So today marks one month since Jason left the hospital, and what a month it has been! I thought it might be good (for our records and to satisfy anyone’s curiosity) to document what strides he’s made in the last month.
Mobility: When he came home, he could do basic transfers to/from his wheelchair with the transfer board. In the last month, he’s gotten better with the transfers. He’s now lifting to move from place to place, as opposed to sliding himself up and down the transfer board (definitely developing some strong arms!). For the most part, he doesn’t even need anyone around to spot him anymore on the basic transfers (to/from the bed being the biggest one). He can get in and out of the shower without the transfer board.
Pain: Most days, pain is not really a problem. He’s weaning off the final dose of oxycontin that he’s on and switching entirely to ibuprofen (and, eventually, off of that altogether as well). When he does hurt, it’s usually his ribs that bother him. He probably still has another month or two of rib pain left.
Exercise and Therapy: He does a lot of exercises at home with various devices we’ve rigged up around the house. He also does “community re-integration” activities every day. Basically, this is just him getting out and about in the wheelchair-either to restaurants, grocery stores, Target, Savannah’s daycare, etc, etc. He also goes out with the family most nights on walks with Sonja (not so much the last few nights due to overdoing it this past weekend). He’s gotten to where he can wheel himself for about 1.5-2 miles over some pretty uneven terrain. To put this in perspective, when he started rehab, he could barely wheel himself 1/10th of a mile over super flat hospital floors. His physical and occupational therapies are going well. He does OT every other week, and, right now, goes to PT twice a week. Now that the brace is off, he will begin a harder exercise therapy regimen at a specialty gym.
Daily Life Activities: He’s pretty independent. He can: dress himself, shower himself, do all basic toiletry processes, work on the laptop (this happens a lot these days!), put dishes away in the dishwasher, feed Savannah, lift Savannah into his lap, and get in and out of bed. There are probably many things I’m missing.
I hover more than I should, but I try really hard to only help him when he asks for it. This has led to some interesting experiences out and about. There have been a few people who have given me dirty looks because I let him open the door for me when we go to stores :)
Biggest Problem Area: SPASMS!!
Biggest Success: Getting the brace off :)
In the next month, we hope to..... transition him back into work (he’ll be officially working from home starting October 3...though he’s been working on some pet projects for the last 2-3 weeks), begin exercise therapy in Pleasanton, and work more on his ability to interact and play with Savannah.
Mobility: When he came home, he could do basic transfers to/from his wheelchair with the transfer board. In the last month, he’s gotten better with the transfers. He’s now lifting to move from place to place, as opposed to sliding himself up and down the transfer board (definitely developing some strong arms!). For the most part, he doesn’t even need anyone around to spot him anymore on the basic transfers (to/from the bed being the biggest one). He can get in and out of the shower without the transfer board.
Pain: Most days, pain is not really a problem. He’s weaning off the final dose of oxycontin that he’s on and switching entirely to ibuprofen (and, eventually, off of that altogether as well). When he does hurt, it’s usually his ribs that bother him. He probably still has another month or two of rib pain left.
Exercise and Therapy: He does a lot of exercises at home with various devices we’ve rigged up around the house. He also does “community re-integration” activities every day. Basically, this is just him getting out and about in the wheelchair-either to restaurants, grocery stores, Target, Savannah’s daycare, etc, etc. He also goes out with the family most nights on walks with Sonja (not so much the last few nights due to overdoing it this past weekend). He’s gotten to where he can wheel himself for about 1.5-2 miles over some pretty uneven terrain. To put this in perspective, when he started rehab, he could barely wheel himself 1/10th of a mile over super flat hospital floors. His physical and occupational therapies are going well. He does OT every other week, and, right now, goes to PT twice a week. Now that the brace is off, he will begin a harder exercise therapy regimen at a specialty gym.
Daily Life Activities: He’s pretty independent. He can: dress himself, shower himself, do all basic toiletry processes, work on the laptop (this happens a lot these days!), put dishes away in the dishwasher, feed Savannah, lift Savannah into his lap, and get in and out of bed. There are probably many things I’m missing.
I hover more than I should, but I try really hard to only help him when he asks for it. This has led to some interesting experiences out and about. There have been a few people who have given me dirty looks because I let him open the door for me when we go to stores :)
Biggest Problem Area: SPASMS!!
Biggest Success: Getting the brace off :)
In the next month, we hope to..... transition him back into work (he’ll be officially working from home starting October 3...though he’s been working on some pet projects for the last 2-3 weeks), begin exercise therapy in Pleasanton, and work more on his ability to interact and play with Savannah.
We hope you are all doing well. Thanks for the cards, calls, thoughts, and prayers.
Love you all,
Ashley
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