Monday, December 6, 2010

A Day of Firsts (and one second)

Yesterday Lara had a lot of firsts.  She got to go outside for the first time in 35 days (yay).  We rolled her out and literally about 3 minutes later she said, "Ok, I'm ready to go back in."  I had to make her wait a minute so I could get a picture.  She also got to go down to the cafeteria for the first time.  She was craving a chocolate chip cookie.  She also went to the computer room to try and get on the computer.  But we couldn't figure out the login and password.

She spent some time playing go-fish with her nieces.  Lara doesn't really like to play games, never really has.  But she does things she doesn't want to for her nieces, and it is also some great therapy for Lara (though she might not realize that part).  Lara still has to conscientiously "scan" to the left because she can't see on her left side as well.  The therapist has showed her how to use her right hand to find the edge on the left of things, plates, books, cards, her tray so she can see things in their entirety and not starting in the middle and going to the right.

This past week she has also had her second shower.  What a special treat.  She said it makes her feel like a "real person".  Still no washing the hair, have to wait on those top stitches that seem to be taking longer than the back of her head or her stomach stitches.  She is also taking a few less pills.  I think we are down to only 10 at a time.  Not including her occasional vicodin, but that is less frequent as well.  Which is good because she gets so sleepy and starts to hallucinate with those.  Makes therapy kind of difficult.

Physically she is getting stronger.  She can squeeze her left hand, but still needs a little help on fully extending her fingers (like for a high five her fingers are curled).  She practiced walking with a cane some on Sunday.  She still needs help with that left side.  Her knee buckles and sometimes the therapist has to slide her left side forward.  They are trying to teach her how to align herself with the cane (or bar that is along the wall) so that she is balanced.  It is hard with her right side being so strong and her left so weak.  They call it pushers syndrome.  Basically her right side "over" pushes, but the left side is so weak, there is nothing to push back...so she falls.  Well they don't let her fall of course, but basically a lot of work on balance.  She is getting there.  It was nice to hear the therapist on Sunday also ask her how she was doing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

This current week is a big week.  Every Tuesday all of the doctors and therapists that work with Lara have a conference specifically about her, how she is doing and they reassess her goals.  They will also be contemplating a "day pass".  A day pass (usually on Sundays because there is no therapy on Sundays so she wouldn't miss any work), means she would get to be released from 10:30am to 7pm unless she was tired and needed to come back sooner.  Then we will learn how to transfer her in and out of the cars, her medication schedule, basically anything she might need for the day.  Her therapy would be more suited to getting her ready for out in the real world.  We are hoping she is well enough to get to do that this Sunday the 12th. 

Keep your prayers coming.  I have complete faith that God will heal Lara.  It may be a rough road physically, mentally, and emotionally for us all, but sometimes God is more about the hearts than He is about the body.

4 comments:

  1. How great--the possibility of a day pass. But you must all learn to be strong on that one because your hearts are going to be heavy as she pleads with you not to go back. Be sure to ask them how to handle that (what to say, what to do) so it upsets her the LEAST. Reasoning doesn't always work. I thought I could do it all by myself with no suggestions when it was my Mom...but I really hurt her feelings because she couldn't accept or recognize what had happened to her. Love to you all.......Trena

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  2. "...sometimes God is more about the hearts than He is about the body"

    True That.

    Gave me goosebumps reading that phrase. Usually what hurts the worst makes us the strongest later...if we perservere.

    Love you guys.

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  3. What a difference 35 days make...it makes me smile. Keep up the hard work Lara, you can do this.

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  4. Go Lara!!!!! A day pass, how cool! She'll be out and about in no time! You are a beloved child of God- only the strong ones are given trials such as these, so that their strength may serve as a shining example to the rest of us and inspire us all to persevere when we are faced with our own challenges. You can do it!

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