Ben and Sarah are visiting tonight. I told a few people to listen for the laughter. Gerald said that he was going to visit when he hears the guffaws. Sounds like Deb, Clyde, Scott, Hollie, Kelly and Kelsey are coming by on Saturday. YAAAAAAY! Til next time, Marcy

Room 105

Well, the new room is great. Yesterday we chatted with the 2 men in the next room. I think there names are Gerald and Stephen. Gerald is a stroke victim. He was at the back of the room and saw us and yelled out, "Hi, Brian". So of course we stopped. He formally introduced himself to Brian and they shook hands. He told me how he and Brian see each other in therapy and he was so impressed with how well Brian is doing. As he talks he starts to cry and apologize for crying. He said that this is a side effect of having a stroke. What a character!
I was also stopped in the hall by Tim who is one of the coordinators at the facility. He told me that they have set up an appointment with Dr. Zamorano on March 16th to see how he's coming along. They will send him there in a wheelchair van and either Rachel or I can ride along. I'll probably just follow in my car and let Rachel go with him. This is very exciting!
The man in the room on the other side of Brian is George. He is a diabetic. He has had part of his left leg amputated, he is blind (or almost there), and is on dialysis. Nice guy, very talkative. Such a difference in the 100 wing.
April is sending Brian out next week for a barium swallow test just to make sure 100% that everything is fine in there. She is very positive that he's fine but since he pulled the plug on the trach she wants a second opinion. After that test they will start to feed him REAL food and begin the weaning of the liquid nourishment. They will also see if he can manage his meds by mouth. If not, he will continue to get them in the belly.
That's it for now...going to see him...just had a shower and hair wash last night...hooray! Til next time, Marcy

Tall people

On Sunday afternoon, Kelsey and I arrived to find Brian in his chair hanging out in the hallway. He had been up all day and the nurses could keep an eye on him from the station. It's apparant that he gets bored but he doesn't care to watch TV so he'd rather sit there and fiddle with a blanket and scoot around backwards. Rachel showed up after work with Mike Babiuk and about an hour later, Chris Ball, Chris Saunders, and Pauline and Bill came. We all were in the lounge at the end of the hall. It was a very nice visit with lots of laughter and reminiscing, throwing a goofy squishy ball around. I think Chris Saunders probably was amazed at how far Brian has come since he last saw him during the pneumonia spell at Harper.
Yesterday was the big move to 105. It's a big, private room. Very bright and sunny. Rachel already has all of the pictures and cards up so it's very nice. Brian is getting more interested in food although he doesn't eat a lot at a sitting. It's chopped fine, almost pureed still so it's hard to figure out which food is which.
Rachel and I finally met Dr. Salloum. He was very nice and very approachable. He told us that blood clots take about 3 months to fully resolve and any bit of swelling in his left ankle is not a concern right now. That's good news. He was very quick to point out how great Brian is doing and how fast he's moving up the recovery ladder. We discussed the replacement of the bone flap and how there really is no hurry from his standpoint. He felt that it might be best to wait until all signs of blood clots are gone so that there is no longer a need for blood thinners as there is now.
I brought him his own body wash and shampoo, toothpaste and brush, and Rachel wants to decorate the room with posters. I'm going to check into bringing in one of my zillion TV's with a remote cause he keeps asking where the box is to change channels. I've seen them in other rooms so I'm sure it's no problem-o.
Got to go to work now, til next time, Marcy

Brian's room changed - AGAIN!

See address on sidebar - Brian moved to the Rehab wing since he pulled out his trach! -Kelly

Judy's news

Judy called me today saying that she wanted to give me some good news instead of Rachel always getting that thrill. Apparantly, during the night, Brian decided that he had had enough of the trach and pulled it out. Rose Barg had told us that this is not uncommon with patients who no longer need them. So, by the time they noticed, the hole was too small to reinsert the tube. End of story is...no more trach! I'll bet he's so much more comfortable. She also mentioned that after he ate today, he asked to go to the bathroom. The nurse got him there in time and I guess all went well. How 'bout that! If he remembers to use the call button correctly instead of swinging it around like a lasso, he should be able to use the facilities more often.
When I saw him yesterday, he was such a chatterbox. He answered questions, initiated conversations, laughed at jokes (even Dannys), and made us laugh again and again with his wonderful goofball sense of humor. What a joy that was! He asked me a few times if anyone has visited him. So I went down the list of people who have come and told him that the guest book page was full and they had to put a new one in for him. I also wanted to let anyone and everyone know that Saturday is the one day that Rachel and I both have long work days so if you can see him any time on Saturdays that would be great!! Lucky for Rachel, she doesn't work today.
So, I'm anxious to see him tomorrow with no trach...AND, I noticed yesterday that they took the pic line out of his arm. Hooray!
All for now, til next time, Marcy<3

Brian's Address Changed

Brian's room has been changed from 201A to 201B.

Great updates, Aunt Marcy!

Much love,
Kelly

Thursday

Rachel and I both got here about 11 am. He was sleeping like a baby...with a helmet on of course. He turned on his right side and was curled up just like I sleep. When Christy and Vicky arrived to take him to therapy he woke up slowly. We found out later that the doctor added a muscle relaxant to help the left arm mostly. It probably helped him sleep although apparantly he was up late the night before, too. He was helped into his chair. This is interesting because they make him do most of the work. He sits up and steadies himself. Then he has to reach his right arm across the chair to the right armrest. Then he leans forward into the therapists arms and pivots into the chair. First order of the day was brushing his teeth. He wheels into the small bathroom right to the sink and does the brushing himself. A little dose of mouthwash and he's good to go. Today, they did a lot of electrical muscle stimulation. They put sticky pads on the thigh muscles and gently zap them. They say it feels somewhat like when your leg falls asleep and then the prickly feel of it waking up. Also did heat and ultrasound treatments on his left shoulder, arm and elbow. He used some light hand weights in his right hand and did some reaching forward, grabbing an item and crossing over his body to place it on the mat. The motion of bending and sitting up again left him dizzy so they stopped to take him to his room for a "bolus" and some food. The bolus is a direct dose of liquid food he takes in the feeding tube 5 times a day. He also had some mashed potatoes and gravy and some butterscotch pudding. They think he was light headed because he was hungry and will watch the timing on the therapy in the future. He was switched to the direct feeding because he spends so much time out of the room either in therapy or just being in his chair and not in bed. This is a good thing. The therapists goal for next week is to have him stand at the parallet bars or next to a table for at least 7 minutes while the leg zapper is on his thighs. Right now he is controlling his legs with tendons and ligaments and the muscles need to learn to do the work.
I brought the rest of his cards to the room with some tape and just as Rachel was finishing decorating, they came in to clear out Mr. Moores stuff because he went to the hospital yesterday and apparantly his family isn't paying to hold his room. So, now, Brian is in bed B. Still room 201 but now it's 201B. Kelly, this is where your blogging genius comes in to change this for him. He now has a longer bed, a window where I am going to put a bird feeder, and his TV is to his left now. He has what Kathy called "left side neglect" where he prefers to look to the right so this change will be great for him. Later, they filled his old bed with a man who is 41 and on a vent. He looks as if he's been this way for some time...frail, thin, hard for him to communicate.
Judy was there for most of the afternoon and Stacey was able to come by too. She started Brian writing some things on paper and one of the things he commented on was that he was glad that her hair was no longer a mullet!!! He put the 3 !!! after his comment.
He just looks so good. His face was shaved, his beard was trimmed. When I rub his back and shoulders it is so obvious that they are not nearly as bony and skinny as they were a week or two ago. I'll be anxious to here how much he weighs next time they weigh him.
Dr. Zamorano will probably see him the 2nd or 3rd week of March. Hopefully, by that time he will be strong enough to use a wheelchair van. We'll see.
I think that's all for now. Til next time, Marcy

Sunday, Monday

Kelsey and I visited Brian on Sunday. We didn't stay too long...maybe 2 hours. He looks great and Kelsey constantly tells him how cute he is. He's gonna have a huge ego problem when he gets outta this joint!!!!
Monday, I had plenty of time to visit after I dealt with the loan folks at OU. That's all straightened out now. Rachel and Judy were both with him today. Apparantly Judy has been making lots of friends on the staff by showering them with her homemade cakes and sweets! They complain about their waistlines but I think that under their breath they are saying, "more, more, more"! Even Brian was able to indulge. He had some home baked pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. YUM!
Our concern today is the trach. Brian is constantly picking at his ears, his nose, his trach...he rubs his eyes...he scratches in the diaper zone. I spoke with the pulmonologist about the risk of infection in the trach. His hands are always germie. He told me that he would speak to Zamorano about keeping the trach in until the bone flap is returned. He no longer needs it and we wonder if all of this contact is just going to do more harm than good. I talked to my friend Jarrod at work today. He is an 18 year old who had an AVM that ruptured when he was 16. It was as devastating as a stroke. When I first met him he was wearing a helmet and walking slow and carefully. He now has his bone flap in, walks great, and is working at his speech. His AVM was on the left side which is more harmful to the speech center.Anyway, he and his mom, Renee, told me that his trach was removed long before the bone was replaced. The Doctor "R" (I cannot for the life of me remember his last name) said that if Zamorano has no problem with it, he could probably pull the tube in a week or two. That's good news, eh?
I noticed today that Brians left leg was way more mobile. He bent it at the knee quite easily and took his sock off. I don't think he could have done this 3 days ago! He is such a miracle!!! He also showed me how he "pedalled" the bike with his hands today. His left arm, which had an ultrasound treatment to relax the tendon, looks as if it can reach farther down his side than two days ago!
Apparantly Patti Zimmerman and Carol Rogers came to visit Brian about an hour after Kelsey and I left on Sunday! Rachel said that Brian recognized Patti right away and said hi Mrs. Zimmermann. Next time, we set our watches for the rendezvous!
Rachel said that the head of therapy is going to watch Brian tomorrow and the "girls" will be helping him to walk. This should be very exciting. He is working so hard and doing so well. Please keep him in your prayers. Til next time, Marcy