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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 just sitting down here and haven’t had much direction or guidance.

The therapists here are supposed to be really excellent, and that is what he needs the most…SO I just can’t wait for them to get started on that and see what he’s capable of. He’s been awake nearly all day the past 3 days and has been doing really well with his physical therapy. He stood up twice yesterday and Monday! He’s been getting stronger all the time and I just hope that he won’t have to be here more than a week or two at the longest.

Well, I was interrupted while writing this post by the speech therapist…and things have been on the go since. He had his initial evaluation by all three therapists…speech, physical, and occupational. All three women were…wonderful. They just worked him hard and he was a trooper. He did, or at least tried very hard, to do all that they asked of him. He had 2 hours of PT!!!! They got him all fitted for his wheelchair so he can go for rides and sit outside etc. Yahoo!! He stood up twice and did lots of exercises to help strengthen his trunk. He worked so hard and showed us all how determined he is. He impressed all the therapists with his motivation and drive. They were all thrilled to see him in action, and to see the level of support he has from his family. In this type of environment, I expect they don’t see that many families here to support and spend all day with their patients. I told them to get used to seeing us! The therapy here is going to be excellent, I can tell that already. However, the ‘nursing home’ environment is a bit depressing and I know that it’s not the best for him. I think he’ll do awesome here with the increase in therapy and should be ready for Younker in no time! I can’t wait! Of course, with each new step, there is a lot of anxiety and stress for us all. Yesterday was a very emotionally trying day yesterday, but today is much better. Just meeting all the therapists helped a lot. I don’t know that Matt will be up to many visitors here…but I will keep you all posted on that. You can still send cards to our house, or here. The address is 4911 SW 19th and the zip is 50315. For now, we just appreciate all the thoughts and prayers, love and support.

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