At 6:00 a.m. I got home from my "sleepover" at the hospital. It was interesting to say the least. The tech took about 45 min. to hook a ton of electrodes to my scalp and face, plus another dozen on my neck, chest and legs. Of course, each electrode is held in place by goopy, thick gunk so my hair was a total fright wig! I had so many wires connected to so many "boards" that I couldn't believe it. I had straps around my chest and my waist. The room looked like someone's guest room - very nice with a bathroom down the hall. There were four people sleeping over last night - a full house. I conked out about 10:30 with a little help from Ambien, which they encourage, as all this equipment, plus the CPAP machine and mask are not comfortable! The room has a camera that takes a picture every 5 seconds all night long and a speaker so they can record any snoring, grinding of teeth, talking, etc. The tech couldn't tell me anything about my test - I have to wait 7-10 days for all the data to be analyzed and then meet with the doctor to get the results and full picture.
BTW, there was a response to my question about grief, loss and being cold. A doctor friend weighed in with two observations: 1.) the older he gets the colder he gets! I prefer not to touch that one. 2.) yes, stress can effect the body that way, among others. So I guess I'll blame my chilliness on stress and let go at that.
The highlight of today was the start of Rand's "Recovery Function" therapy. He has two PT's, both from Santa Barbara and two OT's both from the Bay Area. Rand was able to do everything they asked of him with ease. At the end of the two hour session, once we got outside, Thuan began punching the air and whooping, "We passed the test! We passed the test!" When I asked him to explain, he said that he had anticipated what they would want Rand to be able to do next so he's been working on it like mad with him - and Rand sailed right through - he passed the test! Now Thuan is hoping that they will "give Rand something stronger" for the next two days. I was happy for Rand and Thuan, but even more pleased when Rand showed off the strength in his right arm. He supported himself on that hand/arm alone this afternoon with no trouble. He even has muscles again in that arm! Whoopie!
An even bigger whoopie was when one of the repeat patients (Michael) came into the room, greeted Rand and asked how he was doing. Rand replied,"Just fine." Michael let out a whoop exclaiming that Rand could talk - he can talk compared to the last time he saw him in early December! Michael practically did cartwheels over Rand's progress! Then Cathy, one of the instructors, took me aside and said that she is astounded by the progress Rand has made in speech. She said that she's not an SLP, but she has worked with thousands of stroke patients and she can tell which ones will talk again and which ones probably won't. In her opinion, Rand is on the verge of talking again. Maybe he won't come all the way back, but he's going to be able to communicate in a way that makes sense to him and to us. That was so good to hear. That is actually the first positive news I've heard about his speech in a long, long time. Cathy reminded me that with a stroke, the leg comes back first, then the arm and last, the speech. Rand's leg is better than ever, his arm is now supporting his weight - can language be far behind? What a miracle that would be.
Tomorrow is another session - maybe with "something stronger" for Rand. Keep him close and think good thoughts for his continued progress.
Love,
Connie
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