November 11, 2006 at 11:24 AM EST

Justin got to see a physical therapist 3 times, speech and occupational 2 times at the house this past week. They all 3 were quite impressed with him. On Friday the physical therapist worked with Justin on walking the stairs. He did a great job walking up but it was harder for him to walk down them.

 

 

Health South called on Friday and Justin will be starting outpatient theraphy with them starting on Monday. Well first they have to all 3 evaulate him and then set up a schedule. All 3 of the therapist that came to the house were great but I think Health South has more equipment and it will be better for him there.

 

Justin likes to go on "road trips". I took him to the mall yesterday. Today he wanted to go to the Cov Cath - Highlands game but the weather is to nasty and it will be way to crowded. It will be on TV so he can still watch the game.

 

I went to the Medicade office on Monday. I got Justin a form of Medicade called waiver Medicade. It was effective starting November 1st.

November 01, 2006 at 08:16 AM EST

Justin's discharge from Health South went really smooth. He is a little more high maintenance than I thought he would be. Besides his tube feeding every 4 hours he is on 10 different meds.

 

He is so happy to be home. The first thing he said when he got home was "Mom it sure is great being home, I feel like I was gone forever." He is all set up with the bigscreen, cable and his PS2. He wants to catch up on some movies too so I went and got him 6. He is now ready to get on the internet too. I'm hoping tonight one of his buddies will help him out with that.

 

He is sleeping good at night. Monday night he only got up once and last night he slept from 10 pm to 6 am this morning. I have not been sleeping good. I hear every sound he makes. It will just take a little while for me to feel comfortable that he will be fine while he is sleeping. He told me yesterday that I needed to take the day off work and just vegitate. So I took his advice and it was nice.

 

Now that he is home - he has set his next goal and that is getting rid of the feeding tube. I still have not gotten his outpatient theraphy set up. Health South will not have a speech therapist available for a couple of weeks. So they set us up with an in home care program and they came to the house yesterday, they also did not have a speech therapist available. Hopefully I will get something set up today.

 

 

 

 

I know this post is a copy, not coming directly from ole 72's mom's mouth,.... However, I do have some movies, and I've bought quite a few sense his accident. If there is a DVD he wishes to see or a list he's curious about let me know. If I don't own it yet, well I'm always looking for a new one, and even more so, someone to watch it with....

So glad he is home. Still sending prayers and angels.

November 18, 2006 at 10:03 AM EST

Justin did out patient therapy on Monday and Friday. On Monday grandma and I stuck around and waited. On Friday Grandma dropped him off then went back to pick him up. It takes about 3 1/2 hours for his therapy session. Each therapy last 45 minutes to an hour. So when he gets a break between sessions he goes to the nurses station to hang out with them.

 

Justin continues to get stronger and wants to do more each day. He has been getting on the computer but is having a hard time seeing certain things. I need to get him an eye appointment. Since the accident he is not able to see small print.

 

The speech therapist is planning on scheduling him another swallowing eval in early December. Justin can't wait. So keep your fingers crossed that he passes. It would be so nice for him to be able to eat at Christmas. Just one more thing that we all take for granted being able to eat.

 

The glow of inspiration warms us; it is a holy rapture.

November 24, 2006 at 05:32 PM EST

Starting on Monday Justin has a set schedule at Health South. He will be getting therapy every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. He walked with a cane at therapy on Thusday. We still don't know when his swallow eval is going to be. The Speech therapist says at the beginning of December so in about 2 weeks is how I figure it. He want's to eat so bad but I don't want the test to be to soon. If he fails he will have to wait awhile before he would get another one.

 

He laughed for the first time on Tuesday. It wasn't really a laugh but a snicker. All I know is that it was beautiful. His buddy Chuck had come over for a visit and I don't know what they were up to but all I know is he had Justin snickering. On Wednesday night Justin yawned and a tear fell. This is another thing that he has not be able to do. We have to put eyedrops in his eyes every 4 hours because of the dry eyes.

 

We went to Grandma Bonnye's for Thanksgiving. Justin played in 2 Texas Hold Em Games and came in second place both times!!

 

Justin - Be stong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord is with you in whatever you do. I love you!

Justin and the fam is still in my thoughts and prayers. Stay strong.

Sounds like you have alot to be thankful for.:thumb:

December 05, 2006 at 09:40 PM EST

Just a quick update. Justin passed his swallowing eval today. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After we left the hospital we went straight to KFC. He first told me to order him one of everything from the menu. He settled on chicken strips, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese and green beans. He didn't eat it all though. Then tonight for a snack he had scrambled eggs. We also got his glasses today. So now he can see and eat. Thanks for those prayers.

 

Miracles happen every day.

 

 

December 05, 2006 at 09:40 PM EST

Just a quick update. Justin passed his swallowing eval today. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After we left the hospital we went straight to KFC. He first told me to order him one of everything from the menu. He settled on chicken strips, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese and green beans. He didn't eat it all though. Then tonight for a snack he had scrambled eggs. We also got his glasses today. So now he can see and eat. Thanks for those prayers.

What great news! This sort of strikes a chord with me. I remember having one of those swallowing evals. Basically, they have you eat various foods (the one I remember was apple sauce) that are dyed blue. Then they see if you asperate anything.

 

But hearing him describe his first meal brings back a lot of bittersweet memories. Glad to hear that he's progressing so rapidly...and FINALLY able to enjoy food again!

This is wonderful news! I'm so glad to hear that he'll be able to enjoy the delicious food over the holiday season. :thumb:

Great news! :thumb:

I continue to pray for Justin's progress.

Great news! :thumb:

I continue to pray for Justin's progress.

Same here.:thumb:

Keep up the hard work Justin, everyone is still praying for you.

December 12, 2006 at 01:55 PM EST

Justin is doing great with his eating. He wants to eat all the time. Any time we pass a restaurant he wants it. He has put on 2 pounds since he started eating. He wieghs 183 pounds now. He told me he wants to get back into the 200 club. I think it is good he lost weight. I think it makes it easier for him in therapy.

 

I got to see him walk with a cane at therapy on Thursday. He did a really good job. The physical therapist wants us to have him use his walker at the house all the time now and for him only to use his chair in the middle of the night if he has to get up. He zooms all around the house in his chair. When he uses his walker someone has to be with him using a safety belt.

 

We had a meeting on Monday with his nuerophychologist. We discussed Justin's Neurophsychological evaultation and he made some recommendations.

-Justin still needs 24/7 supervision.

-The doctor gave us infomation on where to get different types of help/resources for Head Injury patients.

-He also suggested that Justin would benefit from an intensive cognitive rehabilitation progam. The program is based in a community residential treatment setting. Justin would live in a house with other TBI patients. He would have his own room. They would teach him how to be independent. The Dr. feels that more intense focus should be directed towards Justin's cognitive recovery, especially as it relates to everyday fuctioning. Research shows that neurorehabilation provides the best long term outcomes for greater levels of functioning independence. There are numerous programs available across the country. The 2 closest to us would be in Illionis or West Virginia. I am not ready for Justin to go to one of these programs quite yet. Well I will never be ready but it will be something he needs. Justin does not want to go at all. He is really upset that we are going to ship him away. I think it might be a good idea in the future but not right now. The Dr feels Justin is ready now and said he can only make the recommendation and can't make us act on it.

-He gave us some ideas on making charts and getting Justin a daily planner so he can write things down. I could go on and on with every thing we discussed but it is much to much. I thought I should share a little of some of the things discussed. Keep up those prayers.

 

-More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered prayers

 

Justin: With 1000's of prayers, God's Glory, your determination & your families love and and dedication, you have come such a long way. DON'T STOP NOW!! Take some time and consider your doctor's recommendation. You've come SO FAR, don't settle. I continue to pray for you and your family. Enjoy the Holidays!