Rehab Week 1

I couldn't be any more proud of Alli.  She has been a rockstar this past week.  She has 6 therapy sessions each day, plus visits from various medical specialists.  The staff in the CIRU (comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation unit) strive not only to rehabilitate the patient, but also prepare the family, as much as possible, for life at home.  Luckily for us, we are old hat to the medical regimen - medications, feeding pump, breathing treatments, etc.

Alli was measured for a wheelchair today.  That will be her primary mode of transportation until she is able to get around on her own.  We picked a sassy purple color and she will have her name monogrammed on it.

In physical therapy Alli spends one session on the mat working on rolling and picking her head up.  In the second session she works in a stander.  She starts prone and they slowly work her up to 90 degrees. She has been as high as 80 degrees and has done an awesome job.  She works really hard on holding her head up and maintaining head control.  She looks better and better every day.  She will have a stander at home.

In occupational therapy she is working on tracking, joint attention, and focusing her eyes on what her hands are doing.  She also works on head control and weight bearing in various positions.  She has some right sided weakness from the subdural hematoma, so they are focused on strengthening that side in particular.  Yesterday she had music therapy in conjunction with occupational therapy.  It was so sweet to see her attend to the musician while focusing on these specific areas.  It was really neat the way that they incorporated musical instruments in to the session through various shakers, tambourines, etc.

In speech therapy she has been working on non nutritive stimulation, as well as swallowing.  Her swallow gets more consistent every day and she has demonstrated that she has a protective cough.  She will have a swallow study while she is here to determine what consistency of food and drink she can safely manage.  She will also have a hearing test.  So far she has enjoyed tastes of popsicles and today she had her first tiny drops of apple juice.

As she gets stronger we are hearing more of her voice.  It is awesome to hear her making sounds.

We had a team meeting today with a case manager, her therapists, the social worker, a nurse, and a nurse practitioner.  We reviewed the progress Alli has made to date and the goals for her going forward.  Her current estimated length of stay is another 2 weeks.  They continually reassure us that this is just as estimate.  If she is continuing to make progress this date can be extended.  We are so grateful to be there and are excited to see what the next couple of weeks will bring for her.  Everyone has been so helpful and has really gone out of their way to make sure we have what we need to bring Alli home.  Everything from getting us a handicapped parking sticker to working with us to ensure her medicaid application gets filed.  They are amazing.

We have been managing without my mom for a week.  Everyone is hanging in there.  I wish I could say that I was handling it with grace and kept my composure at all times, but my patience wears thin, especially by the end of the day.  We have dinner together every night.  The last few nights we have had all 5 of us at the table.  It has been so special...even though Alli and Josh sleep through it sometimes.  It has been a glimpse in to the future of what our family will look like all together.  It has also been so nice to get Alli outside.  They have a couple of nice gardens at the hospital, so we try to get Alli outside for at least 30 minutes on the nice days.

Ok - sort of a rambling post.  There was so much to report on.  Will keep everyone posted and try to get some pictures from her therapy sessions.  They are great to watch!