Wednesday, February 28, 2007

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!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

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, February 24, 2007

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

Friday, February 23, 2007

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

Thursday, February 22, 2007



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

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

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

Monday, February 19, 2007

Brian's room changed - AGAIN!

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

Saturday, February 17, 2007

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

Friday, February 16, 2007

Brian's Address Changed

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

Great updates, Aunt Marcy!

Much love,
Kelly

Thursday, February 15, 2007

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

Monday, February 12, 2007

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
Hello everyone!
Here are my two cents about Brian:
He is doing great :) He makes little improvements every single day. He chats up a storm with me and is still the same funny guy that we all know and love. His long term memory seems perfectly fine, he remembers everything and everyone. His short term memory is pretty bad and he seems to forget things after about 2 or 3 minutes. I think that this is pretty normal and it should start to come back soon. For now maybe this is a good thing because he doesn't really know what is wrong with him so he doesn't get a chance to get depressed about it. Physically- he is doing great. He is exceeding all the expectations of the physical and occupational therapists and they brag about him after every session. He can sit up on his own and control his own head which he could not do AT ALL in the beginning. He kicks his right leg around a lot and can push himself with his feet in his wheelchair. He has been doing some standing excercises and hopefully walking (can you believe it?!) will start next week. I'm so happy that he can now eat and drink water, and I'm sure he is pretty happy about that too!
Overall he continues to amaze me every day, and I think he is going to be back in full Brian force before we all know it.

Love,

Rachel :)

Saturday, February 10, 2007


Kath took this shot a few days ago ....

Thursday, February 8, 2007

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
I saw the man on Wednesday. Brian was resting between therapies and chatting with Rachel. I took a great picture of the two of them for grandma. Unfortunately it was taken with my cell phone and I don't know how to get it transferred to the computer.
Attention techies- a little help please for moving those pictures.
Kathy

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Holy COW!

I don't check the blog for one day and whoaaa, Nelly! An huge answer to prayer to hear about the food (even though smurf-like) and drink (even though water not brewski) and standing (yowww!!).Brian, you are continuing to amaze us with your ever-growing progress. How wonderful to think that soon you may be eating one or all of the 10 peppermint patty Harry & David cheesecakes that Rachel's mom told me she bought for you for Christmas.

"I can do more than I can do" - you can say that again!! May the Lord continue to bless and keep you in His care...and thank you, Lord! Love - Aunt Deb.

From Gramma/Grampa/Mom/Dad Mallinson

Still can't send message on the blog. Kathy is flying down the 17th of Feb. so maybe she can figure it out. Anyway I want you guys to know how much all those blog messages mean to us. I go to it morning, noon and night just to see if anything new is posted. And to my surprise there was that mysterious message from Zo. Nice to hear from you, Zo. Marcy, how great to hear about Brian eating and talking and standing. God is certainly looking out for him. Kelly, please put this message on the Blog. Love you guys,
Mom/Dad/Gramma/Grampa

Hello Becketts, Kamms & Mallinsons

Lorenzo Rivera: Signing in

First off, thanks Kelly for starting up this blog, I spend the beginning of each day taking a glance at it whilst enjoying my first cup o joe.... just before my 9 am restroom visit for el' numero dos, but I digress. Also, thanks, Aunt Marc, for the detailed updates, It's really cool to hear of all Brian's triumphs every couple of days. He's gonna be better than ever eventually, I can feel it.

This next part goes out JUST TO BRIAN for when he gets better! The rest of you will not be able to read but a few select words as I am a master of HTML computer programming.

Brian,

Hey dude, ********************************** bowling. ************************** I rule at bowling ********************** 300 game **************** you, me *********************soon *************************you're going down, sucker. ****************************
Love, ZO

OK, that's all for now. I'll talk to you all very soon as it's 9:06, and I starting to feel uncomforable.

XoOxXXxo (roughly translated: Big Kiss, little hug, Big Hug, little kiss, Big Kiss, Big Kiss, little kiss, little hug)

Lorenzo Rivera: Siging Out

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

big day for Brian

I spoke with April (Speech) today. This was the first day that Brian was offered any food. It was a cup of applesauce with smurf blue dye in it. He looked at it kind of funny. She told him what it was and asked him to open his mouth for a bite. Not gonna do it. So she put a bit on his lip and the tongue came out slowly to have a taste. Now he opens wide like a baby bird and she feeds him the whole cup. Afterward, she suctioned the trach to see if there was any blue dye which would indicate bad swallowing, or some aspirating. Nothing, zilch, zippo, nada! Not even any icky secretions. Well done Bri! She will try water tomorrow. It's like when you introduce new foods to your baby and you wait to see if there is an allergic reaction. For Brian it is a matter of seeing how he handles new textures and tastes. She said his swallowing was excellent. It will be up to his body to determine how much food and how often he gets it. They also have to closely monitor his belly and bowels which haven't seen this thing called food for 2 months. Make sure that all systems are "go", so to speak.
Three other neat things she told me. They were just conversing about what he can and cannot do and he told her, "I can do more than I can do". After she thought about it for a minute she thought that that was a pretty good statement.
April asked him several times what his favorite food was. After a bit of time with no answer, he gave her a sideways glance and asked, "Whatta ya got?"
Yesterday when she first saw him she asked him if he had had his physical therapy yet. He looked right at her and said, "Two girls came and said they were from physical therapy and took me to the gym". She now agrees with Rachel and I that sounding out words like cat, dog, mom etc. are no longer necessary.
Today, he was full of giggles for April which apparantly is very typical. Kind of a childlike response that all head traumas go through. He was very sensitive to his clothes today...trying to take off his shirt, pulling at his pants, etc. Also, typical. I clipped his fingernails and toenails today much to his pleasure. He also had his hair washed very nicely in the shower today.
Yesterday, Rachel watched him stand for a good 5 minutes. They also put a weighted cuff on the left wrist to pull that are straighter. Not too comfortable I guess. But today when I asked him to pull his arm down, (it is usually at a right angle across his chest), he was able to go further than I have seen before. Little steps but such big progress for Brian! I'm so proud, but not surprised, at the tenacity I see in him. He is such a fighter! Til next time, Marcy <3

Monday, February 5, 2007

Sunday morning at church

Our congregation (Our Savior Lutheran/Lansing) has been praying for Brian since the Sunday he got sick. I get at least 4 or 5 people every Sunday who ask for an update on him, and so I relay the most recent progress report. Yesterday, a good friend who is a physical therapist (Sally) asked for more details on what happened originally and we updated her on the AVM, the gamma knife surgery, etc. During the course of the conversation, we had also discussed the bone flap, the trach, and wearing of the helmet. Sally then started to say "just tell them, and they can drill some holes -- I've done that before" and I thought she was talking about drilling holes in the skull, but what she meant was drill holes in the helmet if it was too hot for Brian. Anyway, it made for a confusing conversation, along with some laughter that I thought Brian would appreciate, too.

Sally also asked if anyone was keeping a journal, as that would be really neat for Brian to have once he is recovered -- to know what was happening during these past weeks/months. We thought it was a good idea. (Aunt Deb)

Sunday, February 4, 2007

super bowl sunday

Kelsey, Robyn and I visited Brian after church today. He was sleeping so peacefully in spite of our best, loud efforts to rouse him. Eventually he woke up. Kelsey was sitting next to him taunting him to push her off the bed with that right leg. He was brutal with her...pushing with all his might. She relented and the leg went to the floor and back to the bed several times. His eyes get very dry and I could tell that they were irritating him. I told him to take his glasses off and he did. I told him to lift his chin and tilt his head back and he did. After I put the liquid tears in both eyes he kept them clamped for about a minute. Robyn got him a towel from the cart in the hall. He took it and wiped his eyes and then proceded to whip it at Kelsey for a couple times. That got a good smile out of him. Stacey and Thom showed up a bit after we did and Thom brought him 3 nice sweatpants from his work. Thanks Uncle Thom! We left him with the super bowl channel on so he can enjoy the game and the commercials. Til next time, Marcy

answers for Ben

Ben, the official visiting hours are 11 am to 8 pm but they are very flexible. It is very important that Brian have lots of contact with friends and family so don't hesitate to visit! Again, if he goes to therapy it is important to let him go alone so he can concentrate. There are picture windows across the front of the rooms so it's easy to peak. Sometimes they do bedside therapy so I just go to the lobby at those times. If you visit later in the day he may or may not be very responsive. I have discovered that these "tune-outs" are normal for people with Brians type of injury. Also, he will answer yes, one finger, and no, two fingers with help. Always close his hand after he answers.
I'm going to try to remember his CD player today, we are going after church around 1 pm. Robyn is coming with us.
My favorite color is green, of course.
Colts, cuz Peyton is very deserving but you know how I love Brian Urlacher. So torn!
Huh?
ALSO...Kelly, Brians room is now 201A but they will find him if it's a mail issue.
When I visited on Friday, he was talking to Rachel and I. I asked him how he was doing and he said, "I'm famished". Not bad for a guy who is practicing words like cat, dog, mom, etc. He is so in there scratching and clawing to get out.
I'll try to post again today. Marcy

Friday, February 2, 2007

Address Added

Brian's address has been added below his photo.
Kelly

Hey

Ben Kamm here.

Marcy: Can you post the name and address of the place Brian's at on this blog? Also can we visit whenever, or is evening/night better. What hours/days is he normally in rehab?

Should I even visit or will it just be annoying?

Me and Scott made a totally sweet CD/CD Anal-bum cover for Brian, chock full of some of his favorite tunes, but it could be useless unless he's got a CD player there?

What's your favorite color?

Who will win the Super Bowl?

What is the sociological impact of the fall of Rome on modern western society?

Are you sick of the questions?
Thanks, Marc, for posting the news from yesterday's visit. It's great to have this detailed update on Brian's progress. Helpful for the next set of visitors, too. (from Deb)

Thursday, February 1, 2007

thursdays visit

I'm just checking this out to see if I understand the posting part of this blog. Today, Rachel, her mom Judy, and her dad Ron were there when I arrived. Pastor Luke showed up shortly after I did. Brian was dressed and getting ready for therapy. He was a bit overwhelmed by the 5 of us watching and we will now only be peaking at him through the windows. He needs to CONCENTRATE on his therapist du jour. April, the speech gal has him pointing 1 finger for yes and 2 fingers for no. Then, his hand is manually closed by whomever is speaking to him, so he can point again. April also told us that it is great to have all of the visitors when he isn't in therapy. He sits pretty well in the high backed wheelchair although his neck needs a bit more strength. The pulmanologist doesn't want to remove the trach until his bone flap is replaced. I will be contacting Dr. Zamorano to get her opinion on this. It's been almost 2 months and I wonder if she'll wait much longer. Thank you for all of your support and prayers because they sure are working. Marcy