January 13, 2012 - with pictures

Mrs. Doug brought by her camera and the report they gave her after the conference yesterday for me to get information to update the blog.  According to the report, Bro. Dale is making progress.  The PT reports that he is able to stand with the machine, but his blood pressure is still dropping when he stands.  They have stopped some of his bp meds and decreased others of them.  He is able to be on the bicycle for 15-30 minutes at a time and responds to verbal cues.  He's also able to sit on the mat approximately 40 minutes with moderate to minimal assistance. 

The OT also said he's making improvements following commands, recognizing common objects and is participating and tolerating more.  He is paying more attention to his right side, and has the most problems with his lower right side.  He is also able to help with getting dressed. 

The speech therapist said he's continuing to have difficulty with sticking out his tongue.  He is able to follow some commands and attempting to vocalize words.  Mrs. Doug also said that when she was on the phone with Joan and Johanna today, she put the phone up to his ear and he immediately tried to start talking.  She could tell he was trying to say their names.  He was definitely making sounds, but not clear words.  He did not have the speech valve on when he was doing.  It was coming straight from him.  He wasn't having to cover up the whole, he was just doing it on his own. 

They think that he is making excellent progress and will soon be ready for the evaluation by the people at the Methodist Rehab in Jackson.  Mrs. Doug is hoping to wait until after his surgery to replace the skull for that evaluation.  The date for that surgery has still not been set yet.  He goes next week to meet with the doctor that will do that surgery. 

She said that Wayne and Jody Bailey went by today to see him and he definitely recognized them and they had a good visit with him.  One of his classmates were also supposed to go by today - Jimmy Taylor and his wife.  So he's had a good day of visiting even though Mrs. Doug was not there today. 

Mrs. Doug had her stress test done yesterday.  While she was on the treadmill, her blood pressure stayed in a safe range the whole time (138/78) but when she sat down it would go up to 150/80.  She hasn't heard the definitive results yet of the test though.  She's hoping that no news is good news!  She will be going up to Baldwyn tomorrow with Amy Edmondson and will take the day off Sunday. 

Mrs. Doug shared with me a verse that has been meaningful to her this week.  It came from a book called Daily Comfort for Caregivers.  Philippians 4:14, "Nevertheless you have done well to share with me in my affliction."  She thought about how much everyone has shared with them through this by their prayers, encouragement and support from day one of this and how much that has meant to them.  That has really helped her get through this and spoke volumes to her. 

Mrs. Doug wanted me to share these pictures that she's taken of Bro. Dale with you all.  For those of you who have not been able to see him yet, it might be a shock to see.  However, if you've seen him, you will see that these pictures show a tremendous amount of progress.  They are really good. 

 Notice how straight he is standing in this one with minimal support.  It's his muscles that are allowing him to stand so straight, not the support! 

You can see how the bicycle allows him to use his left leg and then automatically work his right leg at the same time.  That will allow the brain to make the connections to eventually control the use of his right leg as well!