Hello! We just returned from an afternoon of therapy. The most interesting today was speech. That seems to be the place where they figure out ways to communicate with Steve, and then pass that info along to the PT and OT therapists. Today Steve clearly said "hi" and it also sounded like he said "yeah" although that was a little quieter. Laura, his speech therapist, wrote a note that said "look at your mom" and put it in front of him...he read it and followed that instruction! Then she wrote "close your eyes" and he read it and did that, too. So she made signs that said "yes", "no", and "I don't know" then asked questions and he looked at the appropriate sign to answer. She made an alphabet chart and we tried a few things with that, but she's going to fine tune that system as we go along. She made a sign with a couple numbers on it, then asked him what the answer was to a simple math problem...he was able to do that, too. Pretty exciting (and exhausting) stuff!
Yesterday around 5 PM we had an interesting experience with Steve. He lifted both his arms (the right one higher than the left) and looked at his hands as though he couldn't figure them out. We explained that they were his hands, and used his right one to touch parts of his face and tell him what they were. I showed him my hand and asked him to touch mine with his, and he did that several times. We showed him a picture of Danielle, and he reached for it and tried to hold it. Also showed him a picture from Muskegon and put his hand in a baggie of Lake Michigan sand (thanks, Deb!) and he moved his fingers around in it. Also tried to hold his Michigan hat. After about 20 minutes he seemed very tired, and his arms seemed to hurt, so we stopped. It was pretty amazing.
Take care, everyone!
Love, Linda and Grams
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4 comments:
The Good Lord continues His works of Wonder through Steve this Easter Season! Yes, it's still Easter....(actually there are 50 days in the Easter Season). Only more good things to come, I can't wait!!
Thanks for sharing!
We have been following Steve's remarkable progress through this frightening journey, since Lauren W (our daughter) told us of his injury. We thank God that she was able to offer some support to you whilst in MD. As a PT (working in pediatrics), Steve is making great strides with his desire to communicate and to move his limbs. He appears to be on target as far as working on some trunk and head control, which is absolutely vital for standing and walking. We know you are in an excellent rehab facility with skillful doctors and therapists. We continue to pray with God's grace, for Steve to be restored to his home and family and to return to doing the things that he enjoys. Steve and your family are on our prayer list at Bucks Central Church here in Newtown PA. Thank you for your updates and example of love and support.
The circumstance with Steve's hand is called "Alien Hand Syndrome" - my Mom, after suffering a CVA, also had this syndrome - fortunately, Steve should "recover" from it - see the following - "Furthermore, in the presence of unilateral damage to a single cerebral hemisphere, there is generally a gradual reduction in the frequency of alien behaviors observed over time and a gradual restoration of voluntary control over the affected hand, suggesting that neuroplasticity in the bihemispheric and subcortical brain systems involved in voluntary movement production can serve to re-establish the connection between the executive production process and the internal self-generation and registration process. Exactly how this may occur is not well-understood but a process of gradual recovery from alien hand syndrome when the damage involves a single hemisphere has been reported."
One thing to add to the Alien Hand comment, it's not uncommon for the individual to feel like the limb is not part of their own body. In extreme cases, they are disgusted with the limb and will neglect it entirely. For example, they will refuse to wash it or dress it. Some will even want the limb amputated. Fortunately, if Steve does in fact have Alien Hand it doesn't seem like he is or ever will get to this point. Just keep an eye out. You're coming along, Steve!! Keep fighting! :)
~Ashley
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