Long Awaited Update

I haven't updated you recently because there hasn't been much change to report. Mike has been doing well. He still has limited strength and movement in his left arm and is still work to regain full strength in his right. But, overall he has been doing well and has been able to visit Carolyn at the nursing home on a daily basis.

Yesterday Carolyn had an appointment with a neurologist. We had thought that she should have seen a neurologist a long time ago but the doctors at RIOSA assured us that it wasn't necessary. After her move to Town & Country, her doctor recommended that she be seen to assess her progress and what her potential for continued progress will be.

Throughout this whole ordeal we have tried to be optomistic about recovery. We had several nurses, technicians, and even a doctor or two, tell us that the most progress (about 80%) will occur in the first 3 to 6 months. Then, you can expect to see continued, slow progress up to about a year. The neurologist said that he has seen progress made up until 3 years post-trauma. But, he agrees that most of the progress is made in the first 3 to 6 months. The doctor had some additional scans and tests done. Here are the details of the results.

Carolyn has numerous areas of scar tissue on her brain. There is even a very, very small spot of her brain that is missing (very small but is evident on the MRI). This is due to the extensive bleeding she had from the accident. The heaviest amount of scar tissue is located in the speech center of the brain. The doctor was actually surprised that she can speak as much as she does. He said that there really isn't much that he can do for her right now, other than track her progress and make sure she isn't regressing. As with all head injuries, it is very hard to tell what her ultimate condition will be but he led my sister to believe (from his comments) that any progress she makes over the next couple of years will most likely be minimal. Wow...that was hard to say.

We have asked for (and received) so many miracles along the way. It's difficult to think about the prospect of her needing nursing home level care indefinately. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that have been offered on Carolyn and Mike's behalf. All we can hope and pray for now is for those miracles to continue.