Reconnecting Neurons
Day 5:
I continue to document Roger’s progress not only to share his journey with those that want to follow along, but to also preserve this story for him when he is ready to see it. I know that there will be challenging times ahead when he is frustrated by his disabilities and lack of progress. Hopefully this journal will help remind him of where he started and how much he has achieved one day at a time.
Today brought a few important milestones:
Roger was able to walk down the hall with the support of his rehab team and a huge walker. They moved his right side for him and he had to walk with his left. It took him a good twenty minutes to walk about 20 feet. I kept reminding him that walking with hemiparesis is a lot like skating - it is all about weight transfer. And Roger has always been a beautiful skater (or at least I think so as his puck bunny for the last 30 years).
What made the moment more special was a visit by two of his hockey teammates (Ian and Jason). Thank you for sharing with the medical staff that Roger is a strong, capable athlete with tons of grit and skill. Too often medical caregivers fall into the unconscious habit of forgetting that patients like Roger are in the prime of their life - they are successful, intelligent leaders and athletes.
Another big milestone was that Roger made his first small movements on his right side. He is very capable of using his left leg to move his right leg when needed. However, when the the therapists asked him to do it today, he refused. They kept asking him to do it over and over, but he remained immobile and focused on his foot. That is when it dawned on me that he was deep inside his brain getting the neurons to connect. I asked the therapists to give him a minute and let him work through this. Lo and behold, he moved his foot up an inch on his own. He then looked up at us with a tired, twinkle in his eye.
That moment captures Roger's stubbornness and passion for learning. He was working out the learning in his brain and was way ahead of the therapists. I think this story highlights what drove Roger for so long in education. He is passionate about learning, especially learning by doing. That is what the next months will hold for Roger - he will be learning by doing, one small inch at a time.
I also want to share one fun note for the Canadians that might be reading this. Roger is still struggling with word finding and communicating. So when the therapists asked him where he lived, he said “12 Brooke Avenue”. Those memories are deep for him and so very special.
Day 6:
Another day getting to watch Roger push through challenges while cracking me up with his humor.
Today was fairly non-eventful which at this stage is a gift. Not much change in terms of his right side paralysis. But he is working hard at physical and occupational therapy. We are helping him visualize moving his right side as well as having him use his left hand to feel his right side and visualize what that would feel like. We are also working on helping him stand, sit, move in bed, and transfer despite the weakness on his right side. So baby steps in terms of progress and lots of repetition.
We are also working on his memory and speech. This is where his humor and British heritage keeps shining through. He says the craziest things that remind why I fell in love with him so long ago. He has a way of quirking an eyebrow when I show him the mushy broccoli. Or, he shoos me away when I try to help him navigate his spoon and bowl with one hand.
Today, he had a hard time remembering my name. He called me Cindy and Kelly - so I am really wondering why his mistresses are not here to help me.
Roger is living a bit of a "groundhog day" scenario. Everyday is like a new day and the day before or the week before never happened. But he remembers a lot from his past. There are so many mannerisms and expressions coming through that remind me of his father, Jock. The British/Scottish streak seems to be shining through.
For example, when the speech therapist asked him to name three types of drinks, he started with "tea" - the guy hates tea. Despite prompting him with lots of cues to say "coffee" (his favorite drink), he was sticking with tea. In fact, when our good friend Packy tried to cue him to say beer by asking him what they often share of a pint of together, Roger pulled out “tea” again. So I love thinking of Roger and Packy sitting around drinking tea together after a long week.
Then Roger pulls out consommé as another drink - WTF. I have never seen Roger drink or even think about consommé in our 30 years together. And the third drink he came up with after lots and lots and lots of perseverating... "non-consomme". Brilliant. I swear that Jock is helping him come up with answers because those are what he would say (maybe not the non-consomme). It is so good to know that Jock is there in the room with us. So many Jock mannerisms and expressions are coming through Roger - it is wild to see and warms my heart. The world works in really cool and surprising ways.
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