Summer Heat!

The summer heat is keeping us mostly indoors lately. I am still transporting John in our minivan but only as needed. After the fall he took off the ramp a few months ago, I am very worried about that method of transportation. We are still searching for an affordable vehicle with wheelchair access. Please keep your eyes out for anything you think might work. For now, going out involves walks around the block in the evening when it's cool enough but before the mosquitos start biting!

Stroke Rehabilitation And Music Therapy

This makes so much sense!

Stroke Rehabilitation And Music Therapy

John is in the Hospital

John experienced a seizure early yesterday morning. I took him to the ER where they started running a series of tests, scans, x-rays, etc. I was told that he appeared to have pneumonia or some type of infection. A CAT scan showed he has a subdural hematoma. The neurologist thinks this bleeding could have developed as a reaction to the fall he had back in April. It may have also caused the seizure. His blood pressure was extremely low and it took most of the day to get it up to normal. He was admitted for observation but will be staying until at least Saturday.

Today they confirmed that he does NOT have pneumonia. They have not found any infection. Some blood test results are a bit out of wack but they are waiting for others to be completed. Will try to get some rest tonight and update when I can. Thanks for all the positive energy from everyone.

Subtle Changes

John still appears to be in "shut down" mode for the most part, but in the last week he has had some moments of being super alert. He appears to be vocalizing more during these periods but it is still difficult to understand what he is trying to say. This makes it frustrating for him as well as anyone around. He seems very intent on communicating and I'm certain that eventually these sounds will become more understandable. It's a small change but in the right direction.

Phase 1 of Treatment

So many of you have called or written to ask about John’s treatment. These past two weeks have been very busy and I haven’t had time to respond individually so I’m hoping to answer some of your questions here. The treatment that John is undergoing is not a stem cell transplant. It is part of an experimental procedure, which is known to stimulate stem cells and increase the population of circulating stem cells within the body. There have been cases in which this increase of stem cells have led to increased healing and some restored functions in patients undergoing the treatment. The treatment normally lasts 6 weeks and medication is administered in 3 phases. John has only received the first phase of the treatment. Some patients have seen changes as early as 5-6 weeks into the treatment. At this time, John is not going to continue phase 2 and 3 due to lack of funding. We are hoping to see some positive changes resulting from Phase 1. We are also hoping to raise the needed funds to continue treatment. This is the first time a patient has undergone just Phase 1 so we are unsure how much change/improvement to expect. The treatment has mostly made him very tired and he is sleeping much more than usual. I like to think of it as a “closed for remodeling” mode. This could also be a result of the long, tiring days. (We are all experiencing that.) Yesterday he seemed a bit more alert than he has in the last two weeks and we are monitoring closely for any change. We are heading down to Boynton again today for the last series of blood tests. Please keep the positive energy flowing and I will continue to update with any changes we see!

Cinco de Mayo Lunch