TIRR Week 4

Hello all,

Mom has now been at TIRR for one month now and she has made significant progress. Although her movement has been forward, we are constantly reminded of how far we have to go on this journey of recovery.

Her sessions in Physical and Occupational therapy are more intense each day and she works extremely hard in each session and is generally wiped out at 4 pm when the sessions end. On Friday she was strapped into the walking harness and lifted on to the treadmill walking machine. With the assistance of the lifting harness and four therapists she was put through a walking process that lasted 45 minutes. These were five minute walking movements followed by an equal amount of rest! She will do this again this week. The machine was funded by the Christopher Reeves foundation and is a godsend for patients like our Mom.
She also used an upright walking frame this afternoon and with significant assistance was able to travel 45 feet and 68 feet in two difficult moves. These are all steps towards hopefully regaining the ability to walk in the future.

When she leaves TIRR, probably near the end of March, we remain hopeful that we will be able to bring her home. She will be in a wheelchair likely for some time to come and Dad has been practicing hard on the transfers necessary to make any movements into and out of bed and into chairs. The transfers are getting easier as Mom is gaining strength and is doing greater than 50% of the work.

She continues to work hard with the speech therapists but still struggles to clearly articulate all of the words. Some days are better than others but when mom is very tired it can be very difficult to understand her words and unfortunately this can lead to a lot of frustration. The speech team also continues to work with her on swallowing and has advanced her to a chopped diet which is a bit more appealing than the puréed food. She is also now attending an eating class at lunch and has begun working to feed herself. It's a bit messy right now but she is getting better and gaining a sense of independence. She is also working on regaining the ability to drink thin liquids. Brain injury patients generally have a lot of difficulty swallowing and thin liquids are the most difficult as they cause her to choke. All of her drinks now have to be thickened and she can handle these well.

The simple things that we take for granted are all magnified in their difficulty for Mom and simple everyday tasks are major complex movements. Her ability to eat more is leading to an effort to ween her off the feeding tube which will still likely be retained for a few months. The speech team also works with musical therapy getting mom to sing a few words. It's great to hear her do this. She loves to sing along with the Elvis tune "Hound Dog".

One of the most challenging things that mom is dealing with is double vision. This also effects all of her therapies as hand and eye coordination are critical with all movements. Dad has been working hard to fashion some comfortable eye patches for her to wear in lieu of the pirate patch which she doesn't like one bit! This eye condition may improve over time, but it will probably be a year before we know for sure. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is to do just about anything, when everything is double vision, but Mom never complains, she just keeps on trying hard. She is soooo strong!

Yesterday mom took her first group field trip away from the hospital to visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science to explore the dinosaur exhibit. Dad was able to join her and they had a good time getting out for about two hours. Learning to "get around" in a wheelchair is now a part of our daily lives and it was great practice for Mom and Dad to get out! They are becoming wheelchair pros!

This past weekend we were blessed to have a visit from Dad's sister Mary Ellen. She brought pictures from her New York trip and mom truly enjoyed seeing and hearing about all the good times with our cousins Melissa and Jessica. Mom even showed off a few of her physical therapy activities for Mary Ellen, such as her standing at the bar frame and pedaling on the bicycle frame. It was a great visit and she gave Mom renewed spirit.

Thanks again to all for the continued thoughts and prayers being sent our way. This recovery will surely be measured in years and we pray that our mom can gain as much independence as God will allow.

Love, Rachel and John Sedlak

TIRR Week 3

Hello sweet family and friends,

Mom has been at TIRR for three weeks now and I can't believe it! Rehab is going by so quickly. She is working very hard and has good days and fair days. Mom had a great weekend with lots of fun visitors. She loves seeing her friends and we do too!

She was given a tenative discharge date of...drumroll please...March 15th! Yesterday Dad and I started talking with Patrice {Mom's Physical Therapist} about getting our house ready for Mom's arrival and I get so excited just thinking about it. We believe that home will be the ultimate healing spot for her, but she has four more difficult weeks at TIRR to get her ready for that next giant leap! I know that I am ready for life to get back to normal!

Mom's therapies are going well. She likes her schedule to be full and her therapists are making sure that happens. She is slowly coming back to us and I enjoy watching her personality shine through more and more each day. Yesterday at music therapy she requested Elvis, haha! She keeps her therapists laughing, that's for sure! ; )

Last week Dr. Ivanhoe ordered a CT scan of Mom's brain and she was pleased with the results. It showed less swelling and blood that still needed to be absorbed. The blood presence is actually a good thing because it means that as the blood is absorbed she will continue to improve!

Thanks again for all the support and prayers this week, our pretty lady is feeling the love!

Love, Rachel

Bunco Babes

TIRR Week 2

Hello sweet family and friends,

Mom has been at TIRR for two weeks now and we are thrilled by the progress she has made. Each day we see her getting stronger and her speech is becoming more clear.

This morning I called my Dad to check in on Mom and by complete surprise she answered the phone! She said hello, asked how the baby was and even asked if it was raining out by my house! My face was beaming with joy, it was just like one of our good old conversations!

She has a wonderful team of therapists that work very closely with her for hours each day. This past week they stepped up her OT & PT times to one hour each {sometimes twice a day}! They keep her schedule very busy during the week and that's the way she likes it, she is always asking what time it is and when her next therapy is. We have noticed that during the evening and on the weekends when she has down time, she tends to get depressed and angry at her situation. We are told this is part of the healing process and we have become very good at handling the random outbursts that occasionally happen. She has definitely become a little spitfire these days to say the least! ; ) We have learned to laugh it off and not take it personal.

Since her trach came out, they have started her on a regular diet. She is getting three soft meals a day. Her objective is to eat at least 50% of the meal so she doesn't have to get a tube feeding. Today, I gave her lunch and after two or three bites of the baked chicken and noodle purée she asked if she was at 50% yet, sadly I had to break the news to her that she was nowhere close! I loved her ambitions though! We did finish the meal off with some Valentine chocolate! xoxo

Thanks once again for all the thoughts and prayers sent Mom's way. We know that many amazing Prayer Warriors read this blog and we would also ask that you include my Aunt Judy and Uncle Jack Mulvihill, from Florida, in your prayers. My Uncle Jack is fighting a long term illness and he and my Aunt Judy and family, also need our collective love, prayers and support.

Thank you!

Love, Rachel



Below is a picture of the kiddos at a Mardi Gras parade in Kingwood on Saturday. So much fun!

TIRR Week 1

Hello friends and family,

Mom has now been at TIRR for one week and we are encouraged by the progress she has made. On Tuesday, an ENT Doctor did a scope of Mom's throat and cleared her for the Trach removal. The Trach was taken OUT Wednesday morning and this immediately allowed Mom to begin getting a few words out. By Thursday and Friday she was able to repeat complete sentences for the speech therapists. Her brain is working faster than her body and she can be hard to understand when she rushes to tell us something. When she slows down she can clearly tell us what she wants. She was also given some food and liquids to test her swallowing ability and can regularly now have ice chips, small spoonfuls of ice-cream and some orange juice nectar!

Her physical and occupational therapy has been intense as they have been working with her to sit on the side of a bed and steady herself and they have also raised her up into a fully standing position to put weight on her legs. All of this is tough as she hasn't been able to move much at all for three months and all of her muscles have to be reawakened. Because of her extended immobility, she now has casts on both legs and her left hand and forearm. She also has a split cast for her right arm to wear at time. When all are on she looks like she was in a bad accident but they are all needed to correct muscle tone in her feet and arm positions. Hopefully they will be taken off soon as she does not like any of them and let's us know about it!! She likes to tell Dad that it's okay if he takes off the casts! {Not true!}

This week should continue with increased levels of therapy and we are expecting that she will be here for six to eight weeks.

Thanks once again for all thoughts, prayers, support, cards, yummy food, flowers, plants, visits, text messages and emails. They all have been warmly received!

Love, Rachel and John Sedlak

Three Months Post Op Update

Hello family and friends,

Mom's surgery was three months ago today and we are so blessed to now have her at TIRR - The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research.

TIRR is a truly remarkable place and you constantly see evidence all around you of the incredible work that goes on here. As you enter the hospital, the hallways are lined with photos and stories of patients that arrived in a vegitative state and after much hard work later walked out talking. We are hopeful of similar results for Mom, but significant therapy and hard work are ahead.

Mom's first two days have been incredibly busy and we are told that this is a light schedule. When Dad arrived yesterday at 7:45am Mom was already dressed in her exercise clothes and the first occupational therapy (OT) began at 8. This was followed by speech therapy at 9 and physical therapy (PT) at 10. These were followed by X rays, more speech, physical therapy and a visit by her primary Physician, Dr. Ivanhoe. She is a brain injury rehab specialist and is very highly regarded.

Mom's second day was similar to the first and she has already shown us some remarkable things. Today she was also given an eye patch to help with double vision and her right foot was put in a cast to help regain a proper position. She chose a purple cast - for TCU, of course!

Mom has worked very hard already but we also know she is very frustrated with the situation she is in and we pray for her patience to allow her to focus on her job at hand. She continues to try very hard to talk and we are hearing more audible sounds each day. Today she said John, it was very low but Kelly heard it and it brought her to tears. ; )

We thank you for all of your continued support and prayers as they continue to make a real difference!

Love, Rachel and John Sedlak


Here are a few pictures of us cheering on Mom during her rehab and Dr. John Chris about to make his rounds!

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!

Moving Day!

Hello sweet friends and family,

Mom had a very big day today, she moved to TIRR! At 12:30 the ambulance came to pick her up at Kindred and by 12:40 she was out of there!

Kelly, John Chris and myself got to watch the EMS team put Mom in the ambulance and the driver even gave JCN3 a show, he turned on the lights and sirens - John Chris LOVED it! Oh the joys of being One! ; )

It was a quick 4 minute ride over to TIRR, as it's just on the other side of The Medical Center. When Mom and Dad arrived my darling friend and college roommate, Kerri {A Speech Pathologist at TIRR} welcomed them with a sign and warm hug! We are in very good hands there thanks to Ms. Kerri!

I will update everyone on Monday as next week we will know more to what her days will be looking like at rehab. Momma better enjoy her relaxing weekend because the hard work will be begin on Monday!

Thank you for all your prayers today as we begin this new chapter! It's an exciting time.

Love, The Sedlaks