Three weeks at Shepherd. I think Jan shows subtle improvements every day. This morning at her suggestion she walked (with walker and my support but it still counts) to the central area for breakfast. After breakfast she did some more of the deduction problems and did well. Her physical therapist had her walking without the walker today and she did well with that. She still complains of dizziness. Most of this is thought to be orthostasis (decrease blood pressure with lightheadedness when going from lower position to a higher position). This does seem better and part of the sensation may be from medications she is on one of which was stopped this weekend(by Jan). This sensation puts her in a difficult place. The more she is upright and does the better she should get but the sensation keeps her from doing as much as we would like. She is on two other meds that have been started since getting here that are used for attention deficit. The attention deficit is apparently common in people with brain injury and Jan clearly began improving shortly after starting at least one of them. She would stop all of her meds if it were up to her since she thinks the dizziness is med related and certainly can be. I do not know yet how long it is recommended that she stay on these drugs. I have a meeting with her treatment team on Wednesday. Hope to get questions answered then of what are discharge criteria and when is updated expected discharge for Jan. Preliminary was Aug 9th. Shepherd and Jan are well aware that our insurance will pay for 30 days which is up on the 26th. It is not cheap here and as bad as Jan wants to go home if I do not take her then it will not be pretty. I feel like for her mental well being she will be much better served having her outpatient therapy done closer to home in Jackson where we have family. Got to admit home sounds awful good to me too. I have spoken with someone at one facility that offers the type of outpatient therapy that she needs and have had good recommendations on them.
My state Senator Gary Jackson gave me a call today. He is in agreement with the amendment to the 3 foot law and I am very appreciative of that. He and I also talked some about DA Allgood. Mr Allgood apparently and not surprising given how heinous an act that was done to Jan, has gotten a lot of flack for his position on what happened. I did not like it either but Mr Allgood was going by Mississippi law and he had no control on that but we do. I do think if the law had allowed he would have pursued harsh penalties. Our control is in letting our Senators and Representatives know what is important so I will say again if you have not contacted yours then do it regarding the 3 foot law amendment. I would also like to see a distracted driver law at some point. I suspect this will be a more difficult thing to accomplish from what i have been told but be aware the 3 foot law amendment is not a given so do not be complacent. Unless there is a special session it will be brought up in January next year.
Thank you all again for your concern about Jan. She says frequently with tears in her eyes how tired she is of being sick. Her point of time reference is only about ten days since she became aware. Ours is 8 long weeks and TIGT at how well she is doing since this happened. She asked me today at what point did I feel like she was going to live. I hope none of you are ever in a situation to hear or ask that.
SHARE THE ROAD, IT'S A LIFE
PUT THE !%@$# CELL PHONE DOWN BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEBODY
GET OFF THE COUCH, LIFE IS FOR DOING STUFF
SUPPORT BIKE WALK MISSISSIPPI, THEY WILL HELP MAKE CHANGES HAPPEN
BE BRIGHT AND BE SEEN
I Love My Little Darlin,
David
If I might make a suggestion... do a web search cross referencing neurofeedback and TBI. This might be another approach you and Jan might look at. The research shows a lot of promise. It's a form of biofeedback for the brain. You can also cross reference Neurofeedback and ADHD.
ReplyDeleteI also mention Jan again in my column this week. In the discussions with my congressman, he was appalled that something like that could happen without legal consequences to the perpetrator. http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs033/1102861874122/archive/1106636780591.html
ReplyDeleteJan is right that she should get problem solving points for hiding her chicken to make it look like she ate more than she did. That takes some thinking! Also, she should quit hiding her chicken and just eat it. ;)
ReplyDeleteIdle time is rough on Jan, and you need sleep, but can't sleep well in Jan's room. Is there anything Jan can do for fun in her room? Maybe draw or color with crayons? Maybe put together puzzles with large size pieces, like they make for kids? Or watch some Monty Python? Maybe talk to family on the phone, or with Skype? Is she able to use a phone in her current condition? Could you program one to speed dial with one button? Or maybe make things out of plasticene? Any artsy / craftsy stuff could be not just amusing, but also help her regain use of her injured hand and left arm.
The driver should be paying for Jan's medical care, after insurance runs out. You have your hands full, but I hope your lawyer is aggressively pursuing this. Jan should not have to go home early just because insurance ran out. That's just insult on top of pretty damn severe injury.