3/31/13

Well, it was a pretty good week all things considered. Garrett has had his eyes open more and seems to be registering more. Today he had his eyes open most of the day which was nice to see. He looks even better in his own clothes instead of the hospital gown. Happy Easter everyone!

March 28

Garrett is continuing to have a good week. He worked hard during speech therapy. He is alert with his eyes open regularly. The care conference took place this afternoon. We discussed his left leg and will continue to watch it. He may need to have the Baker cyst drained or possibly go back on antibiotics- it is unclear right now. The swelling has decreased some and had the same measurement today as yesterday.

The biggest thing decided at the care conference was to deflate the cuff on his trache tube and see how he tolerates it. So far he is doing well. This will help us see what he can do. We are looking for signs that he can protect his airway (not aspirate into his lungs again). Eventually we would like to down size the tube until we can eliminate it altogether.

It has been a very good week and Garrett is continuing to amaze me! He may need to have some down time with rest. I expect this weekend may be quiet for him but that will be good.

-Christine
P.S. He is dressed in his shirt and shorts today! He looks much better than he does in the hospital gown.

March 27

Garrett is continuing to be alert and have his eyes open. His speech therapist liked what she saw while working with him today. His heart rate has been really good too!

March 26

Garrett has had his eyes open more of the time today. It seems to me that he is more aware of his surroundings these last two days. I still remind him why things are so strange right now and why he can't talk yet. We are not sure how much short term memory he has. He is resting right now and that seems to be a pattern (resting in the afternoon/evening and being more alert earlier in the day). Tomorrow we will have our care conference. I am looking forward to learning what is planned for Garrett.
-Christine

March 25

Today has been a good day for Garrett. His heart rate has been back to normal. They started him on some antibiotics yesterday. His left thigh has been swollen since the move. They have done an X-ray and it looked normal. They have also done an ultrasound and it only showed a pocket of fluid behind his knee. So they drew blood yesterday to send to the lab and started the antibiotics.

Garrett did really well in speech therapy today! His therapist worked with him to swallow and move his tongue and facial muscles. She also did a few other movements. I could see him working hard to make the connections and get messages from his brain to his mouth, eyes and hands. They may be baby steps but they feel so big! We are headed in the right direction again!

-Christine

3/24/13

Here's a picture of Garrett. The last few days have been pretty quiet.

March 21

Garrett is getting settled. We have been meeting with staff for evaluations so his care plan can be established. So far, he will have speech therapy and physical therapy three times a week.  I am not sure how often he will be having recreation and occupation therapy. The recreational therapist is here five days a week and she has assistants here on the weekend so I think rec therapy will be most days.

Visitors are welcome.  If the door is locked there is a doorbell on the right side. The doors are locked at night and I can't remember if they get locked at 7:00 or 8:00.

I am not sure how long we will be here tomorrow. It is Camille's birthday and we plan to celebrate after she gets home from school.
-Christine

March 20

We moved Garrett yesterday.  It was a long day.  Garrett's heart rate was too high to move him the first time the ambulance came so the nurse sent them away.  It took about an hour and a half and several medications but his heart rate came down.  When we got here he started to storm again and it took a while to get his heart rate back down again so we were here late.  I think it might take a week for him to get used to his new home.  We have not found out the specifics on visitors yet but will post them as soon as we can.

Today Garrett had a bath.  I believe it is the first real bath since the accident.  And he really enjoyed it.  The tub here has jets which clearly felt nice to him.  He is very relaxed right now.

Thanks for all of the prayers!
-Christine

March 18

Yesterday was a day of rest for Garrett. His heart rate has been a little elevated these last two days.  Maybe it has something to do with the pending move.  We will be moving tomorrow to a new care facility.  It will be a little closer to home for us and we are grateful for that.  Today Garrett opened his right eye more than I have seen.  I am waiting for the time when his heart rate will stay  lower and he will not need so much medication.  I think that will change a lot for him and speed up his recovery.
-Christine

3/16/13

Garrett opened his eyes a little bit and blinked when the therapist asked him to yesterday. We're seeing little improvements that give us hope.

3/14/13

Today was a good day. Garrett opened his eyes halfway and showed signs of pre-tracking (following the flashlight). He had his therapy outside today which I think was a good thing. We had him laying down on the lawn (I think he took a nap!) and I was on drool duty. He's looking really relaxed now.

March 13

Today we gave Garrett a haircut.  His hair is all the same length now and he looks good.  And he now only has his trache and the stomach peg. That is a big improvement from everything he had at the beginning of this adventure!  Taking moment by moment...day by day.  Thanks for all that has been done on our behalf.

March 12

This is a picture taken after physical therapy today. Doesn't he look relaxed?

March 11

Garrett went to the gym this morning.  While there they put him in the standing frame which is a contraption that holds him in a semi-standing position.  He handled it well and then he got his stretches in.  The rest of the day has been quiet.

March 10

Camille has kept this blog positive.  I commend her for this.  It also helps me to continue to watch for progress.  I would like to keep this blog that way but it might be time for my REALITY CHECK.

If in my excitement Friday I gave you the idea that Garrett has woken up, has his eyes open and is capable of interacting with people, I am very sorry.  He is not.  I knew that as great as that day was, I would need to hold on to it for a time to keep my hope.  The next question I think people probably have is something like, when will he wake up?  The answer is that no one knows.  The only thing we can do is wait and see.  It is frustrating to say the least but it's what we are dealing with.

I know that everyone has many questions.  When people have visited I have tried to answer questions.  I think it is important to let everyone know that I have no clue what I am talking about.  I have probably given a great deal of misinformation.  I am no neurologist and have no intentions of becoming one.  So if you simply must have answers, I would suggest you do some research on the following:  traumatic brain injury, shirring of the brain, neurological storms and the Rancho Los Amigos Scale.  I will warn you, it does not paint a pretty picture.

The most important thing I have learned is that our brains are as unique and individual as our finger prints.  So you just never know what the possibilities (positive or otherwise) are until time has passed.   Garrett has the fact that he is young going for him and he has a lot of time to heal.  That is what I am counting on and why I choose to focus on his progress.

I read something from our Rancho material that I think is important to share.  "He may understand parts of what you are saying. Therefore, be careful what you say in front of the individual."  I believe Garrett is sometimes in a state where he does understand and I know that he will continue to improve.  We must have patience.  I felt from the beginning that this will be a long, long process but it will be worth the waiting.

The best thing we can do now is keep praying for Garrett.  Thank you.
-Christine

I now return you to our regularly scheduled POSITIVE blog.

3/9/13

Garrett is having a quiet day. He has been storming, but he's been given his medicine and his heart rate is coming back down. Garrett probably won't go to the gym again until Monday.

March 8

Today was fabulous!!! Garrett had his eyes half open when we were getting ready for physical therapy.  And when the therapist brought his hand towards Garrett's face, he blinked.  He was registering the movement!  Therapy went really well and we saw exciting things.  And then when they were getting him ready to be moved to the wheel chair was the very best of all- Garrett must have felt unstable because all of a sudden he threw both arms out and kind of sat up and opened his eyes! Happy, happy day!! I am so glad to have this wonderful blessing!
-Christine

March 7

Garrett did not go down to the gym yesterday. He was too tense so they just worked with him in his room. Today he went down to the gym and was stretched. I really enjoy that. He was not as loose today as he was Tuesday but he was better than yesterday. I am so thankful for Garrett's nurses and therapists. They help by pointing out the tiny improvements and then I can see we are moving in the right direction! This is such a long, slow process. I do think it is just a matter of time until he begins to wake up. It is easier to wait when you can see even small improvements.

While I was in Garrett's room the other day I was looking at his birthday present from Savanna and reading the scripture on it. It made stop and think for a minute. When Camille came by I pointed it out to her. She then explained that Savanna had asked her about some of Garrett's favorites. Camille said she was real sly about asking and Garrett told her his favorite scripture was Isaiah 41:10.

10 ¶Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Old Testament, Isaiah, Chapter 41)

Thanks Garrett, I needed the reminder. And thank you Savanna and Camille!

-Christine

New Picture

Here is the photo from today.

March 5

Today Garrett was moved to a cardio chair and taken down to the gym. While down there he was rolled outside and got some sunshine. It was a good day to be out. The therapists gave him a good stretching and he relaxed a lot. He was the most relaxed I have seen him in the last couple of weeks. It is important for him to relax because it gives his brain some quiet time to heal. Other than that everything is the same.

I tried to post an updated picture but I can't figure it out. I will have Camille do it when we get home.

-Christine

3/1/13

Today Garrett was moving his left arm quite a bit. He hasn't opened his eyes yet but we were glad to see some movement.