Counting..

We've now reached 3 months since Marilyn's accident and are in week 5 at Craig hospital, with another 5 to go. Once we get back home there will be 3-4 months of outpatient therapy. We are both beginning to realize the subtleties of "full recovery". No doubt Marilyn will get back to work and be fully active again. But I know that I (and to a degree she) had the idea in the back of our heads that recovery meant it would be like this all never happened. Recovery means readjustment on all fronts - a new and very different life is unfolding before us. Marilyn has approached each day with an incredibly positive attitude and many smiles, rarely expressing frustration. She exists with calm and focus in the moment. Perhaps that is a blessed side effect of the injury. Regardless, it is what grounded me when I become flooded with too many 'what if's and how are 'we going to's. We press forward with happiness and determination. Each day is a better day.
Gareth

My Weekend

Hello again! Since I last wrote I got a good and long night's sleep (and some much deserved and needed rest) only to wake up and start Physical Therapy where I walked up and down a staircase with my therapist and Gareth helping in preparation for the holidays when I hope to be doing that with only Gareth helping. I hope you are all getting prepared for the upcoming holidays as well as we are!
We`had a great weekend going to the museum on Saturday with Eric, Alison, Eddie (a 1 year old baby who I am trying to beat in our walking contest), Chris and Alex, then stopping on Sunday morning for breakfast at the IHop with Bill Hatcher, Chris and Alex before Gareth and I went to his parent's home in Golden for the Broncos game and to see the doggies!
I hope you can tell I am silly but not stupid. My brain may have been traumatized but it came out unaffected in terms of its intelligence!

I hope to see everyone soon! Bye y'all!
Marilyn

One month at Craig

Wednesday night we went to an Italian restaurant near the hospital. It was really good and we went even though I'm still in a wheelchair. The night was cold. As it turned out it was kind of the night that started the weekend because on Thursday night, my friend from college Alison arrived with her husband Eric and their son Eddie who is only one year old. Eddie is one of the coolest babies we've hung out with. In a way he reminded me of myself because like Eddie, I am learning how to walk and use my left hand and left leg. In fact, I am relearning everything that I learned as a child. It was good to see Chuck and MB who visited on Friday. It was good hearing about Dolores happenings. Chuck and MB joked with us about how all their friends are younger. Chris and Alex were here today. We all went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science because Eric wanted to see the exhibit on Colorado rocks and minerals. We learned that aquamarine is found on Mount Antero. Alison, Eric and Eddie had to leave and it was hard to say goodbye but we stayed with Chris and Alex and had dinner at a local Thai restaurant. They told us all about their vacation. Tomorrow we are going to Golden and see our dogs and Gareth's parents and Jay Cutler. Next weekend we might go to a Bronco game with the hospital bus. Don't get stuck in the snow Dolores folks. Think of me when you ski! Take care,
Marilyn

Marilyn's update - 11/27/07

Lately I've been learning the ins and outs of the therapy professions, including physical, speech and occupational. My schedule stays booked everyday with these therapies leaving me tired in the evening. I am still having trouble with the left side of my body but it is getting better. I am working on walking and that is rewarding. I hope in the next couple weeks I'll be thinking more clearly. The speech therapists are constantly testing my critical thinking skills. Gareth is here helping me with everything. Hopefully it will all pay off soon so we can make it back to Dolores and see everybody. I went to Gareth's parents house on Sunday and got to spend a day away from the hospital which was a good experience. It's been good to read about everybody's support and I appreciate that.

Love to you all,
Marilyn

A Day at Craig

Every weekday at Craig offers a full schedule of therapies geared towards each patient's challenges and current abilities. Marilyn's head continues to "clear" and she is getting better and better at dealing with day to day routine. Additonally, her left side gets stronger every day. Here's an example of Marilyn's schedule this week.

7:30am - Wake up, order breakfast and eat.
8:30am - Occupational therapist arrives - pick clothes for the day (without forgetting every item you are supposed to wear and change into them despite a weak left side).
Wash face, comb hair, brush teeth.
9:00am - Propel wheel chair with feet to Orientation class. Review what day it is, read daily news articles, practice memory assignments.
9:30am - Go to Physical Therapy. Extensive mat exercises, balance ball workout, practice walking and left leg stability.
10:30 - Go to Occupational therapy - work on left arm and left hand strength, fine motor coordination.
11:00 - Wheel down to Speech Therapy office, practice visual recall, mental organization, memory retention.
11:30 - Lunch, practice eating with left hand.
1:00 - Pedal stationary bike.
1:30 - Work on jigsaw puzzle.
2:00- Mat class, yoga and stretches geared towards individuals current physical ability.
3:00 - Speech therapy, round 2.
3:30 - Meet with neuropsychologist.

When not in class or in therapy, Marilyn and I practice a lot. Today she sucessfully tried writing with her left (dominant) hand for the first time. We practiced eye exercises to help bring her left eye in line with the right. (She currently has double vision but glasses with tape over part of the lens of the left side alleviate this.) At dinner, we practice eating with her left hand. She constantly works out her left arm and today broke all records by lifting it and extending it fully above her head. Our conversations consistently integrate the skills we have both learned to help her organize her thinking and improve her short term memory.

As Marilyn continues to improve, the days will become more full and challenging and the therapy will continue to be adjusted to her increasing abilities. All toward the goal of bringing back the Marilyn that was before the accident.

To EVERYONE that is a part of the big benefit music festival for Marilyn:

Hi! I hope you all have fun. Thanks for thinking of me. I'm trying to recover so I can dance with all of you next time.

Love,
Marilyn
(as transcribed by Gareth)

The BIG update

Today we had our first conference with Marilyn's nurses, therapists and doctors. I wanted to give you all an overdue and a very thorough update on everything. First, Marilyn's current condition. Keep in mind this changes almost daily.

On the physical front she is regaining strength in her left leg. Her PT is rigorous in this area - building her core and walking mechanisms. Yesterday, she walked the parallel bars. With help but nevertheless she walked them - twice. She is particularly focused, diligent and driven on the PT front. The OT therapist is focusing on her left arm and left hand. Currently she can lift and move the arm slowly, open and close her hand, grab and drop objects and initiate finer motor function like touching her thumb to each finger. OT also is helping with her left eye nerve damage. Her vision is getting clearer, tracking is much stronger and the dilation is beginning to subside. Depending on how this heals she may have some double vision along the way. Speech Therapy focuses on her mental function. She speaks clearly and with great insight. Her challenges are short term memory and recall and her attention span. These are all improving and she will be moving into reasoning and problem solving soon. To get an idea of where her head is, imagine being given a step by step puzzle. The steps are initially easy to follow, but halfway through you forget the goal of the puzzle. Towards the end things get fuzzy and you become fatigued - so much so that you struggle to complete the puzzle. Further, she often is unable to locate the correct word to describe or identify something. Her range of emotion and expressiveness exists and a great deal of Marilyn's personality is there, but she is "flatter" than that of a person without a brain injury. She constantly struggles with extreme fatigue adding to the challenge of all her therapies. This is the fog of a brain injury - periods of blissful, unworried happiness, bouts of frustration and confusion, and overwhelming tiredness.

Here is a summary of her injuries and medical prognosis. The fall she took basically shook and twisted her brain inside her skull. The front of her brain which stores all her knowledge sustained little damage. The mid portion or relay portion of her brain did sustain significant damage. The "long wire" connections challenge her speech and memory pathways. The relay connections challenge her left side. The left eye is a symptom of nerve damage. It will resolve in three phases: the eyelid will stop being droopy, the eye will track correctly, and finally the dilation will subside. The other major thing that happened in the fall were fractures of the C2 and C7. These caused dissections or kinks of the right vertebral artery. This area had the potential to be a devastating injury and in her doctor's words it is somewhat of a miracle that it wasn't. I couldn't agree more. To treat this injury she has been on a course of various blood thinners to avoid clots and seizures. This has been an apparently tricky area for her doctors but they appear to have things resolved. Long term treatment will be to cut out the blood thinning drugs, switch to a baby aspirin per day and then even drop that. She will need to wear a C-collar until early January.

Finally, speaking of dates. Marilyn's discharge date will be January 18. This is by no means set in stone and I suspect Marilyn will trump this date, but there is also no reason to short her the OUTSTANDING therapy offered here at Craig. Their goal is to have her WALK out of the hospital physically and mentally prepared for a return to life in the real world. Following her return home, she will need 3-4 months of outpatient therapy to further her healing. It will likely be even longer until she can work again but, I fully expect the Marilyn we all knew back 110%. That eclipses the headache of any medical bill. It's all just a matter of time.

Starting to Remember

Beginning with our visit from Steve, Alicia, Melissa and Sarah, Marilyn is remembering the recent past. This is a very good sign, because it means the fog is beginning to clear. We both wish things would go faster, but we also know we have to be patient and work hard together. We both just had big smiles reading your comments following Marilyn's post. Today we'll spend some time outside and watching the Bronco game. Hopefully they can win one.

Cutler - 27 Chiefs - 11

Marilyn's First Post

Hi all -

I am about to dictate Marilyn's first blog post.

Gareth

Hi everyone! Thank you for checking on me. My brain isn't quite working yet. I'll keep you posted. Gotta go. I'm tired.

Love,
Marilyn

In a week's time..

An extraordinary week has gone by. Last Friday, the 26th of October Marilyn was finally well enough to begin eating pureed food with assistance. Today we sat at a table and she ate regular food next to me on her own, no assistance. Last Friday she would generally only speak if someone called on the phone or if a nurse or therapist made her angry. Verbalization in itself, was clearly a struggle for her. Today she spoke most of the day asking questions about her injury and weakness on the left, telling us about her confusion, answering questions for each therapist. In short, coming back to life. We are excited to be at Craig Hospital- and not a day too late, given her progress this week. It is a very special place with a strong aura that immediately lets you know that good things happen here. She will excel here.