Feb. 4, 2011
Hello Everyone, again it seems like too much time has passed since our last update and we have so much news to share! Bob finished his 20 treatments of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on December 18th and was able to spend the holidays resting. We had a great holiday with him at home. It was so much better than last year when we spent our holidays in the hospital!
Bob has been showing improvement every day and gets much more sleep now since the noisy equipment has disappeared. He sleeps great and is getting so much stronger. He has a regular routine Monday through Friday which starts early with stretching, then standing on his new parallel bars, followed by a workout on the NuStep recumbent cross trainer and brain workouts twice a day. Bob was given an ipad as a gift for his birthday, and he has all of his own music selections on it. So he rocks out while he works out! From Hendricks, to The Beatles, and The Who, all the old favorites that help his brain remember and heal. Music therapy is proven to be great for brain recovery.
Last year we had plans to have Bob attend a brain injury rehabilitation facility at the start of this year. Since then we discovered that Bob doesn’t do his best with the traditional “outpatient therapy” programs. Anyone who knows him well knows he is a very private person. The whole process of getting ready, traveling to a facility, sitting in a waiting room, then doing what the therapist requires of him for an hour, in a room with a bunch of other people, just wasn’t giving him what he needed to do his best.
So we are taking a different approach and have transformed our dining room into a fitness gym with all of Bob’s rehab equipment. We are in the process of lining up speech, occupational and physical therapists to come to our home to help Bob. He wakes up in the morning enthusiastic and ready for the day. He works so hard (sometimes too hard!) to improve on all levels and of course he is succeeding!
When we first decided to take this approach, I was afraid we would be shortchanging him in his rehabilitation, but his PM&R doctor (Dr. Steinberg) and neuropsychologist (Dr. Amberg) have both given us kudos for it. This has been so encouraging! In fact, Dr. Amberg has said he wished all of his patients would do this. He said usually people recover better in their own homes.
We read a report recently that said that a person with a brain injury has to work 40 times harder than those of us who are not injured. In those terms, if Bob does ½ mile on the NuStep, its comparable to an uninjured person doing 20 miles! This sure puts things in perspective doesn’t it??
He has done at least ½ mile each day this week….no wonder he’s so tired by Friday
night!!
We just ordered a rental Lite Gait, from Mobility Research for Bob’s next level of training. His doctor has prescribed it and we should receive it in about 3 weeks. This equipment will help him learn to walk giving his therapists and caregivers better capability to help him fine tune his skills. We are all so excited about him being at this level of recovery.
Just a few additional notes, Bob is reading out loud to us. He can do math. His humor is very quick. He is starting to write. He plans his own day from a list of available options. Dr. Amberg said that Bob is showing clear signs of his executive skills being active. This is all wonderfully, miraculously exciting. As I have always believed, Bob is going to recover! It is a long hard road, but he is going to recover! We have to all believe, pray, and believe. God’s power is very real in our lives every moment of every day. We thank him for our strength and endurance and for Bob’s recovery.
Thanks to all of you for your prayers of healing and for your continued support! And thank you Bentley Prince Street, our employer, for your generous support and everyone’s love! We feel it!!!!
I want to share with all of you that there is a fundraising effort by friends and family for Bob’s rehabilitation expenses. At Christmastime Bentley Prince Street, Inc., the absolute best company on the planet, has suggested that its employees consider donating to Bob’s rehab fund and all donations made up to January 15th were going to be matched by the company. Thank you so much everyone at Bentley Prince Street!
Anyone reading this who needs commercial carpet for their business, or knows someone looking for carpet for their business, please consider using Bentley Prince Street. You couldn’t buy from a better company! They are global and I know there are folks from around the globe that know Bob and read these pages. Please spread the word.
You can click “find a rep” to find your local rep and they will help you. Please contact me if you need help.
Thanks to all and God Bless,
Patti and Bob
