Care Conference

Today was the first care conference. Rachel and I were both there. PT, OT, Speech, Nutrition and Respiratory were all represented in one way or another. Everyone had high praise for how hard Brian is working and how far he has come. We found out that he weighs a whopping 152 pounds. He was probably about 185 before. Good news is that he has gained 1.5 pounds since he arrived and they have upped the calorie count of the liquid diet. John said that hospitals are notorious for underfeeding patients. Rachel and I were given a green light to bring him fun foods and feed him whenever we want. This would be soft stuff like applesauce, puddings, ice cream etc. NO ONE ELSE can feed him unless they get a "lesson" from April. Respiratory is overjoyed with him and if we weren't waiting for the bone flap they would pull that thing today. Christy (OT) and Stacey (PT) have had him "standing" for a couple of minutes, had him at 80 degrees on a slant board, and today hooked him up twice on a contraption that also had him bearing his full weight on his own two feet. This is very difficult and very tiring. It makes him dizzy and a bit breathless. This is due to the fact that his body has not shot the blood around all 6'3" of him vertically in such a long time. They monitor his BP, pulse and breathing and constantly ask him how he feels. It was pretty cool to see him up. He looked so tall! He was very active and antsy yesterday but today he seemed tired and a little disinterested. They don't push him when he gets this way. Oh, he also was pushing the wheelchair backward with his feet quite easily and pulling it forward with his feet. That was a lot harder. Left leg works but is much weaker. When we got back to his room today he perked up a bit when we put some music in the cd player. A little Dropkick Murphies can stir anyones blood. Rachel and I wheeled him around and visited the bunnies and guinea pig. It was really sunny and he was wearing his sunglasses. I stood behind him and started singing "I'm just a little black raincloud" from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and he immediately started to sing along. Highlight of the day...I gave him a kiss goodbye, told him I loved him and asked for a hug. He put his arms around me and patted my back while he hugged me. When I sat back, I mentioned that my hair must have been tickling his nose and I went to touch his nose but kinda bopped him instead. He gave me this goofy look and said, "I love you" , made a fist and pretended to slug me. He did it twice with such a funny grin that Rachel and I were hysterical with laughter. Always a good way to say see ya tomorrow...a punch on the nose! Yesterday I talked to Zamorano on the phone and she was really impressed with Brians progress. She said that the bone flap cannot be put back until at least 3 months when he is stronger and the risk of infection is less. The staff at Clarkston is going to try to get her to come to the facility to see him instead of sending him out in an ambulance to see her. We'll see how that flies. Til next time, Marcy