Today Bob had his usual therapies: physical, speech and occupational. He also had speech group therapy. Bob napped for almost an hour and a half today. He had a good day.
During speech therapy today Bob said "one, two, three" in a sing-songy voice, kinda like when he sang "happy birthday". It seems it easier to sing words than to speak them.
Bob solved two more of the traffic puzzles, one of which was very challenging. But he solved that one on the first try.
After dinner Bob went to see the daily movie with my mom. It was "The Help". They didn't stay for the whole thing.
That's all for today. The updates have been shorter lately because Bob has somewhat of a set routine and even though he is accomplishing new things, a lot stays the same from day to day. But as long as there is news, I'll keep on writing! Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday = Rest Day
Today Bob rested and had no therapy sessions. My mom still practiced making sounds with him, they call it his homework.
Bob played the traffic jam game again and did the next two levels well, persevering through a particularly challenging one.
Bruce and Simone came to visit him and they spent time at the lobby for the usual visit to Dunkin Donuts. Today Bob broke the routine of the iced coffee. After the lobby the four of them hung out at the cafeteria and I heard lively conversation when I called my mom. Bruce and Bob used to never run out of things to talk about and sounds like that is still the case.
Tomorrow will mark two weeks since Bob arrived at Spaulding and we are happy with his progress so far. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Bob played the traffic jam game again and did the next two levels well, persevering through a particularly challenging one.
Bruce and Simone came to visit him and they spent time at the lobby for the usual visit to Dunkin Donuts. Today Bob broke the routine of the iced coffee. After the lobby the four of them hung out at the cafeteria and I heard lively conversation when I called my mom. Bruce and Bob used to never run out of things to talk about and sounds like that is still the case.
Tomorrow will mark two weeks since Bob arrived at Spaulding and we are happy with his progress so far. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
A Nice Visit
Today Bob's sister Janice and her daughter Jessica drove up from New York to see Bob. She brought him two different solitaire games. One is a traffic jam puzzle which Bob really enjoyed and the other is another puzzle with words to unscramble. This last one was a little bit over his head so my mom will save it for future use. Here's a picture I took when my family joined the four of them in the lounge in the late afternoon:
Bob had physical therapy and speech therapy today. My mom also did a lot of practicing sounds with Bob.
Bob was cheerful today and he seemed to enjoy everyone's company. When my son showed him how he had set up the car game Bob said: "oh, boy!". We were stunned again. He couldn't repeat it, but looked happy to have impressed us.
This is a short one, my baby has been kicking my butt from the inside all day and I'm beat! Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Bob had physical therapy and speech therapy today. My mom also did a lot of practicing sounds with Bob.
Bob was cheerful today and he seemed to enjoy everyone's company. When my son showed him how he had set up the car game Bob said: "oh, boy!". We were stunned again. He couldn't repeat it, but looked happy to have impressed us.
This is a short one, my baby has been kicking my butt from the inside all day and I'm beat! Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Yes or No
Bob had a good day, my mom arrived earlier than usual to catch a glimpse of Bob's physical therapy session at nine in the morning. Starting yesterday, besides his usual three therapy sessions, Bob will also have group speech every weekday at one in the afternoon. This is a group for patients suffering from aphasia. The participants are afflicted at various levels and they differ in their abilities to communicate.
Today Bob used the lokomat again. My mom recorded a video of it and it was like watching a science fiction movie. Bob is held upright by a sort of suspenders and there are braces on his legs that move them for him. The machine does the work for his legs, moving them in a walking motion. The machine always does 100% of the work for the left leg, and it starts that way for the right leg but it decreases that amount incrementally as the therapy session progresses. I believe it went down to 70%. Bob needs to get used to trusting his right leg to support the left leg.
Bob will have a new speech therapist from now on. Her name is Kaitlin. Today she worked with a photo album I made for him. It has all the immediate family's faces and names. This album is meant to reintroduce him to what's familiar and should help him remember our faces as well as facts about us. My mom was present during the therapy session and helped clarify and answer some of the therapist's questions. She asked Bob things like "Where you a chemistry professor?" and "Is this your daughter?". Interestingly, Bob gestured "no" to the chemistry professor question and when my mom asked him about him being a Dean and he answered with a emphatic nod of "yes". Speaking of "yes" and "no", the therapist posted a card with "yes" and a card with "no" on Bob's table and she wants him to point to these cards to answer questions.
It was a busy day but there was some fun in between all the therapy sessions: Bob played cut the rope. My mom reminded him of the rules and he caught on. They played about five screens. There was a mixture of luck and thought process while Bob played. Bob enjoyed playing and they stopped when lunch arrived not because he tired of it. My mom tried to play solitaire with him but Bob had difficulties double tapping and got overwhelmed so they stuck with cut the rope.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the thoughts and prayers coming.
Today Bob used the lokomat again. My mom recorded a video of it and it was like watching a science fiction movie. Bob is held upright by a sort of suspenders and there are braces on his legs that move them for him. The machine does the work for his legs, moving them in a walking motion. The machine always does 100% of the work for the left leg, and it starts that way for the right leg but it decreases that amount incrementally as the therapy session progresses. I believe it went down to 70%. Bob needs to get used to trusting his right leg to support the left leg.
Bob will have a new speech therapist from now on. Her name is Kaitlin. Today she worked with a photo album I made for him. It has all the immediate family's faces and names. This album is meant to reintroduce him to what's familiar and should help him remember our faces as well as facts about us. My mom was present during the therapy session and helped clarify and answer some of the therapist's questions. She asked Bob things like "Where you a chemistry professor?" and "Is this your daughter?". Interestingly, Bob gestured "no" to the chemistry professor question and when my mom asked him about him being a Dean and he answered with a emphatic nod of "yes". Speaking of "yes" and "no", the therapist posted a card with "yes" and a card with "no" on Bob's table and she wants him to point to these cards to answer questions.
It was a busy day but there was some fun in between all the therapy sessions: Bob played cut the rope. My mom reminded him of the rules and he caught on. They played about five screens. There was a mixture of luck and thought process while Bob played. Bob enjoyed playing and they stopped when lunch arrived not because he tired of it. My mom tried to play solitaire with him but Bob had difficulties double tapping and got overwhelmed so they stuck with cut the rope.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the thoughts and prayers coming.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Happy
Today was a great day. Bob did physical therapy, occupational therapy and group speech therapy. Besides my mom's daily visit, I went to see him with my two children.
The tablet that my cousin Cecilia gave Bob last weekend was praised again by one of Bob's therapists, this time at his group session. The therapist wants to buy them for the hospital so that more patients can use them!
During physical therapy Bob worked on kicking a cone with his right leg while sitting on a high mat so his right foot was not touching the floor. He did this a total of fifty times. Bob also worked on standing up with his occupational therapist. I saw a video made by my mom in which he goes from the wheel chair to a bed to sit and back to the wheel chair. Bob almost stands up by himself from the seated position on the bed. He moved his right foot so that it is next to his left foot. Bob is expressing a lot of his feelings through facial expressions. One of the best parts of the video was at the end when he makes that face after everyone cheers him for the good job he's done, followed by an impression of a dog panting to signify that he is very tired from all the exertion. Everyone, including him, laugh about this afterwards.
I was happy to be able to visit him today with the kids. They were happy to go see vovô who was happy to see them. After the initial kisses and hugs, Bob knew the kids wanted to watch tv and he found a channel that was appropriate for children without being prompted to do so. Bob used to watch kid-shows and movies with my children when my parents came to dinner on wednesday nights. The grandkids knew that when vovô arrived, it was movie time! So it was a little bit like old times...
After a while the five of us went to the lobby. Bob is getting good at maneuvering his wheel chair on his own. Nonetheless, the children liked to steer and stand behind him. It felt good to go on another outing with Bob. He had a huge smile on his face, and so did all the rest of us. You can see his smile here:
Once we got to the lobby, my mom got us treats from Dunkin Donuts. The children had some munchins and Bob had an iced coffee. Everyone was in good spirits. Bob was entertained by all the jumping my kids were doing and the stories they were telling from school. Then my mom mentioned her birthday party. Her birthday is in about three weeks and she is planning a party at the hospital. When my mom asked Bob to sing her the happy birthday song, he surprised us all. Actual words came out of his mouth. I distinctly heard "happy" and "birthday"! Bob has been practicing the song with his therapist but in the past he has just hummed along. It was amazing to hear his voice again. I can't explain how happy it made me and my mom who listened stunned as he finished. Bob left us speechless.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
The tablet that my cousin Cecilia gave Bob last weekend was praised again by one of Bob's therapists, this time at his group session. The therapist wants to buy them for the hospital so that more patients can use them!
During physical therapy Bob worked on kicking a cone with his right leg while sitting on a high mat so his right foot was not touching the floor. He did this a total of fifty times. Bob also worked on standing up with his occupational therapist. I saw a video made by my mom in which he goes from the wheel chair to a bed to sit and back to the wheel chair. Bob almost stands up by himself from the seated position on the bed. He moved his right foot so that it is next to his left foot. Bob is expressing a lot of his feelings through facial expressions. One of the best parts of the video was at the end when he makes that face after everyone cheers him for the good job he's done, followed by an impression of a dog panting to signify that he is very tired from all the exertion. Everyone, including him, laugh about this afterwards.
I was happy to be able to visit him today with the kids. They were happy to go see vovô who was happy to see them. After the initial kisses and hugs, Bob knew the kids wanted to watch tv and he found a channel that was appropriate for children without being prompted to do so. Bob used to watch kid-shows and movies with my children when my parents came to dinner on wednesday nights. The grandkids knew that when vovô arrived, it was movie time! So it was a little bit like old times...
After a while the five of us went to the lobby. Bob is getting good at maneuvering his wheel chair on his own. Nonetheless, the children liked to steer and stand behind him. It felt good to go on another outing with Bob. He had a huge smile on his face, and so did all the rest of us. You can see his smile here:
That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Lokomat
Bob had another good day. He had his three therapies and an extra group therapy today. In this group therapy he sat around a table in the dinning room of his floor with other patients.
During his physical therapy Bob used the lokomat - not locomat as I previously thought. The lokomat is a machine that suspends the patient while he walks on a treadmill. Here is a picture of it that I found online:
When asked by my mom if he liked using it he gave her an enthusiastic "yes". She also asked Bob if it hurts and he shook his head "no". Bob will use this machine again on friday morning and my mom is planning on going to the hospital early to see it in action. If we are lucky, we'll get some pictures.
One of Bob's daughters who lives in California came to visit with her daughter. Elizabeth and Emma came to the East Coast to drop off Kyle, the eldest son at his new school. They took advantage of being so close to Bob and swung north on their way back home. Elizabeth and Emma spent some time at the hospital and were able to see Bob in between his many therapy sessions. Bob enjoyed their visit and was happy to see them.
I was planning on going to see him after picking up my daughter from school, she was sad that she didn't get to go with me and my son on Monday. Unfortunately, due to a snow storm, I had to postpone the trip. It was hard to stay away, but I will try again tomorrow. That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
During his physical therapy Bob used the lokomat - not locomat as I previously thought. The lokomat is a machine that suspends the patient while he walks on a treadmill. Here is a picture of it that I found online:
One of Bob's daughters who lives in California came to visit with her daughter. Elizabeth and Emma came to the East Coast to drop off Kyle, the eldest son at his new school. They took advantage of being so close to Bob and swung north on their way back home. Elizabeth and Emma spent some time at the hospital and were able to see Bob in between his many therapy sessions. Bob enjoyed their visit and was happy to see them.
I was planning on going to see him after picking up my daughter from school, she was sad that she didn't get to go with me and my son on Monday. Unfortunately, due to a snow storm, I had to postpone the trip. It was hard to stay away, but I will try again tomorrow. That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Bob is doing fine
Bob had a good day today. He participated in a copper rubbing activity and had good therapy sessions.
During physical therapy, Bob worked on moving on the bed and practiced transfers (bed to chair and sit to stand). He kicked the ball and practiced moving around on his wheelchair, forward direction only. Yesterday during physical therapy, Bob was evaluated on a machine called locomat. I'm not sure what it does. When I find out I'll post about it.
Bob trained copying words during speech therapy today. He did well with 80% of them. The therapist also practiced one step commands with cues and demonstration. She did not rate him on this in her report. She will be out on vacation for the rest of the week so another speech and language pathologist will work with Bob while she is gone.
My mom submitted a form to the team which included all the measurements of her house. The team will provide suggestions for modifying their living conditions to better accommodate Bob's new life. This won't be done for a while, as a lot can change from now until he is able to come home. (I feel like I wrote this line once before...) My mom did not meet with the case worker after all today so we will have to wait until tomorrow to get the team's most current report.
That's all for now. Bob is settling into the hospital, establishing bonds with the staff and making good progress every day. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
During physical therapy, Bob worked on moving on the bed and practiced transfers (bed to chair and sit to stand). He kicked the ball and practiced moving around on his wheelchair, forward direction only. Yesterday during physical therapy, Bob was evaluated on a machine called locomat. I'm not sure what it does. When I find out I'll post about it.
Bob trained copying words during speech therapy today. He did well with 80% of them. The therapist also practiced one step commands with cues and demonstration. She did not rate him on this in her report. She will be out on vacation for the rest of the week so another speech and language pathologist will work with Bob while she is gone.
My mom submitted a form to the team which included all the measurements of her house. The team will provide suggestions for modifying their living conditions to better accommodate Bob's new life. This won't be done for a while, as a lot can change from now until he is able to come home. (I feel like I wrote this line once before...) My mom did not meet with the case worker after all today so we will have to wait until tomorrow to get the team's most current report.
That's all for now. Bob is settling into the hospital, establishing bonds with the staff and making good progress every day. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Huge Food News
Today Bob's speech therapist, Marianne, upgraded his diet from "advanced soft" solids to "regular" solids: Bob can eat regular foods. That is a significant advance in his recovery. It is hard to believe that one month ago he was eating through a feeding tube. This means we can bring food from outside the hospital as a treat. Another bonus: Bob can now have a bite of my mom's doughnut when they visit the Dunkin Donuts in the lobby. But just a bite, he still must eat the diet of a heart attack survivor: low in salt and fat.
Marianne loved the tablet that my cousin Cecilia brought last saturday. Marianne thought it was a great present and it will be very useful in Bob's rehabilitation. Bob likes having it by his bedside. Today he used it to write a word to answer a question I had asked him. I didn't understand the word, although it was legible, it was nonsensical.
Bob's occupational therapist suggested he wear a watch again. This could help direct his attention to his right arm. It seems he is more aware of his right leg, than his right arm. When Bob rides the wheel chair without the foot support, he uses his left foot hook under this right to support it. This prevents the right foot from dragging on the ground.
I helped Bob tie his shoe today. I held one lace, he held the other and together we did a pretty nice job.
My mom brought Bob a mirror that stands alone so that he can shave without help. She also brought Bob his nook and he remembered how to unlock the screen and navigate through the menu. Bob didn't want to keep it around because the amount of words was overwhelming. So my mom will bring it back home and try again another time. Bob was an avid reader and I can't wait for him to devour books again.
Bob's doctor said he is doing very well. The team will meet again tomorrow. We are not sure if they will give him a whole new assessment. That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Marianne loved the tablet that my cousin Cecilia brought last saturday. Marianne thought it was a great present and it will be very useful in Bob's rehabilitation. Bob likes having it by his bedside. Today he used it to write a word to answer a question I had asked him. I didn't understand the word, although it was legible, it was nonsensical.
Bob's occupational therapist suggested he wear a watch again. This could help direct his attention to his right arm. It seems he is more aware of his right leg, than his right arm. When Bob rides the wheel chair without the foot support, he uses his left foot hook under this right to support it. This prevents the right foot from dragging on the ground.
I helped Bob tie his shoe today. I held one lace, he held the other and together we did a pretty nice job.
My mom brought Bob a mirror that stands alone so that he can shave without help. She also brought Bob his nook and he remembered how to unlock the screen and navigate through the menu. Bob didn't want to keep it around because the amount of words was overwhelming. So my mom will bring it back home and try again another time. Bob was an avid reader and I can't wait for him to devour books again.
Bob's doctor said he is doing very well. The team will meet again tomorrow. We are not sure if they will give him a whole new assessment. That's all for today. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
A Day Off
Today Bob was happy to have a day off from all three therapies. They are very tiring for him. It is a lot of work to rewire the brain! Bob did have dog therapy today, which he enjoyed very much. He went up to a room on the eighth floor where a few times a week there are dogs for the patients to interact with. I wonder if Bob thought of Candy, his last dog.
My mom spent most of the day with him and they watched shows on the ipad, read emails and magazines and ate meals together. Tonight she will sleep at their house, but tomorrow she will be back at our house.
My parents' friends Bruce and Simone went to visit in the afternoon. They brought pictures from their trip to Brasil, which Bob enjoyed looking at. Bob went on another stroll that lead him to the lobby where he had a dunkin donuts latte once again. Decaf of course...
That's all for today, thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
My mom spent most of the day with him and they watched shows on the ipad, read emails and magazines and ate meals together. Tonight she will sleep at their house, but tomorrow she will be back at our house.
My parents' friends Bruce and Simone went to visit in the afternoon. They brought pictures from their trip to Brasil, which Bob enjoyed looking at. Bob went on another stroll that lead him to the lobby where he had a dunkin donuts latte once again. Decaf of course...
That's all for today, thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
First Outing
Bob had a large cheering section today. Besides our family of four, my cousin Cecilia, her husband Claudio and their two girls drove up from New York just to see him. They went back the same day. They brought Bob a great present: a tablet from Brookstone to help him write. A sort of electronic dry-erase board. Bob liked it a lot. The grandkids enjoyed it as well and had to be reminded several times that it wasn't a toy...
The ten of us hung out in the sunny room at the end of the hallway and then took Bob for a stroll outside. It was quite windy, but Bob enjoyed the sunshine and the new sights. Here is a picture of the crowd taken by my mom:
Even though it was saturday, Bob had all three types of therapies today. I believe tomorrow he will have a day off. His physical therapist told my mom that Bob kicked a ball in front of him with his right leg twenty times. Yes, I meant right leg!
There is a blue binder in Bob's room that is his Program Therapy Manual. In it are his therapy goals, some personal information and notes from the therapists. The therapists have been updating it almost daily. It is very nice to have this record book because it helps inform the family of Bob's progress. It will also be a chronicle of his improvements. I have started to take pictures of the pages where the therapists take notes so that I can relate the information on this blog.
Yesterday, his speech therapist wrote that Bob did well in therapy. She wrote: "He correctly pointed to 10 out of 15 objects named by Marianne [the therapist] (better than yesterday). He correctly answered 9 out of 10 pairs of yes/no questions (better than yesterday). He copied 10 simple words with very rare mistakes in letter choice. He matched written words to objects in 5 of 10 attempts. We also worked on saying "ah", "oh", and "m"." It is nice to get this kind of insight into his sessions.
Bob was in good spirits today and appreciated seeing his fan club. I know not everyone that reads this can come see him at Spaulding, but if you can, you should. If you can't, Bob continues to enjoy the emails he receives through my mom. Thanks for reading and keep the thoughts, (emails!) and prayers coming.
The ten of us hung out in the sunny room at the end of the hallway and then took Bob for a stroll outside. It was quite windy, but Bob enjoyed the sunshine and the new sights. Here is a picture of the crowd taken by my mom:
There is a blue binder in Bob's room that is his Program Therapy Manual. In it are his therapy goals, some personal information and notes from the therapists. The therapists have been updating it almost daily. It is very nice to have this record book because it helps inform the family of Bob's progress. It will also be a chronicle of his improvements. I have started to take pictures of the pages where the therapists take notes so that I can relate the information on this blog.
Yesterday, his speech therapist wrote that Bob did well in therapy. She wrote: "He correctly pointed to 10 out of 15 objects named by Marianne [the therapist] (better than yesterday). He correctly answered 9 out of 10 pairs of yes/no questions (better than yesterday). He copied 10 simple words with very rare mistakes in letter choice. He matched written words to objects in 5 of 10 attempts. We also worked on saying "ah", "oh", and "m"." It is nice to get this kind of insight into his sessions.
Bob was in good spirits today and appreciated seeing his fan club. I know not everyone that reads this can come see him at Spaulding, but if you can, you should. If you can't, Bob continues to enjoy the emails he receives through my mom. Thanks for reading and keep the thoughts, (emails!) and prayers coming.
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