OBIO
March 20th, 2009, 20:54
It's been quite a while since I passed on any news about Deb's recovery, mainly because you guys would get tired of reading the same thing too often. Well, now I can share with you a much greater degree of recovery and progress.
The right side of Deb's face is still paralysed...but is showing good signs of recovery. The deeper muscles are regaining their tension and more of Deb's natural features are returning...such as her smile lines, crow's feet, faint wrinkles, her cheek indentation and her dimple. The cheek indentation and dimple she is fine with, but does not like that fact that in order to know that she is recovering she has to look "old". As 12th Cranial Nerve regenerates ever so slowly, Deb has been getting more and more feeling in her cheek, inner cheek, nose, forehead...but because cranial nerves regenerate at less than 1mm per week, it will still be some time before she regains full facial movement and sensation.
The 6th Cranial Nerve, which controls the eye movement, is still not happening as much as we would like...the right eye is still rolled inward a bit and Deb still can not roll the eye to the outside. Inward, upward, and downward control are 100% recovered.
The right eyelid movement has gotten better, but still not there yet. The other morning, when I went in to wake Deb up, I noticed that the right eye was fully shut..which is a sign that the muscles that shut the eyelid are working when she is relaxed fully and when she if well rested.
Deb is currently undergoing 3 hours of outpatient speech therapy a week with the focus on stimulating the facial nerves and improving her speech and swallowing. With the paralysis on the face, Deb's speech still has a slurred quality to it, but is far more clear, far more precise than it was just a month ago. Her swallowing is very strong...she has been sipping unthicked liquids with no problems, no choking. Deb will undergo another modified barium swallow test Wednesday to see if her swallowing reflexes are strong enough to no longer need to thicken her liquids. Her speech therapist thinks that they are and that the thickener powder can be taken off our grocery list.
Deb has not used her wheel chair in over 2 weeks....well, other than our shopping trip to Walmart last weekend..but those SUPER WALMARTS are so big I would like something to ride around in too. In the house, Deb has not used her wheel chair since January, but had been using it when out and about. Now, she uses her walker when out and about. In the house, we are working with a quad-cane and free walking. Actually, earlier this evening Deb walked from the living room to the bathroom and back on her own...no walker, no cane, no support from me.
Deb is currently undergoing 2 1-hour physical therapy session per week, focusing on balance, stamina, and the biomechanics of normal walking. Part of her balance issue is the right eye...which she has to keep covered with an eye patch to prevent double vision. The lack of perifferal vision and depth perseption is making it harder for her to maintain full balance and control....though she is getting more adapted to those impedements.
Deb's left foot drop is totally gone....she has regained 100% function of that foot, though she does experience some numbness in it. This is the result of the stresses put on her cerebellum and brain stem by the tumor and the surgery....time should see this abate fully.
Deb's right hand control is improving greatly. Her hand righting is now totally legible, though not as pretty as it was before the surgery. Again, time and the 2 1-hour occupational therapy session per week she attends will see her regain all of the fine motor control in the right hand and fingers. Strength wise, all of her strength testing has shown her to significantly stronger in all extremities than the average woman...she's been a nurse for 15 years, and that is surprising tough work. Moving patients around has given my gal some serious strength. I gotta say, being slapped by her is more painful than any slaps I have experienced in my life time...and I have had more than a few well deserved slaps.
There has been no more seizures. The EEGs and Cat Scan showed to epileptic discharge, no majorly abnormal brain waves...other than a bit slower brain wave pattern in the area of the brain surgery...which is normal...but even this was less than what neurologist expected to see.
At Deb's follow-up appointment with the neurologist in February, he was very very pleased with the degree to which Deb had recovered and still foresees her making a 100% recovery and being able to return to nursing within a year to a year and a half.
As a celebration of her recovery and as a counter-point to all the hardship Deb has been through the past year (first the breast cancer scare, then the brain tumor and surgery and months in the hospital, then her adoptive Dad having a minor stroke followed by a massive heart attack and a quadruple by-pass), she stated that when tax returns came, she wanted a new TV...a nice big HD tv. So, with tax returns being direct deposited to our checking account this morning, we went out and bought a nice big 42 inch Plasma HD tv, a new entertainment stand, a couple DVDs, got take out from KFC, a new welcome mat...and as Deb's "thank you" for all the support and encouragement I have given her, for taking on all the household duties.....a new 5.1 channel speaker package for my PC (it's time to retire the mega sized speakers I have been using..even though I just rebuilt the system to a total of 1400 watts...and go with a scaled down package that does not take up so much space but that will offer the same degree of sound quality). No, we really could not afford to make these purchases...got medical bills a foot thick, have two cars to finish paying off...even though they were voluntarily repossessed and auctioned off....but the way I see it is this: Deb more than deserves a little frivolty, a little high-level pampering given what she has been through. And yes, I am sure we will get a major lecturing from her mom and step-dad about fiscal responsibility...but I will just tell them to stick a cork in it. And really, when facing the daunting 12 grand to pay off two cars we will never see again, when facing several thousand dollars in medical bills, just how far would $1300 go? T'would not even make a dent in our debt, would be gone in a hot second...and we would have NOTHING to show for it. But, for me, it all came down to the fact that my dear blue-eyed Debra wanted something nice for our little home, something nice to make up for what she has lost as a result of the surgery, a little something nice to brighten her months and months of being stuck at home while she fights to regain her former life.....and come hell or high water, I was going to give her that.
OBIO
The right side of Deb's face is still paralysed...but is showing good signs of recovery. The deeper muscles are regaining their tension and more of Deb's natural features are returning...such as her smile lines, crow's feet, faint wrinkles, her cheek indentation and her dimple. The cheek indentation and dimple she is fine with, but does not like that fact that in order to know that she is recovering she has to look "old". As 12th Cranial Nerve regenerates ever so slowly, Deb has been getting more and more feeling in her cheek, inner cheek, nose, forehead...but because cranial nerves regenerate at less than 1mm per week, it will still be some time before she regains full facial movement and sensation.
The 6th Cranial Nerve, which controls the eye movement, is still not happening as much as we would like...the right eye is still rolled inward a bit and Deb still can not roll the eye to the outside. Inward, upward, and downward control are 100% recovered.
The right eyelid movement has gotten better, but still not there yet. The other morning, when I went in to wake Deb up, I noticed that the right eye was fully shut..which is a sign that the muscles that shut the eyelid are working when she is relaxed fully and when she if well rested.
Deb is currently undergoing 3 hours of outpatient speech therapy a week with the focus on stimulating the facial nerves and improving her speech and swallowing. With the paralysis on the face, Deb's speech still has a slurred quality to it, but is far more clear, far more precise than it was just a month ago. Her swallowing is very strong...she has been sipping unthicked liquids with no problems, no choking. Deb will undergo another modified barium swallow test Wednesday to see if her swallowing reflexes are strong enough to no longer need to thicken her liquids. Her speech therapist thinks that they are and that the thickener powder can be taken off our grocery list.
Deb has not used her wheel chair in over 2 weeks....well, other than our shopping trip to Walmart last weekend..but those SUPER WALMARTS are so big I would like something to ride around in too. In the house, Deb has not used her wheel chair since January, but had been using it when out and about. Now, she uses her walker when out and about. In the house, we are working with a quad-cane and free walking. Actually, earlier this evening Deb walked from the living room to the bathroom and back on her own...no walker, no cane, no support from me.
Deb is currently undergoing 2 1-hour physical therapy session per week, focusing on balance, stamina, and the biomechanics of normal walking. Part of her balance issue is the right eye...which she has to keep covered with an eye patch to prevent double vision. The lack of perifferal vision and depth perseption is making it harder for her to maintain full balance and control....though she is getting more adapted to those impedements.
Deb's left foot drop is totally gone....she has regained 100% function of that foot, though she does experience some numbness in it. This is the result of the stresses put on her cerebellum and brain stem by the tumor and the surgery....time should see this abate fully.
Deb's right hand control is improving greatly. Her hand righting is now totally legible, though not as pretty as it was before the surgery. Again, time and the 2 1-hour occupational therapy session per week she attends will see her regain all of the fine motor control in the right hand and fingers. Strength wise, all of her strength testing has shown her to significantly stronger in all extremities than the average woman...she's been a nurse for 15 years, and that is surprising tough work. Moving patients around has given my gal some serious strength. I gotta say, being slapped by her is more painful than any slaps I have experienced in my life time...and I have had more than a few well deserved slaps.
There has been no more seizures. The EEGs and Cat Scan showed to epileptic discharge, no majorly abnormal brain waves...other than a bit slower brain wave pattern in the area of the brain surgery...which is normal...but even this was less than what neurologist expected to see.
At Deb's follow-up appointment with the neurologist in February, he was very very pleased with the degree to which Deb had recovered and still foresees her making a 100% recovery and being able to return to nursing within a year to a year and a half.
As a celebration of her recovery and as a counter-point to all the hardship Deb has been through the past year (first the breast cancer scare, then the brain tumor and surgery and months in the hospital, then her adoptive Dad having a minor stroke followed by a massive heart attack and a quadruple by-pass), she stated that when tax returns came, she wanted a new TV...a nice big HD tv. So, with tax returns being direct deposited to our checking account this morning, we went out and bought a nice big 42 inch Plasma HD tv, a new entertainment stand, a couple DVDs, got take out from KFC, a new welcome mat...and as Deb's "thank you" for all the support and encouragement I have given her, for taking on all the household duties.....a new 5.1 channel speaker package for my PC (it's time to retire the mega sized speakers I have been using..even though I just rebuilt the system to a total of 1400 watts...and go with a scaled down package that does not take up so much space but that will offer the same degree of sound quality). No, we really could not afford to make these purchases...got medical bills a foot thick, have two cars to finish paying off...even though they were voluntarily repossessed and auctioned off....but the way I see it is this: Deb more than deserves a little frivolty, a little high-level pampering given what she has been through. And yes, I am sure we will get a major lecturing from her mom and step-dad about fiscal responsibility...but I will just tell them to stick a cork in it. And really, when facing the daunting 12 grand to pay off two cars we will never see again, when facing several thousand dollars in medical bills, just how far would $1300 go? T'would not even make a dent in our debt, would be gone in a hot second...and we would have NOTHING to show for it. But, for me, it all came down to the fact that my dear blue-eyed Debra wanted something nice for our little home, something nice to make up for what she has lost as a result of the surgery, a little something nice to brighten her months and months of being stuck at home while she fights to regain her former life.....and come hell or high water, I was going to give her that.
OBIO