Update for end of Feb.

It's getting near time for Tom to be released from Shepherd. We are feeling overwhelmed by all the decisions that need to be made.

First, Tom is still experiencing muscle spasms, which are worsening all the time. The muscle spasms are like being hit in the stomach and the body jerks to the right or left. Or his legs jerk from only a slight stimulus like touching them when we dress him. The worst part of it to him is that many times at night, his chest feels like there's a band around it that's tightening during the night and it's very hard for him to breathe.

Muscle spasms are a usual part of a spinal cord injury. They can be much worse than what Tom is experiencing. His are very annoying and keep him from getting sleep--especially the tightening of the chest at night.

His doctor has put him on anti-spasm medication, and has been increasing the dosage to the max that a person can take. A side effect of this is that he becomes very groggy during the day. He also keeps having his sleep interrupted by itching that he can't reach to scratch, so that's another annoyance that's kept him awake at night. Today he was zombie-like, and every chance he got to be still, he fell asleep. I think the doctor is changing his medication for the spasms, and hopefully it will help him and he won't have adverse reactions to it. (we already have had rash from another new med) The lack of good sleep is really a hindrance to his healing, I believe.
He also has a hard time breathing from his nose being congested occasionally, and since he cant' blow his nose very well himself, he has to breathe thru his mouth and then his mouth gets dry and he can't get a drink. It's all kind of misery. But today I bought a thermos-type water bottle that's flat and has a drinking tube attached....I'm going to hook it to the side of the bed onto one of the sip-and-puff extension things that can reach to his mouth, and he'll be able to get a drink himself at night. I found this in their drugstore here and it is exactly what I was wanting to invent or find for him. Hopefully that will help a bit with the problems at night.

We've still got all these little health concerns to deal with, plus more that I'm not mentioning. And because it's almost time to get released, we're having to figure out transportation for him, as well as many other things that have to be figured out. I probably sound frustrated and tired, and I kind of am. There are so many things that need to be done that I am having a hard time keeping up.

We have a wheelchair-bound friend who has a handicap-accessible van that he's willing to let us use for awhile. We are not sure if Tom's wheelchair will work with the type of lift it has and the locks for the wheelchair, but we are working on it.

We are supposed to go to the "day program" after he is released. For that, he will go to the Shepherd Center five days a week from 9 - 4 and have intensive therapy. We stay in apartments nearby. I have to stay here with him the whole time and learn stuff too. We even sleep in these apartments every night. I have to be here in case he has an "accident" and needs his clothes changed, because he's no longer under nurses care. And I have to help him with his lunch at the center, and cook breakfast and dinner (or buy prepared meals). I also have classes that I have to take to learn stuff about his therapy.
I'm willing to do this, of course, because it will help him greatly to learn life skills that he needs. I'm concerned that I will be away from my business for another whole month, and Jan and Feb were really slow income-wise. I will be calling on friends to go work at Southern Oaks for me during March. We're not even sure if it will be a whole month....that depends on what the therapists say after the first week.

Well, I suppose I'm sounding a little overwhelmed, but it's because there's a lot to do on many fronts.

Oh, and also Tom's employer had to make the difficult decision to let him go...so we're unemployed. We're hoping he will still be able to go back and work for them in the future, once he gets stronger and learns more life skills.

Jessica was just here for a few days from DC. She cheered up her dad and helped her mom. We are missing her already.

all for now....

A Distinguished Visitor

Tom had a visit from an Atlanta television and radio celebrity a few weeks ago. Clark Howard came with his two daughters to see Tom. Clark has a consumer affairs radio program here in Atlanta that broadcasts all over the country, and he's also the consumer advocate for WSB TV in Atlanta. We know Clark from his work with sponsoring houses for Habitat for Humanity. Tom has worked on Clark Howard houses for many years as a volunteer. (I've worked on a few of them too, as a paint supervisor).

So, Tom was totally surprised when Clark and his two girls showed up to see him on a Sunday morning. His 6-year old daughter was totally engrossed in operating the lift, which we let her operate to lift Tom from the bed to his wheelchair. She definitely got a kick out of that!

Clark brought Tom a few t-shirts from his current Habitat build project, plus several from last year's. He autographed two of them for us also. We gave him a tour of the Shepherd Center and had a really nice visit. Any of you who know Clark personally know what a great guy he is. Really cheered Tom up.

Here are a few photos--Clark's daughter with the lift control in her hand and Tom in the sling; and a group photo of Clark, Tom, and Clark's daughters.

Clark's website is: www.ClarkHoward.com

Flower Show Photos

I posted these already but guess it didn't work....
Here is Tom at the Shepherd Center booth with the handicap mower, and Tom and me together.
The mower has hand controls.

Update -Feb. 14

Well, last week I got the flu, had the brakes on my car replaced, and had our old Honda Accord repaired after it broke down while Joanna was driving it to work. An eventful week.... Thanks to Abbe, from the Fox Theatre, who comes to sit with Tom and help him with his dinner when I can't be here. And thanks to Don, and Pat, and Lisa, and Rita, and Ursula, and Tom S. and the gang from Southface and so many of you who come on a regular basis to visit Tom. I was worried last Wed. when I was too sick to come to the hospital (the first day since Dec. 16 that I haven't been here) and when I called Tom around dinner time to check on him, he had about 4 people in his room having a great time. I was able to get some needed rest....

On Saturday, a group of friends from Habitat came to start work on our house to widen a few doorways and such in anticipation of Tom's arrival. He's supposed to come home on Feb. 28, which is 2 weeks from now. Thanks to Don and Tom and Tommy and especially Robert, who jumped right in and did the majority of the "heavy hitting." They replaced the door into the garage with a new one, widened a doorway between kitchen and dining room, and started building a ramp. Work will continue again this Saturday. I've got to clean up a bunch of junk in the garage to prepare for the ramp to fit.

Tom had a minor surgical procedure today and has been having temperature changes all day....fever, then normal, then fever again. It's very hard to keep his temperature regulated on a normal day, but today has been worse.

It's good to be here at Shepherd where we can meet other patients with similar injuries. Some better off than Tom and some worse. Today we ran into Mr. Carder who used to be our daughters' middle school vice-principal. His accident was in October so he's now in the day program. When I first saw him here, he was worse off than Tom. Now he has movement in his fingers and legs. That is encouraging on the one hand, but on the other hand, Tom has had no improvement in the amount of feeling or movement ability whatsoever since the accident. His injury is called "complete" which means it's much less likely that he will get movement back, which can be discouraging. But we have faith that our prayers and yours will be answered and we know that God does perform miracles and healings.

Flower Show
We took a trip last week to the big flower show that comes to Atlanta each year. I have always wanted to go. It was beautiful! Tom enjoyed the wide walkways where it was easy to get around in the wheelchair. He loved the Bonzai display, which was amazing. All the garden exhibits were amazing.... I took his picture at the Shepherd Center exhibit, which had a handicap-accessible riding lawnmower on display. I would definitely love for Tom to have one of those!

I'll post photos from the Flower Show.

Michele

Short Update

Just a short update....

Tom has been moved once again to a different room. For those going to visit him, or for sending cards, he is in Room #200-B. No more semi-private room with a view....he's not near a window and he's in with 3 other guys right now, with a 4th empty bed next to him which could be occupied at any time. Apparently they needed to put 2 females somewhere so they moved him and Michael out.

He still has lots of pain in his arms and hands. This is prohibiting him from progressing as much as they had hoped, because there are so many things that he needs his arms to do, and it's painful and he doesn't have the total muscle strength that he would normally have. It's frustrating and depressing to watch him try so hard to perform the slightest task that would usually be so easy to do.

They've given him a release date of February 28. We have a lot to figure out by then--we're currently figuring out what kind of chair will he use (he's got several options with several pros and cons) and what he will do about showering. Some people in his condition can sit on a board a slide themselves from the chair into the tub with a special chair. He is just not able to do this kind of weight transfer yet....maybe when the arms strengthen, or with a portable lift. We are wanting to sell our house, so we don't want to install a ride-in shower into what will be the powder room for whoever buys the house, so the bathing issue is one we need to figure out. Also the catheter issue, the sleeping/bed issue, the vehicle issue, etc, etc. Can you tell I'm tired??

Actually, I think I'm getting the flu, or at least a cold, and so I don't think I'll be going to the hospital today.

He has had 3 outings so far--one to the museum, then another to the IMAX theatre (without me), another to a movie theatre (they saw "Walk the Line"), and we went out to dinner one night. The restaurant we went to had a fireplace and it was nice to sit in front of it and relax.
On Friday evening, they're taking a group to the Southeast Flower and Patio Show, which I've always wanted to go to, so we're both looking forward to that.

Michele

Therapy Photos

Photos from an early therapy session where Tom is upright for the first time. He's tossing a beachball with the therapist.