A year ago today Rand was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. It was seven long weeks later before he was able to return to his room on Antigua Drive. That was such a difficult time.
Tonight Rand and I drove home from a visit with the ophthalmologist who specializes in neuro-ophthalmologic issues. It was a lovely drive in the glow of a full moon and the best part was that Rand could see it! After all the tests, everything is said and done, the neurologist at Good Sam was right on the nose the day after Rand's stroke. Rand has no vision in the right half of each eye. When looking straight ahead with glasses on, he has 20/20 vision but he does not see anything to the right out of either eye. It isn't like there is a black area for him, there is just nothing there. His eyes are perfect, the retinas are healthy, the optic nerves are great, but the piece of his brain that processes his vision to the right side is damaged and can not be repaired. The ophthalmologist said that the best that Rand can do is to compensate for that vision loss by doing two things - one, make it a habit to always scan to the right to see what he missed and two, concentrate on keeping his eyes focused on an object. His eyes tend to jiggle and wander a tiny bit so things look blurry to him. He can compensate for that by concentrating on holding his gaze still until he sees the details he wants/needs to see. The doctor said it was like trying to see what is behind you. You know something is there but you can't see it unless you turn around and look. That's what Rand needs to do all the time - look to the right, scanning what he consistently misses.
Rand was very down when he heard the news and we explained it to him. I was so happy with the news, because I was afraid that there was permanent damage to his eyes and we would be facing diminished vision as time went on. Not the case! I think I was upbeat and convincing enough about the glories of his sight that by the time we got home, he was happy again. We talked about how lucky he is that he can see - friends, TV, puzzles, magazines, newspapers, the world around us and how tragic it would be if he had lost his vision. He will never be able to read again, but that's not news to me, nor I suspect, to Rand. Tomorrow is a new day, with new therapy ahead, a drive over the mountain and he can soak it all in visually!
Rand had a long hard morning of OT and PT to start the day. His walking has improved so much! He is now self correcting the right foot which wants to turn out. He brings it back forward with each step which is HUGE! The PT is so impressed with the progress he has made. I don't know how far he walked today with his quad-cane, but his legs were shaking by the end of the session. In OT, he stood for a long time, balancing himself, trying to put some weight on his right hand/arm while stacking plastic cones with his left hand. Tough to do and painful. After lunch he slept for hours! Tomorrow we start the next session of "Recovering Function" as a demo patient. We'll drive "over the hill" to Santa Cruz with our friend every day through Monday for two hours of OT and PT.
Keep Rand close. I hope he is sleeping well tonight - under a full moon that he can see if he wakes up!
Love,
Connie
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
May 22, 2007
This was another busy day. This morning I met with/interviewed another music therapist and hired her to work with Rand once a week starting next week. I feel good about her, her background, philosophy and experience. We agreed that this would be up to a four month trial period to see how it goes. Rand, she or I may decide that it isn't working, isn't appropriate, and terminate the agreement at any time, but I want to give it a solid shot. Rand poo-pooed the idea, rolled his eyes, laughed at the whole notion, but agreed to try it in light of my stubborn Norwegian-ness. I'm not giving up on finding some way to connect with what is going on in his brain and I'm not going to let him give up either. By the time we get well into music therapy, we should know more about the possibility of getting a grant for Mo and getting him set up permanently with Rand. All these irons in the fire do have a common thread and one of these days they should all come together. I told him about the SOP music intonation, music therapy I tried with him almost immediately following the stroke. He doesn't remember any of it - singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and "singing" phrases as I held his hand and and moved it in rhythm with the words or song, the cds of his favorite songs I played in his room, in the car, trying to get him to sing. The night he first sang "Blue Moon". He remembers none of it. I think recounting all these efforts make him willing to try real, honest to goodness Music Therapy. We'll see.
I attended a luncheon for a professional group that I belong to and then spent the rest of the afternoon with Rand. It was good to see some former colleagues again. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with two former colleagues, one of whom I haven't seen in ages. Should be great fun. Following the lunch today I swung by my old school for the first time in two years. What fun that was!! "My" office looks the same and has held up well. There is wear and tear on parts of the school but my brass placque is still shiny and bright! I didn't even have to polish it this time! There are 12-15 staff members still there and it was wonderful to see them all.
Rand is just fine, no changes. We talked and I caught him up on several things and people, then we went out on the back patio and played solitare. Today we finally won a game!! Whee! That was fun for Rand and he had a good time piling the cards on aces in numerical order. Rand still has to slow down, look carefully as he mixes up the suits, colors and some numbers. He doesn't see all the moves available, so when I stop dealing or hesitate, he goes back to the cards and looks hard again. Often he finds what he had overlooked and corrects himself. We worked on the jigsaw puzzle for awhile, too. I'm impressed that he is keeping at this 300 piece puzzle. If he can do it, then a whole new world of "puzzledom" will open up for him. 150 piece puzzles are hard to find and are very childish in their themes - lots of Barbie and CInderella!
My cousin sent this Norwegian Blessing to me - how appropriate!
"May da ruts alvays fit da wheels of yer pickup - May yer ear muffs alvays keep out da nort vind - May da sunshine varm yer lefse - May da rain fall softly on yer lutefisk - And until vee meet again - May God protect yew from any and all unnecessary Uffdas!!"
All is well. Keep Rand close.
Love,
Connie
I attended a luncheon for a professional group that I belong to and then spent the rest of the afternoon with Rand. It was good to see some former colleagues again. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with two former colleagues, one of whom I haven't seen in ages. Should be great fun. Following the lunch today I swung by my old school for the first time in two years. What fun that was!! "My" office looks the same and has held up well. There is wear and tear on parts of the school but my brass placque is still shiny and bright! I didn't even have to polish it this time! There are 12-15 staff members still there and it was wonderful to see them all.
Rand is just fine, no changes. We talked and I caught him up on several things and people, then we went out on the back patio and played solitare. Today we finally won a game!! Whee! That was fun for Rand and he had a good time piling the cards on aces in numerical order. Rand still has to slow down, look carefully as he mixes up the suits, colors and some numbers. He doesn't see all the moves available, so when I stop dealing or hesitate, he goes back to the cards and looks hard again. Often he finds what he had overlooked and corrects himself. We worked on the jigsaw puzzle for awhile, too. I'm impressed that he is keeping at this 300 piece puzzle. If he can do it, then a whole new world of "puzzledom" will open up for him. 150 piece puzzles are hard to find and are very childish in their themes - lots of Barbie and CInderella!
My cousin sent this Norwegian Blessing to me - how appropriate!
"May da ruts alvays fit da wheels of yer pickup - May yer ear muffs alvays keep out da nort vind - May da sunshine varm yer lefse - May da rain fall softly on yer lutefisk - And until vee meet again - May God protect yew from any and all unnecessary Uffdas!!"
All is well. Keep Rand close.
Love,
Connie
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
May 15, 2007
This was an interesting day with some exciting possibilities ahead! Once again, Rand was invited to be a demo patient in the "Recovering Function" class. This will be his fourth or fifth time and it is always soooooooo good! The class will run for five days from May 31 to June 4. We'll be there!
The other exciting thing that happened was that I got Rand signed up for golf!! A friend's daughter is an OT and sent me information on a program sponsored by the American Stroke Association and the PGA. It is designed to reteach stroke victims how to play golf and is called, cleverly, "Saving Strokes." An OT in Los Gatos runs the local program and golf pros teach it. Rand will start either in June or July, depending on the schedule. He will be taught to become a left handed golfer, will be able to learn right along side other stroke patients who are in the same boat/wheelchairs, and it will be at a nearby golf course. How perfect is that?? I'm so happy and excited for him! His reaction to the news was very ho-hum. We'll see.
I'm also pursuing the PT Cruiser conversion that I mentioned last night. I had a long talk with the folks in Detroit today about a lot of the details. They are sending me information including a video. I don't know if this would replace our other car or become a second vehicle - it is far too early to tell. Rand and his wheelchair might be too big for the car when converted. There is a lot of homework ahead. I'm looking into both new and used versions. Anyway, I still think it is exciting and has such possibilities. When I explained it to Rand, he scoffed. I told him that I won't be able to throw that wheelchair around forever and he laughed and laughed. Why do I even bother to ask his opinion?? As always, I will do what I think is best and the devil be damned!
The weather has been cool and windy - not good weather for walks. Today we sat outside on the patio and played solitaire together. He is getting pretty good but is not ready to play alone yet. The card order is still confusing and he doesn't see the moves available. Yesterday, in my absence, he started another jigsaw puzzle. Mo was turned on and he said he had been using it. Whew!
Keep Rand close.
Love,
Connie
The other exciting thing that happened was that I got Rand signed up for golf!! A friend's daughter is an OT and sent me information on a program sponsored by the American Stroke Association and the PGA. It is designed to reteach stroke victims how to play golf and is called, cleverly, "Saving Strokes." An OT in Los Gatos runs the local program and golf pros teach it. Rand will start either in June or July, depending on the schedule. He will be taught to become a left handed golfer, will be able to learn right along side other stroke patients who are in the same boat/wheelchairs, and it will be at a nearby golf course. How perfect is that?? I'm so happy and excited for him! His reaction to the news was very ho-hum. We'll see.
I'm also pursuing the PT Cruiser conversion that I mentioned last night. I had a long talk with the folks in Detroit today about a lot of the details. They are sending me information including a video. I don't know if this would replace our other car or become a second vehicle - it is far too early to tell. Rand and his wheelchair might be too big for the car when converted. There is a lot of homework ahead. I'm looking into both new and used versions. Anyway, I still think it is exciting and has such possibilities. When I explained it to Rand, he scoffed. I told him that I won't be able to throw that wheelchair around forever and he laughed and laughed. Why do I even bother to ask his opinion?? As always, I will do what I think is best and the devil be damned!
The weather has been cool and windy - not good weather for walks. Today we sat outside on the patio and played solitaire together. He is getting pretty good but is not ready to play alone yet. The card order is still confusing and he doesn't see the moves available. Yesterday, in my absence, he started another jigsaw puzzle. Mo was turned on and he said he had been using it. Whew!
Keep Rand close.
Love,
Connie
Monday, May 14, 2007
May 14, 2007
Today was my second "Day Off" from seeing Rand and I didn't know what to do with myself. I did some shopping, (the red purse was gone so I got a dark, dark brown one instead), did some stuff around the house, kept looking at my watch to see how much time I had before I went to Rand's Room. I almost succumbed and went over there but forced myself to stay away. By then, Jennie the SLP, was there and I'd just be in the way.
I'm not ready to buy a new car yet, but I've started looking around for alternatives to a van with a lift or ramp built in. Our Nissan Murano is just about right for our needs, except that a week ago I strained my shoulder loading Rand's wheelchair into and out of the back end. It was a not so subtile reminder that I may not be able to do that forever. Last night I ran across a website that really got me going. Check it out at www.fminow.com/index.php Click on the PT Cruiser, then on "conversions." Is that slick or what?? Obviously, I would be looking at one that had the passenger side conversion. It could be an answer to my dilemma. There's a ton of homework to be done, but something like that could be great. Rand and I frequently rented PT Cruisers when we were traveling because of the space, size, etc. A model with all the bells and whistles could be wonderful - minus some of the paint jobs shown! Oh well, I have a couple of years to think about it.
I don't know how I can look forward to a day to myself on one hand and then turn around and not know what to do with it. Uff da. I hate to start planning my days off but I don't want to have another day like this either. I felt discombobulated, like I was wasting time. I had things to do at home that I didn't want to do like ironing, cleaning the kitchen, etc. Hmmmmmmm. I've got to get my ducks in a row.
Keep Rand close.
Love,
Connie
I'm not ready to buy a new car yet, but I've started looking around for alternatives to a van with a lift or ramp built in. Our Nissan Murano is just about right for our needs, except that a week ago I strained my shoulder loading Rand's wheelchair into and out of the back end. It was a not so subtile reminder that I may not be able to do that forever. Last night I ran across a website that really got me going. Check it out at www.fminow.com/index.php Click on the PT Cruiser, then on "conversions." Is that slick or what?? Obviously, I would be looking at one that had the passenger side conversion. It could be an answer to my dilemma. There's a ton of homework to be done, but something like that could be great. Rand and I frequently rented PT Cruisers when we were traveling because of the space, size, etc. A model with all the bells and whistles could be wonderful - minus some of the paint jobs shown! Oh well, I have a couple of years to think about it.
I don't know how I can look forward to a day to myself on one hand and then turn around and not know what to do with it. Uff da. I hate to start planning my days off but I don't want to have another day like this either. I felt discombobulated, like I was wasting time. I had things to do at home that I didn't want to do like ironing, cleaning the kitchen, etc. Hmmmmmmm. I've got to get my ducks in a row.
Keep Rand close.
Love,
Connie
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