TIRR Day 1

Hello all,

Today was Mom's first full day at TIRR and what a memorable first day it was! Today and tomorrow are "assessment" days and the actual rehab begins on Monday for our strong lady.

This afternoon my Dad and I got watch Pam, the precious weekend Speech Pathologist evaluate Mom and we were absolutely taken back by what she could do!!! ; )

Pam had Mom sit up straight in the bed and made sure she could nod yes or no very clearly to respond to the questions. The questions started out easy... Is your name Cathy? Do you live in Texas? Are you in a hospital? Is it 2013? Etc... Then she started asking her reasoning questions... Do you start a car before you get in it? Do you put socks on after shoes? Does winter come after summer? Etc... Mom nailed every question but the shoes and socks question through her for a loop! We'll have to clear that one up for her later! ; )

Then Pam asked Mom to follow a few commands. First was a one step command: touch your nose. Then two steps: point to the ceiling then give a thumbs up. Then three steps: hold out two fingers, make a fist then blink twice. Mom did very well, she needed some help but she did majority of the commands without Pam's assistance.
All of this was done within the first five minutes of Pam's assessment. My heart was full of joy, her hard work brought me to tears. With each head nod or finger point we were cheering! I bet every person on her hall heard the cheers! {Even John Chris was clapping and cheering for Grammy!}

A few minutes later Pam tested Mom's swallowing capabilities. She gave her some ice to chew and swallow and Mom got it down immediately. Then she gave her some water to swallow, that too went down perfectly. Then.... Pam offered Mom some APPLESAUCE... one swallow and it was GONE! I couldn't believe it, once again our sweet lady brought me to tears. Tears of joy, of course!

Today was such an amazing day. Mom is at the right place at the right time and is ready to begin her new journey!

Please continue to pray for her strength and a complete recovery as these upcoming weeks will be very difficult. Thank you and please keep the prayers coming! God is so good!!

Love,
Rachel


Here is a picture of Mom's Valentine Angel tree!