October Wrap Up

Jeff has made some incredible progress ...

After removal of the fixator in early October, Jeff would hardly stay in bed and tried to shuffle along whenever he could (remarking, sometimes as a joke, "I'm an old man"). Because he wasn't supposed to be walking yet, he got a wheelchair on the 12th, which enabled him to really move around. On the 18th, it was back to the Medical Center for X-rays on his pelvis, and his doctor pronounced the bones fully healed! Jeff has progressed so rapidly that his old-man shuffle has become a strong, steady -- though somewhat rigid -- gait. He has regained some muscle tone and although physical therapy tires him, he is getting stronger every day.

Jeff's cognitive skills are also incredily improved. His speech therapist gives him 'homework' ... exercises meant to stimulate complex reasoning. His family continue giving him games & puzzles that do the same but are much more fun. He is slowly learning more about the accident and all of his injuries and seems to be taking it in fairly well. He really enjoys visits from friends & family, especially when they bring food from the outside world.

Overall, Jeff has made a terrific comeback so far! He is still challenged by some short-term memory loss, occasional depression, and the need for continued physical and cognitive therapy -- but he seems just like his old self much of the time. Jeff's next step will be transitional treatment to help him prepare for normal daily activities and for living on his own again. We are so happy to report these improvements!

Message from Jeff

Hi there, everybody!

It's me ... alive and well!!!!

Darcy brought me a notebook with all of the 'pages' from the website. WOW ... I can't believe it!! I haven't read all of the messages you wrote to me yet, but they do seem cool and pretty amazing! I will send another message after I get a chance to read everything in the notebook.

It's been a long hard road for me to try to get better and well ... I still can't believe how much trauma and pain I've been through. It's a wonder that I have such a good loving family and friends to help me... for that I'm very grateful and pleased to have such great help. Thank you all so very much.

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon,
Jeff, The Bionic Man !!!!

October Beginnings

On Tuesday 10/3, Jeff was once again transported by ambulance to the Medical Center – this time, to finally have the external fixator removed. And the change in Jeff is both a blessing and a curse! On the one hand, its removal seems to have alleviated some of the pain Jeff has been dealing with. On the other hand, Jeff now thinks he can get up and walk whenever he wants. He has NOT been given the go-ahead from any of his doctors to do this, but it's nearly impossible to convince him to stay in bed.

Family Swarm
On the weekend of the 7th and 8th, all the siblings and nieces and nephews were in town to visit. Jeff was thrilled to see everyone -- and we were thrilled to see some signs of the 'old' Jeff. He smiled, laughed, and even cracked a joke or two. We played a variety of games (Catch, Dots, Hangman, Thumb Wrestle) which he seemed to enjoy. He again read some entries in his Visitors' Journal and recounted memories while looking through a collection of photos. He even appreciated some silly new nicknames ... Skinny Legs and Bony Butt.

Current Outlook
Overall, Jeff has good days and bad, which we're told is typical with brain injuries. Depression, agitation, and fear all come and go and may continue for some time. He is still on lots of medications, and these sometimes add to the problem while relieving the pain. But he has certainly come a long way. Much patience will still be required, but clearly there is room for some optimism.

September Wrap Up

It is now 2-1/2 months since Jeff's accident. And while Jeff still has an incredibly long haul in front of him, he also has made some incredible progress.

His conversations with family, visitors and staff are improving steadily, bit by bit, each week. Jeff is now able to hold 2-way conversations fairly well, at times. And sometimes, the conversation thread can be re-directed. At other times, he has been agitated, unhappy, nervous, and/or scared, sometimes crying. Although this is painful to watch, the audiologist says this is a favorable sign because it indicates his brain is trying to process information. We certainly hope this is so.

Jeff's orthopedic surgeon checked out his pelvis on 9/21 and said the bones were still not set yet and that he will need the fixator for another 2 weeks or so. (For this 'check,' Jeff had to be transported by ambulance to the Medical Center and it was a painful experience for him.) Jeff continues to try to get out of bed (with that fixator still in place), so additional restraints to keep him from damaging his fragile bones became necessary. He was then moved to an area where "sitters" could be on hand 24/7 (especially when Jeff had no visitors at his side).

On 9/27, Jeff was moved from the Memorial Hermann CCU to a long-term nursing facility. Again, he had to be transported by ambulance and, again, it was very traumatic for Jeff. The move caused him pain & extreme agitation, but he seems to be adapting fairly well since then.

Some light-hearted notes:

• He has played 3-way catch with a small stuffed ball, and it didn't take him long to get accustomed to "fake-outs" and do the same back.
• Jeff wrote a note to one of his sitters, thanking Caleb for his care.
• He read a few pages of the visitors' notebook that we keep in his room. We think he understand some of the notations, especially when he smiles.
• Jeff really goes into '7th heaven' when he gets massages or lotion applied -- first a big wide-eyed sigh of relief, then a grin, then some comment such as "sweet" or "yes" -- immediately followed by instructions on how to make it better!

On the other hand, the facial paralysis is still evident. He still needs meds to keep him calm & somewhat free of pain. And there are months ahead of physical therapy & rehabilitation to restore function to his atrophied muscles and get him walking again.