Bill is Home!

Sorry that this post is so deliquent. It's been really busy! Bill returned home last Friday and we had a great evening celebrating. He's been doing super; everything has jumped up a notch (we've all noticed) since he's returned home. We've been working on exercises for brain and body by ourselves since we haven't started therapy yet. OT came out today and determined that there was no reason for home care, so we are waiting for word on scheduling the therapies on an outpatient basis through Holland Hospital - all good news. We also spent all of yesterday returning to U of M for a follow-up CT scan and visit with the neurosurgeon. It was an incredibly long day,which was quite confusing for Bill, given his partial, or lack of memory, but he did well, and the news was all encouraging. The doctor was pleased and felt there was nothing to keep him from looking forward to a good recovery. However, it may take some time. We'll have to keep extending Bill's prediction of "a week or two" for a while!

Thanks to all for support and encouragement, as well as for all the other ways you have shown your love and care. I don't know where we would be without it. God is truly using you all. I know as things start to firm up into a schedule (which I pray will happen soon), we will be aware of areas where we could use help from those waiting in the wings, as well as be able let up on those who have been our "arms" of support for literally months. Whew!

If you could continue to pray for strength for me as we negotiate the continuing issues with doctor's and therapist's appointments, as well as for patience and tolerance for Bill as he goes through yet another round of evaluations for continued treatment.

Love to all, Nancy

Transition #4?

The day we've been looking forward to! It looks like Bill's discharge date will be a week from this Friday; Oct. 2. I met with his doctor this morning and the team feels he might be more likely to make progress, at this point, at home. I don't know how it will look by the end of next week, but right now, they feel he will need , shall we say, "constantly attentive supervision". The doctor was not wildly optimistic about recovery of his cognitive skills, but I think Bill can prove him wrong. The last couple of days have shown much improvement in recovering "Bill", with more humor, conversation, and comprehension. It feels really good to laugh with him, even for really silly reasons! I can't help but think that living at home will enhance his skills alot, especially as he is able to gain independence. Right now, he is not allowed to even walk to the bathroom by himself, so we have a lot of walking to do when he gets home. We will have Occ. therapy come in to help us establish a safe way to do activities of daily living, then, when we kind of have a routine in a week or two, he will be scheduled for OT, PT, and Speech as an outpatient through Holland Hospital 2-3x week.

In the meantime, we have a birthday party planned Friday night in a special room to celebrate all the life we missed in August and Sept.; 4 birthdays in all! Also, Bill is receiving a day pass, probably just from 4 - 8 pm on Sat. to explore Art Prize and dinner in any way we can, with friends and our kids. If you think of it, please keep us in your prayers, that this will be a good experience for him!

I know many of you will be asking "what can we do, now that Bill is home" and frankly, I don't know, yet. I think we will need a week or two at home before I know what might be helpful. I know that he will love to see friends, so for a while, maybe if you feel like it, you could just call and see if that evening would be a good time to stop by. Bill and I are going to have a lot of time together..friendly faces will continue to lift our spirits!

I can't tell you often enough what your prayful support has meant to us; words can't express....

Love to all,
Nancy

Assessment Day

How do you say the same thing over and over again? Progress is slow:-l This was the day of the week that Bill's therapists get together to discuss his care. Officially, he's about where I've observed him to be. Physically, he is getting stronger, has a little more balance, and is able to take over a little more of his care with guided supervision. Cognitively, they saw no measurable difference this week, although we have seen his ability to stay on task increase, skill level with drawing, etc., as well as his general awareness level go higher. Because of that awareness, he is quite discouraged. I'm so proud of the way he just works really hard despite how he feels about it. It amazes me that he just makes himself do these things without question. But, he remembers the days where all these tasks were something he didn't have to think about, or that he actually enjoyed, and rates his " performance" accordingly. We, who've seen the whole story thus far, constantly reassure him that he doesn't remember how far he has come. Please include his emotional state in your prayers; he could use a lift!

Thank you for all the forms of support that we have been recipients of. I do feel a very strong sense of support from all those who know and love us and am very, very grateful.

The girls have returned to work part-time and we have all divided up the schedule so that we all have opportunity to work as well as a free day or two off. My days off are Monday ( for opportunity to work) and Wednesday:-) Yesterday was the first day I wasn't with Bill since July 20. It was uncomfortable at first, but I was amazed at how much energy I had. This will probably change when he comes home. The professionals don't know when that will be; somewhere in the next 2 -4 weeks, I guess.

Author Donald Miller says great stories and characters don't happen without conflict, which I'm finding reassuring, and am looking forward to the day that we can look back and rejoice over all this with the Master Storyteller....

Love and thanks to all,
Nancy

A peek under the veil!

The veil lifted a few inches today! I've found myself evaluating Bill's progress on a day to day basis...and was setting myself up for discouragement. For every good day, there is at least one not so good day, and so it has been a bumpy ride. Today, and actually, a portion of last evening, he was more articulate, his humor was surfacing (in some form, anyway), and he was able to express how "crappy" he felt. That's a good thing! I'm just rejoicing in the hope that this has given me, that someday this will all seem like a bad dream. So, Praise God for little signs that give hope!

Now that I've participated in all of Bill's therapies, I'm going to step back a little and let them do their thing. It's definitely in my emotional best interest to not be quite so involved, and I realize my limitations right now in that department.

So, here's to Hope of all forms....

Love to all, Nancy

Thank God for good days!

Bill had another good day today. It's wonderful that a rehab center keeps "rehabbing" on holiday weekends. He was able to progress, I believe, on all fronts. As his awareness increases, he has become more aware that things aren't right and feels discouraged. But he works really hard and never complains. I admire his strength and tenacity. I was worried that his humor had totally disappeared, but when someone in PT asked him if he was John, he replied " no...unless his job is going to be easy!"

As you pray for Bill, please pray also that I can keep going and that God will renew my strength daily. I think this last move has allowed my adrenaline to take a needed break and I don't know where any of my "happy" hormones are hiding. But, I am thanking God for good days and progress that I can see daily even if I'm not jumping up and down for joy. I thank God for his faithfullness and for yours, as well.

Love to all, Nancy

A Different Kind of Day

Bill worked really hard today and accomplished amazing things. I'm SO glad that I can now hand over the face shaving responsibilities to him! Isn't that great? He actually had 3 half hour sessions with OT, 2 with PT and 2 with speech pathology today. I really like the way his therapists relate to him and his OT mentioned that they might ramp up the sessions even more as they go on.

I'd been waiting with visiting hours until I had some idea, and now I can see that they keep him pretty busy during the day. Evenings are really the only safe time where you know that you will see him and help keep him awake, probably from 5:30 till 8:00 when MFB closes to visiting.

Thank you for your prayers, yesterday was a very long day, but Bill seemed to handle it well. I'm looking forward to getting a better feel for his routine and develop one myself real soon!

Love to all, Nancy

Closer to Home!

We arrived at MFB before noon, after scrambling to remove staples, sutures, and such before our deluxe ride starting by 9:15 am. We're off to a good start, meeting a couple of the people in charge of his care. We'll get more of a plan specific for Bill tomorrow, with the real work probably not starting until Mon. , or Tues (I don't know about the holiday). We have more adjusting to do , but Bill seems to be handling it quite well, which I am thankful for. I'm impressed with the facility and the people making decisions already for his care.

So thankful to be one step closer to home.... Nancy