Wednesday, March 07, 2007

look out world....

Sean is making a lot of headway with his recovery. Every day is something new and exciting here at the Carabine home! Gosh, where do I start? Sean did a week and a half of physical therapy outside the home, and it is a lot of effort getting him in and out of the car to get him to PT. Sean decided that he would rather use all of that extra effort actually doing physical therapy and recovering, so we have decided to use the exercises that David and Rachel gave us and we have asked them to help us with exercises that we can use as Sean progresses. We are taking this route for the time being and could possibly go back to outside PT as it is easier to get Sean in and out of the house.

Sean had acupuncture today in the house, which was awesome! The acupuncturist agreed that the chinese herbs are the best thing for Sean right now and will be in contact with his chinese doc about what she is doing in acupuncture and the chinese doc can then tailor the herbs to aid what the acupuncturist is doing. She will be coming in at least once a week.

Through the VA, Sean qualifies for 10 hours a week from a home aide. We got a call today from the home care agency and they will be coming Friday to evaluate the situation and by next week we should have someone coming in to help out during the day. This will be huge because it will give me a little time during the day to get some things done around the house.

What else? What else? We have an appointment with Dr Raj on Friday. I don't know how much information we will get from the appointment as we are not going to have an MRI beforehand, but it will be good to see Dr Raj and get her take on the situation.

Bert and Leah are still staying with us, which is wonderful. They are both so positive and encouraging and make our days so enjoyable! Bert is helping out a lot with physical therapy, which makes a huge difference, and Leah is so sunny and positive and Sean loves having her smiley face around!

Everyday Sean is getting stronger and is able to do a little more. This week has been great as far as improvements go. Two nights ago, Sean walked the length of the couch with the walker and some support from Bert and I. He is able to sit up on his own, his upper body strength is getting so much better. He fed himself dinner tonight and took all of his pills on his own today, which means his coordination is improving also. His speech is improving and he is talking a lot more, not just about the things he needs, but he is pretty much talking whenever he is awake. He is spending a lot more time during the day out of bed, watching TV with us on the couch, sitting in the massage chair, and eating at the table. His goal is to be up and using the walker mostly on his own by our birthdays. What a great present that will be!!

We are so blessed to have so many people rooting for us and supporting us. We are so grateful for all of the prayers and positive thoughts that everyone has been sending our way. Please keep 'em coming!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm overjoyed that that things are improving so rapidly. Acupuncture rocks and I'm glad it's working out for you (for me too). My only concern is that the home help will give you too much time to do stuff around the house....the dishes are MINE....all MINE. The Kitchen Nazi will return in April!!
Love you both. Stay strong.

prumom said...

Sounds like things are approaching normalcy or lift-off, with Sean talking ALL the time. Keep trying to get a word in edgeways! Lots of love.

pam parto said...

This is wonderful news. Keep up the good work. Since Sean walking for your birthday would be such a great present. I guess that will save me some money cause I can't compete with that. Pam

Auntterri said...

I am so glad things are improving. I watch your site regularly for updates. You two are an inspiration for optimism to those around you. You're both in our thoughts and prayers. Take care and keep moving forward.

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear all of this! I can't wait to see Sean up and around again. Take care and we will see you soon.
-Jackie

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear all about the latest progress. Keep up the good work.

Happy St. Patricks Day.


Love Carmel & Frankie (Foxford)