Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Sunshine and warm temperatures!!! And Mark enjoyed both today. We were finally able to take him outside in his special chair. It was a treat. We went to the hospital patio for a short time and although he complained about his hip pain, he did enjoy being outside. Later he told everyone that he had played basketball and went to the zoo. We did see the basketball court next to the patio, but the only animal we encountered was a squirrel.

When we got back to his room, he had lunch and a nap. Then it was on to physical therapy. He sat at the edge of the bed and held himself up by just balancing with his hands for ten minutes which was very good. He wore his leg stabilizers twice for 30 minutes and 40 minutes which was also good.

Reading seems to take his mind off the pain, so we did that until the doctors came around for grand rounds. They were discussing his memory at one point and asked if there had been any improvement in his short term function. I mentioned that he was better with names and especially remembered the names of the nurses and aides he really liked best. He then piped up that he had selective memory. This brought roars of laughter from the group. When they asked him other questions he responded well. When the subject of food was brought up he told Dr. Scott, the head of the unit, that most of it tasted like it had been in a warehouse for six months before it was served. Naturally, this brought another round of laughter. I think he liked the audience. Ever the comedian.

Tomorrow they will remove his cast and put on a new one. Then the therapy will take place in the PT room with additional equipment. Hopefully, tomorrow will be like today and we will score another "nine".