Dad had a great start to the day. They stood him up, and he was able to put weight on his right foot, lift his left 6-8 times, and come back to a balanced step. He also ate!!! We tried an ice chip, but water or liquid in general is hard to control with weakened muscles. He had some vanilla pudding, then got to choose between vanilla yogurt or orange yogurt...mmmmm orange yogurt. He fed himself with his left hand, and ate about half. He gets a little frustrated when we celebrate these small miracles, but to us they are just so huge and are happening so fast. He answered some yes no questions, with more than 50% correct. These are very simple and short questions, to help him trigger what the words mean again. In some ways he is relearning a language he vaguely remembers. We are excited, as the was only the second day! The schedule tomorrow will be more therapy. Normally they take the weekends off, but with checking in later in the week, they are taking advantage of all the time they have. I, Stacy, fly back to Colorado. If you are interested in riding with or driving Judy to the hospital, please let me know. I know she would prefer company on the drive (and parking adventure). Thank you so much for your love and support. It is helping Dad! We have this!

1/28 Today was the first day of bootcamp. The OT was in for an hour this morning working on daily activities, IE: shaving, etc. The was a little too sleepy for speech. Physical therapy he was wide awake for. He was able to stand up and made a small baby step with his left foot. I am sure I don't have to tell how truly exciting this is for us! His glutes were firing, which means a cute therapist goosed him to find out. With his right side being inactive, the glute firing on this side is a great sign. We have this!!!!

1/27 Bill was very alert today. Stacy worked on some yes and no questions, with about a 50% correct rate. He has learned some facial ques to use with us. We are super excited that he was moved to Mt. Carmel West (West tower, floor 7, room 81). This has been dubbed stroke boot camp by his physical therapist. He should be here for 3-4 weeks. They will do 3 hours of therapy a day. This isn't consecutive, and will change daily. This is a huge step and we are very hopeful for large recovery. He was pretty tired after physical therapy and moving facilities, but seemed to be checking out is new surroundings. They were going to give him the night off and start working with him tomorrow. We have this!!!!

1/26 Bill was very tired today. Yesterday was jammed packed. He did wake up for PT. They had him sitting up and looking out the window. The session lasted 45 minutes, with 35 of it sitting on the edge of the bed. He is great at repeating a command, IE: lift your leg, but needs to be shown what you mean first. Baby steps are our goals! They attempted to have him stand, but didn't quite make it. With the lack of feeling and use of his right side, he has had an issue with falling that direction when sitting up. Today he was sitting up for 15 minutes untouched. He brought himself to the mid-line(not leaning to one side). He had a harder time maintaining this position when accomplishing another task. This is normal and a great step. It looks like he is a great candidate to move to an intensive rehab hospital. We are waiting to hear from insurance at this time. The move could be as early as tomorrow. We have this!!!!

1/25 Today was a good day. Bill sat up during physical therapy. He sat up with no assistance for about 15 seconds. He straightened is back on his own. He held is head up and looked outside. This is not something he has done. His speech pathologist worked on yes no questions today. He was answering at a 50% correct ratio. Which is big compared to even two days ago. He had a gastro feeding tube inserted today. It looks like he will stay at Mt. Carmel until Wednesday to make sure the tube takes. We are still unsure whether he will move to Mt. Carmel West for intense rehab, or skilled nursing to continue healing to be ready for the intense rehab.

1/24 Today was a quiet day. Bill was very lethargic and didn't wake up much. The speech pathologist assessed Bill's swallowing reflex today. The determination was that a gastro feeding tube is necessary. He currently has a nasal tube. These are truly meant to be temporary. The gastro tube can be used long term and removed when swallowing is possible. There are 27 muscles needed to swallow, getting them all working and coordinated will take quite a bit of training. This could take as much as 6 months for Bill. The gastro tube will allow for proper nutrition now, as well as flexibility for those days in the future where the reflex isn't quite reliable yet. The tube could be inserted as early as Monday and as late as Wednesday. He will spend a day or two in the hospital afterwards to make sure there are no complications. At that time, we will assess whether or not he is ready for a rehab facility or need further healing before rehab. The rehab facility will be need him to be participate in three hours of therapy a day. At this time, Bill is not ready for this. Tomorrow will bring more changes and updates! We have this!

1/23 There are no changes today. He did seem more alert and followed conversations in the morning. Rest is our main goal right now!

Needs

Bill would love visitors. He is on the most demanding part of his journey. He needs a lot of positive thoughts!

1/22 Bill was moved out of ICU last night. When we arrived this morning, he was awake and reacting. The speech pathologist was working with him. She had him responding to commands. She would have to explain and show him how to touch his nose, but then he would be able to repeat it. The Neuro Dr. reminded us that the damage to his speech center is extensive. He may not be able to comprehend everything we are seeing quite yet. He likened it hearing a new language for the first time. There will be a long road here. The speech pathologist also stimulated the swallow reflex. This too will take some time. The physical therapists had him sitting up and balancing from side to side. He has learned to help himself, which they called cheating as it was taking away from the exercise's purpose. They did love that he was trying to help himself and felt that was in itself a form of progress. As his right side doesn't function, his arm has come out its socket a little. The therapists taped it back in to place. They are hoping this will help build strength and stimulate the nerves. We are looking at Mount Carmel West for rehab. This could happen as early as Tuesday. This will depend on how much healing we see in the next few days. If he isn't ready for 3 hours of rehab a day, we will need to look at a nursing care facility until he has healed enough to handle the rehab. He will be in the rehab facility for 7-8 days. Then we will see where we are and make decisions from there. He is still sleeping. His brain needs all the rest and healing it can get. He isn't quite ready for visitors yet, but would love all your good thoughts and prayers. We've got this!!!!

1/21 Bill is still in the today. We are waiting for the cough he has to lessen. This cough seems to be a simple irritation, and not an actual illness. We have brought his CPAP in for him to use. This has helped with actual resting and easing the cough. He still cannot swallow and nutrition is being administered by a nasal feeding tube. We are looking at new feeding tube processes. The nasal tube can cause ulcers and makes it hard to swallow, should that reflex be coming back. We will continue to monitor this, and make a final call on Monday. Stacy believes she witnessed small leg movements on his right side. He his resting most of the day. The few moments of wake, he is expressing emotion and responding to commands. We have to show or explain what we want done, but then he can follow along.

1/18 Bill is still in the Nuero ICU. Speech, physical, and occupational therapy has been started. He was able to sit up, with large amount of assistance. The therapists are happy about the range of motion he has. A feeding tube has been administered, as Bill cannot swallow. Bill is showing recognition and emotion, but is mostly resting and healing the brain.

1/17 The stroke happened while Bill was getting ready for church. Judy recognized immediately and had EMT here within 20 minutes. Bill was in the hospital within the hour. He was diagnosed at a level 22 stroke. TPA was administered with no success. Angioplasty was attempted, but the clot is large and hard. There has been significant damage to the left side of the brain. This is the speech center, so this will be the hardest hit. There is no current movement on the right side of the body, but the chances are high of its return.