Erin is back home, and was spending some time with Ian when I stopped by. I didn't stay long - he looked very alert to me, and I left when his supper arrived. Here's Tom's update.
December 22, 2006 at 07:09 PM CST
Today we had another pretty good day. Ian awoke this morning and was very alert and interactive for a solid 6 hours before he decided he needed to sleep and took a nap. His PT/OT went very well. He learned how to scoot on his bottom (handy for moving around with a full leg cast) and attempted to use a walker. The walker experiment can appropriately be classified as an utter failure--he doesn't quite get the whole "don't put weight on the cast and hop on one leg while supporting yourself on the walker" thing. We're going to get at least an hour to work on this concept on each of the next two days, but indicators are definitely low for success on this front. That would be a good topic for prayer, as it would be nice to get Ian out of the wheelchair and on his feet, even if it is with a walker. We'll have to make a lot of progress quickly though, since the hospital is definitely emptying out for the Christmas weekend and therapy sessions will be few and far between.
On the good side, Ian is doing a great job of sitting up unassisted and holding himself erect. His balance appears to be pretty good and his endurance is increasing. They did note a slight tremor on his left side when he was working during therapy today, but they don't seem to be that concerned about it being a permanent issue. We're going to trust their expert opinion, but please pray about it anyway.
Ian continues to reveal more and more of his personality as well. Today in his sessions with a couple of the therapists (those unfortunate enough to get him when he was getting a little tired), he was a typical silly, relatively uncooperative four year old boy. He faked sleeping, gave silly answers and generally frustrated the psychologist and one of his speech pathologists. Ordinarily, I would have tried harder to get him to behave, but I was really just happy to see him be a little feisty, so I let it go.
I guess our major concern continues to be his short-term memory. While Ian appears to remember much of what he knew before the accident, he's not making a lot of new memories. For example, he doesn't usually remember what he had for breakfast (much like me, but I don't have a brain injury), and he really hasn't shown the ability to remember where he is. While we understand that this is fairly typical for a head injury, the sooner short-term memory comes back, the better it is. Tonight when I asked him where he was, he told me UW Health Hospital, so it's a small victory. We'll see if he still knows tomorrow. This continues to be a topic for our prayers.
A smaller concern (perhaps trivial, but near and dear to parents' hearts), is potty training. After 10 days in diapers, we're now back at work helping him remember what we worked so hard to teach him for the first two years of his life. We take heart from the fact that he remembers sometimes (and he's getting better every day), but we'd love it if he would remember all the time. I know, I know, it's all about me (and HJ and his sisters), but we really hate that whole diaper thing!
So, what we're seeing so far is steady improvement each day. The therapists and doctors are very encouraged by his progress and say he's doing very well. We know there is a long way to go, but we also know that there is a long time line for recovery from brain injury. We're still praying that he'll be able to get a pass to come home for Christmas. This will depend almost solely on his sodium levels, which have been holding steady over the past several days, but the docs aren't taking anything for granted and we agree heartily.
We hope all of you have a great Christmas and happy New Year. I will continue to update during the holidays, but I know lots of you will be traveling and may not be able to access the page. We continue to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support for our family--this will truly be a Christmas we will remember for the rest of our lives.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, too! Ian is a bright boy with lots of spunk. I have a good feeling he'll be alright! Prayers continue for him and his family! :)
Prayers for continued healing.
Merry Christmas to you guys as well.
Continued prayers for Ian...
I know it is times like this that it is the "little things" that start to get frustrating...like the potty training..I wouldn't beat myself up over feeling the way you do. I think is part of the long term stay heebie jeebies that hit everyone.
Ian sounds great from what you have said...I will definitely pray for the few things that you mentioned, extra specially...but, it sounds like he not only has good hospital care...but a family and friends that have just given all they can give to help him...and I am sure it is paying off..
Prayers up from Texas, and please, God...hold Ian and his family in your arms and bring them hope, comfort and healing..
Amen
sleuth
We will all continue to pray for his swift and complete recovery.
God loves you all very much. Merry Christmas!
BTTT
Merry Christmas, Ian!! Prayers for your COMPLETE recovery, rehabilitation and return to silliness! May God bless you with this.
Unless there are major changes, I probably won't have any updates until Monday evening or Tuesday. But I wanted to thank you all again for your prayers, and to wish you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!