Hi there! Jes’ mom here. I had the opportunity to spend lots of time with Christian and Jes last weekend and I’d just feel selfish if I didn’t share. I know how great it is to click on the blog and find an update!
Several birthdays in our family are clustered at the end of September and the first of October, so we celebrated together at Christian and Jes’ house on Sunday. Christian came home and was there for about seven hours. We cooked a steak dinner and just hung out. Up to this point, I had only seen Christian learning to use a fork and spoon again, and even a little unsteady at that, so you can imagine my reaction when Christian said “I’ll try to cut my own steak”. I looked to see if Jes was actually going to hand him a steak knife. She did, but it was his own personalized knife. A great tool, I don’t know the proper name for it, but it was a curved blade with a handle on top. It looked like something from Benihana. He held it and rolled it back and forth to cut the steak. He then proceeded to eat the steak, salad, potato and garlic bread on his own with no mishaps and no mess. Later, he took a nap on his own bed - aaahhh! That had to be nice, especially since Aspen was snuggled up with him. I think I actually heard Aspen say “aaahhhh” also!
Luckily, it looks like only a few minor adjustments to the house will be necessary when Christian comes home, and they may be temporary. The occupational therapists have great ideas and recommendations for making day to day routines more manageable. Obviously, there will be many adjustments to their lifestyle and routine though, at least for a while.
Sunday night, I took the 8:30 pm to 2:30 am shift at the hospital with Christian. I like to give him a head massage and I think we spent 40 minutes with head rubbing and conversation. I absolutely love the time with Christian just talking about whatever. The night was fairly uneventful, with just a few nurse calls for moving him to a different position. At about 2:00, I was sort of dosing off and I heard his bed move suddenly. I jumped up to see what was going on and he had had a muscle spasm. I’m told that muscle spasms are a common thing with this injury, but I had no idea they were this strong. It had almost curled him up in a ball on his side. Christian’s friend Darrell came in for the 2:30 am shift. I guess that the muscle spasms continued more frequently after I left. There is a medication to help with spasms, but he tries to minimize the medications as much as possible. They could be temporary or permanent. We’re hoping for temporary. He has been talking with others with his injury and learning how they manage this issue if it is permanent. We’ve found lots of hope, inspiration and resources from these conversations with others.
At 2:30 am, I went to Jes’ to get some sleep, and then went back to the hospital at 9:30 on Monday. I had not yet seen Christian walk except on the blog. Seems like he’s always doing something else in physical therapy when I’m there; so I was determined to get there for the first PT of the day. I ended up staying until 4:00 pm - for morning PT and OT, lunch, and afternoon PT and OT! I saw him walk. I saw him go up and down the stairs, lots of stairs. I saw him do side steps with crossovers. He did transfers from bench to wheelchair on his own. He stood up from a bench with one foot on a 6” curb. He rode the bike for 15 minutes on level 7, which was the highest level to date. In OT he was working his shoulders very hard, he was doing an exercise that I saw once before, last week. He lays flat on his back, straightens his arms and has to lift them up and over his head while keeping them straight. This is hard because when they get beyond the 90 degree angle, the biceps try to take over and the arms start to bend. However. . . . this time he was able to keep them straight and this time - while holding a ball! It was very hard, but the more he pushed, the better it worked. And I don’t have to tell you that he pushed! A new exercise that day was with a balloon, lying on his back and punching first with left, then with right. This is to help develop a quicker response with his arms. I saw improvement within just a few minutes. We took a victory lap around the floor (he pushed himself in the chair with his legs to work his hamstrings). As we were returning to his room we stopped to set up a walking race for the next day with another patient. I didn’t hear the outcome of the race yet - but with the length of Christian’s legs alone, my money’s with him.
It was wonderful to watch Christian’s interaction with other patients. I saw him bring a smile to the face of more than one patient that was obviously a little down or having a hard time. Everyone from the teenage girl, to the Japanese man that didn’t speak much English, and the elderly gentlemen on the floor, is glad to see Christian coming their way. A few words of encouragement from someone who truly understands has to mean a lot to them.
I saved the best for last - so here ya go. . . Jessi was working on Monday and she brought sandwiches up for lunch. They were big sandwiches with lots of yummy stuff like sliced olives and jalapenos, etc, that could fall off so I was helping Christian with his sandwich while they visited. A jalapeno fell off onto his plate. Jes and I were talking along and Christian just reached down and picked up the jalapeno and ate it! We both said “what did you just do?!!” This was a tiny move, but it was HUGE! The finer motor skills are just the slower things to come and he was very precise with this one. Of course I put more olives, jalapenos, and a grape, on the plate for him to pick up. The grape was the most difficult. He said it’s because the sensation in his fingers is different and he can’t tell how hard to squeeze to pick it up without smashing it. A few olive slices did give their lives while he tested the pressure required. These skills are every bit as important as walking. Think about all of the things that you do with your hands and fingers - eating, getting dressed, working on the computer, fishing, writing, to name just a few.
Another “fine” motor skill that Christian has mastered is a certain hand gesture J As we were talking with the occupational therapist, we learned that many patients have mastered this same gesture - usually when working with the occupational therapist when they are sick and tired of working so hard for him. Another patient had mastered punching when the OT put his face in front of him. Whatever it takes.
In closing, sincere thanks again to everyone who is still praying, following the blog, and rearranging their lives to be part of this amazing journey. Every single thing makes such a difference in Christian’s recovery and his and Jes’ future life. As Jes’ mom, I want to thank you for helping her with your moral support, your time, love and prayers and I want to tell you Jes, that you amaze me every single day. Although I always knew you could do it, I am constantly in awe as I witness your loving, caring, and strong approach to this challenge. With all that you have on your plate, some days I just don’t know how you keep going. I’d like to just take you in my arms and fix it for you, but I can’t. No one can fix it like you and Christian can and you are doing just that with humility and grace. I am convinced that you will have the life you planned together. Stay strong but continue to call on all of us and take care of my Jes. I love you both!
Several birthdays in our family are clustered at the end of September and the first of October, so we celebrated together at Christian and Jes’ house on Sunday. Christian came home and was there for about seven hours. We cooked a steak dinner and just hung out. Up to this point, I had only seen Christian learning to use a fork and spoon again, and even a little unsteady at that, so you can imagine my reaction when Christian said “I’ll try to cut my own steak”. I looked to see if Jes was actually going to hand him a steak knife. She did, but it was his own personalized knife. A great tool, I don’t know the proper name for it, but it was a curved blade with a handle on top. It looked like something from Benihana. He held it and rolled it back and forth to cut the steak. He then proceeded to eat the steak, salad, potato and garlic bread on his own with no mishaps and no mess. Later, he took a nap on his own bed - aaahhh! That had to be nice, especially since Aspen was snuggled up with him. I think I actually heard Aspen say “aaahhhh” also!
Luckily, it looks like only a few minor adjustments to the house will be necessary when Christian comes home, and they may be temporary. The occupational therapists have great ideas and recommendations for making day to day routines more manageable. Obviously, there will be many adjustments to their lifestyle and routine though, at least for a while.
Sunday night, I took the 8:30 pm to 2:30 am shift at the hospital with Christian. I like to give him a head massage and I think we spent 40 minutes with head rubbing and conversation. I absolutely love the time with Christian just talking about whatever. The night was fairly uneventful, with just a few nurse calls for moving him to a different position. At about 2:00, I was sort of dosing off and I heard his bed move suddenly. I jumped up to see what was going on and he had had a muscle spasm. I’m told that muscle spasms are a common thing with this injury, but I had no idea they were this strong. It had almost curled him up in a ball on his side. Christian’s friend Darrell came in for the 2:30 am shift. I guess that the muscle spasms continued more frequently after I left. There is a medication to help with spasms, but he tries to minimize the medications as much as possible. They could be temporary or permanent. We’re hoping for temporary. He has been talking with others with his injury and learning how they manage this issue if it is permanent. We’ve found lots of hope, inspiration and resources from these conversations with others.
At 2:30 am, I went to Jes’ to get some sleep, and then went back to the hospital at 9:30 on Monday. I had not yet seen Christian walk except on the blog. Seems like he’s always doing something else in physical therapy when I’m there; so I was determined to get there for the first PT of the day. I ended up staying until 4:00 pm - for morning PT and OT, lunch, and afternoon PT and OT! I saw him walk. I saw him go up and down the stairs, lots of stairs. I saw him do side steps with crossovers. He did transfers from bench to wheelchair on his own. He stood up from a bench with one foot on a 6” curb. He rode the bike for 15 minutes on level 7, which was the highest level to date. In OT he was working his shoulders very hard, he was doing an exercise that I saw once before, last week. He lays flat on his back, straightens his arms and has to lift them up and over his head while keeping them straight. This is hard because when they get beyond the 90 degree angle, the biceps try to take over and the arms start to bend. However. . . . this time he was able to keep them straight and this time - while holding a ball! It was very hard, but the more he pushed, the better it worked. And I don’t have to tell you that he pushed! A new exercise that day was with a balloon, lying on his back and punching first with left, then with right. This is to help develop a quicker response with his arms. I saw improvement within just a few minutes. We took a victory lap around the floor (he pushed himself in the chair with his legs to work his hamstrings). As we were returning to his room we stopped to set up a walking race for the next day with another patient. I didn’t hear the outcome of the race yet - but with the length of Christian’s legs alone, my money’s with him.
It was wonderful to watch Christian’s interaction with other patients. I saw him bring a smile to the face of more than one patient that was obviously a little down or having a hard time. Everyone from the teenage girl, to the Japanese man that didn’t speak much English, and the elderly gentlemen on the floor, is glad to see Christian coming their way. A few words of encouragement from someone who truly understands has to mean a lot to them.
I saved the best for last - so here ya go. . . Jessi was working on Monday and she brought sandwiches up for lunch. They were big sandwiches with lots of yummy stuff like sliced olives and jalapenos, etc, that could fall off so I was helping Christian with his sandwich while they visited. A jalapeno fell off onto his plate. Jes and I were talking along and Christian just reached down and picked up the jalapeno and ate it! We both said “what did you just do?!!” This was a tiny move, but it was HUGE! The finer motor skills are just the slower things to come and he was very precise with this one. Of course I put more olives, jalapenos, and a grape, on the plate for him to pick up. The grape was the most difficult. He said it’s because the sensation in his fingers is different and he can’t tell how hard to squeeze to pick it up without smashing it. A few olive slices did give their lives while he tested the pressure required. These skills are every bit as important as walking. Think about all of the things that you do with your hands and fingers - eating, getting dressed, working on the computer, fishing, writing, to name just a few.
Another “fine” motor skill that Christian has mastered is a certain hand gesture J As we were talking with the occupational therapist, we learned that many patients have mastered this same gesture - usually when working with the occupational therapist when they are sick and tired of working so hard for him. Another patient had mastered punching when the OT put his face in front of him. Whatever it takes.
In closing, sincere thanks again to everyone who is still praying, following the blog, and rearranging their lives to be part of this amazing journey. Every single thing makes such a difference in Christian’s recovery and his and Jes’ future life. As Jes’ mom, I want to thank you for helping her with your moral support, your time, love and prayers and I want to tell you Jes, that you amaze me every single day. Although I always knew you could do it, I am constantly in awe as I witness your loving, caring, and strong approach to this challenge. With all that you have on your plate, some days I just don’t know how you keep going. I’d like to just take you in my arms and fix it for you, but I can’t. No one can fix it like you and Christian can and you are doing just that with humility and grace. I am convinced that you will have the life you planned together. Stay strong but continue to call on all of us and take care of my Jes. I love you both!
You have one amazing daughter, so happy she is part of our family now. I agree, she continue to me amazed by her. I loved her before but I love her even more now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shar, it was a true pleasure for Susannah and I to meet Jessi. I had heard a lot about her from C but I didn't believe most of it (he's a fisherman remember) but she's great...even though we only spent a brief moment or two with her we both felt like we had known her for years.
ReplyDeleteAlso, had a dream about you last night Christian. You walked in with ski boots/gear on and you were eating this big sloppy chili dog (the heart attache kind) and just plopped down onto our couch to go-to-town.
I wasn't in the least surprised that you were back to some major activities but I had to kick you right out, the wife just wouldn't go for ski boots and messy chili dogs in the living room ;)
Love, B