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Showing posts from 2005

Wednesday Update: 12/28/05

Ok, so I’ve been bad and haven’t posted for a while…SORRY! You can see that I did write one last week, but just never got around to getting it online before now. Things have been so busy that I have struggled to find time to sit down and write. But, here I am at last!! Let’s start with Christmas…it Christmas was wonderful and we had a great time visiting with our families!! We were blessed with wonderful gifts, company, and food! Thanks to a few friends and my mom, we had plenty of yummy cookies, candies, and treats! We are so spoiled! Christmas Eve we spent with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece. We enjoyed time hanging out, snacking, and playing with our little Meghan. We also had our first official OUTING that night…to our church’s Christmas Eve service. It was so good to go and see the warm, familiar, and loving faces of those who have faithfully held us up in their prayers for so long. We received many warm hugs, hearty handshakes, and well-wishes. It was

Thursday Update: 12/22/05

Well, here we are all snuggled in bed on our second night at home…and things are going great. We spent the day hanging around the house…Matt worked on catching up on all his hot rod magazine reading while I baked cookies and cleaned up the house. We are starting to settle into things together here and I think we’re going to do just fine. We had a visit from a home health nurse just to check in on everything, and to see if there was anything they could do to help us out. Turns out, we won’t actually need anything from them! We practiced the shower again this morning with the tub bench, and Matt did really well. I originally thought it could be helpful to have another person there when he was showering, but it went so well this morning that I don’t think it will be necessary. I know that as time goes by we will just get better and better at it. The nurses thought we were doing great and wished us well. As it turns out Matt doesn’t begin his outpatient therapy at Penn Ave until next Wedne

Monday Update: 12/19/05

Blessings for the day: Our weekend at home went WONDERFULLY!!! We got home early in the afternoon on Saturday and had a great afternoon. After a while, we decided to try the basement stairs! We took our time and got down the stairs safely in one piece. In physical therapy, we had been practicing stairs with the railing on our right side (as if we were going out of our house), so it was a little trickier going down the basement stairs which has a railing on the left side. We had to sit down on the steps a few times to rest…but after a few tries, we finally made it. We walked over to his recliner and he spent the rest of the evening relaxing in it! We ordered a pizza and watched a few movies…including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (which we LOVE)! It was a great evening! We made our move upstairs around 9:00 or so and had no trouble at all. He got all ready for bed, got up in there, laid on his tummy, and snuggled in for the night. I think he actually slept better than I

Saturday Update: 12/17/05

Well, I am sitting in the living room while some workers are installing some extra insulation in our attic and am attempting to fill the time with something productive. I figured I might as well try and work on a little update for you all. This is the first morning in over three months that I haven’t been up early to greet Matt and help him get ready for the day. I am anxious and uncomfortable not being there to help start his day, and I hate that I can’t just call him up to tell him I’m running late. (They got here an hour later than expected) He knew I’d be down there later today, and was ok with it…and I know they are taking care of him there, but I just feel uncomfortable not being there as usual. Plus, of course, today is the big overnight visit, so I’m sure he’s just dying for me to get there and get him HOME! I will definitely update you all on how the trip goes. I took the entire day off work yesterday and was with Matt throughout all his therapies. It gave us another ch

Tuesday Update: 12/13/05

As usual, time is just a flyin’ by these days! The remodel here at Younker was the big news of the weekend…it is really beautiful, that’s for sure. Matt’s new room is very nice and state of the art. He has a nice view out the window of the courtyard park. He also has a huge bathroom that we can wheel him into and use really easily. Tomorrow he will practice showering again with the physical therapist here in our room. He’s getting lots of practice for when he goes home. Our trip home on Sunday went really well. We practiced walking to the bathroom and eating at the dining room table. He and I did pretty well together, but he still has some work to do. He has agreed to work his booty off this week to try and get a little stronger for the trip home. The therapists are also having me work with him more in therapy to help get an idea of how we are working together and give us any tips to help out. They have a really nice new gym here at Younker with a mock bedroom. We practiced

Tuesday Update: 12/13/05

Just a quick note to let you know that Matt has moved rooms. They completely remodeled Younker's rehab unit on the fourth floor of the Younker building. To get to his room, you use the same entrance and elevators. Go to the fourth floor again, but when you get off, go left. Stay left and his room is Y420. It is about 1/2 way down the floor. I'll write more of an update later! :)

Saturday Update: 12/10/05

Time is just a flying by these days - I can’t believe in just 11 days Matt will be going home for good. We are both so stinking excited! Matt has been doing so great, that they have actually arranged for him to go home on another day pass tomorrow. We’re going to practice some normal day-to-day maneuvering around the house to see how we do. Then we’ll spend the rest of his time here at Younker perfecting those things to ensure that we’re comfortable and capable of getting things done around the house together. I’m fairly confident in our abilities to work together as a team, but it will be good to try things in our normal home environment. Matt will also get to go home overnight next weekend, just to see how we’re doing and to make sure if there’s anything we need to do to the house, we have time to do that before he comes home to stay. He’s so excited that he’ll get to come home twice more! All of Matt’s therapies have continued to go really well. They set weekly goals for him

Friday Update: 12/2/05

Blessings for the day: Well, our big, BIG blessing is that God truly does answer prayer. I have felt it time and time again, but never as much as I did today. Let me back up a little and explain just how awesome God is…on Tuesdays, the therapists, nurses, and doctors all get together and review Matt’s progress. This past Tuesday, they all talked about how great he was doing, how much progress he was making, and how much more progress they thought he could make if he stayed at Younker for a while longer. They even talked to my insurance company and found out that he could stay longer, as long as he continued to show improvement. In their eyes, this was a great opportunity…in Matt’s eyes it was not. They thought they could send him home for one night over Christmas weekend, and then keep him here until the 30th. Well, he just couldn’t see the point in coming back for only one extra week. We thought long and hard about all the options, but ultimately it was Matt’s decision. He was

Sunday Update: 11/27/05

Blessings for the day: Wow…where do I begin? Thanksgiving was just AWESOME! Matt had a great time…we all did! I’m pretty sure he ate more than I did! It was so great for him to show everyone how his speech and swallowing have really come along. We didn’t have any problems getting home, or around the house. He sat in our office chair while eating, and we were able to wheel him down the hall to our bedroom for a nap. We both cuddled up in bed together for a while…with the cat at our feet and the doggies curled up on their bed of course. It felt so…natural and normal. Matt enjoyed his dinner and LOTS of dessert…the apple pie I had made and the wonderful chocolate/peanut butter cheesecake a friend from church made. (He had 2 helpings of both!) We got back here around 8:00 PM that night…just in time to settle in for bed. He didn’t want to come back, of course, but is now doubly motivated to get even stronger before coming home for good. Once we got back and I told the therapist h

Wednesday Update: 11/23/05

Blessings for the day: Matt IS coming home for Thanksgiving tomorrow!! I can hardly wait! It has been over 2 months since he was at home…we are so excited to just BE at home together! The fact that he’ll be able to partake of the Thanksgiving feast, is just icing on the very sweet cake. Matt has been doing so stinking great…there isn’t anything that he won’t be able to eat tomorrow! YAHOO!!! He’s been working so hard on swallowing and it is just going SO well. They have officially started him on one soft meal a day – lunch. They will be counting the calories he takes in orally, and will adjust the tube feedings as necessary. In the beginning the speech therapist had set a goal for him to be eating 50% orally, and the other 50% through the tube…well she said yesterday that he’s going to blow that goal out of the water! I have no doubt that Matt will leave this place without the feeding tube!!!! YA- Stinking- HOO!!! : ) His eating is getting faster and more natural as well. Yest

Monday Update: 11/21/05

Blessings for the day: Matt has been doing so great these past few days…working his tail off in order to come home on Thanksgiving. We’ve been practicing the stairs and getting in and out of the car. I got him in and out OUR car by myself! Having his dad behind us to make sure he’s stable will be just fine. He’s been working hard in all of his therapies! He’s been eating a lot more too. This weekend he ate an entire cookie (with M&M’s), some ice cream, applesauce, milk, ensure, and coke. He’s been swallowing so much better and talking more as well. He actually gained a few pounds this week, so they are going to cut out his midnight tube feeding. That should also help him sleep better as well, not having them pop in to do that at midnight. He’s excited for that. Things are continuing to go well for him here! We are so lucky to be here!

Wednesday Update: 11/16/05

Blessings for the day: Matt had a FANTASTIC day! I don’t even know where to begin. He just rocked in all of his therapies…did SO much better than I have ever seen him do! He was focused and driven…he worked his tail off! He had mashed potatoes and gravy today! He ate almost half of the serving and washed it down with some milk. He is still eating small quantities…but is getting better and better at moving it to the back of his mouth and swallowing it down. He also had a bite of graham cracker (which had been softened in some milk)…but he chewed it and got it down as well. YAHOO! This afternoon, I took Matt down to the cafeteria and we shared some vanilla ice cream. He just did really, really well. The speech therapist thinks it won’t be long and we can start counting calories and seeing how much he can eat on his own…coupling it with the tube feedings. I can’t wait! We also talked to the physical therapists and the physiatrist about the possibility of Matt coming home for a few hours o

Tuesday Update: 11/15/05

Blessing for the day: It’s my Dad’s birthday! Happy birthday Dad!!! Can’t wait to celebrate with you over Thanksgiving! I know it’s kind of stinky to spend it alone, but I am so grateful for you and Mom and your willingness to sacrifice being together to help me out. I will always, always be so very thankful. It’s snowing here today! Hard to believe it was warm enough to sit outside in a t-shirt just a few days ago, and now it’s snowing and COLD! It’s weird to think of how my life has changed over these past several weeks…like the changing seasons. I think back to the day of Matt’s hemorrhage and how it was a warm, sunny, September afternoon. He was running around Boone with his Dad, wearing his new Leach Lake Minnesota t-shirt that I had just bought him on vacation, and a new pair of shorts. I’m sure he had the sun roof open on his car and was enjoying the beautiful weather. I like to picture him like that…enjoying his afternoon. I can’t wait for next summer when he can do mo

Saturday Update: 11/12/05

Blessings for the day: Matt passed all of his short term speech goals today!!!!!!!!!! He over 2 oz of Coke and egg nog with only 1 cough! (The goal was 2 oz with no more than 3 coughs) He held out a vowel sound for 23 seconds (the goal was 15 seconds). He moved a life saver out from each cheek and over to the other 12 times on each side. He just did awesome! His weekend therapist was thrilled and said that his regular therapist will just be WAY excited when she comes in on Monday! He’s also been vocalizing so much, that we hardly need the letter board anymore. We keep it handy in a pinch if we can’t figure out a word, but most of the time I can understand him! He’s saying his t’s and s’s SO much better. He said ‘My name is Matt’ so well today! I made him say it for everyone who came in today! Matt has also been in such good spirits! He had 2 hours of therapy today (OT and speech). Tomorrow he has 3 hours! (OT, PT, and speech!) He wasn’t thrilled with having to work 3 hour

Thursday Update: 11/10/05

Blessing for the day: MATT HAD HIS FIRST BIG MEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It consisted of: 5 bites of chocolate ice cream 3 bites of sugar cookie 7 drinks of Coke 7 drinks of egg nog He was SO excited! It went really well, and he had a big smile on his face when he was done! I think he could have gone on eating and eating, but the therapist only has so much time to spend with him. She gave me the ok to try other soft things with him too, since we have suction in the room to help out in case he can’t get something down. She’s very encouraged with the amount of progress he’s made just in the past few days. He’s been swallowing these things so well, and has been vocalizing MUCH more! Here are a few of the things he’s said that were very clear: · I feel a draft · You owe me (a bite of cookie) · I never fell asleep · The nurse spilled on my underwear (don’t ask!) · One, two, three, four, five · I can’t wait for tomorrow (for the Botox injec

Tuesday Update: 11/8/05

Blessings for the day: Matt’s sense of humor and cocky little attitude are returning!!! I told the nurses and therapists to watch out…they’re about to get to know the real Matt. He did so well this morning in OT that every time the therapist would say good job he’d nod his head and smile…like ‘yeah, I know’. He actually started saying ‘damn right’…as if to say ‘yeah, I’m awesome’. It cracked everyone up. The speech therapist was so excited to hear he’d been working on saying real words, since she’s mostly working on sounds. The therapists, nurses, and doctors had their weekly meeting today to discuss Matt’s progress. They all agree he’s doing really well. They want to work harder on his balance and strength in his trunk muscles. So, they are still going to have him up walking, but will concentrate more this week on doing balancing exercises. Getting all the balance he can in his upper body will help him do everything better. I was glad to hear that, because I was worried they

Saturday Update: 11/5/05

Blessings for the day: Matt had a really good day today. The past few days have been really good actually. He’s been in pretty good spirits and has enjoyed visits from a few friends and family. He spent most of the afternoon today watching football with his dad and our brother in law Chad…shooting the breeze and laughing…just what he needed! Matt’s swallow test went really well! He was able to swallow thin liquids pretty well and has been given the ok to start drinking more and trying different things in therapy! Yahoo! He was a little bummed afterwards cuz he can’t just go and eat his Silvestrini’s pizza just yet…but it was a positive test which gave the therapist confidence in trying to work on the swallowing more. He has been enjoying small drinks of Coke…and will say ‘more pop, please’ when he wants more. The therapist here over the weekends said she could tell a big difference from last week to this week in his vocalization as well as his swallowing. I was pretty happy to

Thursday Update: 11/3/05

Blessing for the day: My co-workers are awesome! These past few days back have been so good for me. I’ve enjoyed catching up with everyone, as well as the actual work part of my job! Who knew? It really helps me feel a little bit more like my old self. I’ve missed her! Matt has been doing well with the e-stim on his right cheek. The therapist thinks he’s going to have really good movement there in time. Already I can see his lip curling up more when he smiles! He is having his swallow evaluation today! They will take him down to radiology and take an x-ray to see his swallow from the inside out. He will have to demonstrate a good enough swallow to start him eating more foods. Please pray this goes well and he’ll be able to get more calories through food SOON! The first thing he really wants to eat when he’s ready is a Silvestrini’s Pizza! I can’t wait to bring that to him! The therapists had their weekly review meeting on Tuesday. They will get together each week with the

Tuesday Update: 11/1/05 – NOVEMBER???? Holy buckets!!!!

Blessings for the day: I had my first scheduled day back to work! I came here at 7 to greet Matt and help him get ready for the day with his occupational therapist, and then headed over to work around 8:30 when they came to get him for physical therapy. It was harder than I thought it would be, leaving him. We had talked a lot about me coming back in the mornings and Matt was ok with it. Then, yesterday, he told me that he needed me here. I told him I would still be here…a lot…just not all day long anymore. This morning the nurses came in to get him up and asked him if I was going to work today and he said yes…though he didn’t look very happy about it. He realizes the good in me working half days and I think his confidence/comfort level here is increasing all the time. It was just so nice that all the therapists and nurses KNEW I was going back to work today. Communication…what a concept! It’s so great to have the right hand talking to the left hand. That was something that w

Saturday Update: 10/29/05

Oy Vey…these past few days have been a whirlwind of activity!! Matt has settled in here at Younker really nicely. We have spent most of these first few days just getting to know the therapists, as they evaluate him and his abilities. They all seem very nice and helpful; I think it’s going to be a great environment for him. He took several walks with the PT ladies these past few days. They are evaluating how he does and so far, I think he’s doing great. He practiced standing up and sitting down several times in a row and did great with that. The occupational therapy is going to be great here too; they’ve been working a lot on the everyday stuff like dressing and grooming. It’s hard for me not to help too much, but I know he needs to do as much as possible. He got such a good start with these therapies at Fleur Heights that he’s really just perfecting what he’s already started relearning. Every morning the OT therapist comes in first thing to help him get ready for the day. It’

Wednesday Update: 10/26/05

Blessing for the day: We made it to Younker safe and sound and are all settled in!! We got here a little before noon. Matt is in room Powell 469. You can get to it easiest by going to the south entrance, off Woodland Ave. Go in the Powell doors, under the big blue awning and take the elevators to the 4th floor. From there, turn right and go left around the divided hallway. We are down the hall a little ways. We were visited by the physical therapist and occupational therapist this afternoon. They were just checking him out and getting their initial evaluation started. They wrote out a schedule for Matt and posted it in the room for him. It’s going to keep him pretty busy most of the day, up until 4:00 PM. While he is going to have a few breaks during the day, he will need them to rest up. It is best to visit Matt between 4-8 PM. Right now, he gets pretty tired around 7:30 or so. Hopefully, as he gets stronger he won’t be tired that early and will be ok having visits later

Tuesday Update: 10/25/05

Blessing for the day: WE ARE GOING TO YOUNKER REHAB TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Pause while we all do our happy dance!) The representative called today to let me know that she had recommended Matt for their program, the Physiatrist there agreed, they got it all lined up with my insurance, and were arranging for him to be transferred tomorrow! We were SO excited!!!!!!!! Matt asked me this morning ‘Tell me what u think my chances of getting out of here are’. I told him 100%, but that I didn’t know for sure when it would be. It was a real treat that she called and said it would be tomorrow! What a HUGE milestone for us, we are thrilled! The therapists are all pretty sad that we’re leaving; they were full of hugs and warm wishes. They completely understand though, that Matt needs to be in an environment more geared towards this type of recovery. I know he will thrive there. These therapists have all played a very important role in his rehabilitation, and we will

Monday Update: 10/24/05

Blessing for the day: Here is a message that Matt spelled out for me to put on the blog to all our friends and family – ‘Hi everyone! I am not really talking to you, but thought I would say hello. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it.’ I thought you would all enjoy reading a message straight from Matt. He was happy to do it and I’m sure there will be more as time goes on. He has been asking me to read the blog and also to read the many cards he has received. I think he really takes comfort in the many kind words you have written to him. Your love and support strengthen him daily. He worked hard today in therapy and continues to make strides in the right direction. He sat on the physical therapy mat while doing speech therapy today for a solid hour. He worked to correct himself when he started to lean one way or the other. They were quite impressed that he was able to multi-task so well. He is pretty exhausted right now, taking a nice snooze in

Friday Update: 10/21/05

Blessings for the day: Matt has been increasing curious about his injury and the past few weeks. The other night as I typed my last post, he spelled out ‘would u read me the blog’. So, I spent the next hour reading him all the posts I had written. We both got emotional a few times, reading over what we’ve all been through. We talked about those early weeks back in the CCU. I told him that I spent the first week and a half sleeping in the hospital, as did my mom. I told him how his dad, sister, and my mom took turns staying up all night with him…that someone was always watching over him. He was so moved by that. I told him about the generous gifts, acts of love and kindness, and many prayer chains he has been on. Today we read through some of the many cards he has received and he spelled out ‘I m so blessed’. He was very, very emotional listening to the kind words that so many of you have written to him. Yesterday, he wrote ‘I just want to go back to work’. He just loves his

Wednesday Update: 10/19/05

Blessing for the day: Matt used his letter board to tell me ‘I would be lost without u’. That’s the best thing I’ve heard him ‘say’ to me yet! It has been so darn good to have him be able to tell me things and discuss stuff with him. I’ve had to make some very big decisions throughout the course of this journey and some have been very hard to make without him. It is good to talk about them now and see that we are in sync with each other. Matt had a bit of a low day today…just feeling a little down about things. I know he’s going to have moods like this, so we aren’t going to make a big deal about it. He tried his first bite of food, vanilla pudding. It was very hard for him to swallow it. Most of the weakness is in the front of his mouth, pushing the food to the back. Once it’s back there, he is swallowing very well, but getting it back there is the struggle right now. He was very disappointed that it was so hard to eat it. He felt like this first attempt was a failure, whic

Tuesday Update: 10/18/05

Blessing for the day: Matt has been communicating a lot with the letter board! It has been so great! I can’t even tell you how wonderful it is for us both to be able to really communicate. I don’t have to interpret everything or guess at what he needs. This morning when I told him that we may have to stay here another week or two before going to Younker he spelled out ‘Can u talk to them about speeding things up’. I was impressed with that long of a sentence. I told him he just needs to work on his therapies and keep improving and getting stronger and we’ll get there. I think their goal at Younker is to get him to the point where he can go home and be fairly independent and if he were to have any kind o plateau there, they’d have to send him back to a place like this for a few weeks…and we don’t want that either. So, if that means we have to stay here a little longer than expected, we’ll do it. Whatever gives him the best chances for getting back home, and getting there with as

Monday Update: 10/17/05

Blessing for the day: Matt got a letter board from his speech therapist today. It has the alphabet on it so he can spell out words and communicate with us better. What a HUGE asset this has proved to be already!! Of course, I being the spelling wizard that I am struggled with the first thing he tried to tell me. It went like this…DR (pause) IN (pause) K. I was baffled….Dr in? Dr Ink? Dr in, K? Or…DRINK!?!?! Jeez, how stupid am I!? I was so confused! HA! Once we finally got it figured out, I was overjoyed! I got some water on a soft sponge for him to suck off and swallow. He did really well with that! Our first real communication (besides yes/no questions) in weeks, it felt so good. I have also learned from this letter board that his biggest frustration right now is lack of sleep. He told me that he has been having bad dreams. That right there just about broke my heart. There’s nothing I can do to help that. I always hated leaving him at night, and I worried that he

Friday Update: 10/14/05

Blessings for the day: Matt did AWESOME in his physical therapy today! Well, he did great it all therapies today…but he walked a LOT in PT today. They had him walking between the parallel bars, which he did twice. The bars aren’t very long though, so he can only get a few steps in before they have to sit down and wheel him back to the starting point and do it again. So, today they got out a big walker for him. It goes up chest high and he puts his arms up underneath his chest to hold on and push it forward. He walked across the PT room…TWICE! The second time, he was switching feet so fast that the therapist had a hard time keeping up with him. I think it finally started to feel more natural to him and the movements were just coming back to him easier. After that they had him down on the mat doing other strengthening exercises. He did 10 tummy crunches! The therapist sat at his feet and held his hands while he pulled himself up…and he was a trooper, he did 10 really good one

Thursday Update: 10/13/05

Blessings for the day: I got to break away and have lunch with some friends from work! It was so good to see them and eat at one of our favorite ‘usual’ places downtown. I really had a good time seeing them in a familiar and happy environment…and it did my soul some good to spew a little bit about my own personal frustrations, anxieties, and stresses. Thank God for good friends, I am grateful for you everyday! Matt also had a good therapy day today…each day is better and better. He took more steps today and stood very tall and straight with little assistance supporting him. He did a lot of the work himself! The therapists continue to be so proud of Matt and his determination and willingness to keep it up. He’s just so awesome!!! His mother said last night how amazing Matt is…and it’s true, he’s one strong guy. I think after all this is said and done I won’t roll my eyes quite so much when he gets all macho on me and brags about how tough he is! Not everyone would be strong en

Wednesday Update: 10/12/05

Blessings for the day: Matt took his first REAL steps today!! He spent over 2 hours with the physical therapist this morning and she had him standing up between the parallel bars again, then this time he took some steps. He had his brand new Nikes on and took three little walks…about four or five steps each time! He did really well and was standing up nice and tall pretty much the entire time. The best part is, that Matt really WANTED to do it! Usually when we ask him if he wants to do something, he’ll shake his head no…but when we asked him in between walks if he was ready to stand up and do it again he’d shake his head yes and get his hands and arms ready to go. He’s getting so much stronger and so much more balanced! In OT (occupational therapy) we practiced putting his shirt on and off again, and he is getting better at that all the time as well. He can pretty much do it all by himself. He’s been helping to comb his hair and brush his teeth also. It’s these little things t

Monday Update: 10/10/05

Blessing for the day:13 years ago today, I met Matt. I ventured down to Boone with some girlfriends. One of them knew Matt and his group of buddies. We all met up at his friend’s house…and the rest is history. He sauntered in with his ‘I’d rather push a Chevy than drive a Ford’ t-shirt and I was instantly smitten. Thirteen years later, our love is stronger than ever...that there is a huge blessing.

Sunday Update: 10/9/05

Blessing for the day: Matt gets the day off of therapy to rest and catch up on some much-needed R and R. Matt has worked his little booty off all week, so he really needs the day off. We took Matt outside again yesterday and walked down the road a bit to sit in the sun. He really enjoyed that a lot! I think he’s going to spend most of the day in bed today, however, so we probably won’t get the opportunity to go outside and enjoy this beautiful day. I guess there’s plenty of time for that down the road though. Matt had all of his therapies yesterday! Two therapists came in special primarily just to work with Matt. They have all really taken to him and are so excited to see his progress. We continue to be thankful for these wonderful therapists and their dedication to Matt and his recovery. I will be visiting with the people from Younker Rehab this week and seeing their facility and what the exact requirements are for admission. Matt is working so hard here, I am pretty sure he’l

Friday Update: 10/7/05

Blessings of the day: I actually have time to write! Phew, it’s been a busy couple of days. The therapists have been hitting Matt really hard these past 3 days and it shows! He’s resting pretty peacefully right now after a good 4 + hours of therapy. I am so happy with the therapists and their programs…they have been fantastic. Also, Dad is coming back for a visit this weekend!! Yahoo!! Mom and I can’t wait to see him! Matt got started bright and early this morning at 8:30 and we were on the go until about 12, then had a 2 hour break before the last therapy. We took Matt outside today! That’s another blessing! It was so sunny and nice out. Cool, but a beautiful fall afternoon. Mom and I shimmied ourselves outside with Matt in his chair and Mom pushing his food pole. They are starting him on different food tonight and will be feeding him only at night from now on so we won’t have to maneuver around with that pole anymore. It will help a lot with the therapies not having to mes

Wednesday Update: 10/5/05

Well, we have sort of settled in here at Fleur Heights. It is…well…a nursing home. Our options for this intermediate level of care were pretty limited and we knew we’d most likely end up in a special section at a nursing home…but it was still a bit of a shock. More so for me, than for Matt. They have him in their ‘skilled’ section…which is set aside for folks who are here to get stronger after a surgery, fall, illness etc and are just not quite ready to go home. So, we’re trying to tell Matt he’s only here temporarily…hopefully no more than just a few weeks. He seems to understand that he just needs to work really hard to get stronger, so I think it’ll be fine. There are just a lot of differences between the hospital and here. Some good, some not so good…we just have to adjust. They are still working on getting all of Matt’s medications etc worked out, so hopefully by later today we’ll really feel like they have got his schedule going. Right now, it feels a little like we’re

Tuesday Update: 10/4/05

Lots going on…not much time to write. We are moving Matt this afternoon to Fleur Heights Care Center. I will post the address/room etc later when I have a chance. Just wanted you all to know ASAP. Please pray for a smooth transition and that this move will be a BIG step in the right direction!!!!!!!!! Love you all!

Sunday Update: 10/2/05

Blessing for the day: I was able to go to the grocery store. I know that doesn’t seem like much of a blessing…but for me it was. I’ve needed to go for so long now, and doing something as mundane and normal as grocery shopping felt so good. Matt’s mom was here watching a Jim Carrey marathon with him and I knew he was enjoying her company. It has been a blessing to have the support of Matt’s family and mine. I am so glad to have them all close by and able to share in the time spent with Matt. Matt had a fairly uneventful day today. He was up in the chair for 2 hours this morning and they’ll be getting him up again this evening. It is so good for him to get up and use those muscles to support his head and shoulders. We had a few visitors from our church today as well. It was very nice to see their smiling faces and share hugs of love and compassion. I continue to be amazed at the outpouring of love and support we’ve received. People are amazing. Matt has been a little more emotio