initial pathology update!
Another whirlwind of a week over here! Thanks so much for your prayers, encouragement, patience, and support. We continue to feel thoroughly enveloped in community.[...]
Another whirlwind of a week over here! Thanks so much for your prayers, encouragement, patience, and support. We continue to feel thoroughly enveloped in community.[...]
So many gifts.
One of an array of unexpected realities of my experience of the last several weeks.[...]
So, we're 10 days out from brain surgery, several days out of a lightning fast rehab stay, and Joel's been home for a few days now. His sleep is improving incrementally, we've taken a few walks, he's seen friends and had work meetings, is sleeping/resting a lot, hanging with kids as he is able, eating Everett's famous scrambled eggs.[...]
Good news! Joel will get to come home tomorrow (Wednesday).
He's being discharged with the expectation that he will not be alone for long stretches of time, because someone will need to accompany him while walking. He's moving around well, but it's for extra safety. Falling from 6.5 feet would not be pretty. Today he did a whole staircase, walked outside for quite a distance on different surfaces, and practiced general life activities, all without assistance.[...]
There's not a lot to say today. That's a good thing! Joel continues to make great progress in his occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy. They are primarily working on coordination, strength, visual-spatial awareness, and some mild cognitive things. His left side is improving, but still needs work. Joel's trying to break out of rehab and get home... there's a meeting tomorrow between all the staff, and we'll get a recommendation for discharge/follow-up services after that. Will update when we know something. No pathology report to share for a couple more weeks.[...]
Some twists and turns are fun, some are terrifying, most are a mix of everything. This experience has been everything all at once. We are almost consumed by gratitude, while also scared and overwhelmed, while going in and out of a grasp on reality, while depleted, while surprisingly energetic. Humans cannot hold only darkness or joy all the time, and our tears tell the many stories. [...]
The stars aligned and Joel was able to be transfered to Mercy for rehab sooner than we expected!
He's free of all ports and attachments, is not in any pain, and has a gnarly scar- over 20 sutures, and 8+ inches. He's more subdued, able to sleep a bit more, and feeling generally okay. [...]
Joel has made a lot of progress already! He's doing the most. [...]