Hi everyone,
How things can change so quickly in life. A week ago, Dwaine and I were sunning ourselves by the pool at the lovely Lindo Mar resort in Puerto Vallarta. Life consisted of choosing chicken or fish for dinner, and what restaurant we'd be eating it in. Today, the choices are so very different, and none of them pleasant. But that's just one of those constant reminders that you cannot depend on the future to be the future you expect. I learned that ten years ago when I went through my lymphoma, and again a year ago with colon cancer. And Dwaine was with me all that time. The one thing that I can be happy about is that I get the opportunity now to be the helper to him he's always been to me.
Today was a very busy day in Dwaine-land. First, he had physical therapy that focused on walking. So they got him out of bed and walking right down the hallway. And it's a long hallway! Then they gave him a squeezy toy (in the shape of an adorable little blue elephant) and had him work on squeezing that for a while. Then they had another trick where he had to take a lump of play-dough and dig out the marbles that had been buried in it. He was able to get two of the three marbles out before getting too tired from concentrating so hard!
I had some lovely help today from good friend Julie Jensen who was able to stay with Dwaine while I went home and started working on the three-week backlog of mail and bills. Julie kept track of everything all the doctors told to Dwaine so that I could keep up. There's a lot for me to learn as well as Dwaine. I need to learn how to encourage him to mimic everything he does with his right hand with his left hand as well. I need to work with him on doing shoulder shrugs. I need to help him with relearning to eat a variety of food (more about that later).
One thing Dwaine is struggling with is a recurring case of hiccups. I should say Megahiccups. These are multiple spasms of his diaphram that shake his whole body and make it difficult for him to rest properly. He's on a new medication that seems to be working to control them. Let's hope so.
Another problem is eating. The stroke has impacted his ability to swallow, as it does in about 87% of people who have strokes. Most recover their ability to swallow, and Dwaine is already on the road to recovery as he can swallow pureed-type foods like applesauce and mashed potatoes. But it seems eating also triggers his hiccups. So he's just very leery about eating anything at all, and that's a problem. Here's where the Schmidt stubborn-ness isn't such a good thing. I try suggesting all sorts of foods for him to try, thinking one of them might whet his appetite, but so far his answer is always "no." So if anyone has any great ideas, I'm all ears!
Finally, we are looking at a move to another hospital, I'm just not quite sure which one. Ultimately, he'll be admitted to Spalding Rehabilitation, which is one of the best rehab hospitals in the west. So we're both excited about getting there and working hard on learning and moving forward. The question is, will he have to move to St. Joseph's in the interim. He's still on his heparin drip for another day or so, so he has to be in hospital care. Kaiser always wants patients back in their network (which is a great system - I've been treated through two cancer episodes and have had no complaints with Kaiser). But to create another short transition just to get him back into the system doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So I'm trying to keep him here until he can move directly to Spalding. Hopefully we can make that happen.
But for right now, he's getting a really good nap with the TV on, just like at home. The only thing missing is Gracie and Greta sleeping beside him on the bed. And someday soon we'll be seeing that again.
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