Short Term vs. Long Term

Over the past few days, Jason and I have been talking a lot about our short term and long term goals. One of the frustrations of rehab is that it is a narrowly and exclusively short term place. There is almost no discussion of where Jason will be one year from now. Instead, the doctors and therapists have a very clear goal: get Jason as independent as possible so that he can go home. We support this goal entirely, but it would be nice to talk a bit more about the bigger picture with his team. To compensate for this, we've begun doing some research and planning of our own in order to prepare for the long term. Once Jason gets out of the hospital, he'll begin outpatient rehab 2 times per week. In addition to this, he's going to regularly go to the gym so that he can keep up with the weight training he's been doing at rehab. We know of a place in San Jose that has an adaptive gym, but we've heard that Ohlone College, which is VERY close to our house also has a program.

After Jason gets his brace off (in another 6 weeks or so), he's hoping to begin an intensive, integrated fitness program in Pleasanton at a place called SCI FIT. We've researched this place and it really seems like the best place for Jason to be in this next phase of recovery. Their focus is on getting people walking and moving again and they believe that "movement breeds movement." This philosophy makes sense to me-I don't think Jason will recover his ability to walk if he's in his wheelchair all the time. SCI FIT has the apparati necessary to get Jason on a bike and treadmill. He'll also be doing other load-bearing activities. We're really hopeful about this place. It's not cheap, but from the research I've done, this seems to be the type of program most neurosurgeons are recommending.

Beyond his physical health, Jason has also been setting goals for work. He really wants to return to Google in some capacity (most likely this will mean working from home for a while) by the beginning of October. If he keeps progressing as fast as he has been over the last 4 weeks, I think this goal will be possible.

The last few days in therapy have been great. He's doing all sorts of new exercises in PT and OT and has really impressed his therapists with his progress. In fact, his doctor told him today that, so long as his therapists give the okay, he can leave on August 13, instead of August 16 as he was originally told. So, keep your fingers crossed :)

Thanks for all of the cards and care packages. They really help lift his spirits!