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.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Quick Update
They have moved Carolyn from RIOSA. After many, many hours of searching, having evaluations done, and fighting with the insurance, Carolyn was moved to Town & Country Manor (in Boerne) a couple of days ago. I think they said she is on the West side in room 75a. From what I've been told she seems to be settling in well and still seems to be improving. Her recognition of people and names is improving and her conversations seems to be becoming more coherent. She still has some "bad" days and has quite a bit more progress to make physically but hopefully that should come with time. I'm sure she would appreciate as many visitors as she can get, especially since (at least for now) she doesn't have therapy consuming most of her day. Hopefully, since she is closer to everyone, it will make it a little more convenient. Thank you for all the visits that she has had and the time that everyone has taken to show your support.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Yet Another Move
Well Lara, my sister, went in for a regular visit with Carolyn and a much needed conversation with the social worker. Much to our surprise the social worker told Lara that the insurance had stopped covering Carolyn's care about a week prior and that we needed to transfer Carolyn tomorrow (this all happened last week). Needless to say we were taken by surprise. Especially since we had been trying to connect with Carolyn's social worker/ case manager for about three weeks. We're not sure what would have happened if Lara hadn't insisted on see the social worker when she did. As anyone who has visited Carolyn in the last few days can tell you, Carolyn is still at Healthsouth. We knew that she was probably going to need to be transferred to a long term skilled nursing facility sometime in the next few months so we had already started looking into them. We just had no idea that it would happen this quickly. We are trying to get her placed at Town & Country Manor in Boerne. She will need a private room because of her needs. They think there should be a room available within the next week. I'll post more information when I get it.
Now for an update on Carolyn herself. Apparently the physician overseeing her care decided to discontinue some of her medications about three weeks ago. We have been trying to speak to her doctor for about a month and have not had any of our calls or notes answered. We don't know why it was stopped because Carolyn had seemed to be responding well to it and since it has been stopped has shown some signs of slight regression. She has become a lot less cooperative with the therapists and nursing staff. Because she has not been doing well with therapy and had stopped progressing, the insurance felt that she was no longer benefiting from the rehab hospital. Once she is settle in a skilled nursing facility we will try to arrange for her to continue therapy. One of the reasons we are trying to get her in at Town & Country is that Carolyn's primary care physician (pre-accident) makes regular visits there. Hopefully, having a knowledge of Carolyn before the accident will help in her treatment. Physically Carolyn is doing OK, but to my knowledge, she hasn't seemed to make much more progress cognitively.
Mike was scheduled to go in and had his kidney stone taken care of yesterday. Unfortunately I have not been able to get a hold of him to see how he is doing. He has been receiving some at-home physical/occupational therapy and is continuing to improve. He also seems to be handling things better emotionally as well. I'll have to post another update for him as soon as I am able to get a hold of him.
Thanks to all who continue to support us and provide help to Mike and Carolyn. I continue to be amazed at the generosity of those around us.
Now for an update on Carolyn herself. Apparently the physician overseeing her care decided to discontinue some of her medications about three weeks ago. We have been trying to speak to her doctor for about a month and have not had any of our calls or notes answered. We don't know why it was stopped because Carolyn had seemed to be responding well to it and since it has been stopped has shown some signs of slight regression. She has become a lot less cooperative with the therapists and nursing staff. Because she has not been doing well with therapy and had stopped progressing, the insurance felt that she was no longer benefiting from the rehab hospital. Once she is settle in a skilled nursing facility we will try to arrange for her to continue therapy. One of the reasons we are trying to get her in at Town & Country is that Carolyn's primary care physician (pre-accident) makes regular visits there. Hopefully, having a knowledge of Carolyn before the accident will help in her treatment. Physically Carolyn is doing OK, but to my knowledge, she hasn't seemed to make much more progress cognitively.
Mike was scheduled to go in and had his kidney stone taken care of yesterday. Unfortunately I have not been able to get a hold of him to see how he is doing. He has been receiving some at-home physical/occupational therapy and is continuing to improve. He also seems to be handling things better emotionally as well. I'll have to post another update for him as soon as I am able to get a hold of him.
Thanks to all who continue to support us and provide help to Mike and Carolyn. I continue to be amazed at the generosity of those around us.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Long Overdue Update
Well, I'm not sure how many people are still checking this blog but I thought I would post an update anyway. I have to confess that it has become increasingly more difficult to put what is happening into words; as evidenced by my lack of posting updates. I think we had all hoped that Carolyn and Mike would be well into the recovery process by now and that most of the hard part would be behind them. Even though Carolyn's degree of functioning can be seen as nothing less than a miracle, she still can do very little to care for herself and her level of ability to communicate has seemed to significantly slow it's progression.
Carolyn can still talk. She seems to still go through little "windows" of awareness. She will answer some questions but most of her answers aren't always appropriate to the question. We're still hoping and praying that those windows will become more frequent and become longer as well. The doctors say that she will probably do well. We just don't know how their definition of well compares to ours. I'll post an update with more updates when I receive them.
Mike has been through a lot the past few weeks. He had his neck surgery about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The surgery went well even though I don't think he had as much of an immediate recovery of his range of motion as he had hoped. He will still need a great deal of physical therapy to regain his movement and strength. He was at Methodist hospital for about a week. He spent the following week at Healthsouth and was then discharged home. He had been home for about a week and was just admitted back to the hospital this last Monday. He has a kidney stone and upper respiratory infection. He has had a very rough time since he has been home and has needed and welcomed all of the help that he has received from friends and neighbors. He does not know how long he will be in the hospital but has been told by his doctor that he will have home health assistance once he gets discharged. Because of his surgery he is not supposed to drive for a couple of months and he shouldn't lift anything heavier than a milk carton for eight months. We hope that will get the treatment that he needs and regain his strength quickly.
There have been so many friends and neighbors to help (especially since Mike went home). We are extremely greatful for everything that has been done to help. None of us had any idea that this would be so hard. We are greatful for all of you that have tried to make it easier.
Carolyn can still talk. She seems to still go through little "windows" of awareness. She will answer some questions but most of her answers aren't always appropriate to the question. We're still hoping and praying that those windows will become more frequent and become longer as well. The doctors say that she will probably do well. We just don't know how their definition of well compares to ours. I'll post an update with more updates when I receive them.
Mike has been through a lot the past few weeks. He had his neck surgery about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The surgery went well even though I don't think he had as much of an immediate recovery of his range of motion as he had hoped. He will still need a great deal of physical therapy to regain his movement and strength. He was at Methodist hospital for about a week. He spent the following week at Healthsouth and was then discharged home. He had been home for about a week and was just admitted back to the hospital this last Monday. He has a kidney stone and upper respiratory infection. He has had a very rough time since he has been home and has needed and welcomed all of the help that he has received from friends and neighbors. He does not know how long he will be in the hospital but has been told by his doctor that he will have home health assistance once he gets discharged. Because of his surgery he is not supposed to drive for a couple of months and he shouldn't lift anything heavier than a milk carton for eight months. We hope that will get the treatment that he needs and regain his strength quickly.
There have been so many friends and neighbors to help (especially since Mike went home). We are extremely greatful for everything that has been done to help. None of us had any idea that this would be so hard. We are greatful for all of you that have tried to make it easier.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sorry!!!
OK...so I'm really sorry that there has been such a gap in the posts. This time I have more of an excuse than just being busy. A few days after my last post both of my youngest boys got the stomach flu that is going around. Then, about the time they were getting over it, I had to go to the emergency room with what ended up being a very large kidney stone. I spent a couple of days in the hospital and had surgery to have the stone removed. I've been on quite a bit of pain medication. I probably could have posted something over the last day or so but was afraid that it may not have made much sense. So.....enough of my story, back to Carolyn and Mike.
The last couple of days have been pretty exciting for them. Carolyn has progressed enough that HealthSouth has accepted her for rehab. The most exciting part is that they were able to move her into Mike's room. I can't begin to express the joy that Mike had when he realized that she was his new roommate. The road is still long for Carolyn, but at least she is progressing.
Mike has decided to have the surgery on his spine. It is my understanding that it will take place in about two weeks. He will stay at the hospital for about two weeks then go back to HealthSouth. The hope and plan is for him to return home in less than three months. There hasn't been anything determined about Carolyn's time frame. I'm sure there are a lot more factors involved with her treatment.
I will continue to post information as I get it, but new information has slowed down some. So, please continue to check back here for updates. They just may not be as frequent as in the beginning.
We still continue to receive offers of help. They are all greatly appeciated, as is all of the help that we have already receieved. I can not even begin to imagine handling this situation without so much help. Thank you again!!!!!!!!
The last couple of days have been pretty exciting for them. Carolyn has progressed enough that HealthSouth has accepted her for rehab. The most exciting part is that they were able to move her into Mike's room. I can't begin to express the joy that Mike had when he realized that she was his new roommate. The road is still long for Carolyn, but at least she is progressing.
Mike has decided to have the surgery on his spine. It is my understanding that it will take place in about two weeks. He will stay at the hospital for about two weeks then go back to HealthSouth. The hope and plan is for him to return home in less than three months. There hasn't been anything determined about Carolyn's time frame. I'm sure there are a lot more factors involved with her treatment.
I will continue to post information as I get it, but new information has slowed down some. So, please continue to check back here for updates. They just may not be as frequent as in the beginning.
We still continue to receive offers of help. They are all greatly appeciated, as is all of the help that we have already receieved. I can not even begin to imagine handling this situation without so much help. Thank you again!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
GREAT News!!
First, Mike will be able to go to Lifecare tomorrow to visit Carolyn. Their anniversary is Valentine's Day so it will be even more special. He also hasn't seen her in about a month so they should have a good visit.
The "GREAT" news is that, after speaking with Lara and our cousin Carla, I was imformed that Carolyn is speaking. I know, you probably have the same reaction I did......WHAT?!!!!!(jaw-dropping open, tears in the eyes). In preparation for removing her trach the doctors have capped off her trach, so this allows her the ability to move air through the vocal cords. Now...like many things before this, she's not always consistent about it, but for us it's major progress. Most of what she has said are one or two word answers like "yes", "no", "ouch", or something like that. The answers do appear to be appropriate to the questions. Let's all hope and pray that she is lucid enough tomorrow to be able to respond to Mike. The doctors have their weekly meeting tomorrow so I will let everyone know if they have anything new to add to this. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. It looks like they are really working!!!!!!
The "GREAT" news is that, after speaking with Lara and our cousin Carla, I was imformed that Carolyn is speaking. I know, you probably have the same reaction I did......WHAT?!!!!!(jaw-dropping open, tears in the eyes). In preparation for removing her trach the doctors have capped off her trach, so this allows her the ability to move air through the vocal cords. Now...like many things before this, she's not always consistent about it, but for us it's major progress. Most of what she has said are one or two word answers like "yes", "no", "ouch", or something like that. The answers do appear to be appropriate to the questions. Let's all hope and pray that she is lucid enough tomorrow to be able to respond to Mike. The doctors have their weekly meeting tomorrow so I will let everyone know if they have anything new to add to this. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. It looks like they are really working!!!!!!
Monday, February 11, 2008
After Weekend Visit
I got home yesturday afternoon from visiting Carolyn and Mike in San Antonio. My sister also talked with Carolyn's doctor today and got some encouraging words.
Mike, after several days of waiting and several phone calls, has been transferred back to HealthSouth. They are still waiting for his blood work to get back to a normal range so he can have his surgery. He seems to be in relatively good spirits and was happy to have us in town. Once he has the neurosurgery, he will stay at Methodist Hospital for about 2 weeks. Then he will go back to HealthSouth to complete his rehab. He has mentioned, several times, how greatful he is for all the visits, thoughts and prayers. He can get a little "down" sometimes (which is totally understandable considering the circumstances). Every visit, letter, and prayer helps those moments be a little less often.
Carolyn is improving. They have started her on a couple of new medications that seem to be working. She has been responding, occassionally, with a nod or a shake of her head, to questions that she is asked. Her answers seem appropriate to the questions. There are times when it appears that she is focusing on you as you talk to her. She is moving around even more. According to what the doctor has said, she can "see" and "hear" things but there is still a disconnect somewhere and she doesn't usually process what she is seeing and hearing correctly. She has smiled at some comments or jokes that have been made and has evened laughed a couple of times when others in the room have laughed. She has her eyes opened most of the time now, but she mostly still has a blank stare. The doctor has also said that he thinks that she will do well. He said it will be a very slow, very long process, but he is very pleased with her progress and response to the medications.
As those of you in Boerne may have noticed, we moved all of Carolyn's things out of the office this weekend. We still have all of the photos and negatives and files (25 years worth). Over the next few months we will be going through everything to make sure that it is all organized. We (Lara, Monte, Mike, and I) made the decision after several discussions. I know that it will be really difficult for some of you to see that space empty (I know it was for me), but please know that because of the circumstances, we felt it is for the best. This does not mean that Carolyn will never do photography again, but since we know that it will be many months until she will be capable of doing it, we want to simplify things as much as possible. Thank you to everyone who helped in the move and cleaning. We also are very thankful for all of those who have helped in so many other ways. This is never an easy situation for anyone but with so much help, love, and support it does make it more bearable. THANK YOU!!!!!
Mike, after several days of waiting and several phone calls, has been transferred back to HealthSouth. They are still waiting for his blood work to get back to a normal range so he can have his surgery. He seems to be in relatively good spirits and was happy to have us in town. Once he has the neurosurgery, he will stay at Methodist Hospital for about 2 weeks. Then he will go back to HealthSouth to complete his rehab. He has mentioned, several times, how greatful he is for all the visits, thoughts and prayers. He can get a little "down" sometimes (which is totally understandable considering the circumstances). Every visit, letter, and prayer helps those moments be a little less often.
Carolyn is improving. They have started her on a couple of new medications that seem to be working. She has been responding, occassionally, with a nod or a shake of her head, to questions that she is asked. Her answers seem appropriate to the questions. There are times when it appears that she is focusing on you as you talk to her. She is moving around even more. According to what the doctor has said, she can "see" and "hear" things but there is still a disconnect somewhere and she doesn't usually process what she is seeing and hearing correctly. She has smiled at some comments or jokes that have been made and has evened laughed a couple of times when others in the room have laughed. She has her eyes opened most of the time now, but she mostly still has a blank stare. The doctor has also said that he thinks that she will do well. He said it will be a very slow, very long process, but he is very pleased with her progress and response to the medications.
As those of you in Boerne may have noticed, we moved all of Carolyn's things out of the office this weekend. We still have all of the photos and negatives and files (25 years worth). Over the next few months we will be going through everything to make sure that it is all organized. We (Lara, Monte, Mike, and I) made the decision after several discussions. I know that it will be really difficult for some of you to see that space empty (I know it was for me), but please know that because of the circumstances, we felt it is for the best. This does not mean that Carolyn will never do photography again, but since we know that it will be many months until she will be capable of doing it, we want to simplify things as much as possible. Thank you to everyone who helped in the move and cleaning. We also are very thankful for all of those who have helped in so many other ways. This is never an easy situation for anyone but with so much help, love, and support it does make it more bearable. THANK YOU!!!!!
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