Danny's house

He made it out to his "house" last weekend to work on Denny's truck. It is unreal how much time we used to spend there. Out in Cali. before we had Autum the only night we were in the house was when That 70's Show was on. We've allways spent a lot of time in " his house" .
He was so happy organizing his tools. I think it was a little hard on him not being able to wrench but he still had a blast. Carlos broght his son over and they helped get the truck work started. Danny's looking forward to this weekend to because Crystal will be here and Carlos is coming out to work on the truck again.

Boy in Love

100_0352
Originally uploaded by chargermedic.

This is apparently the new puppy. I haven't met the little girl yet, but I keep seeing pictures on flickr.

Daniel's doing well. Christie should update!

Valley View :)

When Danny and I go to Monte Vista we usually never want to leave but this time was so much worse. We went to Valley View for the first time and relaxed. It was hella cool. Danny got to float around in the water and got a shower (thanks to sister :) ). He loved it, we all did especially Autum who got to run around naked :) I actaully RELAXED I think my speech might have even slowed down to only a couple MPH instead of hundreds of MPH lol. Danny had so much fun were hoping to eventually move closer to the springs so that we can take Danny more often it's a great work out for him.

wet noodle arms he he

Danny went to pt today in rocky ford and everyone was soo excited about how much stronger he's getting. He did pull ups, we had to hold him but he lifted all of his weight. Kathy (pt) said he'd have wet noodle arms when he got home. I'm not shure yet cuz he's taking a nap. Ha Ha. He also did some assited walking with us moving his leg for him. His transfers are also getting soo much eaiser. :)

walkin

Danny walked today for the first time he had alot of help and we had to move his bad leg for him but he did it. :)

Weekends

I finally found a moment to post. I went to hang out with everybody last weekend. Saturday Autum went with mom and I to see KaiLani's ballet recital. It was so adorable, and Autum was great sitting through the whole thing with hardly a peep. I should have taken pictures after the show, but I only took a few for the whole weekend. Mom took Autum and I to have hot chocolate before we went and picked up dinner. After dinner (Daniel really liked the Kung Pao Tofu) we kicked Christie out to get some alone time. She's doing such an amazing job taking care of the household. That night Daniel rested a bit while I got Autum ready for bed and did the evening rituals with her. She's so good about going to bed at night. Once I had her in bed, Daniel and I made a pot of coffee and visited until Christie came home. It was comforting.

I took a couple of pictures at breakfast...they're on flickr:

The shell is off !!!! FINALLY

Yesterday Dan got his back brace off. He is so happy, he sat at the dinner table and rubbed his stomach and said i'm gonna eat tonight. One step closer to normal, well abnormal cuz he was never really normal to begin with. Thank God. :)

Thanksgiving

We had a very nice visit for the holiday. I spent two nights and brought my friend Melissa along. On Thursday I transferred Daniel to and from the Nissan twice. It was fun, funny, and I finally found out that I could do it. He's got such a great sense of humor. We all end up laughing half the time we're together. Lately I've been looking for the positive side effects of all the bad that's happened. Two for today: Daniel laughes readily without embarassment and sings outloud to the stereo! I love that boy so much. I'm so glad that we had another thanksgiving together.

Daniel got a haircut!! He looks so much more like himself. I was happily surprised at how great he looked when Christie finished:

Real food and water?

Yes Dan can now have real food and normal liquids. He is so happy, I think he was starting to feel like a baby bird. He eating more now to, hopefully he'll start to gain some weight. Dec. 1st he has an appointment to see if he can get out of his back brace.

new tests soon

Dan's next swallow test will be next thursday, I told him if can eat regular food I'll pic up some "bamboo panda" on the way home. His Dr's appt. is on wensday, I allready have a list of ???'s for him. Hopefully he'll be able to get the back brace off in the next couple of weeks. We went for a walk today the weather was great, but we did decide when we buy a house that we are going to walk around the neighborhood first and check for dogs. We have a lot of dogs in our town that people just let run around. We counted 8 in a 3 block radius and that diden't enclude the ones that were in a yard. It did get Danny to talk louder though. lol. Autums new thing is to ride on daddys lap when we go for walks. It's to cute.

Standing Strong

Christie can come on and give us a real update, but I talked to mom for a few minutes today. She was visiting with Daniel while Christie was finishing the testing for her summer classes. She said that he stood up against the sink twice during physical therapy. I'm so looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with them. I'm looking forward to a time that they can come visit us.

wow

In the beggining of all of this I wasen't shure if I would ever see a picture of me and Dan again. Out of all of the pictures we have in the last 5 years this one is my favorite.

Weekend pictures...

Click on the image to see a larger size and go to the flickr site.

At home

This weekend we went to see Daniel, Christie, and Autum at home. It was a nice visit. I repeatedly told him how nice it was to visit him at home. He's doing well. They have some obstacles to work around and lots of goals to work toward, but generally, they are all happy to be home. I took some pictures that I'll upload tonight. Before we left for the benefit dinner, we took a walk to the post office. We bundled up and walked, taking turns holding Autum's hand, holding Autum away from the neighborhood dogs, and pushing Daniel's wheelchair. He's using his upper body a lot more, and maneuvering his wheelchair a lot more by himself. He said that he's feeling more in his right side, but still can't really feel his right foot much. He said that sometimes he can't tell if there's a shoe on it or if the foot is on the ground or not. When we left, Autum was playing in her room, Daniel was resting a bit, and Christie was making dinner. I'm planning to go stay with them for Thanksgiving this year.

Bedtime story...

On July 25th Autum told the nurse that her daddy had to come home and put her to bed that night...well, he took a few (15) weeks to get there, but tonight he read her a bedtime story and put her to bed. I couldn't stop crying when I got the voicemail...it just made me so happy to know that they're finding their normal in their home filled with love.

Tomorrow we're going to La Junta to help with the benefit dinner that mom's putting on. I'm glad we can help. I'll try to take lots of pictures of Daniel at home (he's so happy to be there finally), and Christie and Autum with him there too.

Tomorrow's the day!!

Christie's bringing Daniel home tomorrow. They're both excited to be sleeping at home together in their own bed after fifteen weeks away. I'm typing this with little time to spare, but I wanted everybody to know that he's heading home.

He has another swallow test scheduled for a week from the time they get home. Christie has worked with the doctors to set up home health people to come in and help. I'm sending them all the wonderful good loving energy that I have inside.

If you'd like to connect with them, I suggest you write them real physical paper letters. (PO Box 1, Cheraw, 81030) They'll be able to read them together as a family as opposed to phone calls that are sometimes difficult. Anyway, I think it's a good idea so I'm going to start writing to them next week since I'm going to see them on Saturday. I'll do my best to take lots of pictures.

Daniel just had his swallow test.

I guess we can't always get good news. He does have infiltration of food in his lower right lung. The way Christie explained it, that lung is the one that has the most gravity to it so it'll collect anything that goes down the wrong pipe. Unfortunately this is the lung he's had so much trouble with as far as collapse. So, they downgraded his food intake back to honey thick and pureed. He's going to be so disappointed. They'll have to keep him on this type of food for three weeks and then he can get another test.

November 3rd!

If all goes as the doctor's plan then Daniel will be headed home on Thursday, November 3rd. They're training Christie right now to deal with the different issues that might come up. She said that she transferred him herself yesterday and they are getting a good routine down. He's using his left leg a lot more. He wiggled and moved it more than I'd seen before when we got there on Saturday night. His right leg still just barely wiggles, and he said that while he's standing he still can't feel the weight on it. He says that he has to ask the therapist if his leg is all the way down. Last I heard he was up to 9 minutes of standing in PT with the machine. I only took a few photos this time. Here's a sample and a link:



Oh, and I told him I was updating the blog today and he said to tell everybody "HI!" and that he can't wait to get home :)

Family Aspects

1. Recognizing the Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury.

The person with a brain injury may experience various changes that can significantly alter their lifestyle. These changes do not only affect the person with the injury but the entire family and anyone who is emotionally involved with the person who has been injured. Families most often have to come to grips with the significant cognitive, physical, personality, and emotional changes exhibited by a family member who has been injured. With these changes comes a greater responsibility in dealing with new challenges that arise due to a traumatic brain injury. The family must be able to prepare themselves in dealing with the significant emotional and physical demands over a period of time. Some of these demands include recognizing that a brain injury survivor may never be the same, taking on additional financial and household chores, and dealing with the healthcare system on a regular basis. Recognizing the affects and changes on the survivor and family members is the first step towards coping and dealing with a brain injury.


2. Recognizing that Brain Injury is long-term.

Survivors of brain injury typically experience rapid improvement in the first three to six months following injury. After this period many individuals become frustrated when they continue to deal with cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Kreutzer, J.S. and Kolakowsky-Hayner (2001) report that individuals who sustained a brain injury and adjusted well possessed the following traits:

"They accept that they will not be the same person they were before the brain injury"
"They readily acknowledge personal limitations"
"They do not get angry with themselves because they are not doing better"
"They set attainable goals and develop a pattern of success"
"They focus more on what they have and less on what other people have"
"They learn to appreciate unpaid activities such as visiting, cooking, housekeeping, gardening, and hobbies"
"They focus on building strong relationships with members of their family"
"They have supportive and accepting family members who recognize their positive features"


3. Extending the Recovery Process.

The recovery process can be extended by realizing that everyone has the ability to learn no matter how severe a brain injury. Through practice many individuals can continue to make gains and learn how to deal with daily living and work situations effectively. This along with maintaining a healthy lifestyle (i.e. maintaining a healthy diet, giving up drinking alcohol and smoking) can go a long way in helping an individual and family make adjustments towards the changes involved after a brain injury.



4. Avoid Giving Conflicting Advice.

Family members often provide advice for their loved ones as a means of helping. However, even though many individuals have good intentions, contradictory advice can make a situation more difficult to deal with. For instance, a person with brain injury may be told to take time off from work to help him recover, while another person tells him he needs to work hard in order to get back to work. Family members and health care professionals should communicate together to help reduce the chances of providing conflicting advice, and to help provide the survivor with the best possible means of returning to a well-adjusted lifestyle.

Reviewed by: Andrew Sikiric, MA
Research Assistant
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

Quick update

Talked to Christie yesterday, but I didn't have time to update. She said that the doctor cleared Daniel to sit all the way up in bed without the brace. He ordered x-rays so we can find out when the brace comes off for good. They took out the stomach stint completely. It's gone! This is huge :) The last I heard (from Christie) is that the doctor thinks that Daniel will eventually walk, but it could be six months or more.

They had a family meeting today with mom and she'll update me this evening. As long as we connect and I know more, I'll post before going to bed tonight. The problems with his right side are related to the brain injury. This is a good thing because stuff relating to the spinal injury are less likely to change at this point. He's using his left leg just a bit more, and he can still barely wiggle his right toe. He said that he still doesn't feel like he's putting much weight on his right side when he's doing the standing exercise. They stand him up in a machine:

It's really cool...