Sunday, September 28, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Yesterday marked the 10 month anniversary of Mark's crash and 8 months that we have been in Tampa. Time sure flies, even if you are not having fun!!
Things here are going well and Mark is doing remarkably. Yesterday, he attempted steps for the first time and did well under the circumstances. He did better going up than down, but it was a step in the right direction (pardon the pun). He is getting better and closer at independence. He dresses himself very well and is transferring better each time.
We had two meetings yesterday, one with the Transitional Team and one with the current acute care team. They agree that Mark should now be ready for the Transitional Program between the middle of October to the first of November. The new building will be ready then and Mark would move into an apartment in this new transitional unit with one of the other patients right here on the hospital grounds. Each will have their own bedroom and share a living room and kitchen. All of it is handicapped accessible and the guys basically live on their own, but there are nurses and doctors in attendance and they have their daily therapies. It prepares the patients to live independently when they are discharged. We are looking forward to seeing what the apartment looks like. It is a wonderful concept and although the program is new, it is staffed by folks with lots of experience in transitional programs, so our hope is that it will be beneficial to all.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Well, it's been more than a week since the last blog, and again, I'm sorry that I have been a little lax in writing. It has been a busy week with early mornings and tired evenings.
Mark continues to do better each day, but they have now added a back brace into the therapy again. Mark was not happy about this at all. The therapists felt that he needs to be straighter and that the brace was the final last resort. His back healed with a curve which we are told is common. On top of that the muscles on his right side are more toned than on the left and need to be stretched. It is a bit more comfortable (or as Mark says, more tolerable, it's never comfortable) than the old brace was, but he hates it none the less. When you add this to the new foot/ankle brace and knee brace, he feels a bit overwhelmed.
He and I had a pleasant weekend and were able to go shopping for some new sport sandals which are sturdy enough for him to transfer in, a new iPod, and an alarm clock to plug it into. He has been dressing himself in the morning and getting to therapies on his own.
Yesterday we enjoyed an outing to Sand Key where we were treated to a picnic by an avid fisherman, who had gone out early and caught grouper. There were three fish totalling 20 pounds, and they were stuffed with vegetables and grilled whole. Then they were cut up and we enjoyed the most delicious fish we ever tasted. It was fun for all those that went, and although it was HOT it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Now we are just waiting to see if hurricane Ike arrives in Florida next week. Hopefully, it will skirt around Florida and Tampa in particular!