Posted on 11/07/2014 3:01:52 PM PST by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
Arrowhead (John) fell off a 20’ ladder at work, onto his head, and has a severe brain injury!
Broke all the bones in his face and skull, broke his shoulder blade and some ribs.
His last post was 10/20 in the morning. He fell about 2pm that same day and was LifeFlighted to the hospital; then, after about 6 hours of surgery, he went directly to ICU. It was touch and go for days in critical condition.
After 2 weeks in ICU he has been transferred to a Specialty Neurological Rehab center in Austin, as of 11/3.
He can move his arms and legs, so no spinal injury, but he is not cognizant. Sometimes he can respond to “can you squeeze my hand?”, sometimes not. His daughter is getting ready to go back home.
The nurses are calling them every day. Small improvements are noticed, such as he sat up for 10 seconds today, but no one has a prognosis. Brain injuries heal how they heal, when the heal, if they heal....3 to 6 months at least.
PRAY HARD, please!!!! And spread the word to your prayer lists.
Thanks for the good report. Praying for Arrowhead every night. God bless him and his caretakers and family.
O Lord Jesus, all praise be to Thee for granting recovery to Thy servant.
In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
BTTT
Praise the Lord- it sounds as if he is making wonderful progress!
Thank you for the update, Kathy!
Thanks for the update Kathy and Lisa. So glad to hear he is doing better and the facility is so incredible. I think everyone worries when a patient is changed that there might be a setback or worse - so it is wonderful to hear the opposite!
Prayers for you too basil!
Continued Prayers for God’s healing grace and comfort....
I wrote her to check on the flooding in the Austin area. They are not IN Austin, but near a big lake.
Thank you so much for writing with your concern - I have been meaning to send an update about Dad for quite some time, but wanted to make sure I had all of the most current and correct information.
With all the rain in the Central Texas area, neither Mom nor the CORE facility were hit very hard. They welcomed the rain upstream and I understand that the lake came up a bit, but I believe it was the downtown area that was hit the hardest. Thank you very much for your concern, and I am happy to report that all is well with the nasty weather they encountered.
Dad is still at the CORE Healthcare facility in Dripping Springs, and will be there though the month of December. He still has therapy sessions with PT, OT, and Speech, and during my mom's October monthly meeting every therapist said he had the best month yet. (And yes, he still loves being out in the hallways and rolling around the facility in his wheelchair.) They all said he was more talkative, his voice was stronger, and he was eating 25 or so bites of soft foods every few days....peaches, pears, applesauce, etc. These very small bites he chews in his mouth and swallows without much coughing. Below are a few brief notes from his different therapists:
Occupational Therapy: "Mr. Schwausch is participating OT tasks with much greater efficiency as motor planning deficits have reduced from severe to moderate. With the findings from MRI's, Occupational Therapy goals have transitioned to building strength with available range which may then provide additional range. Significant improvement has been noted."
Physical Therapy: "Mr. Schwausch can transfer pivoting bed to and from the wheelchair with assistance depending upon his ability to concentrate (ie. eliminate distractions) and his level of fatigue. He can also transfer sit to stand using a walker with assistance. He counts 1, 2, 3 prior to the transfer and pushes from the armrest with one hand while holding onto his knee with the other hand. This helps him to lean forward, put his weight through his legs and improves his balance during the transfer. He has been very consistent with his improvements this month."
Speech Therapy: "Mr. Schwausch names basic items with definition or phrase completion cues with 30 percent accuracy. He has inconsistently consumed 20 trials of thin fruit puree and 18-22 sips of water with independent or minimum cues for throat clearing. Named basic level associations with 90 percent accuracy. Named basic opposites with 90 percent accuracy. When seen with family members, initiated conversational questions with moderate-maximum cues."
Unfortunately, the newest concern has been the sudden appearance of seizures, which started a couple of weeks ago. Since then he has gone from having one every few days, to one every day or so, and last night he had three. In each case he is taken to the local hospital and seen by the doctors there, and after the all-clear he is sent back to CORE. He is on a low-dosage anti-seizure medication, which will hopefully become a higher dosage soon. I will continue to update on the seizures if they get worse (or - hopefully - better!) and about his progress from his therapists. I will be able to go down to Austin for the week of Christmas, so I will go to CORE numerous times and I'm sure will have great stories.
Thank you all very much for the continued support and your concerns. Please pass on to The Canteen FReepers my most sincere thanks for your dedication, sacrifice, and service to our great country on this Veterans Day. Like many, I am forever grateful for our men and women who have served in the armed forces, both now and in the past.
Have a blessed week.
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It would be really nice for him to get lots of cards and letters for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Cards can be sent directly to Arrowhead. And if anyone would like to visit, give a holler and I will get your request to Lisa and she can let you know his schedule.
John Schwausch
c/o CORE Health Care at Hilltop
400 Old Hwy 290
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
Thanks Everyone...please keep those prayers and cards coming.
That report sounds pretty good.
Thanks for the address. I’ll get a card off to him soon.
Please add Update at Post #628 to the title.
Thank you.
Prayers up.
My goodness, a year has gone by and he’s still struggling.
Prayers up.
Wonder about the seizures.
Cards sent to the address I have will still get to him, right?
(Been looking for a funny one.)
Prayers up!
God bless.
Funny sounds good. d:o)
Address at the bottom of the update.
Thanks for the ping; post/update.
(prayer for John)
Will do! I’ve sent a few cards, but a few more won’t hurt...might help! :)
Prayers.
Thank you for the update.
Yeah, dunce me just saw that.
*deflates*
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