Update for Jan. 27

Hard to believe it's been a week since I last posted....and an eventful week it's been....

Trip to Museum
The trip to the High Museum was fun and fairly easy. There is a long ramp to get to the front doors. The doors are not handicap accessible, and we were told that we were supposed to enter through a different door, but no one knew that. We left through that door and the guys had to execute a very narrow and surprisingly steep ramp to get to the bus. Tom has been certified in all the building codes, and was skeptical of whether this ramp was up to code. It was a bit scary, but he and the others made it down just fine. (photos to follow)

We enjoyed the Andrew Wyeth collection. It was Tom's first time being in public in the wheelchair, and it seemed quite normal to be buzzing around the place. I think that there are so many people nowadays in grocery stores and practically everywhere roving around on those motorized skooters and carts, so a man in a motorized wheelchair is no big deal. No one stared or looked weird at him. We were told that the patients' first time in public can sometimes be traumatic because people are staring at them, but Tom didn't feel that at all.

Blood Clot
Sunday night, Tom developed a blood clot in his left leg. The leg was swollen to about 50% bigger than his right leg. This can be very dangerous, although since he had had a filter put into him right after his first surgery, it was less dangerous. Without the filter the clot could move to his lungs or worse, and can cause a stroke. I don't understand all this, and I wasn't here when the doctor explained it to him, but he says that the clot could stretch from his hip to his knee! They did an ultrasound to see it.
They put him on a stronger dose of blood thinners than what he was already on (a preventative dose that all quadroplegics get at first). He then had to stay in bed for 2 days with his legs a little higher than his head, some of the time. He hates being in bed because it's harder for him to breath. Plus when you have to stay in bed, you can't go to all your therapy and classes, and so you are behind in your therapy. We keep trying to have a normal week or even a normal day or two around here and it's been impossible. Some new challenge to deal with every few days.

As of today, the leg is still quite swollen but he's taking the blood thinners and he's allowed to be up in his chair going to therapy.

Improvements
His pneumonia is completely gone. He rarely coughs. He's off oxygen totally.
He can pretty much feed himself.
We've gotten most of the bladder and bowel issues taken care of, finally.
His swallowing is almost effortless now, due to biofeedback and swallowing exercises. He only starts to choke rarely and it's not frightening like before.
His blood pressure is normal, which is good for a SCI patient....most have low blood pressure which causes them to feel faint when sitting upright.
The cervical collar on his neck has been removed and the surgery is OK.
He's finally off the soft diet and is able to eat normal foods.

Concerns
He is experiencing quite a bit of pain in his arms and shoulders, particularly his right shoulder, which he injured many years ago and had surgery on. We think it's because he's having to use these arm muscles to do way more work than they ever did, such as for feeding himself. Because of his injury, there is not as much nerve impulse getting to these muscles and it hurts when he has to work them so hard.

Update on David
Many of you have been asking how David is doing. There's been so much going on that I haven't updated you.
David had a serious "crash" and had to be revived and taken to ICU. He was in serious condition there for at least 2 weeks. The last I saw of his wife, she said that he would be going home to Boston (on a ventilator) and he will have a 24 hour nursing care. He missed his kids very much and wanted to go home. I'm not sure if they've left or not, but they were getting ready to go. I told his wife that we would all keep him in our prayers.

Tom has a new roommate. He's Michael, from Louisiana. He's 18 and was injured in a truck accident. He was in worse shape than Tom at first, but because his injury was "incomplete," he is beginning to be able to move a few fingers and a thumb. We are very happy for him since he's got his whole life ahead of him. We feel that he will be walking eventually. Please keep him in your prayers. I'll show a photo of him with Tom.

Helpful Visitors
Tom's sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Frank, came from Houston to visit. I put them to work since Tom was going to be in class on Wednesday till 4 pm. They helped me clean up a mountain of junk from the garage and haul a load of stuff to the dump. Much cleaning needs to be done before we can renovate the house for Tom's return. I appreciate Pat and Frank's willingness and ability to help.

Workmans' Comp Claim
Our claim was denied, but we knew that that was not unusual. We are meeting tomorrow with a lawyer who comes highly recommended. We will file for a hearing and I believe that it takes 2 months to get the hearing, but I may be wrong on that.

Cards, Letters, Gifts, Money, Visits, Prayers!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We really are in awe of the outpouring of love and concern for Tom, and for our family. We have been truly blessed with friends all over the world. You all make going through this much easier.

Thanks to all of you for your support.

Michele

[photos to follow]