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Healing Celebration Over 200 people showed up to show their support for Ed. Short speeches by Ann Schwab, Kirk Monfort and David Guzzetti echo what everyone was feeling. Thank you to Kasey Merrill for putting together this service in the plaza.
(click on either photo to see larger images.) On Friday, December 21st, Ed McLaughlin -- long time cycling coordinator for Chico Velo, bicycling advocate, and all around nice guy-- was riding with a group of riders through Bidwell Park and ran head on into a bollard (those metal posts intended to keep cars from driving on the bike path.) Ed was wearing his helmet but suffered a severe spinal cord injury in the fall.
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4/28/08 (Note: The Velo webmaster (me) has done an inconsistent job of reposting Suzanne's notes over the past month and a half. To read any she has written between March 12th and now, go to www.carepages.com.) Hello after a long time of not writing. Yesterday was the "Wildflower", the queen of events for Chicovelo and the peak of the bike club's (and Ed's activities). The weather was cooperative and the ride was very successful. Probably about 4,000 participants! Thanks yous to all the Velo Board members, Rodney and ALL the volunteers. Ed visited the ride for a few hours both on Saturday for registration and yesterday for the ride itself. All that saw him were thrilled that he made an appearence. One friend and tireless worker described Ed as "annoyingly upbeat"!! I know that for Ed it was upliftling to get out and see a small part of this huge and wonderful event of which he is so proud. On the other hand, it was bittersweet that his participation was so limited. Normally, the morning of the ride Ed would be up well before the sun and going 150% till after 8 at night. Yesterday, after a poor night's sleep, he was content to doze in his wheel chair till after lunch. Then we made our short visit to the fairgrounds, as Ed knew lots of folks expected him to be there. Otherwise, we hope to be back into our regular house by this time next week. Some final touches need to get done and then the long process of moving back in. Ed has not been in the house at all since the day of the accident. He seems reluctant, but soon will have to face those memories. Health wise, things are much the same. Two steps forward and 1 step back. The trial injection of anti-spasm medication was successful but not overwhelminly so. I think Ed and I both expected some Lazarus-like relaxation and return of strength. The results were much more subtle but his doctor thinks he is a candidate for the pump. But, before that can happen Ed has to fight off an on'going urinary tract infection. They won't do surgery for the pump if he has nasty bacteria in his system. So more wait and see. The swallowing is getting better. Ed is eating a little bit of solid food now. Hopefully his speech Therapist will clear him for more types of foods and more frequency. He still coughs a lot, and that is scary. The fear of pneumonia always looms over his head. I'm afraid he has caught a cold too, from me of course. Short of me living in a bubble, I don't know how to avoid this happening occaisonally. We found someone to come to the house 3 times a week for extra stretching and massage. That will be helpful. I'll write again once we get moved anck to 6ht Ave. Bye for now, Suzanne 3/12/08 Tuesday evening, Hello to Carepages readers. It has been several busy and challenging days. Monday Ed met with his new rehab doctor at Enloe Rehab. He was quite encouraging. He sees a lot of patients that cannot move their limbs at all. So that Ed has some movement of his arms and legs is a good thing. His main concern is overcoming the "spasms" that Ed has; involuntary movements of his legs and arms that interfer with him trying to exercise and control the muscle function that he does have. He has some ideas as to how to over come this. He was also hopeful that Ed would regain his ability to swallow and return to taking in nourishment (and pleasure; wine etc.) through his mouth. Today we recieved a rental handicapped equiped van! Now we have to learn to get Ed loaded in and out of this vehicle. It is a whole new learnign curve. He is so vulnerable to falling etc. Kind of like a novice cyclist learning to descend a big hill without hugging the brakes. But for now we will take advantage of our county's paratransit program that can provided door to door transport to Drs appointments etc. Plus, our agency caregivers cannot drive the rental. Tomorrow we see Ed's new Physical Therapist and Speech Therapist. These will be very interesting visits. WE have a lot of questions, and Ed is excited about getting back on the road to recovery. His surgery one month ago was a huge setback in a number of areas; swallowing and his pyhsical strength. Next week I return to work and Ed will begin to rely almost 100% on agency caregivers, transportation and any friends that can help with overnight respite care. He is very happy to be back in Chico and likes the temporary digs we have found. Our home re-model should start in a few days. Now that we have the van Ed looks forward to gradually get back downtown. I hope he'll feel comfortable enough to try a trip or two this weekend. He is entering into an whole new realm of his recovery and return to town. Let me know personally if you want to visit or can help with an overnight shift. Happy to be home in Chico, Ed and Suzanne 3/9/08 Greetings to friends and family. It is Sunday evening and Ed is gradually settling into his new, temporary quarters. Construction on Ed's home re-model should start late this week, but we will probably be here for six weeks at least. The apartment is actually very comfortable and Ed is quite content with his new digs and is HAPPY to be back in Chico. I feel like we have started "Book Two" of this journey by leaving the protected world of the hospital and now getting Ed back into his real, new, life. WE arrived Friday night and got Ed to bed OK. He actually slept pretty well, only needing some help once. He woke early, unable to sleep but happy to have some company besides nurses and other patients to visit with. Early Friday morning we met our first Home Health caregiver. At this early stage of the game, Ed has a nurses assistant present for 16 hours a day, and a RN or LVN for several hours a day for special procedures. So every day we've met new helpers. Sometimes they are quite busy helping with his care or other tasks around the house; other times just hanging out while he sleeps or I run out to do errands etc. This new set of relationships is another new challenge. Most of us are not used to having non-family members present in our homes for so much of the day. Ed has to learn who has what skills, who he can trust, who has a sense of humor etc. He is in such a vulnerable position that the simplest thing can be very testing. Yesterday we "took a walk", Ed driving his chair outside, down the sidewalk. We are near the train tracks and he was hoping to see a train go by. But the sidewalk was a bit overgrown with weeds and there was an area of construction. all considerable challenges to the freshman wheelchair driver! We didn't quite make it the train tracks...and ironically, moments after we turned around, there went a train!! Friday we got a lift from the wonderful guys at NorCal to go to Ed's first Drs. appt. He visited his VA doctor to re-establish himself, given his new situation. The VA may have some services that could help Ed in the future. On our way home from that we drove by Ed's regular house. This is the first time he'd seen it since leaving on 12-21-07 for a bike ride. He did not go in but got to see the beautiful new ramp we have infront. Just driving around Chico this time of year is a treat, with all the trees and early blooming flowers. Yesterday was pretty quiet. We had a few visitors and took that little walk, but pretty mellow. Today, Sunday, Ed had quite a number of visitors throughout the afternoon. A cousin of Ed's from New Jersey and her husband had been in the Bay Area and made a special trip up to say 'hi". They are a very nice couple and Ed was genuinely tickled to have them come by. Having people around really perks him up. But after a certain amount of time, he drifts off into nap-land. Tomorrow Ed goes to visit his new Rehab doctor. Ed has a lot of questions. And again, he enters a whole new system of people, professionals, schedules etc. On Wed. he'll have his first therapy appointments. Physically, Ed is much the same. He has limited use of his arms but no use of his wrists/fingers. He can make some voluntary movements with his legs, but not enough yet to be functional. Unfortunatly, his inability to swallow persists and he cannot take in liquids or solid food. Beyond the original injury, this complication has been the most disappointing set-back. Ed really hopes this situation gets better so he can at least join friends for a coffee or a martini; via straws of course!! The docs are typically vague as to if or how long this swallowing issue may take to resolve. Ed is very happy to be back in Chico and happy to gradually re-connect with friends and town. He has a lot of ongoing and new challenges. His mental strength and spirit through all of this is pretty incredible. Thank you all for reading and caring. suzanne 3/6/08 Back to Chico at Last!!! Dec. 21 2007 to March 6, 2008. I don't know exactly how many weeks that is, but a long time!! We got back to Chico around 5pm after leaving Santa clara at 1:30. The drive home was uneventful and Ed had quite a big smile on his face. He is truely happy to be home. Getting discharged from the hospital was a hassel, especially getting any medication. I have to go get more stuff at Costco this morning. If you go by Ed's house, you'll notice that he is not there. We are staying at another location until our home re-model is finished. Ed is joking that he is in the Fedral Patient Protection Program and is being held at a secret location!! As the days go by I'm sure he'll be wanting visitors and folks will figure out where we are. I'll be going by the main hosue daily to check phone messages, mail etc. and as soon as Ed is ready, we'll he'll be downtown getting reaquainted with friends. This first week will be busy and challenging. We are meeting new home health workers as I type. Ed is having to deal with a new schedule and teaching new caregivers how to take care of him. He also has doctor and therapy appointments almost every weekday next week. Today he will also have sessions with 2 different equipment guys; for his wheelchair and the ceiling lift system. He will be worn out by the end of the day. More soon. It is good to be home!! Suzanne 3/2/08 Monday morning. Hello friends. I returned to Chico yesterday afternoon. I was not able to get through to Ed on the phone last evening. I will try again today and see if the doctors/staff have made a decision about the possibility of his coming home this week. Also I printed up a list of questions/suggestions Ed and I had for the staff. We’ll see if any of those were addressed. On Saturday Ed and several other patients had an outing to downtown Santa Clara. The city has built a new, high end shopping district called Santana Row. There are lots of shops, restaurants etc., with residential units on the upper floors. I think it is supposed to remind one of European towns. It was a sunny day, breezy in the shade but Ed was comfortable to sit and people watch. He was alert but not his usual lively self. He did say that it was enjoyable to get outside. Once back at the hospital he had a long nap, tipped back in his wheelchair. The group was transported in 2 large handicapped vans. This is good practice for us both, loading him in and out of the van. Such simple things like going on an outing that he and I once took for granted. Sunday went pretty much as usual; Ed got a shower in the morning and then would get up in the wheelchair later on. There are not scheduled therapies on Sunday. Ed has 2 room mates now; a middle-aged/older man from Salinas and a Vietnamese gentleman who does not speak English. So there is more activity in and out of the room these days. But nevertheless I could not get him on the phone last night or today over the noon hour. I’ll try again after work. I’ll update the site again as soon as I hear if Ed’s coming home this weekend. Suzanne 3/1/08 Friday evening in San Jose. Today brought some good news and a lot more of the same old thing. I arrived at the hospital around 9:30, in time for Ed's session with his regular occupational therapist and his speech therapist. This was quit helpful, for me to see her go through the swallowing exercises with Ed. Tomorrow she may try to 'teach" me how to manually evaluate his swallowing attempts. Our hope is that once he learns these exercises that he can still meet with a speech therapist once or twice a week to keep him on track. and at some point few weeks form now have another swallowing video done to evaluate his progress. The other good news was that our home modification project finally got approved. I had several builders submit bids and the insurance guy evaluated them and made a selection. So now work on the house can begin. But with permits etc. I doubt much will happen for another 2 weeks. We are hoping to secure rental of the NorCal apartment for 2 months. Ed was glad to see me as always, but unless a therapist was directly intercting with him, he falls asleep. So he and I had a pretty quiet day. Even during physical therapy he nods off. He has slept better the last 2 nights. Tomorrow Ed has an outing with Recreational Therapy. I can accompany him on this trip to a local shopping mall I think. Mainly, it will be practice loading in and out of a van and getting used to being out in public again. In over 2 months, this is only the 3ed time Ed has been anywhere else than in a hospital, surrounded by other sick and injured folks in wheelchairs. The real world is big and moves really fast when you are so vulnerable in a wheelchair. good evening for now, Suzanne 2/26/08 Dear Friends, This was the week I was pretty sure that Ed might be coming home. But this morning his case manager at the hospital called and his discharge has been set back to March 6th. Apparently they want to try and get him off supplemental oxygen and not needing periodic suctioning of his mouth/airway etc. And frankly since the operation over 2 weeks ago he has really lost a lot of strength and endurance. Part of this is new/more medication to control muscle spasms and part is due to poor sleep at night. I also think the reality of the disability and new swallowing problem is getting him down. So the staff there would like to get him in a better physical and mental spot before sending him home. And I cannot disagree with this. But honestly I was looking forward to having him home and not having to drive back and forth to San Jose. Ed still has been getting daily visits from members of the Almaden Cycle Touring Club. One of their members in particular has been very dedicated to Ed and very helpful to me, reading Ed e-mails I have forwarded and printing list of questions I have for the doctors/ staff. I know Ed would be happy to see any other friends that had the time to spend a few hours hanging out with him. After over two months, life in the hospital can get pretty boring. We still are getting many great comments about this past weekend’s Tour de Ed. There are still raffle tickets available for the Trek bike. I believe they will be available at the local bike shops after this weekend. Once Ed gets home, it sounds like we have found a Home Health Care agency to meet his needs. I am communicating with them and they will have staff in place the day after he arrives home. But we will also need friends to help out, as Ed cannot be left alone either during the day or at night. I’ll obviously be with him many nights. Once I return to work it might be helpful to have another person in the house to help take care of Ed’s middle of the night requests. So if you are retired or on break from school and wouldn’t mind hanging out with us, let me know as his return approaches. At some point I’ll get a schedule for things like this. Still no word on the home re-model plans. It is in the hands of the insurance people. I wish they could get started so it could get finished ASAP. Thanks for reading and keep praying for Ed. Suzanne 2/22/08 Hello from Santa clara on the Eve of the Almond Blossom Bike Ride. Ed and I hope the weather cooperates and that the big storm holds off till afternoon tomorrrow. In the case of rain, Cafe Malvina on 3ed street will be open for taking donations, selling T-shirts etc. Maybe Sal Corona, the owner and one of Ed's best friends might even have cappuccino for sale! Today was an important day in that Ed had his video swallowing exam. Basically, he flunked the test. Even with the easiest material to swallow, some of it went down the wind-pipe. Based on what I'd seen and the doctors attitude this morning, this result was not a surprize. It is very nevertheless very disappointing. Because during the swallowing test Ed aspirated again, his doctor is concerned again about his lungs and pneumonia. So they will watch him closely over the next days. Hopefully they can also adjust his anti-spasm medication as it is making him very sleepy. Today, other than the swallowing evaluation, about all Ed's done is sleep. Then he has trouble sleeping at night. He pretty much missed all his other therapy sessions. Even with the set-back of the swallowing, it sounds like Ed might return to Chico next week. He'll move into an adaptive living apartment while our house is re-modeled. With Ed snoring in the background, I say good-bye for now. 2/21/08 Tony Lee & I visited Ed tonight – Tony was there from 5 -9 PM & I was there from 7 -9 PM Ed was very alert & talkative – I was very impressive for someone confined to a hospital bed – Tony mentioned that Ed has improved quite a bit from the first time he saw him. He was watching TV – Jeopardy & could have made more money than the participants if he was on the show – I rode to the top of Sierra Road to watch the Bike Race & talked about it with Ed & showed him some pictures I took. He knew more about the riders than I did. I work part time at a winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I sensed that Ed like good wine. Hopefully he will soon be allowed real food!! Ed is a real trooper and his strong support team doesn’t give him much of a choice but to bounce back. Tony & I live in San Jose – don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you need anything delivered to Ed Richard McCaw 2/18/08 Good Morning, Hello from Chico. I left the hospital yesterday around 4 PM. Ed had another pretty rough day on sunday. It all started Saturday when he spiked a fever. that gets everyone, Ed and I, pretty worried. A hospital is no plce to get "sick" . So they spent Sat. pm and half of sunday chasing that around. Blood work, blood cultures, chest X-rays, urine cultures etc. I don't have any results from the X-rays, but to my semi-trained eye they didn't look too bad. His breathing had gotten pretty rapid and more labored. so now he's back on oxygen too. He probably does have a urinary tract infection and antibiotics were started yesterday. One positive note; his neck where they did the operation seems to be healing well and he feels much more stable and secure when he is moved around. so on that hand the procedure was successful. Just now the rest of the patient is a mess. He and I both are very frustrated with all this of course and very worried about the inability to swallow. He hates having such a dry mouth and not being able to drink. And he feels crummy, much more listless than he was on Saturday. We also think he has a cold, thanks to me, so a lot of secretions, coughing etc. which just makes matters worse. Maybe that's why he feels so poorly. I doubt we'll know much more today as all the regular departments are on holiday schedule (Pres. Day). Later in the week they will do a special video x-ray type test to watch his swallowing and evaluate it. There are apparently various therapies/exercises to improve or re-train a person to swallow safely i.e. not getting food or liquid down the wind pipe. For those in Chico, this coming Saturday is the Almond Blossom (Tour de Ed) ride, a benefit for the Chico Velo Injured Cyclists Fund. Info on this recreational event is at www.chicovelo.org. Also, at 7:30 Sat AM the 23ed, there is a fund raiser Garage Sale at 16 Salishan Court ( a cul de sac off Vallombrossa). Park along Vallombrossa near the entrance to North Park Drive. There is limited parking in the cul de sac. Right now it seems Ed's support system is doing a better job than his medical team!! A friend of Ed's should be at the hospital later today and I'll try to get a report. Bye for now, suzanne 2/16/08 Friends, The sun is shining in Ed's window and he is up in his wheelchair. He is somewhat better than yesterday, more alert anyway. The swallowing/airway situation is the same; he cannot eat or drink and uses a suction device to keep secretions from going down "the wrong tube". But around noonish one of his therapists did get him up into the wheelchair. He snoozed there for a bit, but later on did opt to try and do a little time on the exercise bike. That activity did seem to perk him up some. Acouple folks we'd never met came to say hello; her sister lives in Chico. She wanted a first hand report. Ed was gracious and did hid best to chat a bit. A new patient was admillted to the unit today, a young man form Paradise. We do not yet know him or his story. The on-call doctor that saw Ed today reported that 70-80% of quadraplegic patients that then have a cervical surgery end up with some degree of swallowing difficulty. She said that most of them recover, the feeding tube removed and can eat normal food. Although I am still disappointed and depressed over these set-backs, I am not so discouraged as yesterday. My emotional tank is on empty, and I had nothing left with which to respond to this latest news and more vague "we'll have to wait and see". Ed seems more OK with things than I'd expected. He must have more patience than I do. Even if all goes well, Ed will be here till the end of the month. That means he will miss attending the Almond Blossom ride a week from today. He is disappointed about that but it is best for him to be here right now. Suzanne 2/15/08 Good afternoon, I am back in Santa Clara and back down in Ed's rehab room, which is good news. Yesterday they moved him from the trasitional unit back to rehab. And now he has the bed by the window. From there one can see into a courtyard and one of the tulip magnolia trees is blooming. The first of the season that I've seen. Acouple friends have been keeping Ed company for the days I was working in Chico. Ed was happy to get back to the nurses, staff and doctors that he has come to know. Unfortunately, Ed's condition has deteriorated quite a bit. The doctors hope most of the problems are related to swelling from the surgery. Both his ability to swallow (eat and drink normally) and his larynx/voicebox have been effected. He can talk but his voice is raspy. His fluid and nutritional needs are being met with supplements through a tube into his stomach. I hate having to write this and it is so very sad to see him. They have changed his medicines also and he is very sleepy right now. Hopefully these issues will improve over afew days or a week. But they may persist for much longer and only time will tell. Maybe in a few days I will have better news. So please continue to hold Ed in your thoughts and prayers. He needs them now more than ever. Suzanne 2/13/08 Good morning, I am back in Chico, getting home last evening. Ed and I had a rough day yesterday. Even with all the pain meds, Ed is not very comfortable. Not so much pain from the surgery site itself but having trouble finding positions that are comfortable for his legs, butt etc. He has no appetite and a sore throat. That is partly from the surgery and partly because he probably has a cold that he got from me. The sooner he can get up and about more the better to avoid a pneumonia situation. I won't have much contact with him for the next few days as there is not a headset for the phone in his room, plus he does not feel like talking and his voice is very raspy. There will be some friends visiting today and tomorrow and I will try to talk to them. Ed's doctors seem to feel he is doing as well as can be expected. It is just a rough surgery for an older guy with his existing limitations. At home, the ramp looks to be finished and is beautiful. No word yet from any of the contractors for bids on the home modifications. I hope those come in before I leave again for the hospital. Suzanne 2/11/08 Ed is out of surgery and breathing on his own. I have not seen him yet but the Dr. came out to talk to me a few minutes ago. Everything went as planned. They stabilized the neck by fusing 3 disc spaces. They also removed some bone spurs inside the canal, including the one that might have caused all the trouble. But removing it now probably won’t make things any better, just prevent further injury. I called Ed’s family in New Jersey and will call again once I’ve seen Ed. Now I wait some more to find out what room he’ll be in. One good sign I guess; instead of the ICU tonight, the doctor will have him in “neuro-observation”. I take this to mean that Ed’s chances of having complications are remote. I’ll write more once I see him and have access to wifi again. Several hours later…Well, I’m in Ed’s new room but still no Ed. I hope all is OK that he is in the recovery room for so long. This seems like a quiet unit, and waiting here beats the heck out of the surgery waiting area full of kids. I cannot get the wireless signal here so I may take the computer back down to rehab to send this message out. Finally Ed is back in his new room for the next 3 days. No reason for why he was so long in recovery. He is a little groggy and on pain medication but other than that is regular Ed. He is quite uncomfortable when he is moved around, so I doubt he’ll be getting up in the wheel chair for a few days. It looks like they did the operation on the left front of his neck. There is a bandage and a soft cervical collar around his neck. They are letting him have little sips of juice now, maybe soft food tomorrow. He is breathing comfortably with just nasal oxygen. He can still do his toe wiggles as before, so the surgery does not seem to have worsened his neurologic status. My hunch is that this surgery will create a pause in Ed’s therapy until the soreness, swelling, pain etc. diminishes. After the original accident it took weeks for him to comfortable while being moved about on the bed and into the wheel chair. I’m sure he’ll be more clear headed tomorrow but still needing a lot of rest and pain medication. Ed has some good friends arriving tomorrow to sit with him for a couple days, then someone else on Thursday . I’ll be back on /Friday or Saturday, depending on how he’s doing. I’ll do my best to write reports based on their communications. There is not a head set telephone in this room, which for now is a good thing. Ed just needs to rest now. Good night, Suzanne
2/11/08 Notes from San Jose. It is Sunday night, and Ed is getting tucked in and readied for tomorrow’s surgery; IV line etc. We’re not sure what time tomorrow but think early morning. Ed’s spirits are good and he has just what I’d consider normal pre-operative anxiety. Before I arrived at the hospital Ed had a visit from a representative of Nor-Cal Mobility. Nor-Cal is a local Chico business with a great reputation for handicapped modified transportation and home modifications. Nor-Cal, had offered to “take Ed home” when the time came. Another example of the community support Ed has received from the day of his accident. Today they drove a demo van down to see of Ed would ”fit”. Not that Ed is giant, but sitting up in a power chair with a big battery underneath, and some ariel stuff to support his arms, he’s tall for getting into a van. Ed said he fit well enough. I guess this was a mid-sized van; not a mini but not a full sized behemoth. As if Ed didn’t have enough things to be sad, mad or worried about right now, he is distraught that his “carbon footprint” just got way bigger. So he’s trading European travel for driving a gas guzzling vehicle… Other Ed news. Last week I was in San Jose only Thursday night. We had a meeting with Ed’s case manager that went pretty well, trying to tie up last minute stuff. The biggest problem is getting a local Home Health Care agency to take Ed’s case. There are 5 companies in town but none so far are willing to work with us. Any of you out there in the know, or with pull, put in a good word for Ed. In Chico over the weekend, Ed’s wheelchair ramp at his house was just about finished. And it looks really nice!! I see no reason why everyone should not have one! I met with another contractor who we are asking to bid on the re-model project. Anticipating that project, all Ed’s bedroom stuff got moved into the guest room next door. Thank-you to the two young men from my church. They did in 15 minutes what would have taken us old farts much longer and a lot of ibuprofen. I did ask permission to throw out an old, broken dresser….we all have stuff like this, left over from the first time we left home. But I could not bear to have anyone move his recliner chair. Old and ratty as it is, it is still company for me on those nights when I am at home. Eventually it will leave, as his wheelchair will roll into that same spot. Today was the “Rice Valley Tandem Rally”, the first ride in ChicoVelo’s Century Series. I understand from Rodney that the weather gods shown on us and there were 100 day-of sign-ups. Total about 150 riders. Very nice!! As for the Almond Blossom ride, Ed asked me to print off some flyers for folks/staff down here at the hospital. Seems Ed’s been making friends and doing cycling advocacy even when he is confined to his chair. Tomorrow, Monday, after Ed’s operation, I will try to get a post up as soon as possible. We understand that Ed will go to ICU after surgery for at least overnight. Major concerns over his airway and ability to breathe. Everyone please send good thoughts that Ed wakes up tomorrow still able to breathe on his own. Until tomorrow, Suzanne practiced transfering Ed to a special chair for showering. That is hard work for me and hard on him. He has to put up with my learning curve during these tasks. But I eventually got him up, showered and hair washed. He really liked having his scalp rubbed. Then another transfer back to bed to get dressed, transfer back to wheelchair. Ed was pretty worn out by then, not much interested in lunch and chilled from the shower. He and I hope this lethargy is just the higher dose of medicine, not something else going on. When people have spinal cord injuries, it is hard for them to tell if there is something going on with the rest of their body. Infections, being positioned wrong etc. can masquerade as lsitlessness. Still no visit from the surgeon, so Ed has not made up his mind on the surgery to stabilize his neck. I had hoped he'd come while I was here but no luck. When I return to Chico tomorrow a number of folks are gathering at our house to brainstorm new modifications. Nor Cal Mobility has been very helpful. Hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. Thank you for all your support and good wishes. I'll try to do a post tomorrow night, but Sundays get really busy getting ready for work and regrouping from being out of town. good evening, Suzanne
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