Friday, June 6, 2008

Well, the weeks are flying by and Mark's progress has become much better in the last couple of weeks. It seems like all the pieces of the therapy puzzle are finding their places in the large picture.

Today Mark's left wrist was put in a cast to straighten it out some. This will allow his hand to work better by aligning the wrist in its proper place. Then he was outfitted with his new DynaSplint leg brace. This splint replaces the bulky cast he had to wear on the right leg. They will increase the extension in two weeks from the bend it currently is set at, and then every week after that it will be extended again. There is constant pressure stretching the hamstring and it will slowly lengthen each time the setting is changed. He actually felt very comfortable in it today and liked the fact that it is a lot cooler than the cast. The temperatures here have been in the low 90s and humid. Oh well, I guess we are paying for the wonderful winter.

He also had a SPECT scan today. He was injected with radioisotope dye and then the brain was scanned. This shows the blood flow to the veins and arteries. The doctors explained that they usually don't do this type of scan on someone like Mark who is considered high functioning after the TBI. However, they felt it would be beneficial to see exactly how he has healed and then be able to use it as a tool for the other patients who have had the test and are still in emerging comas as a comparison. They have also decided to try the drug Aricept to help improve his short term memory. This is the most common drug used to treat Alzheimer patients. Of course, when Mark heard this, he laughed and said it just went along with his osteoporosis and the fact that he lives in Florida, eats dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon, and goes to bed at 7 o'clock!

We also found out that he has finally tested negative for MRSA and is no longer considered "isolated". However, his roommate still has the "cooties" as they call them. The ward is now completely full and Mark and his roommate wanted to stay in the same room. This prompted the doctors to convince the lab to test his roommate early and hopefully, he will come up negative as well. Mark's roommate is a nice guy with the same droll sense of humor. Go figure.

We are planning some fun little outings this weekend since the Ride-Away company has given us a van for the weekend again. Waffles are on the top of Mark's list, so I think there will be a brunch trip one day at least. Happy Weekend to all!