Hi! Had a little "bump in the road" that I thought you'd want to know about. Steve had a seizure Thursday morning...Danielle heard him making a strange sound, then having other symptoms. THANKFULLY she was there to take care of him and got help quickly. He has been fine ever since. It could have been the result of many different things, but the frustrating part is that they have put him back on meds to control seizures as a precaution. The bad news is that it makes him tired. The good news is that they're working with us to figure out the best times of day to give it to him, so that he can be alert for therapy. We plan on this being just a little bump, considering all that he's been through and dealt with!
Something that we talk about often is that we're always doing things with him in his room similar to what is done in OT...playing cards and other games, using his computer, writing in a journal (thanks, Beth!), throwing a ball back and forth, etc. Today he was wadding up a washcloth and trying to throw it into his garbage can! He is getting really good at all these things. Today Grams said we should get him a nerf basketball hoop, and that is on the agenda for my next shopping trip. Will be good for coordination and vision...we can place it in different spots in his room. He is also getting so much better at driving the motorized wheelchair. There is some issue with his vision (or his brain's interpretation of what he sees) that resulted in him often running into things when driving the chair. Doesn't happen nearly as often now! The other interesting (and maybe gross) thing that happened today is that he said he wanted to rinse his mouth with water and spit it out, like we'd do when brushing our teeth. I gave him a glass of water and a basin, and away he went. The coordination of raising a glass and taking a sip, then swishing the water around amazed us. Not many weeks ago he couldn't even close his mouth.
Uncle Dave...happy birthday! We hope your day was wonderful.
Everyone...have a nice weekend!
Love,
Linda
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5 comments:
If there is one thing Steve has taught us all, is that there is nothing we can't overcome if we try! This "bump" will find itself driven over and flattened!
Linda is there a specific amount of time that Steve will need to be on the seizure meds, or is this something he will have to continue to take?
Hey Cheryl! I hope you feel better that I got out here first!
Love to all,
Uncle Don & Aunt Gail
Don - We are waiting to have a conversation with the neuro team, but Steve's doctor in rehab said people normally take such meds for 6 months. We'll keep you posted.
Linda
Linda,
There are tons of seizure drugs out there so if Steve isn't alert when he takes this one, and they can't coordinate the drug dosing and him being alert, maybe they can try another drug. I believe they will wean him off whatever drug they put him on when it is time. I've always been told that a non seizing person who takes seizure meds and then goes off cold turkey will seize. (I never figured out why a non seizing person would want to take them but you know the clinical trials go.) For what it is worth, I have always done best to build up levels slowly and decrease them just as slow or slower.
I pray this is the last seizure as they are frightening for those observing and exhausting for Steve. He needs his strength to get everything else up to full speed. For that reason it is good to hear he started preventative meds.
Rob, the Edge parts arrived. Thanks so much for your help.
We think about all of you all the time. Take care of one another.
Love,
Denise
We all have a tendency to "feel good" when things are going our way and then something happens to bring you right back to the reality of the situation. Steve had been off of seizure meds since early April and the doctors can't seem to figure out how he lasted so long, as seizures are pretty much a standard occurrence in brain injured patients. We too hope and pray that this "bump" is the last one.
Conversely, it is such a pleasure to see Steve react to situations like this. For instance, when a nurse came in and said to him, "sorry you had a bad day", Steve looked at Linda and said, "Bad day??? How about a bad 15 minutes". We will get through this as we have all the previous, believe it!!!
Danielle, I don't know if you know this, but your actions have received due praise from the nurses that were present.
Rob
Dear Rob and Steve and all the family.
I am sorry to hear about Steve's accident. We heard back in the winter that someone in our subdivision slipped and fell but we didn't know who it was. I'll have Steve on my prayer's list and if there is anything we can do please let us know, we're cross the street from your home. Sam and the family.
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