Miracles DO happen!

 

A beautiful sight: [click on the link to the right LEFT -- as John just pointed out, I STILL don't know my left from my right... oops! If you click on the words, it'll take you to snapfish]

Home, Sweet Home!

 

This morning, Nora and I drove to Chicago, and look who came home with us:

WALKING out of the 9th floor -- thank you, Dr. Chen, Mike, Piper, Ryan, Raquel, and everyone else!

The three of us, ready to hit the road :)
 

 

We got home mid-afternoon and enjoyed some quiet time together before dinner. John's request for his first night home: garlic pasta, which I was happy to oblige. Then we had cake to celebrate (decorations designed by one very excited Monkey-girl):

 

 



And now for a quiet evening before his outpatient therapy evaluation tomorrow (no, he doesn't get a day off!). This is heaven:

 

Saturday, September 22

When we walked into the day room to look for John this morning, we actually didn't recognize him right away, and as soon as we got back to his room, I snapped this to show you all why:

After lunch (homemade mac and cheese, at his request), Nora and I went to OT with him. Today, he used the e-stim while working his shoulders:

For the non-OTs reading this, the e-stim is an electric stimulator (the OT reading will correct me if I've got that wrong -- in which case, you'll see an edit!) that helps the muscle contract more. So John's got patches on his right shoulder and when he gets his arm at about the height of the bottom shelf, he pushes a button on the control with his left hand and it gives his right shoulder muscles a small shock to help them move better. It's amazing to watch -- when I was in on Tuesday, he couldn't get his arm up to the top of the cabinet as he is in the bottom picture.

Nora used therapy time to set up her own work-out:

And practice her fine-motor skills with some smack-talk for Mr. Mike (Daddy's PT and a Browns fan):

And Nora did this for the last time today:

Yes, this was her last train ride in to visit Daddy because he's coming home next week!!! His OT and PT have trained me on everything we'll need to be able to do at home (spotting him going up and down the steps, getting in and out of bed, getting in and out of the car, etc.). He's made miraculous progress at RIC and his physiologist says he's ready to transition to outpatient rehab, which he'll do here in South Bend. The journey is far from over -- but the three of us are thrilled that he can come home for the rest of it.

Field trip

Yesterday, John went on a therapy trip to O'Hare Airport. Thanks to his shiny new hardware between C3 and C5, it's pointless for him to go through the metal detector. So security will be extra fun the next time we're able to fly. For this therapy session, he and 7 other patients got to practice the whole procedure (except for takeoff and landing and the travel to somewhere fun!): they went through security, complete with a "boarding pass":

traveled to a gate, and practiced getting on and off the plane.

Spotted on my way in on Tuesday:

Random notes:

• Overheard from the kitchen: "So, daddy -- tell me about your day" and "Can I just give you to Ezzie for a minute? Meow, meow, meow. That means I love you, Daddy."

• John's therapy continues to go well.

• And today we had another follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon, and John's been cleared to start tapering off use of the neck brace!

Sunday, September 16

Date night!

Thanks to visiting grandparents, I was able to go in on Saturday and spend the night with John. Once he was done with his therapy sessions for the day, he got cleaned up, put on khakis, and showed off his ability to stand for 60 seconds:


"OK -- I've posed for you, now where's my chair?"

and we headed out for dinner at D4 (a wonderful Irish pub). We stuffed ourselves on fish and chips:

We'll have two orders of fish 'n chips, please -- hold the coleslaw!

and enjoyed the chance to talk outside of a hospital.



at D4

Then back to RIC for the Irish-Mich. St. game, an almost too-good-to-believe way to cap off our evening.

Today, John had PT at 8:00 am -- totally worth postponing breakfast for, since Mike started teaching him how to lower himself to the floor, how to get up off of the floor, and then worked him on the stairs.

Nana and Grandpaw brought Nora at lunchtime. After feasting on a batch of John's chili, we took him to the museum of contemporary art (2 blocks from RIC). The appeal of riding in Daddy's chair has not yet worn off (nor is she any lighter!) for Nora:

He and Nora really enjoyed the skyscraper exhibit, which included an interactive part (note Nora's reflection in the top right quadrant, just to the right of the red circle):

 

Our dessert of the day was (appropriately enough) cookies shaped like the Eiffel Tower (baked before we knew we would see this exhibit). We headed out mid-afternoon, and I have a sneaky suspicion that John then napped!

Wednesday, September 12

John's way of starting our daily phone conversation this evening:
"Were you driving down Lake Shore drive this afternoon?" I politely simply say, "Noooo," refraining from pointing out that 1) our good car is still in NJ, so no Chicago driving for me, and 2) I was teaching this afternoon. Then he explained:

He had 2 PT sessions, one at 8 am (! -- I keep meaning to ask him if he's adjusted to Chicago time -- maybe he still thinks of this as 9 am) and one at 2 pm, both with Ryan. He spent his morning session working on stairs (though if he remembered that climbing the stairs in our house will mean he gets to be actively involved in prodding Nora to keep her room clean, he might not be so eager...). This afternoon, Ryan asked him if he'd been outside for PT yet, and he hadn't. So the ground he walked over was Lake Shore Drive! The goal was to start training him on uneven ground. It was bumpy going (pun intended), but deeply satisfying for him.

I am celebrating by making a huge pot of French onion soup (for me -- it's a treat for my "allergic" husband since the smell should dissipate before he comes home) -- comfort food!

Saturday, September 8

The view from our window on the South Shore line:



a beautiful fall sky after last night's rain -- it's football weather!

 

We took Daddy an apple pie today J and he loved every bite of it. When we were eating lunch in the day room, Nora was having trouble using her indoor voice, and there were a couple of therapy sessions going on. So John told her, “You’re in a hospital and have to be quiet – people are trying to heal. No one gets to make noise except Daddy when he’s working” – a nice acknowledgement of the fact that he works so hard in PT that he grunts loudly.

Nora has discovered that as fun as it is to push Daddy in his chair, it’s even more fun to ride in it with Daddy!

After lunch

 

Nora got to go to OT with John, and she joined in for the stretches at the end. We also took John out for a short walk – it was a lovely day, with the first hint of fall in the air. We had lots of fun trying to arrange ourselves so we could all fit in the camera frame in a self-portrait:

 

Nora got to play at the South Shore playground, and John enjoyed watching her cross the swinging bridge and slide down to twirling pole. He and I were amused to watch her grab a little girl her age, and ask her to play on the hopscotch path with her – clearly, the past two weeks of kindergarten have taught her how to how to get a game going with new kids!

Every time I visit John, he’s just a little bit stronger. We both remember the day we arrived here, when we each noticed the same thing first:

 

 

Every time I watch John working or listen to him describe his day, I’m amazed at his strength. And I remember reading this passage from Job when we entered:

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

and I know that I’m watching God at work here.

Thursday, September 6

I was able to bring John lunch today (tomato soup and grilled cheese) and when I packed it this morning, I thought, "That's too much food" but I brought it all anyway since I had already ladled it out. And then John ate every drop and bite of it! And then I got to treat him to the cafeteria coffee, icing on the cake.

In PT, he continues to work on the treadmill, strengthening his hips and ankles. After lunch, he had a group OT session, during which they used small hand weights to do arm exercises and I got to join in and get my workout, too :) It was great to experience just a tiny bit of what his therapy is like.

His resolve is strong, and he continues to amaze me with his dedication.

[oops... had to edit to correct the date, since I accidentally labeled this "August 6..."]

Saturday, September 01

Last night, Nora and I went into the city to surprise John – and surprise him we did! We saw him for dessert (she brought him a box of chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Company – all cherry and/or coconut, arranged in the box according to her specifications), and then she and I headed over to a hotel 2 blocks from the hospital for the night. Then, this morning, we were able to be in his room at 8:00 AM for kickoff and breakfast!

We just watched the ND-Navy game together -- we even managed the 8 AM kickoff!

We had a great time watching the game with Daddy (yay for an Irish win! And double-yay for all of those glimpses of Dublin!), and then spending a quiet afternoon together, including PB-&-J for lunch (his first since sometime in July).

OK, maybe not so quiet once she was pushing John in his chair down to the lab for PT -- I was afraid she'd go right through the glass wall in front of them instead of using the door...

 

Nora got to watch him do his PT again today:



Nora's watching Daddy up on the treadmill and cheering him on: "Come on, Daddy! Just a little more!"
 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This afternoon, he worked on the treadmill for about 40 minutes, trying to increase his speed, and then on the bike for about 15 minutes. The bike was really cool – it kept track of how much of the effort came from his left leg versus his right leg. Another update on the PT front: yesterday, he worked on the set of steps in the lab. His legs are getting stronger each day, so only seeing him every couple of days is amazing, because the progress is noticeable.

When we left for the dinnertime train back to South Bend, John headed down to OT to practice daily living activities, with hopes of a nap afterward.

the view from John's windows

One blog I like to read features readers' submissions of the view from their window, and in its spirit, here are John's views:

from the PCU in AtlantiCare

from the 9th floor of RIC