4/22

Mike had a successful 24 hour pass on Saturday night. Our biggest obstacles: the world's heaviest wheelchair and a three level house and his alleged sleeping pills which made him speak in tongues during the night. We'll be renting a lighter chair and he's back to his favorite, benadryl, the poor man's sleeping pill.

A shout out to the parties who were offended by the Adidas gear and provided some Nike to add balance to Mike's wardrobe. Mike was surprised to have so many people notice his cool new sneaks. These pictures are for you Jan!

And, finally, a shot of the craniotomy surgical scar.

4/17 #2

Mike was actually on deck to host a monthly poker party the day he had the stroke. The fun finally made its way to the gym in his rehab tonight.

4/17

Just like "Trading Spaces" only without all that pesky reciprocity.



















Neighbors Susan, Brandon, Mindy and Gavin showed up last weekend to clear out, clean up and beautify the garage. They rented a dumpster for the impressive amount of detritus that had built up over the last few years and hauled away all of Mike's power tools for safe keeping (note: coumadin and power tools do not mix). Now, the walls are a soothing Tiffany-esque blue and mushroom, the floor a high shine black, there are racks for organizing (imagine that!) and a mini-fridge for refreshing beverages. Never could it be imagined that such silk could come from a sow's ear.

Mike is definitely coming home on 4/24. He'll have a test run this Saturday so we can figure out what things to work on in the last few days of in-patient rehab.

4/15

We hear the medical school reunion went well. Mike was pleased to hear from so many people who attended and heard he was sick. He had been looking forward to attending!

There has been talk of keeping Mike longer than his original rehab graduation date. There is a sense that they should take advantage of his trajectory forward and keep him working hard in-patient. We'll know more about that later today.

My mother and I sprang Mike yesterday to an undisclosed breakfast restaurant location. You can see from the picture that he's doing well.

My mom went back to San Diego yesterday and we expect Mike's mom back on 4/22. There is a lull in the energy level of our house right now as the three of us try to get back into a more normal routine.

I'll post some pictures on my next entry of the neighbors transforming a once pit-of-despair garage into a stunning exercise room in anticipation of Mike's return.

4/11

Mike's gastric tube came out today. Dr. Hoeflich reports, and Mike confirms, that the tube was hard to get out and took two good tugs. Gastric tubes are held with a balloon inside the stomach; the removal involves yanking it out through the abdomen walls. There was talk of Mike's rock hard six pack inhibiting the removal but I suspect that was only talk. That's the last of the tubes going in or coming out -- a good milestone.

Yesterday, the PT had Mike up on all fours doing some amazing yoga positions. I could not have hoped that Mike retained as much strength as he exhibited. He was doing downward dog and plank and child's pose and he was doing them with more tenacity than I have ever shown in yoga. He worked so hard that he ended up getting sick toward the end but I was heartened by how great his body is pulling through.

We've begun outfitting the house for Mike's return. He will probably be home on a walker and have a wheelchair for longer hauls so there are pathways to clear and, of course, there is a master suite to trick out into a lair.

4/9

Mike's got a new list of goals. To give you an idea of what's going on with him, the following are part of the list:

1. Contact assist with bed mobility and transfers (as in transferring from bed to wheelchair).
2. Minimal/contact assist with lower dressing and toileting.
3. Read functionally for 5 minutes.
4. Contact assist with sitting balance during gross motor exercises.
5. Remove G-tube.
6. Independent with memory and problem solving.
7. Minimal cues for insight into deficits.

Additionally, Mike scored well on his ACL (cognitive) test which cheered him. He says he feels foggy in his head but the testing shows that he's actually thinking pretty clearly. As we remind him endlessly, he is still very early in this process; it will be awhile before he comes out of this mentally as well as physically.

4/8

Mike's official rehab grad date is April 24. In anticipation, Mike's PT had him on the faux staircase today. We have four flights of stairs in our house. I suspect Mike will be keeping to one level for awhile.

4/5

Wow. Mike was in great shape today. We brought the kids in and they watched a shortened day of rehab and some cable TV. Mike had great endurance; he sat up in a wheelchair for long stretches and was a trouper for PT, even agreeing to a much longer session than he first anticipated.

Yesterday, the speech therapist showed me the cognitive test they gave him when he entered rehab. He consistently scored 1's on those tests. Ten days later, he was scoring 10's (perfect) on the same tests.

4/2

For those that are curious, I can report that Mike remembers people, events, facts, feelings, and experiences perfectly. He also remembers the stroke and (perhaps unfortunately) its aftermath vividly.

Mike's speech therapist was doing some cognitive testing. She asked him to come up with as many words that start with "m" as he could in a minute's time. Whether because he was truly too tired and struggling or because he enjoys to torture every now and again, he shouted out "moptitious!" and insisted it was a real word and we should look it up in the dictionary. He now uses the word in most every context ("he was driving too fast; it was simply moptitious to sue") and is especially fond of sticking it into sentences when speech therapist comes around.

Mike's words are long and drawn out right now and a recent visitor reported that he now sounds like a Southerner.

If I haven't mentioned it lately, I will repeat that the only reason we continue to live such stable lives over here is out of the graciousness of Mike's parent's hearts. They dropped their lives to show up at our door on March 2 and continue to do whatever they can to provide continuity, support and kindness to the kids and me. Thank you John and Wendy!

4/1

Well, rehab continues and I would post more but it's just not as fast paced as brain surgery and its outcome. Mike is up in all sorts of contraptions. He's working on getting the feel of his feet under him in a walker. He's revisiting the basics like dressing himself, brushing his teeth and feeding himself. I've noticed a great leap in his endurance. He's finding a remarkable amount of humor in the situation which is a blessing.

That being said, he's not going to be driving any time soon and have I got a deal for you on a 2008 Lexus RX 350. We will be returning the car and taking a hit on the fees unless we find someone interested in taking over the lease. It's a good deal for everyone; we've paid the amount due at lease signing and it has a reasonable buy out at the end of the lease. Email me (caitlinweil-at-yahoo-dot-com) if you have an interest in the details.