So...Where Are We?

I am starting to wonder if daily updates are necessary. So tonight I will wrap up with a synopsis of where we are, as in what Lauren can actually do. Then going forward, if there is something newsworthy to report, I will. Otherwise...

So Lauren is doing well. The reports we get back from the people that work with her are all good. This morning she woke up, ate the bagel I ordered for her and dressed herself in bed. She cannot dress herself out of bed yet as she cannot stand long unsupported. As I said earlier, she can move some of her left leg independently but frequently she will need to pick it up with her hands. She still wears a padded turquoise boot on her left leg in bed, but switches to the slimmer and lighter lavender (with hot pink straps!) leg brace for action. She wears regular socks and sneakers on both feet, so when she has long pants on you cannot see the much of the lavender brace.

Once dressed she sits upright on the edge of the bed, lifts herself up and pivots into the wheelchair. She is getting good at driving the chair. She moves herself into the bathroom where she reverses the bed pivot only this time onto the toilet. The sink is HC accessible so she can wheel up to it too and wash hands and brush her teeth and hair. And that's it! She can also do those things with a walker, it just takes longer and requires more spotting. Of course, I think they prefer her to use the walker as it builds her strength and balance, but they also know they are working her hard the rest of the day so they cut her some slack.

In general, Lauren looks good and her spirit is good too. She commented to her mom that it had been several days since she got sad at night. She is sleeping well, no seizures, and no complaints of headaches.

This morning she complained that she was having vision problems. So that continues to come and go. The Neurologist, Dr. Clancy said he feels it is from the mega dose of Dilantin they gave her after the seizure she had following the last surgery. Dr. DiLuna (Good Fellow Mike) also said he did not feel their was any type of infection. Sandra clarified that Dr. Liu was non-specific about his mystery infection. So, like everything else, we will have to see.

Beyond that, Sandra and I are getting lessons on administration of emergency anti-seizure meds, car-wheelchair transfers, etc. in preparation for Saturday's home visit. Friday we meet with the Rehabilitation Team for a Pow-Wow to review progress (eat your hearts out 7W nurses!).