It was great to see the changes for myself that Shawn has made since I last saw him in Denver!! Shawn had his trach taken out the day before I saw him, and already the trach hole looked as if it had sealed up!! Since the trach has been taken out, Shawn is starting to make noises – not talking yet, although it sure does look like he wants to say something! They had O2 going in his nose until Sat afternoon. They discontinued it as Shawn's blood oxygen saturation was really good!! So he didn't need it anymore!! It was so nice to see Shawn without any tubes in his nose, mouth or throat!!! He looks more like himself again!! And he had his last dose of antibiotics on Monday!! It looks like he may finally have the pneumonia under control!!! Since Shawn didn't have the trach in anymore, we were able to take him outside in his wheelchair on Sat – for the first time since his accident! He seemed to really enjoy it!! He was very alert – lifted his head alot and kept his eyes open most of the time on sat. He also likes to hold peoples hands – which was so nice because he wasn't doing that in Denver at all!! He has been outside for an hr or two almost every day since last sat. I saw alot of progress in Shawn even in the few days I was in Kitchener. On Friday, he was trying to reach up to his face, but wasn't able to without help. By Monday he could reach anywhere on his face with his left hand – he wiped his mouth a couple of times, he scratched his nose, he pointed to a place on the back of his neck – which I took as a sign that there was something irritating – so i massaged the area and he immediately relaxed!! He could also touch his glasses – either trying to push them up, or take them off. He also likes to stroke his gotee alot. Shawn was also trying so hard to try to sit up!!! Shawn also likes to look at pictures – especially ones with people in them. Tara and Mike and Colleen gave him a little photo album to look at – and he was turning the pages himself! He wouldn't let anyone help him – and if they did – he would turn the pages back to pictures he wanted to look at!! I was also working with his right arm – the one that he dislocated the shoulder and broke the clavicle – he tends to keep it in the position it was in while in the sling. By Sunday, I was able to get him to keep his arm down at his side for quite some time. He was a little more resistant with letting me straighten his fingers out, but i was able to get him to keep them straight for short periods of time too. It was so hard for me to leave – I just wanted to stay and help him and see the progress he makes with my own eyes.
Shawn has continued to make progress this week. He has been touching his nose or ear or chin when asked to! He has taken his glasses off and put them back on several times now!! And when they start to fall down his nose, he immediately pushes them up!! They have also started putting Shawn on a tilt table – to try to eventually get him standing up. He has been put up to 50 degrees and has tolerated it really well!! He continues to wipe his mouth on his own with a cloth. When someone tries to work with his right hand, he actually tries to pull their hand away with his left hand! He is also beginning to mimic people. His one roommate calls out at regular intervals – and Shawn started making noises at the same time that the other guy called out!
I would like to thank those people who were able to visit Shawn and I last weekend while I was home – Kelly Vanderbeek, Paula Crowe, Marie Mackie, Pam Bottos and her daughters Brook and Chloe. And also it was so good to see my relatives – mom and dad, Mike, Colleen, Tara, Gram, Wendy, Christina, Richard, Jean and Jack. And thanks to Maria, Paul, Pam and Mike Bottos for dragging me out for a mountain bike ride!!
My Dad, Mike and Colleen will be travelling to Vancouver on Wed. Please wish them a safe trip!
Take Care everyone – and thank you for your continued support, thoughts and prayers for Shawn!!!
Tina
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