Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Yesterday marked month five since Mark's accident and three months since we have been here. It seems so strange, but when I went home last time, that felt like the hotel and not the norm. As Mark says, that means we have been at this too long. Unfortunately, there's a long way to go yet. They have now extended our stay until mid-June and that, too, is a marshmallow date according to the doctor.

They are now referring to Mark as their "poster boy" for rehab. This unit has a number of ambulatory patients who come here for evaluation since there are a lot of closed head brain injuries that go undetected. There are also several patients who are semi-comatose and not at the rehab stage. Which leaves Mark as the current star pupil. And, he never misses an opportunity to bring up the fact!

His therapies are very varied. He does PT, of course, but also does things like going to Wal-Mart today with speech therapy to practice buying things like a new wallet and shampoo. Then there's occupational therapy which involves things like cutting tomatoes at a cookout. The recreational therapists involve the patients in games and trivia contests to foster socialization. They really try to cover all the areas of everyday life.

We had a visit today from our cousin Alison and she brought cards made by her students. We sat outside and read them with pleasure. They were so funny. We had another bunch earlier in the week from Aunt Barby's class and enjoyed those as well. It is so much fun to read what the kids have to say and they are all very touching.