We have started this blog to document the daily progress for Clarence McEldowney's recovery from cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Feeding Tube Removal
The procedure to take out dad's stomach feeding tube went great! I was a very simple out patient procedure. He was done with the doctor in about 15 minutes time. Dad is relieved to have this gone!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Still no driving, but more independance
Yesterday was a day full of ups and downs for dad. Dad has been very determined to drive again. I think that he will be given this privilege eventually, however he is not quite ready yet. We took dad to get the plates on his car renewed and dad tried to renew his drivers license as well. Once they heard of dad's heart attack and brain injury, they told dad that they would not be allowed to renew his driver's license until he was cleared from the doctor. Dad was very disappointed, but he handled the news well.
After being taken to the secretary of state, Tom took dad to Chelsea for his therapy. Because, this was Tom's first day back in the US (he went to Haiti for a while with the church), he asked a lot of questions and tried to get a better understanding of where dad is at in his recovery. It was determined that dad has been granted some more "independence" around the home. This means that we are transitioning from a very rigid routine for dad, to dad creating and following a check list for his daily routine. This also means that he does not have to be supervised for every single activity that he does around the house. However, it does mean that once dad finishes an activity that we need to look over what he did and correct any mistakes that he may/may not have made. Even though dad has been granted some more independence, he still has not been cleared drive, use power tools, guns or ladders. Because dad no longer needs 24/7 supervision, Nathan and I are going to be transitioning out of my parents home. We are going to stick around to help dad get into his new self monitoring routine, help mom and Tom transition into the new routine, then we are moving home. (Dad is VERY excited about us leaving!! He loves us, but he knows that by us leaving it means that he is getting better!)
At least 50% of dad's in home therapy is going to be done online now. There is a reading program that forces dad to read at 100 wpm (words per minute), then tests his comprehension of the subject matter. The last two times we did this at home, dad has scored a 70% in comprehension. Through this same program there is a branch of the program that tests his memory through numbers. There are several other online programs that we will be accessing through the Internet that will help to work his memory and making those connections in his brain.
Today (2/12/13), dad will be getting the feeding tube in his stomach removed. He is very excited about no longer having to flush the tube with water or worrying about it getting infected (dad and I got in to the nightly routine of cleaning and disinfecting the area around the stomach tube...he will be very happy to never have me do this again. To be honest, I am not going to miss doing this either!)
After being taken to the secretary of state, Tom took dad to Chelsea for his therapy. Because, this was Tom's first day back in the US (he went to Haiti for a while with the church), he asked a lot of questions and tried to get a better understanding of where dad is at in his recovery. It was determined that dad has been granted some more "independence" around the home. This means that we are transitioning from a very rigid routine for dad, to dad creating and following a check list for his daily routine. This also means that he does not have to be supervised for every single activity that he does around the house. However, it does mean that once dad finishes an activity that we need to look over what he did and correct any mistakes that he may/may not have made. Even though dad has been granted some more independence, he still has not been cleared drive, use power tools, guns or ladders. Because dad no longer needs 24/7 supervision, Nathan and I are going to be transitioning out of my parents home. We are going to stick around to help dad get into his new self monitoring routine, help mom and Tom transition into the new routine, then we are moving home. (Dad is VERY excited about us leaving!! He loves us, but he knows that by us leaving it means that he is getting better!)
At least 50% of dad's in home therapy is going to be done online now. There is a reading program that forces dad to read at 100 wpm (words per minute), then tests his comprehension of the subject matter. The last two times we did this at home, dad has scored a 70% in comprehension. Through this same program there is a branch of the program that tests his memory through numbers. There are several other online programs that we will be accessing through the Internet that will help to work his memory and making those connections in his brain.
Today (2/12/13), dad will be getting the feeding tube in his stomach removed. He is very excited about no longer having to flush the tube with water or worrying about it getting infected (dad and I got in to the nightly routine of cleaning and disinfecting the area around the stomach tube...he will be very happy to never have me do this again. To be honest, I am not going to miss doing this either!)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
An Update on Dad
Good morning! I apologize for the lack of updates on dad. Times are busy, and it is hard keeping up with the Blog while I am at mom and dads because they do not have Internet.
Dad has been doing outpatient rehabilitation at Chelsea Hospital three days a week. Last week it was determined that dad no longer needed Physical Therapy. He was walking so well that the physical therapist was getting winded. Based on her assessment, dad is moving and walking like that of a 55 year old man (in 20 days he will be 55...so I would saw that he is right on with where he is supposed to be).
Because of the therapy and schedule we have dad on at home, Occupational Therapy only needs to meet with dad once a week. We have dad on a pretty rigorous schedule at home. Mom wakes dad up at 6:30, they spend 30 minutes working on dad's routine in the bathroom. After that they have a specific routine they follow in the morning until 9:30 when they sit down and have their first therapy session together. Therapy usually takes a about an hour to do. I have spent a lot of time researching things to do for dad. His occupational and speech therapist have also been wonderful about providing at home activities for dad. Once therapy is done dad has "free" time. In this time he has to do some exercise (riding the bike, going for a walk in the field with the dogs, etc.), sometimes he cleans and organizes, sometimes he reads. Then he and mom have a lunch time routine, then dad has "free" time until either he goes to Chelsea for therapy or does another round of therapy in the afternoon at home with mom.
Dad meets with the Speech Therapist three times a week (Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays). They do a lot of things with dad from working on his memory to helping him read and write. According to the last assessment they did, dad is reading at 5th grade reading level. He has found that it is much easier to read large print. If the print is too small he tends to struggle more. Something else that they discovered is that as a result of the brain injury dad's eyes do not currently work together. If you watch dad closely while he is doing his eye exercises you can see that the right eye is slightly slower than the left. How does this affect his vision? Well, it means that dad sees things lightly to the left and down from where it is actually at. Does this mean that dad will never be back to himself again? Absolutely not! Dad's brain is already compensating for this change in vision. If it was not compensating then every time he reached for something he would miss it. OT is working with dad to strengthen his eyes and we have been given exercises to do with dad at home that will help to improve this as well.
Dad needs to be on a rigid routine right now to help him get into the habit of doing every day type activities (if he doesn't have someone supervising him and guiding him then he has a tendency to miss steps). We try to schedule time for dad to do some therapeutic activities outside of the house as well. On Saturday, Amber and I took dad grocery shopping, another time Nathan took dad to the hardware store and to the Barber to get a hair cut. Although these things seem simple, they are still therapeutic. We have dad Navigate for us, he has to pay for things with cash so he is forced to add up the money and make sure he is getting the right change back, he has to find the things on the list, etc.
We continue to see improvements every day. If dad struggles with one task one day, we teach him how to do the task and the next day it is much much easier for him. We are so thankful for the continued improvement in dad. (I know dad is too!)
I will try my best to update this a few times a week from this point forward. If you have specific questions about dad don't hesitate to call and talk to us or dad. If you want to visit with dad just call in advance so that we can make sure it's not a time he has therapy.
Dad has been doing outpatient rehabilitation at Chelsea Hospital three days a week. Last week it was determined that dad no longer needed Physical Therapy. He was walking so well that the physical therapist was getting winded. Based on her assessment, dad is moving and walking like that of a 55 year old man (in 20 days he will be 55...so I would saw that he is right on with where he is supposed to be).
Because of the therapy and schedule we have dad on at home, Occupational Therapy only needs to meet with dad once a week. We have dad on a pretty rigorous schedule at home. Mom wakes dad up at 6:30, they spend 30 minutes working on dad's routine in the bathroom. After that they have a specific routine they follow in the morning until 9:30 when they sit down and have their first therapy session together. Therapy usually takes a about an hour to do. I have spent a lot of time researching things to do for dad. His occupational and speech therapist have also been wonderful about providing at home activities for dad. Once therapy is done dad has "free" time. In this time he has to do some exercise (riding the bike, going for a walk in the field with the dogs, etc.), sometimes he cleans and organizes, sometimes he reads. Then he and mom have a lunch time routine, then dad has "free" time until either he goes to Chelsea for therapy or does another round of therapy in the afternoon at home with mom.
Dad meets with the Speech Therapist three times a week (Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays). They do a lot of things with dad from working on his memory to helping him read and write. According to the last assessment they did, dad is reading at 5th grade reading level. He has found that it is much easier to read large print. If the print is too small he tends to struggle more. Something else that they discovered is that as a result of the brain injury dad's eyes do not currently work together. If you watch dad closely while he is doing his eye exercises you can see that the right eye is slightly slower than the left. How does this affect his vision? Well, it means that dad sees things lightly to the left and down from where it is actually at. Does this mean that dad will never be back to himself again? Absolutely not! Dad's brain is already compensating for this change in vision. If it was not compensating then every time he reached for something he would miss it. OT is working with dad to strengthen his eyes and we have been given exercises to do with dad at home that will help to improve this as well.
Dad needs to be on a rigid routine right now to help him get into the habit of doing every day type activities (if he doesn't have someone supervising him and guiding him then he has a tendency to miss steps). We try to schedule time for dad to do some therapeutic activities outside of the house as well. On Saturday, Amber and I took dad grocery shopping, another time Nathan took dad to the hardware store and to the Barber to get a hair cut. Although these things seem simple, they are still therapeutic. We have dad Navigate for us, he has to pay for things with cash so he is forced to add up the money and make sure he is getting the right change back, he has to find the things on the list, etc.
We continue to see improvements every day. If dad struggles with one task one day, we teach him how to do the task and the next day it is much much easier for him. We are so thankful for the continued improvement in dad. (I know dad is too!)
I will try my best to update this a few times a week from this point forward. If you have specific questions about dad don't hesitate to call and talk to us or dad. If you want to visit with dad just call in advance so that we can make sure it's not a time he has therapy.
Monday, January 28, 2013
An example of a therapeutic activity with dad...
The game above is called, "Blink." the purpose of this game is to match colors, shapes or numbers. It is a fast moving game that engages both the right and left side of the brain. It requires dad to stay focused, process numbers, organize thoughts, etc. Nathan and dad played for 30 minutes. Dad won two rounds, Nathan won one round.
It was a fun game that exercises the brain without feeling like dad is doing "therapy."
Day 2 at home - January 27, 2013
Sunday morning dad got up, had coffee, and had breakfast with the family. He said he slept great because it was his first time being able to sleep at home. Dad decided that he wanted to go to Church this morning, so he got around and we took him to church. It was a wonderful morning. Dad was greeted by so many people, it was overwhelming for even us. There were a lot of tears and a lot of , "Praise the Lords." dad truly is a walking, talking testimony to the amazing power of Christ. Many were very encouraged just at seeing him walk into the church doors.
After church dad was very tired. He took sometime to rest before Aunt Denise and Uncle Bruce showed up for a visit. Around noon, Denise and Bruce showed up for a visit. Dad took them down to the basement to show them the new bar and pool table. Then they sat and visited for a while. Dad really enjoyed their company.
After Denise and Bruce left, dad and I sat down for our first at home therapy session. I reviewed with dad why he has to be on a schedule everyday (he has to be on a schedule because dad still needs help organizing his thoughts and getting into a routine) then we spent about 10 minutes working on his schedule for Monday. Next we worked on word sequencing, then worked on addition. Everyday we see more and more improvements in dad. It really exciting to be a part of his healing. Though there are still some gaps, the gap is slowly closing.
After therapy time with me, dad worked on a puzzle with mom for about 25 minutes. (which technically is therapy without calling it therapy). In 25 minutes dad put together a 50 piece jigsaw puzzle.
Dad had some free time, he used that time to rest and relax, then he got to do some more therapy with Chantel. Together they wrote down dad's schedule for the day, worked on spelling and thinking skills, then worked on some categorization. Again, dad did very well. After this time was done, dad was able to spend some time with the grand kids, then it was time to start the nighttime routine.
I know dad really struggles with having to be on a routine (because he is 54 and knows he was able to do the things without help before). However, it is a very important part of his recovery.
Prayer requests for dad:
- that he will have patience with us as we work with him.
- that dad will continue to improve every day!
After church dad was very tired. He took sometime to rest before Aunt Denise and Uncle Bruce showed up for a visit. Around noon, Denise and Bruce showed up for a visit. Dad took them down to the basement to show them the new bar and pool table. Then they sat and visited for a while. Dad really enjoyed their company.
After Denise and Bruce left, dad and I sat down for our first at home therapy session. I reviewed with dad why he has to be on a schedule everyday (he has to be on a schedule because dad still needs help organizing his thoughts and getting into a routine) then we spent about 10 minutes working on his schedule for Monday. Next we worked on word sequencing, then worked on addition. Everyday we see more and more improvements in dad. It really exciting to be a part of his healing. Though there are still some gaps, the gap is slowly closing.
After therapy time with me, dad worked on a puzzle with mom for about 25 minutes. (which technically is therapy without calling it therapy). In 25 minutes dad put together a 50 piece jigsaw puzzle.
Dad had some free time, he used that time to rest and relax, then he got to do some more therapy with Chantel. Together they wrote down dad's schedule for the day, worked on spelling and thinking skills, then worked on some categorization. Again, dad did very well. After this time was done, dad was able to spend some time with the grand kids, then it was time to start the nighttime routine.
I know dad really struggles with having to be on a routine (because he is 54 and knows he was able to do the things without help before). However, it is a very important part of his recovery.
Prayer requests for dad:
- that he will have patience with us as we work with him.
- that dad will continue to improve every day!
Day 1 at home - January 26, 2013
It was a wonderful day for dad and us! What a blessing to have him home! Dad took some time to rest and relax in the afternoon, then we had Aunt Debbie, Uncle Tim and Codi out for a visit in the evening. We all learned not to trust dad when he says he can't play pool. Dad kicked all of our butts!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Day 35 - Day 10 of Acute Rehab - January 25, 2013
Today was dad's last day of Acute Rehabilitation Therapy at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital. Tomorrow, exactly 5 weeks after dad's cardiac arrest we will be taking him home.
Because this was dad's last night in the hospital, the Doctor agreed to allow us to take dad out to eat. We took dad to Bob Evan's for dinner. He was very excited to be stepping outside and leaving the hospital. He was surprised by the cold, but didn't care too much about it because he was getting out. Mom, Amber, Nathan and I all had a very nice dinner with dad. We talked about work, home, the dogs, etc. Although dad was having a good time, you could tell he was very tired. I am not sure if he was overwhelmed by being in a new place or if he was just tired. At one point during dinner he took his glasses and hat off and put his head down. By 6:30/7:00 p.m. he was ready to go to bed.
We asked dad what he wanted to do for his first day home... he said that the first thing he was going to do was to take Benny for a walk in the field behind his house. The next thing he wanted to do was to celebrate Christmas. So, this is exactly what dad is going to get to do. All of us kids are getting together tomorrow with food, presents, Christmas decorations, etc. Tomorrow we finally get to celebrate Christmas. I cannot wait!!
So...whats the plan for dad when he gets home?
1. Getting dad on a routine/schedule. The doctor said that this is going to be the biggest help for getting dad adjusted to home life. Chantel helped to organize a daily routine/schedule for dad. He has a "Non-therapy day" and a "Therapy Day" schedule. These schedules will be put on a white board for dad to see each day.
2. Out Patient Therapy. Dad will start out patient rehabilitation on Tuesday. He will be driven to Chelsea Hospital for this out patient therapy. On Tuesday we will find out how many days a week/hours a day he will need to be in Chelsea for rehab.
3. At home therapy. We have spent a lot of time meeting with dad's therapists, getting activities from them, researching and creating therapeutic activities for dad to do at home. Today, I received a copy of all of the therapists' notes so we know exactly where dad left off with therapy. This will help us to know what to work on with him at home to help him to continue to grow.
4. 24/7 Supervision. Dr. S. stated that Dad still needs 24/7 supervision in the home. This is temporary and dad will need less supervision as he continues to improve. To help mom and Tom (who live in the house now), Nathan and I will moving in to help with the supervision and in home therapy for dad.
Ways to pray for Dad:
Because this was dad's last night in the hospital, the Doctor agreed to allow us to take dad out to eat. We took dad to Bob Evan's for dinner. He was very excited to be stepping outside and leaving the hospital. He was surprised by the cold, but didn't care too much about it because he was getting out. Mom, Amber, Nathan and I all had a very nice dinner with dad. We talked about work, home, the dogs, etc. Although dad was having a good time, you could tell he was very tired. I am not sure if he was overwhelmed by being in a new place or if he was just tired. At one point during dinner he took his glasses and hat off and put his head down. By 6:30/7:00 p.m. he was ready to go to bed.
We asked dad what he wanted to do for his first day home... he said that the first thing he was going to do was to take Benny for a walk in the field behind his house. The next thing he wanted to do was to celebrate Christmas. So, this is exactly what dad is going to get to do. All of us kids are getting together tomorrow with food, presents, Christmas decorations, etc. Tomorrow we finally get to celebrate Christmas. I cannot wait!!
So...whats the plan for dad when he gets home?
1. Getting dad on a routine/schedule. The doctor said that this is going to be the biggest help for getting dad adjusted to home life. Chantel helped to organize a daily routine/schedule for dad. He has a "Non-therapy day" and a "Therapy Day" schedule. These schedules will be put on a white board for dad to see each day.
2. Out Patient Therapy. Dad will start out patient rehabilitation on Tuesday. He will be driven to Chelsea Hospital for this out patient therapy. On Tuesday we will find out how many days a week/hours a day he will need to be in Chelsea for rehab.
3. At home therapy. We have spent a lot of time meeting with dad's therapists, getting activities from them, researching and creating therapeutic activities for dad to do at home. Today, I received a copy of all of the therapists' notes so we know exactly where dad left off with therapy. This will help us to know what to work on with him at home to help him to continue to grow.
4. 24/7 Supervision. Dr. S. stated that Dad still needs 24/7 supervision in the home. This is temporary and dad will need less supervision as he continues to improve. To help mom and Tom (who live in the house now), Nathan and I will moving in to help with the supervision and in home therapy for dad.
Ways to pray for Dad:
- Pray that we continue to see huge improvements in his cognitive functioning.
- Pray that he transitions well to being back at home.
- Pray that the out patient/home therapy help dad make big steps forward.
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